PERFORMERS:
Evelina Agabalaeva
Gelena Gaskarova
Yulia Matochkina
Irina Shishkova
Eleonora Vindau
Dinar Dzhusoev
Grigory Chernetsov
Dmitry Garbovsky
Artur Islamov
Dmitry Koleushko
Yaroslav Petryanik
Ilya Selivanov
Andrey Serov
Pavel Stasenko
Andrei Tulnikov
THE PROGRAMME:
Modest Musorgsky
The song cycle The Years of Youth
Modest Petrovich Musorgsky was a composer without whose music and creative personality it would be impossible to conceive of Russian music, either within Russia itself or abroad. Of course, that’s the way it’s always been. Along with other Russian artists and geniuses of world renown, Musorgsky had an incredibly difficult life. And yet posthumous fame (perhaps a kind of “historic compensation”?) is always one of the most glorious. His life indeed witnessed great artistic achievements as well as profound tragic events that could have rendered any less resilient artist silent for a long time. But Musorgsky’s slogan “Onward to new shores!” always led the composer to great heights and new discoveries in spite of circumstances, as well as leading to the view of his artistic “fall” and “burnout” that was shared not just by his enemies but his friends too, however many they were. Such was the case with Khovanshchina, the crowning glory of the composer’s life and work. Musorgsky’s generally and comparatively small output as a composer to this day stuns with its breadth, its special and often unique reading of the genres he turned to and also its narrative – the depth of his understanding of his country and its people. “Not to be the first to dig black earth, and not to dig in the accustomed style but to tackle the raw ground, not to meet the people but to be fraternising with them: terrifying but good!” the composer wrote to his friend the critic Vladimir Stasov. One incredibly important feature of Musorgsky’s talent was his universality; he had a great gift for literature (it is enough to recall the texts of his many romances and the libretto of Khovanshchina, which may be read as a play!), he was a respected singer of dramatic talent, he was a virtuoso pianist and – in terms of the depth of his knowledge of Russian history – the composer surpassed many Russian historians of his own era...
In justifiably defining Musorgsky, first and foremost, as an innovator (a musical radical in the eyes of many contemporaries), we can begin to understand how hard it was for such artists to win the understanding and praise of their contemporaries. For years, Musorgsky had received nothing but disdain from the critics, not to mention a painful lack of understanding from composer friends – members of The Five, publications and concerts that never materialised and the infrequent performances of his music, generally by friends and like-minded people and the relatively few followers of his art when they did take place. All this included the first attempt to stage the opera Boris Godunov at the Mariinsky Theatre. At the time, in February 1871, the board turned Musorgsky down: the opera was defective. One consequence of the refusal, however, was the emergence of a second version of the opera one year later which was performed to great acclaim at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1874. Khovanshchina had a similarly difficult stage birth: it was initially rejected, and it was only in 1911 that the Mariinsky Theatre mounted a dazzling production directed by Chaliapin, who also sang the role of Dosifei. Since then the Mariinsky Theatre has turned to Musorgsky on numerous occasions and with a vengeance: it is currently the only theatre in Russia, indeed in the world, where the repertoire – concert performances and productions – features all of the composer’s operatic works (including different versions); soloists of the theatre and the Academy of Young Opera Singers frequently perform his chamber and vocal music, while the playbill of the Concert Hall often lists the symphonic fantasy Night on Bald Mountain.
Early Years is an anthology of eighteen early romances and songs by Musorgsky that the composer himself combined for a publication planned for 1866–1867. There are numerous legends surrounding both this anthology and the individual pieces it includes. Some have been explained by music historians over the years, while others – including those that are Musorgsky’s own “fault” – still require clarification. The title sheet of the manuscript score, today held at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, was inscribed by the composer: “Early Years. An anthology of romances from 1857-1866”. At the same time, in Russian publishing and concert practice as well as – to an extent – in research work, the definition of “song cycle” became established. The cycle, unlike the anthology, demands a thematic and musical integrity that is lacking in the romances and songs that make up Early Years. In the late 1860s Musorgsky tried, on several occasions, to produce a publication of his romances and songs independently, one such attempt being Early Years. During the composer’s lifetime, however, only four works were published: Why, Tell Me, Girl of My Heart, King Saul, Night and Sleep, Sleep, Peasant Son.
The word “early” is a key word in the title of the anthology. Here there was great confusion dating the individual romances and songs, some of which exist in two versions by the composer himself. Based on the dates penned by Musorgsky on the scores, historians and critics have succeeded in determining a certain “hierarchy” of the works (from the earlier ones to the more mature pieces) and coming to conclusions about his stylistic evolution and so forth. In fact, when preparing his anthology, Musorgsky frequently produced new versions of romances and songs, albeit retaining the “old” dates. In all probability, this was due to the composer’s understandable desire to present mature versions of his earlier opuses, reflecting his own musical development and the serious changes to his composition style. And yet today these discussions and this research are of secondary importance. For audiences and music-lovers each work by Musorgsky is important, regardless of when it was composed or what features it bears. For example, the often-criticised for their very nature “drawing-room” romances What Are Words of Love to You? and Dearest, oh Why Are Your Eyes Sometimes so Cold with their open and “worldly” lyricism form a vivid example of the other Musorgsky, of whose existence one might never even suspect if one knows only his mature and late works (I Have Many Palaces and Gardens is a further example of the other Musorgsky). Essentially, the anthology Early Years impresses, first and foremost, for the complete disparity of the romances. It is an incredibly broad panorama of genres: from the traditional (such as toast songs, Happy Hour and the “village song” Where Are You, Little Star? ) to such as had never existed before. The composer sought out the most precise definitions for his innovative vocal experiments (the manuscripts retain various different genre subheadings): “musical tale” (The Leaves Rustled Sadly), “improvisation/fantasy” (Night) and “étude in the folk style” (Kalistrat).
In terms of the musical style there is the same sense of scale in the anthology: from the vividly Russian song Winds Are Blowing... to the “Jewish melody” King Saul and Song of the Balearic Islander in the oriental manner (a highlight from the unfinished opera Salammbô). There are many predictions and hints – such as the lofty monologues of the deacon Shchelkalov, Boris Godunov and Dosifei in Song of the Old Man to verse by Goethe (translated by Musorgsky) and the vocal lyricism of Tchaikovsky in the romance But if I Could Meet Thee Again... The true masterpiece and lyrical gem of the anthology is the fantasy Night (My Voice for You Is both Tender and Languid) – in two versions by the composer that differ not just in terms of the music but the text as well (in the second version for orchestra Musorgsky freely developed verse by Pushkin).
Vladimir Goryachikh
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