Question: Report on S. Rachmaninov’s romance “Spring Waters. A message about Sergei Rachmaninov and his romance “Spring Waters Spring Waters Rachmaninov analysis

"I am a Russian composer, and my homeland left its mark on my character and my views. My music is the fruit of my character, and therefore it is Russian music... I do not have my own country. I had to leave the country where I was born, where I fought and suffered all the sorrows of youth and where I finally achieved success.”

“What is music?!

It's a quiet moonlit night;

This is the rustling of living leaves;

This is the distant evening bell;

This is what is born from the heart

and goes to the heart;

This is Love!

The sister of music is poetry,

and her mother is sadness!

Rachmaninov at the piano, early 1900s.

From 1892 to 1911Sergei Vasilyevich Rahmaninovwrote 83 romances, that isthey are all createdduring the Russian period of his life. In popularity they compete with his piano works.Most of the romances were written based on texts by Russian lyric poets of the second half of the 19th century.centuryand the turn of the 20th century and only a little more than a dozen on poems by poets of the first half of the 19th century - Pushkin, Koltsov, Shevchenko in Russian translation.

Rachmaninov wrote:“I am very inspired by poetry. After music, what I love most is poetry. ... I always have poetry at hand. Poetry inspires music, for poetry itself contains much music. They are like twin sisters."

1. “I am not a prophet” - words of Alexander Kruglov. 2. “It’s time” - Nadson. 3. “Christ is Risen” - Merezhkovsky. 4. “How it hurts me” by Glafira Galina. 5. Vocalization. 6. “I fell in love with my sadness” - Pleshcheeva (from Shevchenko). 7. “Oh no, I pray you don’t go!” - Merezhkovsky. 8. “Island” - Balmont 9. Excerpt from Musset - translation by Apukhtin. 10. “It’s good here” - Galina. 11. “I’m waiting for you” - Davidova. 12. “The night is sad” - Bunina. 13. “Don’t believe me, friend!” - Alexei Tolstoy. 14. “Don’t sing, beauty, in front of me” - Pushkin 15. “Prayer” - Pleshcheeva (from Goethe). 16. How long ago, my friend - Golenishcheva-Kutuzova. 17. “Spring Waters” - Tyutcheva.

In Rachmaninov's romanceseverything that was combined in his idea of ​​the Motherland is reflected - the soul of the Russian man, his love for his land, his thoughts, his songs.Images of nature are used not only to express quiet, contemplative moods. Sometimes they help embody stormy, passionate feelings. Then romances of a virtuosic nature are born, distinguished by the breadth of form, richness of colors, brilliance and complexity of piano presentation. The romance “Spring Waters” was written in this style, with words by Tyutchev. This is a musical picture of the Russian spring, a poem of enthusiastic, joyful feelings.

“Lilac” to the words of Beketova is one of the most precious pearls of Rachmaninov’s lyrics. The music of this romance is marked by exceptional naturalness and simplicity, a remarkable fusion of lyrical feelings and images of nature.

A very special place in Rachmaninov’s vocal lyrics is occupied by “Vocalise,” written in 1915 (dedicated to the great singer Nezhdanova). Elements of folk song style here organically flow into the melody, marked by a bright individuality. The connection between “Vocalise” and Russian lingering song is evidenced by the breadth of the melody, the leisurely nature of its development, and the harmonic language.

The bird cherry blossoms at my window,
Blooms thoughtfully under a silver robe...
And with a fresh and fragrant branch it bent down and called...
Her fluttering air petals
I happily catch a cheerful breath,
Their sweet aroma clouds my mind,
And they sing love songs without words...

Galina Galina

Daisies

Oh look! how many daisies -
Both there and here...
They are blooming; a lot of them; their excess;
They are blooming.
Their petals are triangular - like wings,
Like white silk...
You are the power of summer! You are the joy of abundance!
You are a bright regiment!
Prepare, O earth, a drink for the flowers from the dew,
Give juice to the stem...
Oh girls! oh, stars of daisies!
I love you...

Igor Severyanin

Romances of a lyrical-landscape nature form one of the most important areas of Rachmaninoff’s vocal lyricism. The landscape element either merges with the main psychological content or contrasts with it. Some of these works are designed in festive, watercolor colors, imbued with a calm, contemplative character, and are distinguished by subtlety and poetry.

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Romances by S.V. Rachmaninov is called his spiritual confession. The composer created many works in this genre - about eight dozen, each of which is distinguished by amazing sincerity. Such attention of Sergei Vasilyevich to vocal compositions is quite understandable - he often said that he loved poetry and always elevated it to second place of honor after music.

History of creation

The passion for writing manifested itself in Rachmaninov even in his childhood, however, at first he preferred to improvise, not bothering himself with recording notes on paper. But the future great composer began recording his creations only in 1887, and immediately tried his hand at various genres, including vocal ones. However, there is no information about the compositions for voice of those years, perhaps because Rachmaninov did not consider them important and did not try to preserve them. The composer decided to begin counting his vocal creations in 1890, when he wrote his works for voice “At the Gates of the Holy Monastery” to the words of M. Lermontov and “I won’t tell you anything” to the words of A. Fet, designated by him as No. 1 and No. 2. Since then, romance has become one of Rachmaninov’s favorite genres, and he regularly returned to it in his work. If these works of the first years were very similar in style to music P.I. Tchaikovsky, then in the vocal compositions of 1891 the influence of E. Grieg is clearly heard. We are talking about two romances: “It Was in April,” written to the French text by E. Payeron, and “It was getting dark” to the words of A. Tolstoy.

In the period after graduating from the Moscow Conservatory and until the second half of the 1890s, Sergei Vasilyevich wrote three opuses of works for voice. They already clearly outline the features of Rachmaninov’s creative individuality, and the interpretation of the romance genre characteristic of his pen becomes obvious, when a broad and expressive vocal melody organically merges with a virtuoso piano part, rich in coloristic shades.

Six romances that were written before mid-1893 were included in op.4. The best composition of this group is considered to be the romance “In the Silence of a Secret Night” (verses by A. Fet), which was addressed to a relative of maestro V.D. Skalon.

Romances op.8 were composed in the fall of 1983 and became a kind of response to the passing of the then popular poet N. Pleshcheev. Interestingly, Rachmaninov himself never saw him, and knew him only from books and the words of his friends. Perhaps he heard something about the great poet from his grandfather Arkady Alexandrovich, who not only knew him well, but also dedicated several of his romances to him. This opus includes six essays, the most famous of which are considered “Child, you are beautiful like a flower!” and dream".

In 1896, another cycle of 12 romances was born, which was designated op. 14. Since during this period Rachmaninov was still in search of his own style, this opus is very heterogeneous in its images. The verses used by Sergei Vasilyevich are unequal. Among their authors there are recognized masters of poetic text, such as A. Tolstoy, F. Tyutchev, A. Fet and others, as well as little-known poets N. Minsky and K. Balmont at that time. The most popular romance from this cycle during Rachmaninov’s time was “Spring Waters”.

In the spring of 1902, the next, 21st opus of works for voice was completed, which included 12 works. It is difficult to single out anything particularly outstanding among them - all the romances in this cycle can easily be classified as the highest masterpieces of Rachmaninov’s work. The most famous of the creations of this opus can be considered “Lilac” to the words of E. Beketova and “It’s good here” to the verses of G. Galkina.

Four years later, Rachmaninov completed another group of romances, which are united under opus No. 26. This cycle of fifteen works stands out among others for its stylistic features, which are associated with the composer’s operatic quest. That is why some of his works from this group have the character of a dramatic monologue. Among these, for example, is the romance “We Will Rest” to the words of A. Chekhov.

The 36th opus consisted of fourteen romances. Twelve of them were recorded at the height of 1912, one entitled “It Can’t Be” was released two years earlier in 1910, and “Vocalise” was composed in 1915 and was added to the group later. In this opus, Rachmaninov's interest in Pushkin's poetry attracts attention. If earlier he addressed her once in the romance “Don’t sing the beauty in front of me,” then here three works were written based on his poems - “Muse”, “Storm” and “Arion”. In addition, the composer used poems by K. Balmont, F. Tyutchev, A. Fet and many others.

A special place in Rachmaninov’s creative heritage is occupied by his last chamber-vocal cycle of six romances, designated opus No. 38. A distinctive feature of this group of works, written in 1916, are the poetic sources - all of them belong to the pen of contemporary authors who sought to update the images and means of poetics. Rachmaninov considered “Daisies” and “The Pied Piper” to be the best romances in this cycle.

Interesting Facts

• The composer's grandfather Arkady Alexandrovich was a musically gifted person and loved to play the piano. He lived to be 73 years old and until recently spent several hours a day playing a musical instrument. He also composed and especially loved romances and piano pieces, like his grandson. Some of his creations were published, but most of them are lost. 11 compositions by Arkady Alexandrovich have survived to this day, including 7 romances and 3 vocal duets.
• Arkady Aleksandrovich Rachmaninov wrote a romance to the words of A.N. Pleshcheev "Dream". Many years later, Sergei Vasilyevich took these same verses for his vocal composition.
• Rachmaninov considered the romance to the words of A. Tolstoy “Do you remember the evening” the most unsuccessful among all his vocal creations.
• The romance “In the Silent Secret Night” was composed on October 17, 1890, but subsequently the composer repeatedly returned to it and rewrote individual fragments. The final version of this work, which is heard in concert halls today, bears little resemblance to the original version.
• In the creative heritage of the great composer there are other works called “Romance” - for example, the second movement in Quartet No. 1 and the first piece for violin in opus No. 6.
• His first fee in the amount of 500 rubles, received from the publisher K. Gutchen for printing the clavier “ Aleko”, two pieces for cello op.2 and six romances op.4, Rachmaninov was unable to spend, since he immediately paid off his debts with them.
• The romance “Spring Waters” had a very interesting interpretation during Rachmaninov’s time. In the impulses of awakening nature, revolutionaries heard calls for struggle and a rise in social consciousness. You can now read about how this vocal composition helped free oneself from centuries-old oppression in the musical literature of the Soviet era.
• Rachmaninov based the composition “Fate” from op.21 on the most famous motif from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. This romance is dedicated to F. Chaliapin, who primarily performed it for the first time after its creation.
• Love flared up in the heart of the greatest maestro more than once, which inspired him to write romances. It was under the influence of this feeling that “In the Silence of the Secret Night” (dedicated to V. Skalon), “Oh no, I pray you don’t go” (dedicated to A. Lodyzhenskaya), “Don’t sing beauty in front of me” (dedicated to N. Satina) were created .
• While in exile, Rachmaninov did not write a single romance.

Sergei Vasilyevich considered the romance genre ideal for embodying lyrical experiences. That is why the lyrical sphere predominates in his vocal opuses, but humorous, everyday and tragic images are very rare in them.

Even in his early years, Rachmaninov often turned to the genre of Russian lyrical song, which can largely be explained by his love for Tchaikovsky’s legacy. This is heard especially acutely in romances “ I fell in love with my sadness" And " Wow my cornfield" The composer selects such poetic texts that tell about suffering from love and unbearable mental anguish. This theme is also related to oriental poetry, which was also not alien to Rachmaninov. Exotic" compositions form a separate branch in his vocal creativity - the famous romance " Don't sing beauty in front of me", as well as sketches " She's as good as noon», « In my soul», « At night in my garden" and others. True, orientalism in these compositions is more conventional, and not as clearly recreated as in the works M. Balakireva.

In his vocal music, Rachmaninov managed to show himself as a magnificent master of brush and paint, who “painted” a real gallery of natural paintings - “ Island», « It is nice here», « Lilac", and many others.

The tragic theme was also embodied in Rachmaninov’s work. It is precisely this that prevails in the romances from opuses No. 21 and No. 26, which were created during a difficult period for the artist. Then Sergei Vasilyevich was very worried about the failure of the debut symphony and tried to convey all the feelings in his creations - compositions “ Fate», « How it hurts me», « I'm lonely again», « Everything passes».

As a true artist, Rachmaninov could not help but touch upon the theme of art and his destiny. In this regard, the romances “ Arion», « Muse" And " Obrochnik».

Rachmaninov was a composer of amazing talent. Whatever genre he touched, under his hand he acquired extraordinary spiritual and artistic perfection. And from romance, the great musician managed to make the seemingly impossible - a genre with truly limitless possibilities. And what is most interesting is that Rachmaninov was not interested in the artistic merits of the text; only the images and meaning that the authors put into it were important to him. True, the composer always interpreted them in his own way, creating a completely different poetic image, fascinating with its sound.

Video: listen to Romances by Rachmaninov

Zhukovsky S. Yu. Early spring (Gazebo in the park). 1910

After the fateful premiere of the First Symphony in 1897, which ended in failure, Rachmaninov could not compose for a long time. He took the place of second conductor at the Moscow Russian Private Opera, where he became friends with the young Chaliapin, then, in 1899, he went on tour abroad as a pianist, and spent the summer of 1900 in Genoa. Only now did he turn to composing again - he began work on the Second Piano Concerto and Francesca da Rimini.

After the enormous success of the concert in the spring of 1902, Rachmaninov turned to a new genre for himself - the cantata. This is how the cantata “Spring” appeared based on the poem by N. A. Nekrasov (1821-1878) “Green Noise” (1862). Perhaps the creation of a bright work, imbued with an affirmation of love, was facilitated by the feeling of the composer himself: it was this spring that his wedding with Natalia Alexandrovna Satina took place.

Performed for the first time on March 11, 1902 at the ninth symphonic meeting of the Moscow Philharmonic Society, performed by A. Smirnov and a choir of music lovers conducted by A. Ziloti, the cantata was warmly received by the public and critics. N. Kashkin wrote in a review about his strong impression of the music. On January 8 (21), 1905, the cantata was performed in St. Petersburg by the choir of the Mariinsky Theater (solo by Chaliapin) and was also extremely highly appreciated by the musical community. To encourage Russian composers and musicians, the Board of Trustees awarded Rachmaninov the Glinkin Prize for her.

Music

The one-part cantata, dedicated to the spring renewal of life, consists of three sections.

The first, purely orchestral, conveys the gradual awakening of spring. The short leitmotif of “green noise”, reminiscent of the motifs of folk spring “chants”, sounds at first in a low register, as if waking up from winter torpor. New forces gradually awaken, the spring hubbub grows, and at the joyful climax the chorus enters: “The Green Noise is coming, the Green Noise is humming, the Green Noise, the spring Noise!” The baritone’s declamatory story bursts into this music full of light and joy with a sharp dissonance: “My hostess Natalya Patrikeevna is modest, she will not muddy the waters!” The orchestra plays several times with the gloomy, sad melody of the solo English horn, and the orchestral colors thicken. The choir sings short descending chants with closed mouths, as well as tense harmonies and chromatic passages of wooden instruments that convey the howling of the storm. But after the words of the soloist’s monologue, “Suddenly spring has crept up,” the theme of the Green Noise returns quietly, as if gradually. The color brightens. Flute sounds and light violin passages appear in the orchestra - the breath of spring is blowing. Joyful sounds gradually grow. Wide cantilena singing solemnly and enlightenedly conveys the main idea of ​​the work: “Love as long as you love, Be patient as long as you can endure, Farewell while you say goodbye, And God will be your judge!”

L. Mikheeva

ON THE. Nekrasov

Green Noise

The Green Noise* is going on and on, the Green Noise, the spring noise!

Levitan I. I. Spring. Big water. 1897

Playfully, it disperses. Suddenly a riding wind: Will sway the alder bushes, Raise flower dust, Like a cloud: everything is green, Both the air and the water!
Bakshaev V.N. Blue Spring. 1930 There goes the Green Noise, the Green Noise, the spring noise!
Byalynitsky-Birulya V.K. Spring. 1899 My hostess Natalya Patrikeevna is modest, she won’t stir you up with water! Yes, trouble happened to her, How I lived in St. Petersburg for the summer... The stupid one said it herself, Tick on her tongue!
Vinogradov S. A. Spring. 1911 In the hut, a friend himself with a deceiver. Winter has locked us up. My wife looks into my stern eyes and is silent. I’m silent... but my fierce thoughts give me no peace: Kill... so sorry for my heart! There is no strength to endure! And here the shaggy winter Roars day and night: “Kill, kill, the traitor! Get rid of the villain! Otherwise you’ll get lost for the rest of your life, You won’t find peace either during the day or during the long night. Your shameless neighbors will spit in your eyes!..” To the song-blizzard winter The fierce thought has grown stronger - I have a sharp knife in store... But suddenly spring has crept up..

Byalynitsky-Birulya V.K. Early spring. 1953

The Green Noise goes on and on,
Green Noise, spring noise!

Like drenched in milk,
There are cherry orchards,
They make a quiet noise;
Warmed by the warm sun,
Happy people making noise
Pine forests.
And next to it there is new greenery
They babble a new song
And the pale-leaved linden,
And a white birch tree
With a green braid!
A small reed makes noise,
The tall maple tree is noisy...
They make a new noise
In a new, spring way...

Zhukovsky S. Yu. Awakening of nature (Early spring). 1898

The Green Noise goes on and on.
Green Noise, spring noise!

The fierce thought weakens,
The knife falls from my hands,
And I still hear the song
One - both forest and meadow:
"Love as long as you love,
Be patient as long as you can
Goodbye while it's goodbye
And God will be your judge!”

Levitan I. I. Early spring. 1890s

* This is what people call the awakening of nature in spring. (Note by N.A. Nekrasov.)

Report on S. Rachmaninov’s romance “Spring Waters”

Answers:

In Rachmaninov’s romance “Spring Waters,” the nVI harmony as an opening chord resolves into a VI harmony (example 281). The two submediants, formally remaining a double VI stage, here actually function as chords at a distance of a small second, and not an increased prima, with such melodic resolution move to a diminished fourth, which is typical for a “trademark” turn with a “Rachmaninov subdominant” (compare with the romance “Oh no, I pray, don’t go”). The overflow (and enrichment) of the functional tonality with chords of the chromatic system complicates and at the same time simplifies the ways of connecting different harmonies with tonic. It is difficult due to the cumbersome nature of direct communication with it, the lack of unambiguous tonal gravity and due to the ease of entering into subsystem connections. It simplifies (and impoverishes) because many (precious!) subtleties of classical functional harmony disappear: hidden dissonances and “companions”, the three-basicity of S-T-D, etc. The direct-sensory, “material” reality of the chord itself and its fundamental tone become more reliable than tonal-contextual connections based on the “debt” to the tonic. The credibility of the tonal interpretation is often facilitated by the now used new structural forms, where the unambiguous attraction to the tonic is certainly inherent only in the “leading” harmonies, especially at the beginning and end, and in places moving away from them creates a regime of subsystemic tonal looseness, uncertainty, linear aspiration, which does not allow any other tonality to be established and thereby preserves the primacy of the main one. The classical functional principle of central gravity is replaced by the principle of functional grouping of fundamental tones (for an example of tonal subordination of this new type, see the analysis in the introductory article by the author of these lines to the publication: Hindemith. P. Ludus tonalis for piano. M., 1980. P. 4). Thus, instead of the classical type of structure with end-to-end tonal gravity, a type of structure is created that is somewhat similar to the “pre-tonal” one (from the time of modal harmony of the 15th-16th centuries), but on a new basis implementing the tonal (or, perhaps, new-tonal) principle. Sections with far from tonic and complex relationships are not “extra-tonal”, but tonally unstable or transitional, which ultimately strengthens the overall tonal stability within the sentence and period (cf. with chromatic series, examples 204B, etc.). In both In cases (example 282), strong frameworks of the tonal beginning and end make it possible to keep harmonies in the middle that are extremely far from the tonic in the field of gravity towards the center

Romances occupy a special place in the composer's work. In them, Rachmaninov appears as a different side of his creative image.

Rachmaninov's romances rival his piano works in their popularity. Rachmaninov wrote about 80 romances (including youth songs that were not published during the composer’s lifetime). Most of them were composed on the texts of Russian lyric poets of the second half of the 19th and the turn of the 20th centuries, and only a little more than a dozen - on the words of poets of the first half of the 19th century (Pushkin, Koltsov, Shevchenko in Russian translation, etc.).

Often turning to poems of low poetic merit, Rachmaninov “read” them in his own way and in musical embodiment gave them a new, immeasurably deeper meaning. He interpreted romance as an area of ​​expression of predominantly lyrical feelings and moods. Epic, genre-everyday, comedic or characteristic images are almost never found in him.

Several of Rachmaninov's romances reveal a connection with folk songs and urban everyday music.

Rachmaninov turned to the genre of Russian lyrical song (“romance song”) mainly in the early period of his creativity, in the 90s. He does not strive to reproduce all the features of the folk style (although he retains some of them) and freely uses the harmonic and textural means of professional music. At the same time, the genre is interpreted mainly in dramatic terms. An example is the romance song “I fell in love with my sadness” (verses by Taras Shevchenko, translated by A. N. Pleshcheev). In terms of content, the song is related to the theme of recruitment, and in style and genre - with lamentations. The composer based the melody on a terza chant, repeated many times. Also characteristic are mournful turns of phrase at the end of melodic phrases. Dramatic, somewhat hysterical, chants at the climax (“This is such a lot for me”) enhance the closeness of the vocal part to lamentation and crying. The “goose” arpeggiated chords at the beginning of the song emphasize its folk character.

The dramatic center of the work is the second verse. Ascending sequences in the melody, supported by agitated triplet figurations of the piano, are interrupted by declamatory exposition ("And as a soldier I..."); the subsequent climactic phrase is wider in range than the first verse and is the dramatic climax of the song. After it, the “crying” wordless vocalizations of the coda sound especially expressive. With their hopelessness they emphasize the drama of a lonely female soldier.

The brilliant “Vocalise”, written in 1915, occupies a very special place in Rachmaninov’s vocal lyrics. It is adjacent to the composer’s romances, which in their origins are associated with Russian songwriting. Elements of folk song style here organically flow into the melody, marked by a bright individuality.

The connection between “Vocalise” and Russian plangent song is evidenced by the breadth of the melody, the leisurely and seemingly “endless” nature of its development. The smoothness and fluidity of movement is facilitated by the lack of strict repetition and symmetry in the structure and sequence of phrases, sentences, and periods (“Vocalise” is written in a simple two-part form). The music is so expressive, so meaningful that the composer considered it possible to abandon the poetic text. I would like to call “Vocalise” a Russian “song without words.”

Against the backdrop of measured and calm piano chords, the soprano sings a thoughtful, slightly sad melody-song.

Smoothly, with soft twists, it moves down from the III degree to the V, then rises steeply up an octave and slides with a smooth downward turn to the main tone of the fret.

The musical fabric of the play is full of “singing” melodic voices, intonationally related to the main theme. In the second sentence, the vocal melody is joined by two more piano voices, presented in the form of a duet-dialogue. In the third sentence, the melodic movement in the accompaniment is doubled by an octave. In the last sentence, the vocal melody forms a free echo (“second”) to the theme heard at the piano.

The deeply Russian character of the music of “Vocalise” is also emphasized by harmonic means: diatonic (see the natural minor at the heart of the melody in the first sentence, the sequence of the seventh chord of the natural VII degree and the tonic in bars 5-6), plagal turns (for example, bars 2-3 at the beginning third sentence), frequent parallelisms in voicing (in particular, see the sequence of parallel triads in measure 3 from the end of the romance).

As a kind of continuation of the genre of “oriental song”, characteristic of the work of Russian composers of the first half of the 19th century and the Kuchkists, the romance “He sing, beauty, in front of me” (words by A. S. Pushkin) can be considered - a true masterpiece of Rachmaninov’s vocal lyrics and 90- x years. The main theme of the romance, pensive and sad, first appears in the piano introduction, where it is presented as a completed song melody. The monotonously repeated A in the bass, the chromatically descending movement of the middle voices with colorful changes in harmonies give the intro music an oriental flavor.

At the same time, they possess signs of the composer’s individual style. For them, a special condensation of feeling, a special languid-sultry passion of expression, a long stay in one emotional sphere and an emphasized sharpness of the climax are indicative.

“In the Silence of a Secret Night” (words by A. A. Fet) is a very typical example of love lyrics of this kind. The dominant sensual and passionate tone is already determined in the instrumental introduction. The languid intonations of the diminished seventh in the upper voice appear against the background of expressive harmonies of the accompaniment (diminished seventh chord, dominant non-chord). The triplet chord texture of the accompaniment is preserved even with the introduction of a vocal melody, melodious and declamatory-expressive.

In the middle section of the romance, the accompaniment takes on a more agitated character. The imitative development of new melodic turns in the voice and piano and a chain of ascending sequences lead to a pathetic climax with the successive achievement of the peak sound (F-sharp) in the vocal part, then in the piano part (“to awaken the darkness of the night with a cherished name”). Here love's delight reaches its climax. In the final section that follows this (Piu vivo), the modified theme of the first movement gradually dissolves into ascending triplet figurations.

Romances of a lyrical-landscape nature form one of the most important areas of Rachmaninoff’s vocal lyricism in terms of artistic value. The landscape element either merges with the main psychological content or, on the contrary, contrasts with the latter. Some of these works are designed in transparent, watercolor tones, imbued with a calm, contemplative mood and are distinguished by exceptional subtlety and poetry. One of the first such romances in the work of the young Rachmaninov was “Island” based on poems by the English romantic poet P. Shelley, translated by K. Balmont.

The most perfect and subtle romances associated with images of nature were created by the composer in his mature period. This is “Lilac”, “It’s good here”, “At my window”. They are included in the cycle of romances Op. 21, which appeared almost simultaneously with the Preludes of Op. 23 and the Second Concerto and possessing the same high merits: depth of content, grace and refinement of form, richness of expressive means.

“Lilac” (words by Ek. Beketova) is one of the most precious. The pearl of Rachmaninoff's lyrics. The music of this romance is marked by exceptional naturalness and simplicity, a remarkable fusion of lyrical feelings and images of nature, expressed through subtle musical and pictorial elements. The entire musical fabric of the romance is melodious and melodious. Calm, sing-song vocal phrases flow effortlessly one after another. The expressive figuration of the piano is associated with the idea of ​​foliage being swayed by a light breeze. A feeling of peace also arises due to the pentatonic scale coloring: the vocal melody and accompaniment of the first bars of the romance are sustained in the half-tone scale A-flat - B-flat - C - E-flat - F.

Later, as he develops, the composer goes beyond the pentatonic scale. In the middle of the romance, a broad melodic phrase (“There is only one happiness in life”), supported by a beautiful instrumental echo and shaded by a soft turn into the tonality of the second degree (B-flat minor), stands out with its sincerity and warmth. . The reprise has also been significantly updated. (The romance is written in a simple two-part form.) The composer retains only the tonality and pattern of the piano accompaniment. The melody itself is new here, with wide intervals and sharp delays at the climax (“My poor happiness”). But at the conclusion, the diatonic melody and the old pentatonic figuration that conclude the romance sound all the more fresh and crystal clear at the piano. .

The romance “It’s Good Here” (words by G. A. Galina) also belongs to the outstanding examples of Rachmaninov’s lightly contemplative lyrical works. In this romance, the fluidity of musical development characteristic of the composer’s mature romance style is revealed with great clarity, giving rise to a special integrity of the form, its internal indivisibility. The romance was built, one might say, “in one breath” - the music flows so continuously in a flexible interweaving of melodic phrases of voice and piano, in plastic harmonic and tonal transitions. The melody of the romance is born from the initial vocal phrase. Its characteristic melodic-rhythmic outlines - the smooth movement of three eighths in thirds upward and a stop on the last, fourth, sound with a slight descent - is easy to notice in all the vocal and piano phrases of the romance.

By varying this motif, the composer with remarkable skill creates broader melodic structures from it. They lead to the melodic peak, which is a quiet climax full of deep, but hidden, enthusiastic feeling (“Yes, you, my dream!”).

The impression of continuity in the flow of music is facilitated by the uniformity of the accompaniment texture, the almost complete absence of caesuras and the desire to avoid tonics. The A major tonic triad appears in the middle of the romance only once (at the end of the first sentence - before the words “there are no people here”) and is firmly established only in the conclusion. But repeatedly the composer introduces dominant or subdominant harmonies to the secondary steps of the mode, creating the appearance of deviations in different keys: see, for example, with the words “The clouds are turning white” (plagal cadence with a quintessex chord of the second degree in harmonic E major), at the climax of the romance “Yes, you , my dream!" (authentic cadence in F sharp minor). Such diversity and iridescence of tonal colors not only has great landscape and coloristic significance, but also enriches the lyrical and psychological content of the romance, giving the music special spirituality and expressiveness.

In Rachmaninov's romances, images of nature are used not only to express quiet, contemplative moods. Sometimes they help embody stormy, passionate feelings. Then romances of a virtuosic nature are born, distinguished by their breadth of form, richness and density of colors, brilliance and complexity of piano presentation.

Rachmaninov wrote the romance “Spring Waters” in this style (words by F. I. Tyutchev). This is a musical picture of the Russian spring, a poem of enthusiastic, joyfully jubilant feelings. The vocal part is dominated by appealing melodic turns: motives built on the sounds of a major triad, energetic ascending phrases ending with an energetic jump. Their strong-willed character is enhanced by dotted rhythmic figures. The brilliant, one might say concert-like, piano part is very meaningful and plays an extremely important role in creating the general, life-affirming character of the work and its picturesque, picture-like appearance. Already the opening phrase of the piano part - in rapidly soaring passages, in the expressive sound of an enlarged triad - recreates the atmosphere of spring, giving birth to a musical image of foaming spring streams.

This phrase develops further throughout almost the entire romance and acquires independent artistic meaning, becoming, as it were, the leitmotif of spring. At the climax of the work, it turns into joyful ringing, heralding the triumph of the forces of light.

Musical development, thanks to unexpected tertian comparisons of major keys (E flat major - B major - A flat major, E flat major - F sharp major), is distinguished by bright tonal contrasts. Unusual for the chamber genre is the profound transformation of thematic themes.

The strength and intensity of musical development caused the appearance of two bright and powerful climaxes in the romance. One of them is achieved by comparing E-flat major and F-sharp major (“Spring is coming! We are messengers of the young spring”). In the vocal part here there appears a wide (in the volume of a decima), steeply rising upward, jubilant phrase “She sent us forward!”, supported by stormy upswings of chords at the piano (introductory motive). Following this, the music takes on a dreamy and restrained character: the sonority suddenly subsides, the tempo slows down twice, and the piano texture becomes lighter.

Andante (“And the quiet, warm days of May”) begins a new wave of growth: the tempo accelerates and the rhythmic pulse quickens (eighth notes are replaced by triplets). Energetic ascending piano sequences lead to a second, no less impressive, but this time purely instrumental climax. It is reminiscent of the pathetic virtuoso episodes of the composer's piano concertos. The last sound of the vocal part is “flooded” by an avalanche of rapidly falling octaves, leading to a pathetic, trumpet-like cry, “Spring is coming!” It is accompanied by a dense, seemingly “vibrating” (repeating triplets) accompaniment with a sharp-sounding overlay of the “dominant and sixth” chord on the tonic fifth.

The image of the night appears repeatedly in Rachmaninov's romances. In the romance "Excerpt from Musset" (translation by A. N. Apukhtin) he is associated with. a state of oppressive loneliness. The range of feelings expressed in the romance is excruciating mental pain and despair, intensified by darkness and silence. Some nervousness and “hysteria” of the music in certain episodes of the romance apparently reflects the stylistic features of the gypsy pop performing arts, which Rachmaninov knew well. In the somewhat exaggerated pathos of such romances, as B.V. Asafiev rightly noted, “there was a strain and a cry that was understandable to the environment,” and “with this impulse, his aspirations, the composer instinctively responded to a painful feeling.”

A musical and poetic image is born already in the first bars of the romance. The melody is formed by phrases separated by pauses, but intonationally united. Expressiveness is enhanced by the excited figurations of the accompaniment.

In the middle section (it begins with the words “What am I excited about”), episodes appear that are contrasting in mood and musical content, revealing the complex change of thoughts and experiences of the lyrical hero. The melodic ariatic melody gives way to recitative presentation. The exclamation “My God!” sounds like an unexpected outburst of a bright and enthusiastic feeling of hope, emphasized by the major triad of the VI degree. The state of vague anxiety and tense expectation is further perfectly expressed in the repetition of the same melodic phrases (“Someone is calling me,” etc.), in the sad, aching sound repeated twelve times on the piano in F-sharp of the second octave (“It has struck midnight” ) and in the downward movement of the bass, sounding like soft footsteps receding. The dramatic climax comes in a compressed reprise-coda (“Oh, loneliness,” etc.) and, as often happens in Rachmaninov’s romances, comes at a piano conclusion. It combines the most significant and striking components of the musical content of the work: the intonation of the main theme and the major “shift” from the middle section of the romance. The secondary appearance of the D major triad here also gives the impression of a ray of light” suddenly penetrating the nocturnal atmosphere, saturated with tragedy.

Quite typical of Rachmaninoff's mature vocal style is the continuously developing musical form of the romance - a simple three-part composition, however, gravitating towards a one-part composition. Its unity is achieved by the intonational relationship of various melodic structures (see, for example, the initial phrases of all three sections - “Why is my sick heart beating so hard?”, “Why am I excited, scared in the night?”, “Oh loneliness, oh poverty!”) . The unity of the musical form is also achieved by the flexibility of the modulation plan, the frequent change of different episodes and textures, due to which the entire middle is unfinished and is perceived as the preparation of a reprise. Only the four-bar predicate (from the words “My cell is empty”) and the strong establishment of the main tonality in the reprise-coda give the whole the necessary completeness. All these features bring the romance closer to a type of dramatic vocal scene.

The image of the night also appears in the romance “Sad Night” (words by I. A. Bunin). However, the theme of tragic loneliness received a completely different embodiment here. “The Night is Sad” is a new type of Russian elegy. It is unlike the bright contemplative elegies of Glinka ("Doubt") or Rimsky-Korsakov ("The Clouds Are Thinning..."). Elegance is combined here with a densely gloomy mood, a consistent intensification of tragic coloring with restraint, emphasized by stillness. The basis of a romance is essentially not one but two melodies. The first is formed in the vocal part, consisting of short and sad in mood motives-sighs; the other - wider and more united - takes place in the piano part. The background is melancholic repeating quintuplets; they create a feeling of inescapable sadness and numbness:

The uniqueness of intonation development lies in the fact that numerous phrases and motives that arise during the development of a musical and poetic image are perceived as variants of a single melodic content. Some of them acquire the meaning of “key” intonations and chants. Such, for example, is the initial melodic turn to the words “The night is sad,” which frames the entire romance (see the last three bars of the piano conclusion). This should also include various variants of a melodic phrase based on an ascending movement to the fifth tone of the mode. Initially, this turn appears at the piano, then passes through the vocal melody (“Far away...”, etc.) and again continues to develop in the instrumental part (see bars 5-7). The conclusion is based on the interweaving of these two characteristic motifs.

The impression of unity and internal integrity of the musical form of the romance is facilitated by the consistency of harmonic development. The romance is dominated by the plagal harmonic sphere, manifested in the tonal relationships of the parts of the work (F-sharp minor - E minor - F-sharp minor) and in numerous plagal phrases scattered throughout the romance.

At the same time, it is not difficult to find subtle figurative and musical touches associated with individual details of the poetic content. Let us note, for example, the stop on the major triad of the VI degree - at the mention of a distant light, pleasing a companion lost in the endless steppe. The plastic melodic progression that appears next with a jump to a diminished fifth and a deviation into the key of a major dominant merges well with the words of the text “There is a lot of sadness and love in the heart.” During the transition to the reprise, the piano expressively sounds the course of parallel octaves, with its harsh character and regularity preparing the return of the musical picture of the deserted night steppe.

The amazing sensitivity and penetration of the music, the figurative richness achieved by the composer with a very economical use of expressive means, make this romance one of the pearls of Rachmaninov’s vocal creativity.

As we can see, dramatic themes are widely represented in Rachmaninov’s vocal works. The bitter consciousness of the irreversibility of happiness and, in spite of everything, the uncontrollable desire for it, an angry protest against undeserved suffering and deprivation - these are the moods and motives of Rachmaninov’s dramatic romances. Most of them are found among the romance cycles of 90Q.-x (op. 21 and 26).

“Everything passes” (op. 26, words by D. N. Ratgauz). The theme of regret about an irretrievably passing life is resolved here by the composer in a sharply dramatic way: it develops into a passionate protest against everything that fetters and suppresses the bright and beautiful impulses of a person. In this way, Rachmaninov's romance is decisively different from the pessimistic and weak-willed mood of Rathaus's poem. The protesting pathos breaks through with particular force in the climactic, last phrase. This climax, prepared by two successively increasing phrases - voice and piano - ascending pattern with an energetic fifth with Tchaikovsky. Rachmaninov's romances excite with their passionate power, spontaneity of feeling, and captivating sincerity. This is the composer’s lyrical confession, in which both the rebellious impulses characteristic of his work and the uncontrollable pressure of strong-willed life-affirming emotions - Rachmaninov’s “flood of feelings” - were expressed; his romances reflect both the tragic moods of loneliness and reverent love for nature.

The composer's vocal style is distinguished by its length, breadth and freedom of melodic breathing, a combination of smooth and plastic cantilena with sensitive, always psychologically justified declamation. The vocal principle, singing dominates in Rachmaninov's romances, the vocal melody is the main means for the composer of revealing the lyrical and psychological content and creating generalized musical images. The principles of the romance style of Glinka and Tchaikovsky are continued in Rachmaninov’s vocal lyrics. At the same time, in Rachmaninov's romances there are features that indicate their stylistic connection with the lyrics of the composers of the Mighty Handful - most of all Rimsky-Korsakov, partly Balakirev and Borodin; The “Korsakovian” beginning is felt in the general light-elegiac tone of many of Rachmaninov’s contemplative romances, in the richness and richness of their harmonic coloring.

One of the significant features of Rachmaninov’s romance style is the exceptionally large role and variety of piano accompaniment. The piano part of Rachmaninov’s romances cannot be called simply an accompaniment. It is interesting to quote the composer’s remark regarding the romance “Sad Night”: “... actually, not for him [i.e. e. the singer] needs to sing, and the accompanist on the piano." And indeed, in this romance (as in many others) the voice and piano merge into a vocal-instrumental duet ensemble. In Rachmaninov’s romances there are examples of concert-virtuoso, decorative and lush piano texture, along with a transparent chamber presentation, requiring from the pianist exceptional sound mastery in conveying the rhythmic and polyphonic details of the musical fabric, the finest register and harmonic colors. Rachmaninov biography romance opera

Rachmaninov's inherent sense of form was clearly manifested in the convex and intense dynamics of his romances. They are distinguished by their special dramatic sharpness, the “explosiveness” of the climaxes, in which the internal psychological conflict, the main idea of ​​the work, is revealed with extraordinary force. No less typical of the composer’s vocal lyrics are the so-called “quiet” climaxes - using high sounds on the most delicate pianissimo.

Such climaxes, despite all the external restraint, have enormous emotional intensity and produce an indelible artistic impression, being an expression of the author’s innermost thoughts and feelings.

The vocal works of Rachmaninov (as well as his contemporary Medtner) complete the history of Russian classical romance of the pre-revolutionary era.