Tchaikovsky Research : Six Romances and Songs (Op. 27)

No	Title	Key	Text	Dedication
1	At Bedtime На сон грядущий	B♭ minor	Nikolai Ogarev, from his poem of the same name (?early 1840s).	Elizaveta Lavrovskaia (all 6 songs)
2	Look, Yonder Cloud Смотри, вон облако	C minor	Nikolai Grekov, from his poem Stanzas [Стансы] (by 1860).
3	Do Not Leave Me Не отходи от меня	F major	Afanasii Fet, from an untitled poem in his cycle Melodies [Мелодии] (1842).
4	Evening Вечер	B♭ major	Lev Mei, from his poem of the sane name (1859) — a translation from the Ukrainian of Taras Shevchenko's poem The Little Cherry-Orchard [Садок вишневий коло хати] from his cycle In the Casement [В каземат] (1847).
5	Was it the Mother who Bore Me? Али мать меня роэжала	E♭ minor	Lev Mei, from his poem of th esame name (1857) — a translation from the Polish of Teofil Lenartowicz's ballad Tęsknota (1843) [1]
6	My Spoiled Darling Мой баловница	A major	Lev Mei, from his poem Pieszczotka moja (1849) — a translation from the Polish of Adam Mickiewicz's poem Do D.D.: Wizyta in the collection Sonety odeskie (1826)

History

The history of these romances is undocumented. They were probably composed sometime between mid/late March (after the Six Romances, Op. 25) and 7/19 April (the date they were received by Petr Jurgenson, as noted on the manuscript).

The romance My Spoiled Darling (No. 6) survives in two versions. The second version is effectively a reworking of the original romance (without the central episode, and with minor changes to the main section). A letter from Boris Jurgenson to Sergei Taneev of 7 January 1908 reveals more about the origins of the second version: "I am sending you P. I. Tchaikovsky's romance My Spoiled Darling in two versions—old and new. The new version dates from so long ago that we had completely forgotten about it, but for some reason Petr Il’ich made significant alterations, as you will see by comparing the new version against the old. However, we can only assume that he made the changes he set the new version aside (otherwise we would have published both). What do you think about resurrecting the old version? Do you happen to remember anything about this romance's history?" [2].

Sergei Taneev replied on 14/27 January 1908: "Until now Petr Il’ich’s romance My Spoiled Darling has only been known to me in its earlier version. Since this romance has become long-established n its present form. it seems to me that if the two were to be published they should distinguished as "original version" and "later reworking", or something of that sort. Various singers, having learned this romance in its present form, might only with some difficulty be persuaded to purchase a new, revised edition. The fact that the author did not consider it necessary to bring out the alternative version during his lifetime will cause people to be reluctant to discard the first version" [3].

In its first edition the romance was published in its old form, in the second (from the 1890s) it appeared in its new version, albeit with the earlier plate number. This was probably one of the romances that Tchaikovsky wanted to revise for republication [4]. It is possible that the romance was revised as a result of Cesar Cui's criticism of "deviations from the verses of such a brilliant poet as Mickiewicz" [5].

In the romance Was it the Mother Who Bore Me? the last two lines of each verse are omitted.

The romances were published by Petr Jurgenson in May 1875 [6]. They were reprinted, evidently, in 1890 or 1891.

The romance Evening (No. 4) was performed, possibly for the first time, by Aleksandra Sviatoslovskaia in Moscow on 17/29 December 1876, at the sixth symphony concert of the Russian Musical Society.

The romance Do Not Leave Me (No. 3) was orchestrated by Sergei Taneev in 1891, and this arrangement was published by Petr Jurgenson in 1892 [6].

Six Romances and Songs

Шесть романсов и песни

History

References: