Ladies and Gentlemen at this Forum,
I have read a description of 1812 by Brett Langston that I found on
line indicating that a melody in The Year 1812 was a
melody from a previous opera
The Voevoda. I have ordered his book to find out which, but I have a
concert this weekend (June 7) with the work and would really like to know
which of the melodies this is and what kind of text it might have had in
the original opera. Also, in the article on the internet Mr. Langston
writes that the Russian folk song "By the gates" is used. I would like to
know which melody this is and if there is an English translation to the
lyrics of this song available anywhere. If any or all of this information
were available or I could contact Mr. Langston about it to at least see, I
would greatly appreciate it. I look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,
David Hagy
The overture's second subject (bars 165–183, 187–194 and 279–290 in the
recapitulation), was taken from Act II of The Voevoda, where it
formed part of the duet for Mar'ia Vlas'evna and Olena (No. 8, bars 1–19,
25–32).
The jaunty theme with tambourine accompanient that rounds off the
second subject was the folk-song "By the Gates" (bars 207–214, 299–302),
which Tchaikovsky had already harmonized in his set of Fifty Russian Folk-Songs
(No. 48). However, the arrangement was published without words.
Coincidentally, Musorgsky set the same song for male chorus as one of
his Five Russian Folksongs in the same year that Tchaikovsky wrote 1812 (1880). Like many
Russian folk-songs, its idiomatic text can seem nonsensical when
translated literally into English. ("By the gates, the gates / The gates
of men / Children were playing", etc.). But should you be able to find a
native Russian speaker to give you the gist, here is the Cyrillic text:
У ворот-ворот,
Ворот батюшкиных,
Разыгралися ребята,
Распотешилися.
Еще мне ли, молодцу,
Плохо можется,
Нездоровится,
Гулять хочется.
Я украдуся,
Нагуляюся;
Я сапожки на ножки,
Смуръ кафтанчикъ на плечахъ,
Черна шляпа на кудряхъ,
Перчаточки на рукахъ,
И гудочекъ подъ полой,
Подъ правою стороной,
Подъ правою стороной,
Со серебряной струной.
I hope this will be helpful, and wish you well with the concert
Brett Langston
info@tchaikovsky-research.net