7 years ago
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Moi genie, moi angel, moi drug (Tchaikovsky)
There is a great treasure trove of ravishingly beautiful Russian music written for the voice by composers such as Glinka, Musorgsky, Rachmanivov, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Stravinsky and others. American singers don't program Russian music nearly as much as we should. Naturally, the language itself poses a bit of a stumbling block. I highly recommend taking a course in Russian diction or finding a Russian friend to help because the rewards are immense.
If you've never sung in Russian, I guarantee you that you can learn this piece and sing it on your next recital. This is one of Tchaikovky's earliest Romances and it is a gem.
Two performances by Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Olga Borodina.
Moi genie, moi angel, moi drug/ My genius, my angel, my friend
Composer:Tchaikovsky 1840-1893
Poet: Afanasii Afanas'evich Fet (1820–1892),
Russian Transliteration
Ne zdes' li ty ljogkoju ten'ju,
Moj genij, moj angel, moj drug,
Besedujesh' tikho so mnoju
I tikho letajesh' vokrug?
I robkim darish' vdokhnoven'jem,
I sladkij krachujesh' nedug,
I tikhim darish' snoviden'em,
Moj genij, moj angel, moj drug!
English translation
Isn't it here,
My my genius, my angel, my friend,
That you are talking to me softly,
And flying quietly around like a light shadow?
You are giving me a timid inspiration,
And healing my sweet ailments,
And giving me a quiet dream,
My angel, my genius, my friend!
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I had actually heard this song just a few days before you played it in class and it's so beautiful. The tension and release is just exquisite, and you can hear it so clearly in both versions. Both Hvorostovsky and Borodina have sung it beautifully, but I feel that I prefer Borodina's interpretation as you can feel the pain through her voice. Both versions are stunning, however. Absolutely gorgeous voices and beautiful interpretations.
ReplyDeleteI feel that every once in a while you hear a piece of music that imparts on you everything it wanted to although you don't understand a single word, and this is one of those pieces. The upper neighboring 1/2 step in the final phrase is particularly excruciating and gives us an incredible final cadence. Both singers put their hearts into their performances and it really comes across.
ReplyDeleteI prefer Olga Borodina's interpretation. The vocal and the piano are integrated mutually, intertwine all the notes into beautiful melody lines. The harmony of the piano is full of the changes in color, and with the impressive vocal line they form the basic image through the basic ideas of music and thereby leading to the climax. That sounds very dramatic and the kind of plaintive sentiment could be heard.
ReplyDeleteAgain, both of these performance, while slightly different, are wonderfully moving performances. I agree that we don't program Russian music nearly enough, and I know for myself, that is largely to do with the limited exposure to it in music history and song literature classes (previous to this class). Everyone's familiar with Russian symphonies, maybe a little opera, but I can't say I've heard more than a few Russian songs before this class. Better late than never!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a dark and mysterious piece. It doesn't sound particularly difficult in terms of tonality, length, text, or any other element. But it's clearly difficult to pull off with depth and sensitivity. I really enjoyed Hvorostovsky's performance. He and his accompanist were completely together in moments of rubato and the quietness at the end was fantastic.
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