Along with the famous ballets Raymonda, The Seasons and the Violin Concerto, Glazunov predominantly wrote symphonic works. Immediately after completing the Symphony No. 7 (described by the composer as the first Russian “pastoral” symphony), in the autumn of 1902 he began writing the symphonic suite From the Middle Ages. It is in four movements: the Prelude – Scherzo (“Dance of Death”) – Serenade of the Troubadour” and Finale (“Crusaders”). The first complete performance of the suite was in one of the Russian Symphony Concerts in St Petersburg under the composer’s baton on December 21^st, 1902.

The following text for the opening Prelude, often performed as a stand-alone orchestral piece, is printed in the premiere programme: ‘The gray waves of the sea roll, and at the castle ashore a young couple hear not the roar of the storm, immersed in the quiet happiness of love’. After sombre swinging passages of sound, the musical colour lightens from E minor to E major. A bright and passionate lyrical theme unfolds. With colourful and subtle orchestration, Glazunov masterfully gradually builds and releases the ecstatic tension. In the short coda, the original ‘sea’ motif appears – a symbol of transient human happiness and eternity.