Tchaikovsky
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The Nightingale
(Соловушко)
For unaccompanied mixed chorus (1889).
| Catalogue References | TH 84; ČW 73 |
|---|---|
| Date | January 1889 |
| Text | Composer |
| Language | Russian |
| Key | D major |
| Tempo/Section Listing | Andante molto (D major, 72 bars) |
| Instrumentation | Chorus (SATB) |
| First Performance | Saint Petersburg, 19/31 March 1889, conducted by Fyodor Bekker |
| Autograph Location | Lost |
| First Publication | Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1889 |
| Average Duration | 4 minutes |
| Dedication | To the Chorus of the Imperial Opera in Saint Petersburg |
| External Links |
IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library
 (downloadable scores)The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
(text and translations) |
History
Composed at Frolovskoye between 9/21 January and 12/24 January 1889. In a letter of 8/20 January 1889, Fyodor Bekker approached Tchaikovsky with a commission to write two secular choruses for a choral concert to be given by the Imperial Opera [1]. It seems that the composer wrote one chorus at once, and on 12/24 January gave it to Pyotr Jurgenson, who was visiting Tchaikovsky at Frolovskoye [2]. On 18/30 January 1889, before departing for Saint Petersburg, and then on abroad, Tchaikovsky wrote to Jurgenson: "Don't forget to send Bekker my chorus' [3]. On 21 January/2 February 1889 the publisher replied: " Bekker’s chorus is being copied out", and on 26 January/7 February reported: "The chorus for Bekker has been copied out" [4].
The chorus was published by Pyotr Jurgenson in December 1889 [5]. It was performed for the first time in a concert of the Imperial Opera in Saint Petersburg on 19/31 March 1889, conducted by Fyodor Bekker. The solo performer was G. Mel’ichenko. On 13/25 December 1892 the chorus The Nightingale was performed at a concert of the Russian Choral Society in Moscow, conducted by Anton Arensky.
From:
Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958), p. 357
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston
Notes:
- Letter from Fyodor Bekker to Tchaikovsky, 8/20 January 1889 — Klin House-Museum Archive [back]
- See Дневники П. И. Чайковского (1923), p. 220 [back]
- Letter 3373 to Pyotr Jurgenson, 18/30 January 1889. At the same time Tchaikovsky made for Bekker an arrangement for chorus a cappella of the children’s song Legend [back]
- Letters from Pyotr Jurgenson to Tchaikovsky, 21 January/2 February and 26 January/7 February 1889 [back]
- Passed by the censor on 15/27 December 1889 [back]