Six Duets
Шесть дуэтов
With piano accompaniment, Op. 46 (1880).
No. 1. Evening (Вечер)
| Catalogue References: |
TH 102 ;
ČW 312. |
| Date: |
June–August 1880. |
| Text: |
Ivan Zakharovich Surikov (1841–1880), from his poems The Sun Has
Set (Солнце утомилось) and In the Still Air (В воздухе смолкает)
(1864–66). |
| Language: |
Russian. |
| Key: |
A♭ major. |
| Tempo/Section Listing: |
Andante non troppo (A♭ major, 121
bars). |
| Instrumentation: |
Soprano and Mezzo-Soprano voices + Piano. |
| Autograph Location: |
Moscow: Glinka State Central
Museum of Musical Culture. |
| First Publication: |
Moscow:
P. Jurgenson, 1883. |
| Average Duration: |
7 minutes. |
| Dedication: |
Tat'iana L'vovna Davydova
(1861–1887). |
| External Links: |
The
Lied and Art Songs Text Page
(text and translations). |
No. 2. Scottish Ballad: Edward (Шотландская баллада:
Эдвард)
| Catalogue References: |
TH 102 ;
ČW 313 (as "Scottish Ballad"). |
| Date: |
June–August 1880. |
| Text: |
Aleksei Konstantinovich
Tolstoi (1817–1875), from his poem Edward: A Scottish Folk-Ballad
(Эдвард. Народная шотландская баллада) (1871) —
a translation from the English of Edward from Thomas Percy's
Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (1765)
[16]. |
| Language: |
Russian. |
| Key: |
A minor. |
| Tempo/Section Listing: |
Allegro agitato, ma non troppo (A minor, 171 bars). |
| Instrumentation: |
Soprano and Baritone voices + Piano. |
| Autograph Location: |
Moscow: Glinka State Central
Museum of Musical Culture. |
| First Publication: |
Moscow:
P. Jurgenson, 1883. |
| Average Duration: |
5 minutes. |
| Dedication: |
Tat'iana L'vovna Davydova
(1861–1887). |
| External Links: |
The
Lied and Art Songs Text Page
(text and translations). |
No. 3. Tears (Слезы)
| Catalogue References: |
TH 102 ;
ČW 314. |
| Date: |
June–August 1880. |
| Text: |
Fedor Ivanovich Tiutchev (1803–1873), after an untitled poem (1850). |
| Language: |
Russian. |
| Key: |
G minor. |
| Tempo/Section Listing: |
Andante molto sostenuto (G minor, 57 bars). |
| Instrumentation: |
Soprano and Mezzo-Soprano voices + Piano. |
| Autograph Location: |
Moscow: Glinka State Central
Museum of Musical Culture. |
| First Publication: |
Moscow:
P. Jurgenson, 1883. |
| Average Duration: |
4 minutes. |
| Dedication: |
Tat'iana L'vovna Davydova
(1861–1887). |
| External Links: |
The
Lied and Art Songs Text Page
(text and translations). |
No. 4. In the Garden, By the Ford (В огороде, возле
броду) [1]
| Catalogue References: |
TH 102 ;
ČW 315 (as "In the Garden, Near
the Ford"). |
| Date: |
June–August 1880. |
| Text: |
Ivan Zakharovich Surikov (1841–1880), from his poem Song—from T.
Shevchenko (Песнь—из Т. Шевченко)
(ca.1869) — a translation from the Ukrainian poem In the Garden, By
the Ford (Но вгородi коло броду)
(1848) by Taras Shevchenko (1814–1861). |
| Language: |
Russian. |
| Key: |
A major. |
| Tempo/Section Listing: |
Allegro moderato (A major, 67 bars). |
| Instrumentation: |
Soprano and Mezzo-Soprano voices + Piano. |
| Autograph Location: |
Moscow: Glinka State Central
Museum of Musical Culture. |
| First Publication: |
Moscow:
P. Jurgenson, 1883. |
| Average Duration: |
2 minutes. |
| Dedication: |
Tat'iana L'vovna Davydova
(1861–1887). |
| External Links: |
The
Lied and Art Songs Text Page
(text and translations). |
No. 5. Passion Spent (Минула страсть)
| Catalogue References: |
TH 102 ;
ČW 316 (as "The Passion Has
Passed"). |
| Date: |
June–August 1880. |
| Text: |
Aleksei Konstantinovich
Tolstoi (1817–1875), after an untitled poem (1858). |
| Language: |
Russian. |
| Key: |
F major. |
| Tempo/Section Listing: |
Allegro agitato (F minor, 198 bars). |
| Instrumentation: |
Soprano and Tenor voices + Piano. |
| Autograph Location: |
Moscow: Glinka State Central
Museum of Musical Culture. |
| First Publication: |
Moscow:
P. Jurgenson, 1883. |
| Average Duration: |
6 minutes. |
| Dedication: |
Tat'iana L'vovna Davydova
(1861–1887). |
| External Links: |
The
Lied and Art Songs Text Page
(text and translations). |
No. 6. Dawn (Рассвет)
(a) 1st version:
| Catalogue References: |
TH 102 ;
ČW 317a. |
| Date: |
June–August 1880. |
| Text: |
Ivan Zakharovich Surikov (1841–1880), from an untitled poem (1864–65). |
| Language: |
Russian. |
| Key: |
E major. |
| Tempo/Section Listing: |
Allegro moderato (E major, 147 bars). |
| Instrumentation: |
Soprano and Mezzo-Soprano voices + Piano. |
| Autograph Location: |
Moscow: Glinka State Central
Museum of Musical Culture. |
| First Publication: |
Moscow:
P. Jurgenson, 1883. |
| Average Duration: |
4 minutes. |
| Dedication: |
Tat'iana L'vovna Davydova
(1861–1887). |
| External Links: |
Internet Music Score Library Project
(downloadable score).
The
Lied and Art Songs Text Page
(text and translations). |
(b) 2nd version:
| Catalogue References: |
TH 102 ;
ČW 317b. |
| Date: |
December 1889. |
| Text: |
Ivan Zakharovich Surikov (1841–1880), from an untitled poem (1864–65). |
| Language: |
Russian. |
| Key: |
E major. |
| Tempo/Section Listing: |
Allegro moderato (E major, 147 bars). |
| Instrumentation: |
Soprano and Mezzo-Soprano voices + 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets
(A), 2 Bassoons + 4 Horns (F) + Violins I, Violins II, Violas, Cellos,
Double Basses. |
| First Performance: |
Saint Petersburg,
17/29 December 1889, by Evgeniia Mravina and Nina Fride, conducted by
Eduard Nápravník. |
| Autograph Location: |
Saint Petersburg,
Central Music Library of the Mariinskii Theatre. |
| First Publication: |
Moscow: Muzgiz, 1960. |
| Average Duration: |
4 minutes. |
| Dedication: |
Tat'iana L'vovna Davydova
(1861–1887). |
| External Links: |
Internet Music Score Library Project
(downloadable score).
The
Lied and Art Songs Text Page
(text and translations). |
History
Written at Kamenka and
Simaki in July and August 1880. While
correcting proofs of the opera The
Maid of Orleans in May and June 1880, Tchaikovsky considered writing
a vocal work [2].
On 5/17 June he told Nadezhda von
Meck: "Yesterday I started to compose some small vocal pieces, and began
with a duet to words to A. K. Tolstoi's Passion Spent"
[3]. In this same
letter he wrote of his intention to use verses by the poet Ivan Surikov ("He
was quite a talented man, and his pieces are shot through with genuine sentiment")
for his future work. References to work on the duets is also found in a letter
to Karl Albrecht of 21 June/3
July [4].
On 10/22 July, Tchaikovsky wrote from
Simaki to
Nadezhda von Meck that he was
making fair copies of the "the romances for two voices written at
Kamenka"
[5]. Returning to
Kamenka, the composer completed
the fair copies of the duets, and also the fair copies of the
Seven Romances (Op. 47), written at
Brailov and
Simaki. Duets Nos. 1 and 2 were written
on separate sheets, but the remaining duets are together one after another.
On 24 August/5 September he wrote to
Petr Jurgenson and
Sergei Taneev that he had completed
the duets and romances and would be sending them to
Jurgenson via
Anatolii Tchaikovsky
[6] (who left Kamenka
on 30 August/11 September).
Finally, in late August/early September, Tchaikovsky informed
Nadezhda von Meck that he had
completed the fair copies of the vocal pieces and sent them to
Petr Jurgenson
[7].
Out of all the duets, Tchaikovsky greatly favoured Tears (No. 3).
In a letter of 3/15–4/16 July 1881, he wrote to
Nadezhda von Meck: "The
Scottish Ballad is also among my favourite offspring, but I am quite certain,
alas, that it will never be performed as I imagined. It must not be sung, but
declaimed quickly and with great passion"
[8].
One further reference to the duets survives, in a letter of 4/16 June 1881
to Sergei Flerov. The latter
approved of the duets, but criticised the "impossible words" of the Scottish
Ballad (No. 2), and made remarks concerning the duet Dawn (No. 6):
"in the second edition you need to change just one word in No. 6, namely:
‘Well, pray quickly’. This ‘well, pray’ is terribly odd. It would be
better to put ‘O, pray’ [9]. Although he took exception to the first remark, the
composer agreed with the second: "With regard to ‘well, pray’, your comment
is absolutely right, and I shall certainly attend to this matter, if and when
the second edition is printed" [10]. However, in the next edition this passage remained
unchanged.
In the Scottish Ballad (No. 2), five stanzas of
Aleksei Tolstoi’s poem were
omitted, as was the refrain "Mother, my mother" before each repeated word in
Edward’s retort.
The duet In the Garden, By the Ford (No. 4) sets the title to the
tune of a Ukrainian folk song.
The duets were published by
Petr Jurgenson in April 1881 [11]. All the duets are dedicated to
Tat'iana Davydova.
The duet Dawn (No. 6) was orchestrated by Tchaikovsky at the request
of Nina Fride and Evgeniia Mravina for a royal command performance which took
place on 17/29 December 1889, conducted by
Eduard Nápravník. According
to Nina Fride, the duet was orchestrated by Tchaikovsky in just one night
[12].
The request to orchestrate the duet was made to Tchaikovsky in a letter from
Nina Fride of 11/23 November 1889: "I ask a big favour from you, which I hope
you will not refuse. For our concert tour, Evgeniia Konstantinovna Mravina and
I have chosen your duet Dawn. Would you be so kind and obliging as to
orchestrate it, if at all possible, without delay, i.e. the concert is
due to take place very soon, on 20 November"
[13]. Later that month, Evgeniia Mravina
repeated Nina Fride’s request, and told Tchaikovsky that the concert had been
postponed until December" [14].
On the manuscript of the orchestration, the composer added the notes "E.
K. Mravina" and "N. A. Fride" to the vocal lines.
In 1898 the duet In the Garden, By the Ford (No. 4) was orchestrated
by Sergei Taneev at the request
of Modest Tchaikovsky
for a concert in memory of the composer, which took place on 24 October/5 November
1898 [15]. The score
was published by Muzgiz in 1957.
From:
Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958), pp. 477–480
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston
Notes:
- On the autograph score the original title To the
Mountains (Горе-горюшко) is struck out
[back]
- See letter 1508 to
Nadezhda von Meck, 2/14 June
1880 [back]
- Letter 1509 to
Nadezhda von Meck, 5/17 June
1880. See also letter 1510 to
Anatolii Tchaikovsky
of the same date [back]
- See letter 1518 to
Karl Albrecht, 24 June/6
July 1880 [back]
- Letter 1533 to
Nadezhda von Meck, 12/24–15/27
July 1880 — Tchaikovsky was at Kamenka
until 30 June/12 July. See also letter 1540 to
Petr Jurgenson, 18/30 July,
and letter 1544 to Sergei Taneev,
21 July/2 August 1880 [back]
- See letter 1565 to
Sergei Taneev, 15/27 August–24
August/5 September 1880, and undated letter 1566 from mid/late August to
Petr Jurgenson
[back]
- See letter 1572 to
Nadezhda von Meck, 26–31
August/7–12 September 1880 [back]
- Letter 1804 to
Nadezhda von Meck, 3/15–4/16
July 1881 [back]
- Letter from
Sergei Flerov to Tchaikovsky,
28 May/9 June 1881 — Klin House-Museum
Archive [back]
- Letter 1774 to
Sergei Flerov, 4/16 June
1881 [back]
- Passed by the censor on 1 March 1881
[back]
- See
П. И. Чайковский на сцене Театра оперы и балета имени С. М. Кирова (б. Мариинский).
Сборник статей (1940), p. 409 [back]
- Letter from Nina Fride to Tchaikovsky, 11/23 November
1889 — State Central Archive for Literature and the Arts
[back]
- Undated letter from Evgeniia Mravina to Tchaikovsky
— State Central Archive for Literature and the Arts
[back]
- See letter from
Modest Tchaikovsky to
Petr Jurgenson, 15/27 October
1898 — State Central Archive for Literature and the Arts
[back]
- See Richard D. Sylvester,
Tchaikovsky's Complete Songs: A Companion with Texts and Translations
(2002), p. 292 [back]
|