Gaudeamus Igitur

Tchaikovsky Research
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The traditional student song Gaudeamus Igitur was arranged by Tchaikovsky for male chorus with piano accompaniment (TH 187 ; ČW 413).

Instrumentation

Scored for four-part male chorus (TTBB) with solo piano.

Movements and Duration

There is one movement: Moderato (D major, 13 bars), lasting 2 to 3 minutes in performance.

Text

The Russian words ("Будем веселы, друзья...") were translated from the Latin by mathematics professor Nikolay Bugayev (1837–1903) of Moscow University.

History

No information survives concerning the composition of this work, which probably dates from its year of publication (1874).

Publication

The score was first published under the pseudonym "B. L." (Б. Л.) [1] by Pyotr Jurgenson in 1874, and re-issued in 1881 with the choral parts.

Gaudeamus igitur was included in volume 60 of Tchaikovsky's Complete Collected Works (1971), edited by Georgy Kirkor.

Autographs

Tchaikovsky's manuscript arrangement is now preserved in the Russian National Museum of Music in Moscow (ф. 88, No. 127 [view]).

Notes and References

  1. These initials were often used as a nom-de-plume by Tchaikovsky when writing his music-review articles.