Kutchka

The Russian name given to five composers of Russian nationality active in the 19th century. They were credited with proclaiming the virtues of the Russian land, using as their inspiration the somber, mysterious Russian church music and Russian folk tunes, thus developing their own nationalistic style and rejecting the Western stylistic views. The group originally had several more members and was given the name " Moguchaya Kutchka " ( The Mighty Handful) by a Russian music critic in 1867. By 1875, the Kutchka or the " The Five " consisted of Mily Balakirev, Alexander Borodin, C'sar Cui, Modest Musorgsky, and Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov.