Two Songs (1873)

Tchaikovsky Research
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Around September 1873 Tchaikovsky wrote Two Songs (TH 96 ; ČW 224-225), apparently at the request of Nikolay Bernard, editor of the Saint Petersburg journal Nuvellist (Нувеллиси).

Instrumentation

Both songs are scored for medium voice with piano accompaniment.

Movements and Duration

  1. Take My Heart Away (Уноси моё сердце)
    Allegro moderato (A minor, 66 bars).
  2. Blue Eyes of Spring (Глазки весны голубые)
    Allegro grazioso, ma non tanto (A major, 103 bars).

Texts

1. Afanasy Fet (1820–1892), from his poem To a Songstress (Певице) (1857):

Уноси моё сердце в звенящую даль,
  Где как месяц за рощей печаль;
В этих звуках на жаркие слёзы твои
  Кротко светит улыбка любви.

О дитя! как легко средь незримых зыбей
  Доверяться мне песне твоей!
Выше, выше плыву серебристым путём,
  Будто шаткая тень за крылом.

Вдалеке замирает твой голос, горя,
  Словно за морем ночью заря,
И откуда-то друг, я понять не могу,
  Грянет звонкий прилив жемчугу.

Уноси ж моё сердце в звенящую даль,
  Где кротка, как улыбка, печаль,
И всё выше помчусь серебристым путём
  Я, как шаткая тень за крылом.

2. Mikhail Mikhaylov (1829–1865), from an untitled poem in the cycle New Spring (Новая весна) (1857) — a translation from the German of Die blauen Frühlingsaugen (1831) by Heinrich Heine (1797–1856):

Глазки весны голубые
Кротко глядят из травы.
Любы вы милой, фиалки, —
С полем расстанетесь вы.

Рву я цветы и мечтаю...
В роще поют соловьи...
Боже мой, кто рассказал им
И думы, и грёзы мои?
И думы, и грёзы мои?

Громко они распевают
Всё, что на сердце таю...
Целая роща узнала
Нежную тайну мою,
Целая роща узнала
Нежную тайну мою,
Нежную тайну мою.

Some of the words of the poem Blue Eyes of Spring (No. 2) were altered by Tchaikovsky.

Composition

The origins of these two romances are unknown, but they had been completed by 29 September/11 October 1873, which was the date they were approved for publication in the Saint Petersburg journal Nuvellist (Нувеллист), and it is likely that they had been commissioned by Nuvellist's editor Nikolay Bernard.

Publication

Nos. 1 and 2 were first published in the November 1873 and January 1874 editions respectively of the journal Nuvellist [1]. In January 1876, they were published independently by Nikolay Bernard with other works, and reprinted by Pyotr Jurgenson in October 1885 [2].

Both songs were included in volume 44 of Tchaikovsky's Complete Collected Works (1940), edited by Ivan Shishov and Nikolay Shemanin.

Autographs

The whereabouts of Tchaikovsky's manuscript scores of the songs are unknown.

Recordings

See: Discography

Related Works

See Two Songs (1875).

External Links

Notes and References

  1. Both songs were passed by the censor on 29 September/11 October 1873.
  2. Both songs were passed by the censor on 2/14 September 1885.