A Short Manual of Harmony

Tchaikovsky Research

A Short Manual of Harmony. Adapted for the study of church music in Russia (Краткий учебник гармоний. Приспособленный к чтению духовно-музыкальных сочинений в Россий) (TH 256 ; ČW 514) [1] was commissioned by the Ancient Russian Society for the Arts, which Tchaikovsky joined in May 1874.

History

Most of the text appears to have been written by the end of 1874, since on 12/24 January 1875, Tchaikovsky set out a detailed list of the handbook's contents to Dmitry Razumovsky [2], which closely corresponds to the printed edition.

Autographs

Tchaikovsky's autograph manuscript (except for the closing pages, which are missing) is now preserved in the Russian National Museum of Music in Moscow (ф. 88, No. 169) [view].

Publication

The Manual was first published by Pyotr Jurgenson in 1875 [3], and reprinted in 1895.

In 1957, it was included in volume III-А of the Complete Collected Works, edited by Vladimir Protopopov.

Bibliography

Editions

Criticism and Analysis

Notes and References

  1. Entitled A Short Manual of Harmony, Adapted to the Study of Sacred Musical Works in Russia in ČW.
  2. Letter 386 to Dmitry Razumovsky, 12/24 January 1875.
  3. Краткий учебник гармоний. Составленный для хоровых учителей и регентов П. Чайковским, профессором Московской консерватории [A Short Manual of Harmony. Compiled for choral teachers and students by P. Tchaikovsky, Professor at the Moscow Conservatory] (Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1875).