Tchaikovskys Complete Songs A Companion with Texts & Translations

"In this splendid volume, Richard Sylvester treats Tchaikovsky's songs with great sympathy and understanding, with special emphasis on relating the texts to the music. The songs are presented chronologically, interspersed with insightful observations about their relevance to the composer's life. This book will be welcomed by performers and scholars, but its fluent readability and avoidance of unnecessary detail make it easily accessible to the general reader. A welcome bonus is a CD with 22 songs interpreted by outstanding singers of at least two generations." --George Jellinek, author, critic, and

host of WQXR's nationally syndicated program The Vocal Scene

For the first time ever, texts of the 103 songs (romances) set by Tchaikovsky are assembled in a single collection, presented in their Cyrillic original, together with transliterations and nonrhyming English translations. Taken in chronological order, the songs provide a fascinating journey through the composer's complete song oeuvre. Sylvester (Colgate Univ.) selected the 22 songs on the accompanying CD not only on performance merit but because they present excellent examples of cultivated, lyric Russian diction. He offers occasional commentary regarding performance practices but deals chiefly with the literary sources of the songs. A discography and a selected bibliography are appended. No other publication covers the same scholarly territory, so this book will be a valuable source of information for all performers and scholars interested in the Russian song repertoire. Upper--division undergraduate voice students through faculty and professionals.R. Miller, Oberlin College, Choice, October 2002

"It's not often that a book really does 'fill a long--felt want', but here is an example, and an outstanding one... [T]he core of the book is the discussion of each poem, its author, and it significance to Tchaikovsky. These come from a deep knowledge of Russian poetry and ideas; they are in themselves absorbing, but they are also vital to an understanding of the literary traditions from which Russian song came and of what inspired its greatest master." --John Warrack, Gramophone Indiana University Press Indiana University Press

"[T]he songs provide a fascinating journey through the composer's complete song oeuvre... No other publication covers the same scholarly territory, so this book will be a valuable source of information for all performers and scholars interested in the Russian song repertoire." --Choice, October 2002

"It is a model of research and organization, an indispensable handbook for students of Tchaikovsky's work, singers, musicians and musicologists and lovers of vocal music. However, this volume is much more... [E]merging from the whole is the story of an inspired life in an extrarodinary era... [I]t is a unique portrait of the cultural world of 19th century Russia, and the international swirl of art, friendship and performance in which Tchaikovsky dwelled." --Nancy Ries, Colgate Scene

In this splendid volume, Richard Sylvester treats Tchaikovsky'ssongs with great sympathy and understanding, with special emphasis on relating thetexts to the music. The songs are presented chronologically, interspersed withinsightful observations about their relevance to the composer's life. This book willbe welcomed by performers and scholars, but its fluent readability and avoidance ofunnecessary detail make it easily accessible to the general reader. A welcome bonusis a CD with 22 songs interpreted by outstanding singers of at least twogenerations. -- George Jellinek, author, critic, and

host of WQXR'snationally syndicated program The Vocal Scene

Preliminary Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments

Preface

Transcriptions from Cyrillic

Songs

Duets

Singers and Recordings

Bibliography

Index of Song Titles in Russian

Index of Song Titles in English

Index of Names