Tchaikovsky
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TH 99
Six Romances
Шесть романсов
With piano accompaniment, Op. 28 (1875).
| No | Title | Key | Text | Dedication |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No, I Shall Never Tell Нет, никогда не назову |
E♭ major | Nikolai Grekov, from his poem Song [Песня] (1860) — a translation from the French of Chanson de Fortunio, from Alfred de Musset's comedy Le Chandelier (1835). | Anton Nikolaev |
| 2 | The Corals Корольки |
F♯ minor | Lev Mei, from his poem The Corals. A Song [Корольки. Песня] (1861) — a translation from the Polish of the ballad Korale: Dumka kozacka [7] by Ludwik Kondratowicz (by 1854, published under the pseudonym "Władysław Syrokomla"). | Aleksandr Dodonov |
| 3 | Why? Зачем? |
D minor | Lev Mei, after his poem of the same name (1861). | Mariia Il’ina |
| 4 | He Loved Me So Much Он так меня любил |
D minor | Aleksei Apukhtin (by 1875) [1] — a translation from the French of the 'romance' Il m'aimait tant! by Delphine Gay (by 1842, published under the pseudonym "Mme Emile de Girardin"). | Ekaterina Massini |
| 5 | No Response, or Word, or Greeting Ни отзыва, ни слова, ни привета |
C minor | Aleksei Apukhtin [2], from an untitled poem (1867). | Bogomir Korsov |
| 6 | The Terrible Moment Страшная минута |
F♯ minor | "N.N." [Tchaikovsky]. | Evlaliia Kadmina |
- Composed April 1875.
- Scored for high voice (Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6) or medium voice (No. 5) with piano.
- Average duration: 20m (set).
History
According to the date on the manusctript, composition of the romances was finished on 11/23 April 1875.
Published for the first time by Petr Jurgenson in May 1875 [3]. Tchaikovsky later singled out The Fearful Minute (No. 6) as one of his most popular romances [4].
The romance The Fearful Minute (No. 6) was orchestrated by Sergei Taneev in 1891, and this arrangement was published by Petr Jurgenson in 1892. The same romance was also arranged by Sergei Morozov for voice with cello and piano accompaniment; this arrangement was highly regarded by Tchaikovsky [5], and it was published by Jurgenson in 1882 [6].
The romances are dedicated as follows: to the following: No, I Shall Never Tell (No. 1) to Anton Nikolaev; The Corals (No. 2) to Aleksandr Dodonov; Why? (No. 3) to Mariia Il’ina; He Loved Me So Much (No. 4) to Ekaterina Massini; No Response, or Word, or Greeting (No. 5) to Bogomir Korsov; The Terrible Moment (No. 6) to Evlaliia Kadmina.
From: Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958), pp.
442–443
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston
References:
- A. N. Apukhtin is recorded as the author of the verses on the autograph score; however, the poem has not been traced in any of Apukhtin’s manuscripts or collected editions. Apukhtin's translation of a French poem by de Girardin was established first in П. И. Чайковский. Романсы, том 2 (Moscow, 1978) and A. N. Apukhtin, Полное собрание сочинений (Leningrad, 1991), p. 421. [back]
- In many editions the words are mistakenly attributed to Aleksei Tolstoi [back]
- Passed by the censor on 3/15 May 1875 [back]
- See letter 1849 to Petr Jurgenson, 1/13 September 1881 [back]
- See letter 2032 to Petr Jurgenson and letter 2030 to Sergei Morozov, both, 27 May/8 June 1882 [back]
- Passed by the censor on 27 November/9 December 1882 [back]
- See R. D. Sylvester, Tchaikovsky's complete songs. A companion with texts and translations (2002), p. 96, 99 [back]
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