Dargomyzhsky created a vocal style that lies between cantilena and recitative, a special melodic or melodic recitative, elastic enough to be in constant accordance with speech, and at the same time rich in characteristic melodic bends, spiritualizing this speech, bringing into it a new, missing emotional element.
(2(14).2.1813, Troitskoye village, now Belevsky district, Tula region, -
5(17).1.1869, St. Petersburg)
Dargomyzhsky, Alexander Sergeevich - famous Russian composer. Born on February 14, 1813 in the village of Dargomyzhe, Belevsky district, Tula province. Died on January 17, 1869 in St. Petersburg. His father, Sergei Nikolaevich, served in the Ministry of Finance, in a commercial bank.
Dargomyzhsky's mother, née Princess Maria Borisovna Kozlovskaya, married against the will of her parents.
She was well educated; her poems were published in almanacs and magazines. Some poems she wrote for her children, mostly of an edifying nature, were included in the collection: “A Gift to My Daughter.”
One of Dargomyzhsky’s brothers played the violin beautifully, participating in a chamber ensemble at home evenings; one of the sisters played the harp well and composed romances.
Until the age of five, Dargomyzhsky did not speak at all, and his late-formed voice remained forever squeaky and hoarse, which did not prevent him, however, from subsequently moving him to tears with the expressiveness and artistry of his vocal performance at intimate gatherings.
Dargomyzhsky received his education at home, but thoroughly; he knew the French language and French literature very well.
While playing in the puppet theater, the boy composed small vaudeville plays for him, and at the age of six he began to learn to play the piano.
His teacher, Adrian Danilevsky, not only did not encourage his student’s desire to compose from the age of 11, but destroyed his compositional experiments.
His piano training ended with Schoberlechner, a student of Hummel. Dargomyzhsky also studied singing with Tseybikh, who gave him information about intervals, and violin playing with P.G. Vorontsov, participating in a quartet ensemble from the age of 14.
There was no real system in Dargomyzhsky’s musical education, and he owed his theoretical knowledge mainly to himself.
His earliest works - rondos, variations for piano, romances to words by Zhukovsky and Pushkin - are not found in his papers, but during his lifetime "Contredanse nouvelle" and "Variations" for piano were published, written: the first - in 1824, the second - in 1827 - 1828. In the 1830s, Dargomyzhsky was known in the musical circles of St. Petersburg as a “strong pianist”, and also as the author of several piano pieces of brilliant salon style and romances: “Oh, ma charmante”, “The Virgin and the Rose”, “I repent, uncle”, "You're pretty" and others, not much different from the style of romances by Verstovsky, Alyabyev and Varlamov, with an admixture French influence.
Meeting M.I. Glinka, who gave Dargomyzhsky the theoretical manuscripts he had brought from Berlin from Professor Dehn, contributed to the expansion of his knowledge in the field of harmony and counterpoint; At the same time, he began to study orchestration.
Having appreciated Glinka’s talent, Dargomyzhsky chose, however, for his first opera “Esmeralda” a French libretto compiled by Victor Hugo from his novel “Notre Dame de Paris” and only after the end of the opera (in 1839) did he translate it into Russian.
"Esmeralda", which remains unpublished (handwritten score, keyboard, Dargomyzhsky's autograph, stored in the central music library Imperial theaters In Petersburg; a lithographed copy of the 1st act was also found in Dargomyzhsky’s scores) - a weak, imperfect work that cannot be compared with “A Life for the Tsar.”
But Dargomyzhsky’s characteristics were already revealed in him: drama and the desire for expressiveness of the vocal style, influenced by familiarity with the works of Megul, Aubert and Cherubini. "Esmeralda" was staged only in 1847 in Moscow and in 1851 in St. Petersburg. “It was these eight years of vain waiting, even in the most intense years of my life, that laid a heavy burden on my entire artistic activity,” writes Dargomyzhsky. Until 1843, Dargomyzhsky served, first in control of the Ministry of the Court, then in the Department of the State Treasury; then he devoted himself entirely to music.
The failure with "Esmeralda" suspended operatic creativity Dargomyzhsky; he began composing romances, which, together with earlier ones, were published (30 romances) in 1844 and brought him honorable fame.
In 1844 Dargomyzhsky visited Germany, Paris, Brussels and Vienna. Personal acquaintance with Auber, Meyerbeer and other European musicians influenced his further development.
He became close friends with Halévy and Fetis, who testifies that Dargomyzhsky consulted with him regarding his works, including “Esmeralda” (“Biographie universelle des musiciens”, St. Petersburg, X, 1861). Having left as an adherent of everything French, Dargomyzhsky returned to St. Petersburg much more than before, a champion of everything Russian (as happened with Glinka).
Reviews from the foreign press regarding the performance of Dargomyzhsky's works at private meetings in Vienna, Paris and Brussels contributed to some change in the attitude of the theater management towards Dargomyzhsky. In the 1840s, he wrote a large cantata with choirs based on Pushkin's text "The Triumph of Bacchus."
It was performed at a concert of the management at the Bolshoi Theater in St. Petersburg in 1846, but the author was refused to stage it as an opera, completed and orchestrated in 1848 (see "Autobiography"), and only much later (in 1867) it was staged in Moscow.
This opera, like the first, is weak in music and not typical for Dargomyzhsky. Distressed by the refusal to stage Bacchus, Dargomyzhsky again closed himself in a close circle of his admirers and admirers, continuing to compose small vocal ensembles(duets, trios, quartets) and romances, which were published at the same time and became popular.
At the same time, he took up teaching singing. The number of his students and especially female students (he gave lessons for free) is enormous. L.N. stood out. Belenitsyn (after her husband Karmalina; the most interesting letters to her from Dargomyzhsky were published), M.V. Shilovskaya, Bilibina, Barteneva, Girs, Pavlova, Princess Manvelova, A.N. Purholt (after her husband Molas).
The sympathy and worship of women, especially singers, always inspired and encouraged Dargomyzhsky, and he used to say, half-jokingly: “If there were no singers in the world, it would not be worth being a composer.” Already in 1843, Dargomyzhsky conceived a third opera, “The Mermaid,” based on Pushkin’s text, but the composition progressed extremely slowly, and even the approval of friends did not speed up the progress of the work; Meanwhile, the duet of the prince and Natasha, performed by Dargomyzhsky and Karmalina, brought tears to Glinka’s eyes.
A new impetus to Dargomyzhsky’s work was given by the resounding success of a grandiose concert of his works, staged in St. Petersburg in the hall of the Assembly of the Nobility on April 9, 1853, according to the thoughts of Prince V.F. Odoevsky and A.N. Karamzin. Taking up “Rusalka” again, Dargomyzhsky completed it in 1855 and arranged it into four hands (the unpublished arrangement is kept in the Imperial Public Library). In Rusalka, Dargomyzhsky consciously cultivated the Russian musical style created by Glinka.
What is new in “Rusalka” is its drama, comedy (the figure of the matchmaker) and bright recitatives, in which Dargomyzhsky was ahead of Glinka. But the vocal style of "Rusalka" is far from consistent; Along with truthful, expressive recitatives there are conventional cantilenas (Italianisms), rounded arias, duets and ensembles that do not always fit with the requirements of drama.
The weak point of "Rusalka" is also its technical orchestration, which cannot be compared with the rich orchestral colors of "Ruslana", and from an artistic point of view - the entire fantastic part is rather pale. The first performance of "The Mermaid" in 1856 (May 4) at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, with an unsatisfactory production, with old scenery, inappropriate costumes, careless execution, inappropriate notes, under the direction of K. Lyadov, who did not like Dargomyzhsky, was not successful .
The opera lasted only 26 performances until 1861, but renewed in 1865 with Platonova and Komissarzhevsky, it was a huge success and has since become a repertoire and one of the most beloved Russian operas. "Rusalka" was staged for the first time in Moscow in 1858. The initial failure of "Rusalka" had a depressing effect on Dargomyzhsky; according to the story of his friend, V.P. Engelhardt, he intended to burn the scores of “Esmeralda” and “Rusalka”, and only the formal refusal of the management to hand over these scores to the author, supposedly for correction, saved them from destruction.
The last period of Dargomyzhsky’s work, the most original and significant, can be called reformist. Its beginning, already rooted in the recitatives of "The Mermaid", is marked by the appearance of a number of original vocal plays, distinguished either by their comedy - or, rather, by Gogol's humor, laughter through tears ("Titular Councilor", 1859), or by their drama ("The Old Corporal", 1858; "Paladin", 1859), sometimes with subtle irony ("The Worm", based on the text by Beranger-Kurochkin, 1858), sometimes with the burning feeling of a rejected woman ("We parted proudly", "I don't care", 1859) and always remarkable for the strength and truth of vocal expressiveness.
These vocal pieces were a new step forward in the history of Russian romance after Glinka and served as models for the vocal masterpieces of Mussorgsky, who wrote a dedication to Dargomyzhsky, “the great teacher of musical truth,” on one of them. Dargomyzhsky's comic streak also manifested itself in the field of orchestral composition. His orchestral fantasies date back to the same period: “Little Russian Cossack”, inspired by Glinka’s “Kamarinskaya”, and completely independent ones: “Baba Yaga, or From the Volga nach Riga” and “Chukhon Fantasy”.
The last two, originally conceived, are also interesting in terms of orchestral techniques, showing that Dargomyzhsky had taste and imagination in combining the colors of the orchestra. Dargomyzhsky's acquaintance with composers in the mid-1850s " Balakirevsky circle"was beneficial for both parties.
Dargomyzhsky's new vocal verse influenced the development of the vocal style of young composers, which especially affected the work of Cui and Mussorgsky, who, like Balakirev, met Dargomyzhsky earlier than the others. Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin were especially influenced by Dargomyzhsky’s new operatic techniques, which were the practical implementation of the thesis he expressed in a letter (1857) to Karmalina: “I want the sound to directly express the word; I want the truth.” An opera composer by vocation, Dargomyzhsky, despite the failures with the state directorate, could not withstand inaction for long.
In the early 1860s, he began to write the magical-comic opera "Rogdana", but wrote only five numbers, two solo ("Duetino of Rogdana and Ratobor" and "Comic Song") and three choral (choir of dervishes to the words of Pushkin "Rise up" , fearful", of a stern oriental character and two women's choirs: "Quietly flow the streams" and "How the luminous morning star appears"; all of them were performed for the first time in concerts of the Free Music School 1866 - 1867). Somewhat later, he conceived the opera “Mazepa”, based on the plot of “Poltava” by Pushkin, but, having written a duet between Orlik and Kochubey (“You are here again, despicable man”), he settled on it.
There was not enough determination to expend energy on big essay, whose fate seemed precarious. Traveling abroad in 1864-65 contributed to the rise of his spirit and strength, as it was very successful artistically: in Brussels, bandmaster Hansens appreciated Dargomyzhsky’s talent and contributed to the performance of his orchestral works in concerts (overtures to “The Mermaid” and “Cossack Woman” "), which was a huge success. But the main impetus for the extraordinary awakening of creativity was given to Dargomyzhsky by his new young comrades, whose talents he quickly appreciated. The question of operatic forms then became another issue.
Serov studied it, intending to become an opera composer and being carried away by the ideas of Wagner's opera reform. Members of the Balakirev circle, especially Cui, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, also worked on it, solving it independently, based largely on the features of Dargomyzhsky’s new vocal style. When composing his “William Ratcliffe,” Cui immediately introduced Dargomyzhsky to what he had written. They introduced Dargomyzhsky to their new vocal compositions also Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. Their energy was communicated to Dargomyzhsky himself; he decided to boldly embark on the path of operatic reform and began (as he put it) his swan song, setting about composing “The Stone Guest” with extraordinary zeal, without changing a single line of Pushkin’s text and without adding a single word to it.
Dargomyzhsky’s illness (aneurysm and hernia) did not stop his creativity; V last weeks he wrote while lying in bed with a pencil. Young friends, gathering at the patient’s place, performed scene after scene of the opera as it was created and with their enthusiasm gave the fading composer new strength. Within a few months the opera was almost finished; death prevented the completion of music only for the last seventeen verses. According to Dargomyzhsky’s will, he completed Cui’s “The Stone Guest”; he also wrote the introduction to the opera, borrowing thematic material from it, and orchestrated the opera by Rimsky-Korsakov. Through the efforts of friends, "The Stone Guest" was staged in St. Petersburg on Mariinsky stage February 16, 1872 and resumed in 1876, but could not stay in the repertoire and is still far from being appreciated.
However, the significance of “The Stone Guest,” which logically completes Dargomyzhsky’s reform ideas, is undeniable. In The Stone Guest, Dargomyzhsky, like Wagner, strives to achieve a synthesis of drama and music, subordinating the music to the text. The operatic forms of The Stone Guest are so flexible that the music flows continuously, without any repetitions not caused by the meaning of the text. This was achieved by abandoning the symmetrical forms of arias, duets and other rounded ensembles, and at the same time by abandoning the solid cantilena, as it is not flexible enough to express the rapidly changing shades of speech. But here the paths of Wagner and Dargomyzhsky diverge. Wagner center of gravity of musical expression psychology characters transferred to the orchestra, and his vocal parts ended up in the background.
Dargomyzhsky concentrated musical expressiveness on vocal parts, finding it more appropriate for the characters themselves to speak about themselves. The operatic links in Wagner's continuously flowing music are leitmotifs, symbols of persons, objects, and ideas. The operatic style of The Stone Guest is devoid of leitmotifs; Nevertheless, Dargomyzhsky’s characteristics of the characters are vivid and strictly maintained. The words put into their mouths are different, but homogeneous for everyone. Denying the solid cantilena, Dargomyzhsky also rejected the ordinary, so-called “dry” recitative, little expressive and devoid of purely musical beauty. He created a vocal style that lies between cantilena and recitative, a special melodic or melodic recitative, elastic enough to be in constant accordance with speech, and at the same time rich in characteristic melodic bends, spiritualizing this speech, bringing into it a new, missing emotional element.
Dargomyzhsky’s merit lies in this vocal style, which fully corresponds to the peculiarities of the Russian language. The operatic forms of The Stone Guest, caused by the properties of the libretto and text, which did not allow the widespread use of choirs, vocal ensembles, or independent performances by the orchestra, cannot, of course, be considered immutable models for any opera. Artistic tasks allow more than one or two solutions. But the solution to Dargomyzhsky’s opera problem is so characteristic that it will not be forgotten in the history of opera. Dargomyzhsky had not only Russian followers, but also foreign ones.
Gounod intended to write an opera based on The Stone Guest; Debussy, in his opera Pelléas et Mélisande, implemented the principles of Dargomyzhsky's operatic reform. - Dargomyzhsky’s social and musical activities began only shortly before his death: from 1860 he was a member of the committee for reviewing compositions submitted to competitions of the Imperial Russian Musical Society, and from 1867 he was elected director of the St. Petersburg Branch of the Society. Most of Dargomyzhsky's works were published by P. Jurgenson, Gutheil and V. Bessel. Operas and orchestral works are named above. Dargomyzhsky wrote few piano pieces (about 11), and all of them (except for the “Slavic Tarantella”, op. in 1865) belong to early period his creativity.
Dargomyzhsky is especially prolific in the field of small vocal pieces for one voice (over 90); He wrote 17 more duets, 6 ensembles (for 3 and 4 voices) and “Petersburg Serenades” - choirs for different voices (12 ©). - See letters from Dargomyzhsky ("Artist", 1894); I. Karzukhin, biography, with indexes of works and literature about Dargomyzhsky ("Artist", 1894); S. Bazurov "Dargomyzhsky" (1894); N. Findeizen "Dargomyzhsky"; L. Karmalina "Memoirs" ("Russian Antiquity", 1875); A. Serov, 10 articles about “Rusalka” (from a collection of critical works); C. Cui "La musique en Russie"; V. Stasov “Our music for the last 25 years” (in collected works).
G. Timofeev
Russian Civilization
Alexander Dargomyzhsky was born on February 2 (new art. February 14), 1813. The researcher found that Alexander Dargomyzhsky was born in the village of Voskresenskoye (now Arkhangelskoye) in the Tula province. His father, Sergei Nikolaevich, was illegitimate son wealthy landowner Alexei Petrovich Ladyzhensky, who owned an estate in Chernsky district. Soon after his birth, Sergei was fostered and eventually adopted by Colonel Nikolai Ivanovich Boucharov, who brought him to his Dargomyzhka estate in the Tula province. As a result, the son of A.P. Ladyzhensky became Sergei Nikolaevich Dargomyzhsky (after the name of the estate of his stepfather N.I. Boucharov). Such a change of surname was required for admission to the Noble boarding school at Moscow University. Mother, née Princess Maria Borisovna Kozlovskaya, sister of the famous wit Pyotr Kozlovsky, married against the will of her parents.
Until the age of five, the boy did not speak; his late-formed voice remained forever high and slightly hoarse, which did not prevent him, however, from subsequently moving him to tears with the expressiveness and artistry of his vocal performance. In 1817, the family moved to St. Petersburg, where Dargomyzhsky’s father received a position as head of the chancellery in a commercial bank, and he himself began to receive musical education. His first piano teacher was Louise Wolgeborn, then he began studying with Adrian Danilevsky. Finally, for three years Dargomyzhsky’s teacher was Franz Schoberlechner. Having achieved a certain skill, Dargomyzhsky began performing as a pianist on charity concerts and in private collections. By that time, he had already written a number of piano works, romances and other works, some of which were published.
In the fall of 1827, Dargomyzhsky, following in his father’s footsteps, entered the public service and thanks to hard work and conscientious attitude to business, he quickly began to advance in career ladder. In the spring of 1835, he met Mikhail Glinka, with whom he played four-hand piano. Having attended the rehearsals of Glinka’s opera “A Life for the Tsar” that was being prepared for production, Dargomyzhsky decided to write a major stage work on his own. On the advice of Vasily Zhukovsky, the composer turned to the author’s work, which in the late 1830s was very popular in Russia - Hugo’s Notre Dame de Paris. Dargomyzhsky used a French libretto written by Hugo himself for Louise Bertin, whose opera Esmeralda had been staged shortly before. By 1841, Dargomyzhsky completed the orchestration and translation of the opera, for which he also took the title “Esmeralda,” and handed over the score to the directorate of the Imperial Theaters. The opera, written in the spirit of French composers, waited for its premiere for several years, since Italian productions were much more popular with the public. Despite the good dramatic and musical design of Esmeralda, this opera left the stage some time after the premiere and was almost never staged in the future. In his autobiography published in the newspaper “Music and Theater”, published by A. N. Serov in 1867, Dargomyzhsky wrote:
Esmeralda stayed in my briefcase for eight whole years. It was these eight years of vain waiting, even during the most intense years of my life, that laid a heavy burden on my entire artistic activity.
Melancholy waltz.
ExperiencesDargomyzhsky’s concerns about the failure of Esmeralda were further aggravated by the growing popularity of Glinka’s works. The composer begins to give singing lessons (his students were exclusively women, and he did not charge them any fees) and writes a number of romances for voice and piano, some of which were published and became very popular. In 1843, Dargomyzhsky retired and soon went abroad.
He met the leading European composers of the time. Returning to Russia in 1845, the composer became interested in studying Russian. musical folklore, elements of which were clearly manifested in romances and songs written during this period: “Darling Maiden”, “Fever”, “Miller”, as well as in the opera “Rusalka”, which the composer began to write
in 1848.“Rusalka” occupies a special place in the composer’s work, written on the plot of the tragedy of the same name in the verses of A. S. Pushkin. The premiere of "Rusalka" took place in May 1856 in St. Petersburg. The largest Russian musical critic At that time, Alexander Serov responded to it with a large-scale positive review.
Fantasy "Baba Yaga". Scherzo.
In 1859Dargomyzhsky is elected to the leadership of the newly founded Russian musical society, he meets a group of young composers, the central figure among whom was Mily Balakirev (this group would later become the “Mighty Handful”). Dargomyzhsky is planning to write new opera. The composer's choice stops at the third of Pushkin's "Little Tragedies" - "The Stone Guest". Work on the opera, however, is proceeding rather slowly due to the creative crisis that began at Dargomyzhsky, associated with the withdrawal of “Mermaids” from the theater’s repertoire and the disdainful attitude of younger musicians. The composer again travels to Europe, where his orchestral play “Cossack”, as well as fragments from “Rusalka”, are successfully performed. Franz Liszt speaks favorably of Dargomyzhsky’s work.
"Bolero"
Returning to Russia, inspired by the success of his compositions abroad, Dargomyzhsky took up the composition of “The Stone Guest” with renewed vigor. The language he chose for this opera - built almost entirely on melodic recitatives with simple chord accompaniment - interested the composers " Mighty bunch" However, Dargomyzhsky’s appointment to the post of head of the Russian Musical Society and the failure of the opera “The Triumph of Bacchus,” which he wrote back in 1848 and had not seen the stage for almost twenty years, weakened the composer’s health, and on January 5, 1869 he died, leaving the opera unfinished. According to his will, The Stone Guest was completed by Cui and orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov.
Laura's first song from the opera "The Stone Guest"
Prince's aria from the opera "Rusalka"
Romance "I still love him madly"
Evgeny Nesterenko performs romances by A. Dargomyzhsky
1, Timofeev - "Ballad"
2. A.S. Pushkin - “I loved you”
3. M.Yu. Lermontov - I'm sad
Dargomyzhsky's innovation was not shared by his younger colleagues and was condescendingly considered an oversight. The harmonic vocabulary of the style of the late Dargomyzhsky, the individualized structure of consonances, their typical characteristics were, as in an ancient fresco recorded in later layers, “ennobled” beyond recognition by Rimsky-Korsakov’s edition, brought into line with the requirements of his taste, like Mussorgsky’s operas “Boris Godunov” and "Khovanshchina", also radically edited by Rimsky-Korsakov.
Dargomyzhsky is buried in the Necropolis of Art Masters of the Tikhvin Cemetery, not far from Glinka’s grave.
Opera "The Stone Guest".
Russian composer Alexander Sergeevich Dargomyzhsky born on February 2 (14), 1813 in the village of Troitsky, Belevsky district, Tula province in the ancient noble family. This is where he spent his early childhood years. His father, Sergei Nikolaevich, was a poor nobleman. Mother, Maria Borisovna Kozlovskaya, was born a princess. She was well educated; her poems were published in almanacs and magazines. Some of the poems she wrote for her children were included in the collection: “A Gift to My Daughter” (“Children’s Almanac”, St. Petersburg, 1827).
In 1817, the Dargomyzhsky family moved to St. Petersburg, where the future composer spent his childhood. Alexander did not speak at all until he was 5 years old, and his late-formed voice remained hoarse and squeaky forever, which, however, did not prevent him from subsequently moving him to tears with the artistry and expressiveness of his vocal performance.
Alexander Sergeevich never studied in any educational institution, but received a thorough home education, in which music occupied the main place. Creative skills he developed them at an early age. Music was his passion. In 1822, the boy began to be taught to play the violin, and later the piano. Already at the age of eleven, Dargomyzhsky preferred his own plays. Having completed his piano training with the once famous musician F. Schoberlechner, at the age of seventeen Dargomyzhsky became known to the St. Petersburg public as a virtuoso musician. In addition, he studied singing with B.L. Zeibich and violin playing by P.G. Vorontsov, participating in a quartet ensemble from the age of 14.
By the age of eighteen, Dargomyzhsky was the author of many works in various genres. His earliest works - rondos, variations for piano, romances to words by Zhukovsky and Pushkin - were not found in his papers, but were published during his lifetime in 1824-1828. In the 1830s, Dargomyzhsky was known in the musical circles of St. Petersburg as a “strong pianist”, and also as the author of several piano pieces of brilliant salon style and romances: "I repent, uncle", "The Virgin and the Rose", "Oh, ma charmante" and others, not much different from the style of romances by Verstovsky, Alyabyev and Varlamov, with an admixture of French influence. Many of musical works of the young composer were published.
In 1831, Dargomyzhsky entered the civil service in the Ministry of the Imperial Household. However, he does not forget about his music lessons. In 1834 he met M.I. Glinka. This acquaintance played a decisive role in the choice life path for Dargomyzhsky. It was Glinka who convinced him to seriously study theory and gave him theoretical manuscripts brought from Berlin from Professor Dehn, contributed to the expansion of knowledge in the field of harmony and counterpoint; At the same time, Dargomyzhsky began studying orchestration. Glinka's advice helped Dargomyzhsky master compositional technique. The works he wrote in the 1830s testify to his original implementation of Glinka’s musical traditions. In the 1830-40s, many romances and songs were written, among them a number of romances based on poems by A.S. Pushkin: "Wedding", "I loved you", "Vetrograd", "Night Marshmallow", "A tear", "Young Man and Maiden", “The fire of desire burns in the blood” who had big success from the public. In this regard, in 1843 they were issued by a separate collection.
In 1839, Dargomyzhsky wrote his first opera "Esmeralda". The opera turned out to be weak and imperfect. However, already in this work Dargomyzhsky’s features were noticeable: the desire for expressive vocal style, drama. “Esmeralda” was staged only in 1847 in Moscow and in 1851 in St. Petersburg. “It was these eight years of vain waiting, even in the most intense years of my life, that laid a heavy burden on my entire artistic activity,” writes Dargomyzhsky. Not very bright in music, “Esmeralda” could not stay on stage. This failure suspended Dargomyzhsky's operatic work. He began writing romances, which were published in 1844.
In 1844-1845, Dargomyzhsky made a long trip to European countries (Berlin, Brussels, Paris, Vienna), where he met J. Meyerbeer, J.F. Halevi and G. Donizetti. Personal acquaintance with European musicians influenced his further development. Having left as an adherent of everything French, Dargomyzhsky returned to St. Petersburg much more than before, a champion of everything Russian (as happened with Glinka).
After a trip abroad in 1844-1845, Dargomyzhsky lived in St. Petersburg. In the 1840s he wrote a large cantata with choruses to a text by Pushkin "The Triumph of Bacchus". It was performed at a concert by the management at the Bolshoi Theater in St. Petersburg in 1846, but the author was refused to stage it as an opera, and only much later (in 1867) was it staged in Moscow. Distressed by the refusal to stage Bacchus, Dargomyzhsky closed himself into a close circle of his admirers and admirers, continuing to compose small vocal ensembles (duets, trios, quartets) and romances, which were then published and became popular.
Dargomyzhsky was engaged in a lot of private musical and pedagogical activities, teaching singing. Among his students, L.N. stood out. Belenitsyna, M.V. Shilovskaya, Girs, Bilibina, Pavlova, Barteneva, A.N. Purgolt, Princess Manvelova.
In 1848, Dargomyzhsky began work on a lyric-dramatic opera "Mermaid", based on Pushkin’s text, and lasted 8 years. It is worth noting that he conceived this opera back in 1843, but the composition progressed extremely slowly. This work opened new page in the history of Russian music. She is distinguished by psychological depth and accuracy in depicting characters. For the first time in Russian opera, Dargomyzhsky embodied not only social conflicts of that time, but also internal contradictions human personality. P.I. Tchaikovsky highly appreciated this work, believing that among Russian operas it ranks first after the brilliant operas of Glinka. In April 1853, in the hall of the Assembly of the Nobility in St. Petersburg, Dargomyzhsky gives big concert his works were enthusiastically received by the public, and in 1855 “The Mermaid” was completed.
In May 1956, the first performance of “Rusalka” took place at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg under the direction of K. Lyadov, but it was not successful. The opera lasted only 26 performances until 1861, but renewed in 1865 with Platonova and Komissarzhevsky, it was a huge success and has since been considered one of the most beloved Russian operas. "Rusalka" was first staged in Moscow in 1858. In this opera, Dargomyzhsky consciously cultivated the Russian musical style created by Glinka. It is known that after the initial failure of “Rusalka” Dargomyzhsky fell into depression. According to the story of his friend, V.P. Engelhardt, he intended to burn the scores of “Esmeralda” and “Rusalka”, and only the formal refusal of the management to hand them over to the author, supposedly for correction, saved the scores from destruction. During these years, Dargomyzhsky wrote a lot of romances based on Pushkin's poems. But other genres also appeared: romances, lyrical monologues, comedy sketches.
The last period of Dargomyzhsky's work was perhaps the most significant and original. Its beginning is marked by the appearance of a number of original vocal pieces, distinguished by their comedy ( "Titular Advisor" 1859), drama ( "Old Corporal", 1858; "Paladin", 1859), subtle irony ( "Worm", based on the text by Beranger-Kurochkin, 1858) and always remarkable for the strength and truth of vocal expressiveness. These vocal pieces were a new step forward in the history of Russian romance after Glinka and served as models for the vocal masterpieces of Mussorgsky, who wrote a dedication to Dargomyzhsky, “the great teacher of musical truth,” on one of them. Dargomyzhsky's comic streak also manifested itself in the field of orchestral composition. His orchestral fantasies date back to the same period: “Baba Yaga, or From the Volga nach Riga” (1862), "Little Russian Cossack"(1864), inspired by Glinka’s “Kamarinskaya”, and "Fantasy on Finnish themes" ("Chukhon Fantasy", 1867).
Dargomyzhsky's new vocal verse influenced the development of the vocal style of young composers, which especially affected the work of Cui and Mussorgsky. Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin were especially influenced by Dargomyzhsky’s new operatic techniques, which were the practical implementation of the thesis he expressed in a letter (1857) to Karmalina: “I want the sound to directly express the word; I want the truth." These words of Dargomyzhsky became his creative credo.
In the early 1860s, Dargomyzhsky began writing a magical comic opera "Rogdana", but wrote only five issues. A little later he conceived an opera "Mazepa", based on the plot of Pushkin’s “Poltava”, but having written a duet between Orlik and Kochubey ( "Here you are again, you despicable man"), and stopped there. I lacked the determination to expend energy on a large essay, the fate of which I was not sure of.
In the period from 1864 to 1865, Dargomyzhsky made another trip abroad. He visited Warsaw, Leipzig, Brussels, Paris. Concert performances of his works evoke indescribable delight from the public. But the main impetus for the extraordinary awakening of creativity was given to Dargomyzhsky by his young comrades, the composers of the “Balakirev circle,” whose particular talents he quickly appreciated. Dargomyzhsky played a very important role in their formation, had a great influence on their further work (especially on M.P. Mussorgsky), becoming “ godfather"The Mighty Handful." Young composers, especially Cui, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, discussed ideas for operatic reform together. Their energy was communicated to Dargomyzhsky himself; he decided to boldly embark on the path of operatic reform and began (as he put it) his swan song, beginning with extraordinary zeal to compose his last opera - "The Stone Guest", setting an innovative task - to write an opera in full text literary work, without changing a single line of Pushkin’s text and without adding a single word to it.
All last years During his lifetime, Dargomyzhsky worked on “The Stone Guest”. There are no arias or choruses in this opera; it consists exclusively of talented and original melodic recitatives. Their goal is not only to reproduce psychological truth, but also to artistically reproduce human speech with all its nuances with the help of music. Dargomyzhsky’s illness (a rapidly developing aneurysm and hernia) did not stop his creativity. In recent weeks he wrote while lying in bed, using a pencil. Young friends, gathering at the patient’s place, performed scene after scene of the opera as it was created and with their enthusiasm gave the fading composer new strength. Dargomyzhsky did not stop working, the opera was almost finished. The death of the composer prevented the completion of music only for the last seventeen verses. According to Dargomyzhsky’s will, he completed Cui’s “The Stone Guest”; he also wrote the introduction to the opera, borrowing thematic material from it, and orchestrated the opera by Rimsky-Korsakov. Through the efforts of Dargomyzhsky’s young friends, members of the “Mighty Handful,” the opera “The Stone Guest” was staged in St. Petersburg on the Mariinsky stage on February 16, 1872 and resumed in 1876. “The Stone Guest” was received coldly and seemed too complex and dry. However, the significance of “The Stone Guest,” which logically completes Dargomyzhsky’s reform ideas, cannot be overestimated.
Alexander Sergeevich Dargomyzhsky is one of the founders of the Russian classical school of composition, the creator of lyrical opera drama. He died on January 5 (17), 1869 in St. Petersburg. He was buried at the Tikhvin Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Alexander Dargomyzhsky had a huge influence on the development of Russian musical art. Sitting down at the piano, this man was completely transformed. He delighted everyone with his passion for music and easy playing, although Everyday life he didn't produce vivid impression on people.
Music is precisely the area where he revealed his talent and then gave the world great works.
Childhood
Alexander was born in the village of Troitskaya in 1813 on 2/14.02. His family was large, besides him there were five more children. Little Sasha did not speak until he was five years old. His voice was late formed. Throughout his life, he remained tall with a slight hoarseness, which was not considered a disadvantage, but helped him touch the hearts of listeners while singing.
In 1817, the Dargomyzhskys moved to St. Petersburg. His father received a position in the chancellery there. And Alexander begins his musical education. Then he sat down at the piano for the first time. Passion to various types the arts were instilled in him at home. His mother, Maria Borisovna, was closely involved with literature. The atmosphere in the house was conducive to creativity. In the evenings the children staged performances, and in daytime studied humanitarian subjects: poetry and foreign languages, and history.
His first music teacher was Louise Wolgenborn. Having studied with him for two years, she gave him little knowledge in this field. Therefore, the teacher had to be changed. Since 1821, Alexander began classes with A.T. Danilevsky, already famous person in musical circles. After several sessions with him, Dargomyzhsky makes progress. In addition to regular lessons with a teacher, the boy tried to compose melodies himself.
Creative activity did not meet with approval from the strict teacher. He considered it indecent for a nobleman to devote time to writing. At the same time, the future composer got a second teacher - the serf Vorontsov, who taught the boy to play the violin. Unlike Danilevsky, he encouraged Alexander's creative experiments. To add concert practice to their son, his parents invited pianist Franz Schoberlechner. They studied from 1828 to 1831. During this time, Dargomyzhsky honed his skills to such an extent that already in the 30s he was famous throughout St. Petersburg. In addition to playing on musical instruments, Alexander had a passion for singing. He studied with vocal teacher Benedikt Zeibich, who became the composer's last teacher. After studying with him, Dargomyzhsky continued his musical path on his own.
Mature years
In 1827, Alexander began working in the office. He had significant success in his service. However, his life is still inextricably linked with music and writing. In 1835, M. Glinka became his close friend, with whom he played music. This composer’s opera, “A Life for the Tsar,” inspired Dargomyzhsky to write his own great work.
He took the plot for the opera from Hugo’s book “Lucretia Borgia”. However, he subsequently abandoned this drama and turned to Notre Dame. In 1841 he completed the work, calling it Esmeralda. However, the opera was not a success. At first it lay on the composer’s desk for 8 long years, and then, after a couple of years of productions at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, it was completely forgotten. The depressed musician, meanwhile, did not give up and continued to write romances and also give vocal lessons.
In 1843, he retired and went on a trip to Europe, where he met famous musicians. Two years later, he returns to his homeland and devotes all his time to studying folklore and writing works based on it. The main musical creation, in which the folklore elements, there was "Rusalka". It was shown on stage for the first time in 1856. She for a long time remained in the theater repertoire.
In society, he approached the circle of writers who adhered to democratic views. He even participates in the issue of Iskra magazine. In 1859, Alexander became one of the leaders of the Russian Musical Society. At the same time, he is looking for a new plot. Having rejected several of Pushkin’s “tragedies,” he settled on “The Stone Guest.” However, the creative crisis that arose in him, due to neglect of him young composers, interfered with the writing of music. Then Dargomyzhsky goes abroad again.
A big discovery for him was that his works were popular among foreigners. Inspired by this, he regains faith in himself and returns to Russia to finish his "Stone Guest". But numerous failures and lack of recognition have already taken their toll. The composer's health is undermined. Alexander does not have time to finish the opera and entrusts Cesar Cui with finishing it. Dargomyzhsky dies in 1869 on 5/17.02. at the age of 55 alone: wife and children famous composer did not have.
Creativity of Dargomyzhsky
Unusual musical solutions made Alexander an innovator in classical music. For example, his opera “Rusalka” was the first psychological drama of its kind with elements of folklore. And the famous “Stone Guest” was based on “melodic recitatives” set to music. The composer considered himself a writer of “dramatic truth” and tried to reproduce human singing in such a way that it reflected all kinds of emotional shades.
If early works musicians are full lyrical beginning, then in the later ones there is more and more drama and bright passion. In his works, he tried to depict extremely tense moments and conflicts of human life, filled with both positive and negative emotions. Calmness in music was alien to him.
Famous works of Dargomyzhsky
- "Esmeralda" (1841)
- "The Triumph of Bacchus" (1848)
- "The Mermaid" (1855)
- "Cossack" (1864)
- "The Stone Guest" (1869)
- After the abolition of serfdom, he was one of those landowners who set the peasants free.
- He was not married, but there were rumors in society about his romantic relationship with his student Lyubov Miller.
- I taught vocals to singers completely free of charge.
- He lived with his parents all his life.
- During his lifetime, there was not much interest in the composer's works. Only decades after his death, Dargomyzhsky’s music was appreciated by his descendants. As the founder of realism in music, he had a huge influence on musicians of subsequent generations.
Alexander Sergeevich Dargomyzhsky was born on February 2, 1813 in a small estate in the Tula province. The future composer's early childhood years were spent on his parents' estate in the Smolensk province. In 1817 the family moved to St. Petersburg. Despite their modest income, the parents gave their children a good home upbringing and education. In addition to general education subjects, children played various musical instruments and learned to sing. In addition, they composed poems and dramatic plays, which they themselves performed in front of the guests.
This cultural family was often visited by well-known writers and musicians of that time, and children took an active part in literary and musical evenings. Young Dargomyzhsky began playing the piano at the age of 6. And at the age of 10-11 I already tried to compose music. But his first creative attempts were suppressed by his teacher.
After 1825, his father’s position began to shake and Dargomyzhsky had to start serving in one of the departments of St. Petersburg. But official duties could not interfere with his main hobby - music. His studies with the outstanding musician F. Schoberlechner date back to this time. Since the early 30s, the young man has been visiting the best literary and art salons in St. Petersburg. And everywhere young Dargomyzhsky is a welcome guest. He plays the violin and piano a lot, participates in various ensembles, and performs his romances, the number of which is rapidly increasing. He is surrounded by interesting people of that time, he is accepted into their circle as an equal.
In 1834, Dargomyzhsky met with Glinka, who was working on his first opera. This acquaintance turned out to be decisive for Dargomyzhsky. If earlier he had not given serious importance to his musical hobbies, now in the person of Glinka he saw a living example of artistic achievement. Before him was a man not only talented, but also dedicated to his work. And the young composer reached out to him with all his soul. He gratefully accepted everything that his senior comrade could give him: his knowledge of composition, notes on music theory. Communication between friends also consisted of playing music together. They lost and dismantled best works musical classics.
In the mid-30s, Dargomyzhsky was already a famous composer, the author of many romances, songs, piano pieces, and the symphonic work “Bolero”. His early romances are still close to the type of salon lyrics or city songs that existed in the democratic strata of Russian society. Glinka's influence is also noticeable in them. But gradually Dargomyzhsky realizes the increasing need for a different self-expression. He has a special interest in the obvious contrasts of reality, the clash of its various sides. This was most clearly manifested in the romances “Night Marshmallow” and “I Loved You.”
At the end of the 30s, Dargomyzhsky decided to write an opera based on the plot of V. Hugo’s novel “The Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris" Work on the opera lasted 3 years and was completed in 1841. At the same time, the composer composed the cantata “The Triumph of Bacchus” based on Pushkin’s poems, which he soon converted into an opera.
Gradually, Dargomyzhsky became increasingly famous as a major, original musician. In the early 40s, he headed the St. Petersburg Society of Lovers of Instrumental and Vocal Music.
In 1844, Alexander Sergeevich went abroad, to major musical centers - Berlin, Brussels, Vienna, Paris. The main goal of the trip was Paris - a recognized center of European culture, where the young composer could satisfy his thirst for new artistic experiences. There he introduces his works to the European public. One of the best works of that time is the lyrical confession “Both Bored and Sad” based on Lermontov’s poems. This romance conveys a deep sad feeling. The trip abroad played a big role in the formation of Dargomyzhsky as an artist and citizen. Upon returning from abroad, Dargomyzhsky conceived the opera “Rusalka”. At the end of the 40s, the composer's work reached its greatest artistic maturity, especially in the field of romance.
At the end of the 50s, great social changes were brewing in Russia. And Dargomyzhsky did not remain aloof from public life, which had a noticeable influence on his work. His art intensifies elements of satire. They appear in the songs: “Worm”, “Old Corporal”, “Titular Councilor”. Their heroes are humiliated and insulted people.
In the mid-60s, the composer undertook a new trip abroad - it brought him great creative satisfaction. There, in European capitals, he heard his works, which were a great success. His music, as critics noted, contained “a lot of originality, great energy of thought, melody, sharp harmony...”. Some concerts, composed entirely of Dargomyzhsky's works, caused real triumph. It was a joy to return to his homeland - now, in his declining years, Dargomyzhsky was recognized by a wide mass of music lovers. These were new, democratic strata of the Russian intelligentsia, whose tastes were determined by their love for everything Russian and national. Interest in the composer's work instilled new hopes in him and awakened new ideas. The best of these plans turned out to be the opera “The Stone Guest”. Written to the text of one of Pushkin’s “little tragedies,” this opera represented an unusually bold creative search. It is all written in recitative, there is not a single aria and only two songs - like islands among recitative monologues and ensembles. Dargomyzhsky did not finish the opera “The Stone Guest”. Anticipating his imminent death, the composer instructed his young friends Ts.A. Cui and N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov to finish it. They completed it and then staged it in 1872, after the composer’s death.
The role of Dargomyzhsky in the history of Russian music is very great. Continuing the establishment of the ideas of nationality and realism in Russian music, begun by Glinka, with his work he anticipated the achievement of subsequent generations of Russian composers of the 19th century - members of the “Mighty Handful” and P.I. Tchaikovsky.
The main works of A.S. Dargomyzhsky:
Operas:
- "Esmeralda". Opera in four acts to its own libretto based on Victor Hugo's novel Notre-Dame de Paris. Written in 1838-1841. First production: Moscow, Bolshoi Theater, December 5 (17), 1847;
- “The Triumph of Bacchus.” Opera-ballet based on Pushkin's poem of the same name. Written in 1843-1848. First production: Moscow, Bolshoi Theater, January 11 (23), 1867;
- “Mermaid”. An opera in four acts to its own libretto based on Pushkin's unfinished play of the same name. Written in 1848-1855. First production: St. Petersburg, May 4(16), 1856;
- “The Stone Guest.” An opera in three acts based on the text of Pushkin’s “Little Tragedy” of the same name. Written in 1866-1869, completed by C. A. Cui, orchestrated by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. First production: St. Petersburg, Mariinsky Theater, February 16 (28), 1872;
- “Mazeppa”. Sketches, 1860;
- “Rogdana”. Fragments, 1860-1867.
Works for orchestra:
- “Bolero”. Late 1830s;
- “Baba Yaga” (“From the Volga to Riga”). Completed in 1862, first performed in 1870;
- “Cossack”. Fantasy. 1864;
- “Chukhon fantasy.” Written in 1863-1867, first performed in 1869.
Chamber vocal works:
Songs and romances for one voice and piano to poems by Russian and foreign poets: “Old Corporal” (words by V. Kurochkin), “Paladin” (words by L. Uland translated by V. Zhukovsky), “Worm” (words by P. Beranger in translation by V. Kurochkin), “Titular Advisor” (words by P. Weinberg), “I loved you...” (words by A. S. Pushkin), “I’m sad” (words by M. Yu. Lermontov), “I have passed sixteen years "(words by A. Delvig) and others based on words by Koltsov, Kurochkin, Pushkin, Lermontov and other poets, including two insert romances by Laura from the opera “The Stone Guest”.
Works for piano:
Five plays (1820s): March, Contrance, “Melancholic Waltz”, Waltz, “Cossack”;
- “Brilliant Waltz.” Around 1830;
Variations on a Russian theme. Early 1830s;
- “Esmeralda's Dreams.” Fantasy. 1838;
Two mazurkas. Late 1830s;
Polka. 1844;
Scherzo. 1844;
- “Tobacco Waltz.” 1845;
- "Fierceness and composure." Scherzo. 1847;
Fantasia on themes from Glinka’s opera “A Life for the Tsar” (mid-1850s);
Slavic tarantella (four hands, 1865);
Arrangements of symphonic fragments of the opera “Esmeralda” and others.
Opera "Rusalka"
Characters:
Melnik (bass);
Natasha (soprano);
Prince (tenor);
Princess (mezzo-soprano);
Olga (soprano);
Swat (baritone);
Hunter (baritone);
Lead singer (tenor);
The Little Mermaid (without singing).
History of creation:
The idea for “Rusalka” based on the plot of Pushkin’s poem (1829-1832) arose from Dargomyzhsky in the late 1840s. The first musical sketches date back to 1848. In the spring of 1855 the opera was completed. A year later, on May 4 (16), 1856, the premiere took place in St. Petersburg on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater.
“Rusalka” was staged carelessly, with large bills, which was reflected in the hostile attitude of the theater management towards the new, democratic direction in operatic creativity. He ignored Dargomyzhsky’s opera and the “high society”. Nevertheless, “Rusalka” endured many performances, gaining recognition among the general public. Advanced musical criticism in the person of A. N. Serov and Ts. A. Cui welcomed its appearance. But real recognition came in 1865. When it was resumed on the St. Petersburg stage, the opera met with an enthusiastic reception from a new audience - the democratically minded intelligentsia.
Dargomyzhsky left most of Pushkin's text untouched. They included only the final scene of the Prince’s death. Changes also affected the interpretation of images. The composer freed the image of the Prince from the features of hypocrisy that he was endowed with in the literary source. Developed in opera emotional drama Princesses, barely outlined by the poet. The image of the Miller was somewhat ennobled, in which the composer sought to emphasize not only selfishness, but also the power of love for his daughter. Following Pushkin, Dargomyzhsky shows profound changes in Natasha’s character. He consistently displays her feelings: hidden sadness, thoughtfulness, violent joy, vague anxiety, a premonition of impending disaster, mental shock and, finally, protest, anger, the decision to take revenge. An affectionate, loving girl turns into a formidable and vengeful Mermaid.
Characteristics of the opera:
The drama underlying “The Mermaid” was recreated by the composer with great life truth and deep insight into the spiritual world of the characters. Dargomyzhsky shows characters in development, conveys the subtlest shades of experiences. The images of the main characters and their relationships are revealed in intense dialogic scenes. Because of this, ensembles occupy a significant place in opera, along with arias. The events of the opera unfold against a simple and artless everyday background.
The opera opens with a dramatic overture. The music of the main (fast) section conveys the passion, impetuosity, determination of the heroine and, at the same time, her tenderness, femininity, and purity of feelings.
A significant part of the first act consists of extended ensemble scenes. Melnik’s comedic aria “Oh, all of you young girls” is at times warmed by a warm feeling of caring love. Terzetto music vividly conveys Natasha’s joyful excitement and sadness, the Prince’s soft, soothing speech, and the Miller’s grumpy remarks. In the duet of Natasha and the Prince, bright feelings gradually give way to anxiety and growing excitement. The music reaches a high level of drama with Natasha’s words “You’re getting married!” The next episode of the duet is psychologically subtly resolved: short, as if unspoken melodic phrases in the orchestra depict the heroine’s confusion. In the duet of Natasha and Melnik, confusion gives way to bitterness and determination: Natasha’s speech becomes more and more abrupt and agitated. The act ends with a dramatic choral finale.
The second act is a colorful everyday scene; Choirs and dances occupy a large place here. The first half of the act has a festive flavor; the second is filled with worry and anxiety. The majestic chorus “As in an upper room, at an honest feast” sounds solemnly and widely. The Princess’s soulful aria “Childhood Friend” is marked with sadness. The aria turns into a bright, joyful duet of the Prince and Princess. Dances follow: “Slavic”, combining light elegance with scope and prowess, and “Gypsy”, agile and temperamental. Natasha’s melancholy song “Over the pebbles, over the yellow sand” is close to peasant lingering songs.
The third act contains two scenes. In the first, the Princess’s aria “Days of Past Pleasures,” creating the image of a lonely, deeply suffering woman, is imbued with sorrow and mental pain.
The opening of the second picture of the Prince’s cavatina, “Involuntarily to these sad shores,” is distinguished by the beauty and plasticity of the melodious melody. The duet of the Prince and the Miller is one of the most dramatic pages of the opera; sadness and prayer, rage and despair, caustic irony and causeless gaiety - in the comparison of these contrasting states, the tragic image of the mad Miller is revealed.
In the fourth act, fantastic and real scenes alternate. The first scene is preceded by a short, colorfully graphic orchestral introduction. Natasha’s aria “The long-desired hour has come!” sounds majestic and menacing.
The Princess’s aria in the second scene, “For many years already in grave suffering,” is full of ardent, sincere feeling. A charmingly magical tone is given to the melody of the Mermaid’s call “My Prince”. Terzet is imbued with anxiety, a premonition of approaching disaster. In the quartet, the tension reaches its highest limit. The opera ends with the enlightened sound of the melody of the Mermaid's call.
Women's choir "Svatushka" »
In it, the composer very colorfully conveyed the comic-everyday scene of a wedding ceremony. The girls sing a song in which they ridicule the unlucky matchmaker.
Libretto by A. Dargomyzhsky based on the drama by A. Pushkin
Matchmaker, matchmaker, stupid matchmaker;
We were on our way to pick up the bride, we stopped in the garden,
They spilled a barrel of beer and watered all the cabbage.
They bowed to Tyn and prayed to faith;
Is there any faith, show me the path,
Show the bride the path to follow.
Matchmaker, guess what, get to the scrotum
The money is moving in the purse, the red girls are striving,
The money is moving in the purse, the red girls are striving,
Strive, red girls strive, strive, red
girls, strives.
The choir “Svatushka” is of a humorous nature. This wedding song is heard in Act 2.
Genre of the work: comic wedding song accompanied by accompaniment. The “Svatushka” choir is close to folk songs, as chants are found here.
Music-theoretical analysis
The piece is performed accompanied by accompaniment.
Musical form:
The form of the work is 2-part verse, the 2nd part is 2 verses, between which there is a gap. The verses are exactly the same melodically.
1 part
1st verse - 12 t. loss 2nd verse - 12 t.
1 sec. 2 sec. 1 sec. 2 sec.
4 t. 8 t. 4 t. 8 t.
part 2
12 t. 10 t. 12 t.
The texture of the work's presentation is homophonic-harmonic. The main theme is carried out in the soprano part, and the altos and accompaniment provide harmonic support.
The main key is B major. But in the 2nd part there is a deviation in G-moll, then Es-dur, and then again a return to B-dur.
The harmony in the work is simple
The size in the work is 2/4. It does not change throughout the entire work.
The work has many small durations, which gives it a light and playful character.
The "Moderato" tempo is (moderately) constant throughout the piece.
The accompaniment plays a supporting role; it also emphasizes the liveliness of the scene, the girls' jokes and the clumsiness of the drunken matchmaker. The dynamics of the accompaniment from p to f are very varied. Sometimes a figurative moment is included in the accompaniment. So, for example, in the bridge between the verses, the accompaniment resembles the playing of a pipe that accompanies folk festivals (wind instruments are performed in the orchestra). Independent accompaniment in the passage recreates the mood, connects the parts, and serves as a “thematic bridge.”
Vocal and choral analysis.
The score “Svatushka” was written for a female choir of 3 voices: soprano I and II and alto.
Type of choir: homogeneous female.
The choir “Svatushka” is performed moderately, the method of sound management is non legato. The main type of attack is soft, non legato, which presupposes clear diction, clear, close articulation.
The breathing in the work flows through the phrases, and in the middle of the phrases it is chain-like, it is intended to obtain a continuous sound of the phrase and achieve development in the phrases, and, therefore, to achieve an accurate transmission of the concept of the work, the meaning.
The tempo ensemble will depend on the conductor. He must clearly show with a conductor's gesture the releases and after-actions, especially the after-actions to the second beat, as well as at the end of the work, where a syncopated rhythm is used. The tempo ensemble is continuously connected with the rhythmic one. Its difficulty is in the movement of rhythm. The tempo is moderate, but short durations visually speed it up, you need to develop precise intonation, the diction ensemble depends on this, you need to clearly pronounce and enunciate all the words, you can work on your diction with the help of tongue twisters. You can also use the text of the work itself. The dynamics are mainly mf and f. The overall climax, which is at the end of the piece, is expressed in ff. The work also contains private climaxes. In a dynamic ensemble, it is important to show development, despite the fact that it is narrow, there must be contrast.
The timbre ensemble involves performing with a light, bright sound. Low sounds violas should sing in a high position, without “loading” the sound. It should be noted that the tessitura of the work is very convenient.
The melodic line of the parts is unique. The predominance of jumps brings its own difficulties in execution. There are jumps on ch.4, ch.5, m 6, b6, ch 8. And not only in the leading voice, but also in sopranos 2 and altos.
In addition to the horizontal melodic structure, it is necessary to create and build a vertical harmonic structure in the work, which represents the correct intonation of consonances and chords in their sequential movement. Parties must listen, “adjust” to each other, align chords, i.e. create a harmonic ensemble. In order for the parts in the work to be sung while working, closed mouth or on the syllable “lu”, so that all parts can be heard well.
Creating a unison ensemble presents some difficulty. There are few such places in the work “Svatushka” and nevertheless one should not turn a blind eye to it. When all the parts sing in unison, you need to try to remove the sound of all the parts, because otherwise this sound will stand out from the overall sound.
There are others in the parties vocal difficulties , except those discussed above.
So, for example, the performer needs to remember that in a melody the same sound is repeated at the same pitch; it must be formed positionally higher than the previous one, as if intoned upward. This helps maintain altitude.
Another vocal difficulty is the chromaticisms that occur in Part 2. You need to pay attention to them. Halftones should be intoned as close as possible. Another difficulty lies in the fact that halftones are intoned next to whole tones; you need to switch your hearing in time.
The jump to ch8 in altos should be sung actively, but in one position. Altos should not “fall over”, sing low low sounds, they need to sing them in a high vocal position, then there will be no gap between the lower sound and the upper one, the jump will be smoothed out.
Diction: The Choir “Svatushka” is light, playful in nature; to emphasize this, clear diction is needed. Good, clear pronunciation of words and active articulation are required for all parts.
Correct singing involves drawing out vowels and quickly pronouncing consonants. In the work “Matchmaker” there are such words as “bowed”, “prayed”, “accept”, “moves”, “strives”. Instead of the syllable “xya” it is necessary to sing the syllable “sa”, and instead of the combination “tsya” - “tsa”.
It is also necessary to exaggerate some consonants in the words “accept”, “red”.
The piece is performed moderately, but the text must be pronounced clearly, although softly in character.
It is necessary to focus the choir's attention on the intonation of consonants; they are pronounced in a high position, at the height of the vowels to which they adjoin.
Dynamics: the difficulty will be the dynamic development in the work, because the dynamics in the work “Matchmaker” are very flexible and varied from p to ff. The brightest dynamics are in part 2. ffpfpf, this alternation makes the work brighter. The culmination of the work sounds in the 2nd part on ff after the introduction on the 2nd beat. The conductor needs to lead the choir, clearly show the development in phrases and to the climax, the choir needs to cresc and dim at the same time, i.e. create a dynamic ensemble.
Conducting difficulties: The successful performance of this work depends mainly on the conductor, on how clear his gesture is to the choir.
The gesture should be light, nonlegato, consistent with the character and mood of the work. Special attention attention should be paid to after-taps and withdrawals. Affects and withdrawals are given in character softly, calmly, at the climax with a more elastic gesture.
Conclusion:
The final result of working on this work is the revelation of the ideological concept to the listeners, a reflection of the mood of the work and the scene in the opera.
In addition to being performed in the opera, the work “The Matchmaker” can be performed at creative evenings, at themed evenings dedicated to opera or the work of composers. The performance of the choir “Svatushka” can be performed by both a highly professional choir and an amateur, amateur one.
