Tchaikovsky
www.tchaikovsky-research.net

Children's Songs on Russian and Ukrainian Melodies

(Детские песнии на русские и малороссийские напевы)

Compiled by Mariya Mamontova, harmonized and edited by Tchaikovsky (1872–77).

Catalogue References	TH 182 ; ČW 402 (as "Children's Songs on Russian and Little Russian Tunes")
Date	May 1872 (set 1) and spring 1877 (set 2)
Tempo/Section Listing	Set 1: 1. The Crane (Жур-Журавел) 2. In Spring (Весной) 3. In Summer (Летом) 4. In Autumn (Осенью) 4a. Autumn (Осень) 5. The River (Речка) 6. The Little Bid (Птичка) 7. The Beaver (Бобер) 8. In Winter (Зимой) 9. Oh, My Duckling in the Meadow (Ой, утушка луговая) 10. We Worked the Land (А мы землю наняли) 11. Song of the Volga Boatmen (Эй ухнем! Бурлацкая) 12. Titmouse (Синичка) 13. Before Spring (Перед весной) 14. The Willow (Ивушка) 15. Mushrooms (Грибы) 16. The Sparrows and the Cat (Боробьи и кошка) 17. Down By Mother Volga (Вниз по матушке по волге) 18. The Crane (Журавель) 19. The Woodcuter (Дровосек) 20. The Cat (Кошка) 21. A Mosquito, a Sparrow, an Eagle and a Man (Комар, воробей, орел и человек) 22. Hay-Making Time (Сенокос) 23. The Goat (Козел) 24. The Gardeners (Садовники). Set 2: 1. Duck and Ducklings (Утука и утята) 1a. Canvas (Холст) 2. Oh, It's Time to Start the Garden (Ах, пора нам огород городить) 3. Work and Play (Работа и веселье) 4. We Walked Far in the Forest (Как во лесу мы долго гуляли) 5. The Smiths (Кузнецы) 6. A Blizzard Rages in the Streets (Вдоль по улице метелица метет) 7. The Little Tower (Теремок) 8. From Beyond the Dark Forest (Из-за лесу, лесу) 9. In the Field a Birch-Tree Stood (Во поле березонька стояла) 10. The River Overflows (Разилася вода, разилася) 11. By the River, By the Bridge (Возле речки, возле моста) 12. Oh, the Berry-Tree Stood in the Fied (Уж как во поле калинушка стоит) 13. The Musicians (Музыканты) 14. The Mill (Мельница) 15. A Shepherd Played the Reed-Pipe (На рожке пастух играл)
Instrumentation	Voice + Piano
Autograph Location	Moscow (Russia): Glinka National Museum Consortium of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 151) — set 1 Klin (Russia): Tchaikovsky House-Museum Archive (a1, No. 178) — set 2
First Publication	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1872 — set 1 Moscow: Muzyka, 1949 — set 2
Note	Set 1 comprises 24 songs Set 2 comprises 15 songs
External Links	IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library (downloadable score)

History

The first set of twenty songs with harmonizations by Tchaikovsky was prepared in response to a pressing request from the compiler – Mariya Mamontova [1] – early in 1872 . In May. Tchaikovsky sent Pyotr Jurgenson the proofs of the songs. which appeared in print in August the same year [2].

Tchaikovsky worked on the second set of songs during the first half of 1877, but they were not published at that time. It seems that Tchaikovsky did not send off the manuscript right away, and it was subsequently mislaid [3]. In 1878 Mariya Mamontova sent him still more songs to work on, but the composer, who had worked on the first two sets with great reluctance, flatly refused the request and returned her manuscript. But he asked Pyotr Jurgenson to refund Mariya Mamontova the money she had lost from the second set [4]. When Jurgenson reprinted the songs in 1888, Tchaikovsky wanted his name taken off the title page of the songs, but this was not possible, and the composer had to reconcile himself to this fact [5].

Tchaikovsky was probably rather embarrassed by the nature of the songs in Mariya Mamontova's collection—ranging from ancient peasant songs to modern town songs—and which were not always accurately transcribed. It seems that Mamontova was not responsible herself for recording the songs used in both collections, which were taken from a variety of sources.

The first set was published in Moscow by A. I. Mamontov in August 1872 [6]. The second set was published for the first time in 1949 as part of the collected edition of Tchaikovsky’s works [7].

From: Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958), p. 487–488
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston

Notes:

1. Mariya Aleksandrovna Mamontova (1845–1904, b. Lyalina) was the wife of Anatoly Ivanovich Mamontov (1839–1905), a Russian publisher, translator and art collector. The family also owned the Moscow Children's Education Workshop in Moscow, where various toys for children were manufactured, including the famous "Matryoshka" dolls.
2. See letter 258 to Pyotr Jurgenson, 16/28 May 1872 [back]
3. See letter 660 to Nikolay Kashkin, 26 November/8 December 1877 [back]
4. See letter 872 to Pyotr Jurgenson, 18/30 July 1878 [back]
5. See letters 3639 and 3646 to Pyotr Jurgenson, 9/21 and 14/26 August 1888, and also from Pyotr Jurgenson to Modest Tchaikovsky, 10/23 September 1901 — Klin House Museum Archive [back]
6. Passed by the censor on 26 August.7 September 1872. Reprinted by Jurgenson in 1888 [back]
7. П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений, том 61 (1949) [back]