65 Russian Folksongs (Prokunin) and Base Dog, Shameless Bishka: Difference between pages

Tchaikovsky Research
(Difference between pages)
m (1 revision imported)
 
No edit summary
 
Line 1: Line 1:
[[Vasily Prokunin]]'s collection of '''''65 Russian Folksongs''''' (65 русских народных песен), was revised and edited by Tchaikovsky at the compiler's request in 1872 and 1873 ([[TH]] 183 ; [[ČW]] 401).
'''''Base Dog, Shameless Bishka''''' (Собака низкая, бессовестная Бишка) ([[TH]] 195 ; [[ČW]] 319a) <ref name="note1"/>, also known as '''''The Underdog''''' <ref name="note2"/> is one of two musical jokes (the other being ''[[The Siskin]]'') written by Tchaikovsky in September 1876 an album belonging to his friend [[Mariya Golovina]].


==Instrumentation==
Tchaikovsky's wife [[Antonina]], in her memoirs of the composer, recalled how some years before their marriage he had once come across a gang of boys who were about to drown a stray dog in the Moskva River. He had immediately taken out his purse and offered them all the money he had in return for the dog. Tchaikovsky took the latter home and gave her the name ''Bishka'' (probably an amalgamation of two Russian interjections: бишь + ка, which may be roughly translated as "now, come on!"). "She turned out to be a very intelligent dog and was terribly attached to him," recalled [[Antonina]]. When Tchaikovsky left [[Moscow]] in the autumn of 1877 after the crisis of his marriage, Bishka was entrusted to the care of [[Mariya Golovina]] <ref name="note3"/>.
Scored for solo voice with piano accompaniment (2 hands). However, 'Rise Up, Rise Up, O Sun' (No. 32) and 'My Mountains' (No. 65) have parts for two voices, while 'The Little Grey Dove' (No. 37) has parts for chorus and soloist.


==Movements and Duration==
Two works by the composer are dedicated to this little dog: a letter in verse to [[Mariya Golovina]] and the humorous song "Base dog, shameless Bishka..." («Собака ннзкая, бессовестная Бишка...»)" .
For the titles (and incipits) of all 65 songs, see ''[[The Tchaikovsky Handbook]]'', volume 1 (2002), p. 371-377.


==History==
The song is written for low voice and piano, with the tempo marking 'Pochissimo con passion, ma non tanto' (F major, 21 bars). The autograph is preserved in the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art in [[Moscow]] (ф. 1949) <ref name="note4"/>.
No information survives concerning the date or origins of this work. [[Vasily Prokunin]] was a student of Tchaikovsky's at the [[Moscow]] Conservatory, and it might be supposed that he asked his professor for help in editing and reworking the songs. Nos. 1 to 33 were completed by 27 May/8 June 1872, and Nos. 34 to 65 were completed by 15/27 May 1873 <ref name="note1"/>.
 
==Publication==
The songs were published in two parts by [[Pyotr Jurgenson]]: Part 1 (songs 1–33) in 1872, and part 2 (songs 34–65) in 1873.
 
All 65 songs were published in {{bibx|1949/34|volume 61}} of Tchaikovsky's ''[[Complete Collected Works]]'' (1949), edited by Sofya Ziv.
 
==Autographs==
A manuscript score of the songs in [[Prokunin]]'s collection, evidently made by [[Karl Albrecht]], containing Tchaikovsky's notes and corrections, is now preserved in the {{RUS-Mcm}} in [[Moscow]] {{TOW2|russkie-narodnye-pesni-dlya-odnogo-golosa-s-fortepiano-sobrannye-i-perelozhennye-v-p-prokuninym-pod-redakciey-professora-p-i-chaykovskogo|(ф. 88, No. 150)}}.
 
==Related Works==
* No. 2. 'I Was Strolling Along the Riverbank' was used in the second version of Lel's Third Song (Act III, No. 14a) from ''[[The Snow Maiden]]'' (1873)
* No. 5. 'Do Not Fly, Falcon' was used in the Russian Dance (Act III, No. 16) from the opera ''[[Vakula the Smith]]'' (1874), and in the Russian Dance (Act III, No. 22a) from ''[[Cherevichki]]''.
* No. 6. 'At the Prince's' was used in the Carnival Procession (Prologue, No. 4) from ''[[The Snow Maiden]]''.
* No. 19. 'Long Time Said, Long Time Spoken' was used in the Carnival Procession (Prologue, No. 4) and the Melodrama (Prologue, No. 5a) from ''[[The Snow Maiden]]''.
* No. 23. 'By the Gates' was used in Lel's Second Song (Act I, No. 7) from ''[[The Snow Maiden]]''.
* No. 25. 'Where Have You Been?' was used in Brusila's Song (Act III, No. 15) from ''[[The Snow Maiden]]''.
* No. 31. 'The Grey Eagle Flew up to the Mountains' was used in the Dances of Birds (Act I, No. 2) from ''[[The Snow Maiden]]''.
* No. 39. A variant of 'A Young Maiden Sowing Flowers' was used in the finale of the [[Symphony No. 1]] (1866).
* No. 44. 'Rise Up, Rise Up, O Sun' was also used as No. 15 in Tchaikovsky's own collection of ''[[Fifty Russian Folksongs]]'' (1868).
 
==Bibliography==
* Cui, C. A. {{bib|1873/4|Музыкальная библиография}} (1873)
* Ziv, S. (editor). {{bib|1949/34}} (1949)
 
==External Links==
* {{imslpscore|65_Russian_Folk_Songs_(Prokunin,_Vasily)|65 Russian Folk Songs (Prokunin, Vasily)}}


==Notes and References==
==Notes and References==
<references>
<references>
<ref name="note1">The dates on which each set was approved for publication by the censor.</ref>
<ref name="note1">Entitled "The Underdog" in [[TH]], and "Base Dog, Shameless Biška" in [[ČW]].</ref>
<ref name="note2">The established English translation as "The Underdog" fails to convey the intended humour of an exasperated dog owner upbraiding his unruly hound.</ref>
<ref name="note3">{{bib|1894/26|Из воспоминаний вдовы П. И. Чайковского}} (1894). Quoted in {{bib|1994/148|Антонина Чайковская. История забытой жизни}} (1994), p. 269; {{bib|1999/93|Tchaikovsky through Others' Eyes}} (1999), p. 113–121. See also {{bib|1980/24|Воспоминания о П. И. Чайковском}} (1980), p. 364, note 7.</ref>
<ref name="note4">Published in facsimile in {{bib|1961/38|П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений ; том VI}} (1961), p. 48/49, and transcribed in {{bibx|2009/4|Неизвестный Чайковский}} (2009), p. 201.</ref>
</references>
</references>
[[Category:Editions]]
[[Category:Musical Jokes]]
[[Category:Album Leaves]]
[[Category:Songs]]
[[Category:Songs]]

Revision as of 20:48, 19 February 2019

Base Dog, Shameless Bishka (Собака низкая, бессовестная Бишка) (TH 195 ; ČW 319a) [1], also known as The Underdog [2] is one of two musical jokes (the other being The Siskin) written by Tchaikovsky in September 1876 an album belonging to his friend Mariya Golovina.

Tchaikovsky's wife Antonina, in her memoirs of the composer, recalled how some years before their marriage he had once come across a gang of boys who were about to drown a stray dog in the Moskva River. He had immediately taken out his purse and offered them all the money he had in return for the dog. Tchaikovsky took the latter home and gave her the name Bishka (probably an amalgamation of two Russian interjections: бишь + ка, which may be roughly translated as "now, come on!"). "She turned out to be a very intelligent dog and was terribly attached to him," recalled Antonina. When Tchaikovsky left Moscow in the autumn of 1877 after the crisis of his marriage, Bishka was entrusted to the care of Mariya Golovina [3].

Two works by the composer are dedicated to this little dog: a letter in verse to Mariya Golovina and the humorous song "Base dog, shameless Bishka..." («Собака ннзкая, бессовестная Бишка...»)" .

The song is written for low voice and piano, with the tempo marking 'Pochissimo con passion, ma non tanto' (F major, 21 bars). The autograph is preserved in the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art in Moscow (ф. 1949) [4].

Notes and References

  1. Entitled "The Underdog" in TH, and "Base Dog, Shameless Biška" in ČW.
  2. The established English translation as "The Underdog" fails to convey the intended humour of an exasperated dog owner upbraiding his unruly hound.
  3. Из воспоминаний вдовы П. И. Чайковского (1894). Quoted in Антонина Чайковская. История забытой жизни (1994), p. 269; Tchaikovsky through others' eyes (1999), p. 113–121. See also Воспоминания о П. И. Чайковском (1980), p. 364, note 7.
  4. Published in facsimile in П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений, том VI (1961), p. 48/49, and transcribed in Неизвестный Чайковский (2009), p. 201.