6 romances Op. 38

6 romances (Op. 38): I. Serenada Don-Zhuana 00:00 II. To bylo ranneyu vesnoy 03:05 III. Sred' shumnogo bala 05:47 IV. O, yesli b ty mogla 08:14 V. Lyubov' mertvetsa 09:58 V. Pimpinella. Florentinskaya pesnya 14:06 Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich (1840-93) composer Ljuba Kazarnovskaya -soprano Ljuba Orfenova -piano Playlist: The art of Russian song: Glinka, Mussorgsky, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky...: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdM8VSWYvcWEFAIPSACJP3UM0xNDdnl-R Score: http://petrucci.mus.auth.gr/imglnks/usimg/e/e8/IMSLP19056-PMLP44986-Tchaik_TH101.pdf In February 1878, Tchaikovsky expressed his desire to compose "a variety of small pieces". "This will be something between relaxation and work". He then asked Nikolay Kashkin (through Pyotr Jurgenson) and Nadezhda von Meck to suggest appropriate texts for the romances. On 27 February/11 March, in response to his request, the latter sent the composer works by Afanasy Fet, Aleksey Tolstoy, Lev Mey, and Fyodor Tyutchev. Tchaikovsky thanked Nadezhda von Meck in a letter of 7/19 March from Clarens: "I am particularly pleased with the Tolstoy, which I like very much... In particular I am interested in Don Juan, which I read a very long time ago. I was enchanted by the section you indicated in Don Juan, and certainly I shall set it to music". The first romance was written at Florence on 11/23 February 1878, "between lunch and dinner". This was The Love of a Dead Man (No. 5)—the only one of Tchaikovsky's romances set to words by Mikhail Lermontov. He told Mrs von Meck: "I wrote it because in one of your letters you mentioned to me your view of his poetry set to music. This was in February at Florence". The second romance to be written, it seems shortly after the first, was Pimpinella. Tchaikovsky heard this song in Florence performed by a street-singer named Vittorio: "The day before leaving I listened to him once more and noted down the words and music to one song, which I am sending you with my accompaniment. Isn't it a delightful tune? And such peculiar words!". In another letter to Nadezhda von Meck, Tchaikovsky wrote that "amongst my six romances, the melody of one of them is very similar from the one I sent you last year in letter from Switzerland, just slightly altered by me and adapted to the form of a vocal number suitable for a salon concert". On 15/27 March, Tchaikovsky told Pyotr Jurgenson: "I've already done seven small pieces, two romances and the opening of a piano sonata". The composer finished the romances in Russia, while staying at Kamenka from 11/23 April to 12/24 May 1878, at Brailov from 17/29 May to 30 May/11 June, at Kamenka from 13/25 June to 26 June/8 July, and at Verbovka from 4/16 July to 5/17 August 1878. On 30 April/12 May, Tchaikovsky shared his plans with Nadezhda von Meck: "I am sufficiently busy. The sonata is already done, as are 12 Pieces of moderate difficulty for solo piano solo—but that is to say, only in rough... Tomorrow I shall start on a collection of mini