Tchaikovsky
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TH 176

Fifty Russian Folk Songs

Пятцать русских народных песен

Harmonized and arranged for piano duet (1868–69).

1. The Young Maiden Walked So Far
   Исходила младенька
2. Oh, My Poor Head!
   Головв ль ты моя, головушка
3. Please, Try to Remember, My Darling
   Вспомни, вспомни, моя любезная
4. The Eel Coiling in the Water
   Вьюн на воде извивается
5. Do Not Flood, My Gentle Danube
   Не разивайся, мой тихой Дунай
6. Keep on Spinning, My Spinner
   Пряди, моя пряха
7. The Tower is Not Yet Built
   Не тесам терен
8. The Pine-Tree Swings By the Gate
   У ворот сосна раскачалася
9. All Flowers Fade
   Поблекнут все цветики
10. Floating and Rising
    Плывет, восплывает
11. My Green Vineyard
    Зеленое мое, ты виноградье
12. Be Calmed, Stormy Winds
    Не бушуйте, ветры буйные
13. At the Crack of Dawn
    Как на зорке, на заре
14. It Isn't Drink That's Muddling My Head
    Не хмель иою головушку клонит
15. Rise Up, Rise Up, O Sun
    Взойди, взойди, солнце
16. Do Not Sing, O Nightingale
    Не пой, не пой, соловушко
17. Master Andrei Made Merry
    Гулял Андрей господин
18. The Duckling in the Meadow
    Ах, лутушка луговая
19. Young Maiden at the Feast
    Я вечор млада во пиру была
20. I Shall Come to Your Town
    Пойду, подступлю под ваш город
21. It's Not the Sound Resounding
    Не шум шумит
22. Coming Down the Mountain
    Как со горки, со горы
23. A Little Duckling was Swimming on the Sea
    На море утушка купалася
24. I Wear My Hair in a Plait
    Коса ль моя косынька
25. Beyond My Yard is a Green Meadow
    За двором лужок, зеленешенек
26. We Worked the Land
    А мы землю наняли
27. Upon the Sea So Blue
    Как по морю, как по синему
28. On the Green Meadow
    А как по лугу
29. Our Wine Cellar
    Винный наш колоде
30. I'm Coming to the Capital
    Пойду, пойду, ко Царь-город
31. Thank You, But No Thank You, Father Superior
    Не спасибо те, игумну тебе
32. Little Ivan Wears a Big Hat
    На Иванушке чапан
33. In the Meadows
    По лузах
34. Merry Kat'ia
    Катенька веселая
35. O My Heart, My Heavy Heart
    Эко сердце, эко бедное мое
36. Oh, My Duckling in the Meadow
    Ой, утушка моя луговая
37. The Young Maiden
    Молодка-молоденькая
38. Play My Bagpipes
    Зайграй, моя волынка
39. O, My Fields
    Уж ты, поле мое поле
40. Stop My Merry Dance
    Стой, мой милый хоровод
41. The Grey Cockerel
    Уж ты, сизенький петух
42. Under the Green Apple Tree
    Под яблонью
43. O, My Unspoiled Field
    Уж ты, поле мое, поле чистой
44. Like a Princess in the Town
    Как во городе царевна
45. Cranberries and Raspberries
    Калинушка с малинушкой
46. In the Meadows
    Как по лугу, по лужечку
47. Vania was Sitting
    Сидел Ваня
48. By the Gates
    У ворот, ворот
49. Song of the Volga Boatmen
    Эй, ухнем (Бурлацкая)
50. There Was No Wind
    Не было ветру

• Arranged December 1868 (Nos. 1–25) and August to September 1869 (Nos. 26–50).
• Scored for piano duet (4 hands)
• Average duration: 30m.

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) If you are against this idea I do not mind at all; 3) if in any case you generally would not want me 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/latef 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 One (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

References:

1. "In this case, the title-page would certainly stipulate that I had taken over your harmonizations" (Tchaikovsky’s note) [back]
2. Letter 126 to Milii Balakirev, 30 December 1868/11 January 1869 [back]
3. Letter from Milii Balakirev to Tchaikovsky, 15 January 1869 [back]
4. See letter 124 to Modest Tchaikovsky, mid/late December 1869 [back]
5. See letter 493 to Nikolai Rimskii-Korsakov, 7/19 September 1876 [back]
6. See letter 104 to Anatolii Tchaikovsky, 28 September/10 October 1867 [back]
7. See letter 134 to Milii Balakirev, 13/25 March 1869 [back]
8. See letter 150 to Anatolii Tchaikovsky, 25 September/7 October 1869, and letter 151 to Milii Balakirev, 12/24 October 1869 [back]
9. See letter 159 to Milii Balakirev, 17/29 November 1869 [back]
10. See letters to Tchaikovsky from Milii Balakirev, May 1869, and from Nikolai Rimskii-Korsakov, 3 June 1869 — Klin House-Museum Archive [back]
11. See letters from Nikolai Rimskii-Korsakov to Tchaikovsky, late August/early September 1876 and 25 September/6 October 1876 [back]