Tchaikovsky
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Fifty Russian Folk Songs
Пятьдесят русских народных песен
Harmonized and arranged for piano duet (1868–69).
| Catalogue References | TH 176 ; ČW 351–400 |
|---|---|
| Date | December 1868 (Nos. 1–25) and August–September 1869 (Nos. 26–50) |
| Tempo/Section Listing |
|
| Instrumentation | Piano duet (4 hands) |
| Autograph Location | Moscow (Russia): Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 149) |
| First Publication | Moscow: P..Jurgenson, 1869 |
| Average Duration | 33 minutes |
| External Links |
IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library
 (downloadable score) |
History
Harmonized and adapted for piano duet by Tchaikovsky at the end of 1868 and in 1869. The story of how the arrangements came to be made is revealed in a letter from Tchaikovsky to Milii Balakirev of 30 December 1868/11 January 1869: "Jurgenson asked me to make a four hand arrangement of 50 Russian songs, 25 of which I have already done; they are drawn from Villebois' collection. It goes without saying that I discarded Villebois' harmonizations and did them myself, and furthermore, I decided here and there to rewrite the melodies to make them more in keeping with the character of folk-songs. Next I want to take 25 songs from your collection, provided this in no way displeases you. I would like to know: 1) Whether you want me to use your harmonizations and merely arrange them for four hands? [1]; 2) or whether, on the contrary, you do not wish this at all?; 3) or whether in either case you would not be happy with me and would generally prefer me not to use your songs? In short, I will do nothing until I hear from you" [2]. In his letter of reply, Balakirev granted Tchaikovsky permission to use his collection: "With regard to my songs, which you want to arrange for 4 hands, do whatever you think will be best" [3].
Work on the first book of songs was finished in mid/late December 1868 [4]. These included 23 songs from the collection of Konstantin Villebois. Besides these, the song A Duckling was Swimming on the Sea (No. 23) was given to Tchaikovsky by Aleksandr Ostrovskii in 1866 [5], and the song I Wear My Hair in a Plait (No. 24) was noted down by Tchaikovsky in September 1867 [6]. Both these songs, together with the song Beyond My Yard is a Green Meadow (No. 25) were used by the composer in the opera The Voevoda, before the collection was compiled. Previously the composer had also used The Young Maiden Walked So Far (No. 1) in the overture The Storm.
On 13/25 March 1869 in a letter to Milii Balakirev, Tchaikovsky expressed his intention to start work. on the second book of the collection of songs [7]. This was done, it seems, in August and September 1869, after the opera Undina was finished [8]. As well as 24 songs from Balakirev's collection, book two also included the song Vania was Sitting, noted down by the composer in the summer of 1869 at Kamenka.
Some of the pieces in the collection were later used by Tchaikovsky with the same harmonies and accompaniment in several of his works, often with just a few changes required to suit orchestral textures:
- No. 6 from the collection was used in the middle of the second movement of the Symphony No. 2;
- Nos. 10, 17, 32 and 34 appear in the fourth act of the opera The Oprichnik;
- Nos. 14 and 36 (and part of No. 21) in the music for The Snow Maiden;
- Nos. 28 and 42 appear in the finale of the Serenade for String Orchestra;
- No. 48 in the overture The Year 1812;
- No. 47 in the Andante cantabile from the String Quartet No. 1.
Both books from the collection were published by Petr Jurgenson: Book 1 (Nos. 1–25) was printed in December 1868, and apparently issued in January or February 1869. Book 2 (Nos. 26–50) was published in November 1869 [9].
Milii Balakirev and Nikolai Rimskii-Korsakov commented favourably on Tchaikovsky's collection [10]. Rimskii-Korsakov himself used two songs from Tchaikovsky's collection – A Little Duckling Was Swimming on the Sea (No. 23) and Vania was Sitting (No. 47) as songs for voice with piano. The words of the songs were apparently given by Tchaikovsky to Rimskii-Korsakov in 1876, at the latter's request [11].
From:
Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958), pp. 394–395
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston
Notes:
- "In this case, the title-page would certainly stipulate that I had taken over your harmonizations" (Tchaikovsky’s note) [back]
- Letter 126 to Milii Balakirev, 30 December 1868/11 January 1869 [back]
- Letter from Milii Balakirev to Tchaikovsky, 15/27 January 1869 — Klin House-Museum Archive [back]
- See letter 124 to Modest Tchaikovsky, mid/late December 1869 [back]
- See letter 493 to Nikolai Rimskii-Korsakov, 7/19 September 1876 [back]
- See letter 104 to Anatolii Tchaikovsky, 28 September/10 October 1867 [back]
- See letter 134 to Milii Balakirev, 13/25 March 1869 [back]
- See letter 150 to Anatolii Tchaikovsky, 25 September/7 October 1869, and letter 151 to Milii Balakirev, 12/24 October 1869 [back]
- See letter 159 to Milii Balakirev, 17/29 November 1869 [back]
- See letters to Tchaikovsky from Milii Balakirev, May 1869, and from Nikolai Rimskii-Korsakov, 3 June 1869 — Klin House-Museum Archive [back]
- See letters from Nikolai Rimskii-Korsakov to Tchaikovsky, late August/early September 1876 and 25 September/6 October 1876 [back]