Tchaikovsky
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Jurists' Song

Правоведская песнь

In honour of the 50th year of the Imperial School of Jurisprudence (1885).

History

Composed in September 1885 at Maidanovo, in connection with the fiftieth anniversary in 1885 of the founding of the School of Jurisprudence, of which Tchaikovsky was an alumnus. In a letter of 10/22 May the director of the school, Ivan Alopeus, conveyed to Tchaikovsky the gratitude of Aleksandr Oldenburgskii, the son of the founder of the school, for agreeing to write a cantata for the day of the School’s jubilee [1]. Presumably the commission to write the cantata was made during Tchaikovsky's visit to Saint Petersburg, between 4/16 May and 9/21 May 1885.

In his letter of reply, which has not survived, Tchaikovsky said that, in his opinion, he should write not a cantata, but a straightforward chorus. He won this argument, and Ivan Alopeus informed Tchaikovsky that the text of the chorus would be specially written by Aleksei Apukhtin. On 4/16 July, Apukhtin sent Tchaikovsky the text, asking whether it was suitable and if any changes should be required [2]. Preoccupied with the composition of his Manfred symphony and with his duties at the conservatory, Tchaikovsky was then in no hurry to set about the chorus. It was only in September that Tchaikovsky wrote the chorus, but instead of using Apukhtin’s verses [3], he wrote the text of the song himself. On 27 September/9 October, Tchaikovsky wrote to Nadezhda von Meck: "For the school's jubilee I have written not a cantata, but a simple chorus to be sung at the dinner by the alumni. I also took it upon myself to write the text of this chorus" [4].

The chorus was performed for the first time on 5/17 December 1885, at the School of Jurisprudence's jubilee.

The choral parts and full score were printed in lithograph in 1885 by Markov (Saint Petersburg).

From: Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958), pp. 354–355
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston

Notes:

1. See letter from Ivan Alopeus to Tchaikovsky, 10/22 May 1885 — Klin House-Museum Archive [back]
2. Letter from Aleksei Apukhtin to Tchaikovsky, 4/16 July 1885 — Klin House-Museum Archive [back]
3. The reason for this rejection is unclear. It is possible that the composer considered Apukthin’s verses to be too melancholy in character. The original verse was "Friends, our feast of light and sadness...", etc. The text substituted by Tchaikovsky was published in the book For the 50th Jubilee of the Imperial School of Jurisprudence (Saint Petersburg, 1885), p. 47 [back]
4. Letter 2778 to Nadezhda von Meck, 27 September/9 October 1885 [back]