12 romances Op. 21

12 romances (Op. 21): I. Sud′ba 00:00 II. Nad svezhey mogiloy 06:40 III. Sumerki 08:37 IV. Oni otvechali 10:56 V. Siren' 12:40 VI. Otryvok iz A. Myusse 14:33 VII. Zdes′ khorosho 16:30 VIII. Na smert′ chizhika 18:36 IX. Melodiya 21:28 X. Pred ikonoy 24:40 XI. Ya ne prorok 28:28 XII. Kak mne bol′no 30:02 Rachmaninov, Sergiej (1873-1943) -composer Elisabeth Söderström -soprano Vladimir Ashkenazy -piano Playlist: The art of Russian song: Glinka, Mussorgsky, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky...: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdM8VSWYvcWEFAIPSACJP3UM0xNDdnl-R Scores: I. http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/3/3d/IMSLP07289-Rachmaninov_-_Op._21__No._1.pdf II. http://petrucci.mus.auth.gr/imglnks/usimg/e/e9/IMSLP07290-Rachmaninov_-_Op._21__No._2.pdf III. http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/3/37/IMSLP07291-Rachmaninov_-_Op._21__No._3.pdf IV. http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/4/4d/IMSLP07292-Rachmaninov_-_Op._21__No._4.pdf V. http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/2/2f/IMSLP07293-Rachmaninov_-_Op._21__No._5.pdf VI. http://petrucci.mus.auth.gr/imglnks/usimg/a/a3/IMSLP07294-Rachmaninov_-_Op._21__No._6.pdf VII. http://conquest.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/9/95/IMSLP07295-Rachmaninov_-_Op._21__No._7.pdf VIII. http://petrucci.mus.auth.gr/imglnks/usimg/6/6c/IMSLP07296-Rachmaninov_-_Op._21__No._8.pdf IX. http://petrucci.mus.auth.gr/imglnks/usimg/a/a3/IMSLP07297-Rachmaninov_-_Op._21__No._9.pdf X. http://petrucci.mus.auth.gr/imglnks/usimg/2/2b/IMSLP07298-Rachmaninov_-_Op._21__No._10.pdf XI. http://petrucci.mus.auth.gr/imglnks/usimg/c/c1/IMSLP07299-Rachmaninov_-_Op._21__No._11.pdf XII. http://conquest.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/b/be/IMSLP07300-Rachmaninov_-_Op._21__No._12.pdf This was Rachmaninov's fourth collection of songs, and all but the first of them date from 1902. By this time he had begun to regain his confidence following the depression and loss of artistic sense that resulted from the catastrophic failure of his First Symphony in March 1897, which owed more to the possibly drunk Glazunov's poor conducting than to the young composer's fairly impressive composition. The first song in the collection, "Fate," was written in 1900 and is by far the longest of the 12. Indeed, the others here are quite short, being of two- or three-minutes' duration, about the usual length of most of the composer's previous efforts in the genre. "Fate" was said to be inspired by Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, whose dominant motto has been linked to fate, though never positively. The texts of the song derive from Alexei Apukhtin and the music is rather ponderous and overly dramatic. The second item, "By a fresh grave," is a setting of a poem by Semyon Nadson, as is the ninth, "Melody." The former broods over sorrow and loneliness and the latter deals with the sounds of nature a man desires to hear at the moment of his death. The former is morose and dramatic, while the piano theme and vocal line in "Melody" flow beautifully. "Twilight