The flourishing of romance as a genre began in the second half of the 18th century. The genre is becoming especially popular in France, Russia and Germany.

By XIX century, national schools of romance were already taking shape: Austrian and German, French and Russian. At this time, it became popular to combine romances into vocal cycles: F. Schubert “The Beautiful Miller’s Wife”, “Winter Reise” to the poems of W. Müller, which are, as it were, a continuation of Beethoven’s idea expressed in the collection of songs “To a Distant Beloved”. F. Schubert’s collection “Swan Song” is also known, many of the romances from which have gained worldwide fame.

In Russian artistic culture, romance is a unique phenomenon, because it became a national musical genre essentially immediately after it penetrated into Russia from Western European countries in the middle XVIII V. Moreover, he assimilated on our national soil from Western European arias and Russian lyric songs, absorbing all the best of these genres.

Composers made important contributions to the development of Russian romance A. Alyabyev, A. Gurilev And A. Varlamov.

Alexander Alexandrovich Alyabyev (1787-1851)

A. Alyabyevis the author of about 200 romances, the most famous of them is “The Nightingale” based on poems by A. Delvig.

A. Alyabyev was born in Tobolsk into a noble family. He took part in the Patriotic War of 1812 and foreign campaigns of the Russian army in 1813-14. Participated in the capture of Dresden, organized by the partisan and poet Denis Davydov. During the capture of Dresden he was wounded. He took part in the battle of Leipzig, the battles on the Rhine and the capture of Paris. Has awards. With the rank of lieutenant colonel, he retired with a uniform and a full pension. Lived in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Music was his hobby. He was interested in the music of the peoples of Russia, and recorded Caucasian, Bashkir, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, and Tatar folk songs. In addition to the world-famous “Nightingale”, Alyabyev’s best works include romances based on Pushkin’s poems “Two Crows”, “Winter Road”, “Singer”, as well as “Evening Bells” (poems by I. Kozlov), “The Oak Tree is Noisy” (poems by V. . Zhukovsky), “I’m sorry and sad” (poems by I. Aksakov), “Curls” (poems by A. Delvig), “Beggar” (poems by Beranger), “Paquitos” (poems by I. Myatlev).

Alexander Lvovich Gurilev 1803-1858)

Born into the family of serf musician Count V.G. Orlov. He received his first music lessons from his father. He played in the serf orchestra and in the quartet of Prince Golitsyn. Having received his freedom with his father, he became known as a composer, pianist and teacher. He writes romances based on poems by A. Koltsov and I. Makarov, which quickly gain popularity.

Gurilev’s most famous romances: “The bell rattles monotonously,” “Justification,” “Both boring and sad,” “Winter Evening,” “You Can’t Understand My Sadness,” “Separation” and others. His romance based on the words of Shcherbina “After the Battle” gained particular popularity during the Crimean War. It was reworked and became the folk song “The Sea Spreads Wide.”

Vocal lyrics were the main genre of his work. A. Gurilev's romances are imbued with subtle lyricism and Russian folk song tradition.

Alexander Egorovich Varlamov (1801-1848)

Descended from Moldavian nobles. Born into the family of a minor official, a retired lieutenant. His talent for music manifested itself in early childhood: he played the violin and guitar by ear. At the age of ten he was sent to the court singing chapel in St. Petersburg. The talented boy interested D. S. Bortnyansky, the composer and director of the choir. He began to study with him, which Varlamov always remembered with gratitude.

Varlamov worked as a singing teacher in the Russian embassy church in Holland, but soon returned to his homeland and from 1829 lived in St. Petersburg, where he met M. I. Glinka and attended his musical evenings. He served as assistant bandmaster of the Moscow Imperial Theatres. He also performed as a singer-performer, and gradually his romances and songs became popular. Varlamov’s most famous romances: “Oh, you, little time,” “Mountain peaks,” “It’s hard, there’s no strength,” “A blizzard is blowing along the street,” “The Robber’s Song,” “Up the Volga,” “The Sail Is White.” lonely".

Alexey Nikolaevich Verstovsky (1799-1862)

A. Verstovsky. Engraving by Karl Gampeln

Born in Tambov province. He studied music on his own. He served as an inspector of music, an inspector of the repertoire of the Imperial Moscow theaters, and a manager of the office of the Directorate of the Imperial Moscow Theaters. He wrote operas (his opera “Askold’s Grave” based on the novel by M. Zagoskin was very popular), vaudeville, as well as ballads and romances. His most famous romances: “Did you hear the voice of the night behind the grove”, “Old husband, terrible husband” (based on poems by A. S. Pushkin). He created a new genre - the ballad. His best ballads are considered to be “Black Shawl” (to the verses of A. S. Pushkin), “Poor Singer” and “Night View” (to the verses of V. A. Zhukovsky), “Three Songs of the Skald”, etc.

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (1804-1857)

The future composer was born in the village of Novospasskoye, Smolensk province, in the family of a retired captain. I have been involved in music since childhood. He studied at the Noble boarding school at St. Petersburg University, where his tutor was the future Decembrist V. Kuchelbecker. Here he met A. Pushkin, with whom he was friends until the poet’s death.

After graduating from boarding school, he actively studied music. Visits Italy, Germany. He stopped in Milan for a while and there he met the composers V. Bellini and G. Donizetti and improved his skills. His plans include the creation of a Russian national opera, the theme of which was advised to him by V. Zhukovsky - Ivan Susanin. The premiere of the opera “A Life for the Tsar” took place on December 9, 1836. The success was enormous, the opera was enthusiastically received by society. M.I. Glinka was recognized as a Russian national composer. Later there were other works that became famous, but we will focus on romances.

Glinka wrote more than 20 romances and songs, almost all of them are known, but the most popular are still “I am here, Inesilya”, “Doubt”, “A passing song”, “Confession”, “Lark”, “I remember a wonderful moment” etc. The history of the creation of the romance “I Remember a Wonderful Moment” is known to every schoolchild, we will not repeat it here, but the fact that “Patriotic Song” by M. Glinka in the period from 1991 to 2000 was the official anthem of the Russian Federation, I can remind you.

Authors of romance music in the 19th century. there were many musicians: A. Dargomyzhsky, A. Dubuk, A. Rubinstein, Ts. Cui(he was also the author of a study on Russian romance), P. Tchaikovsky, N. Rimsky-Korsakov, P. Bulakhov, S. Rachmaninov, N. Kharito(author of the famous romance “The chrysanthemums in the garden have long since faded”).

Traditions of Russian romance in the 20th century. continued B. Prozorovsky, N. Medtner. But the most famous modern authors of romances were G.V. Sviridov And G.F. Ponomarenko.

Georgy Vasilievich Sviridov (1915-1998)

G. Sviridov was born in the town of Fatezh, Kursk region, into a family of employees. I was left without a father early. As a child, I was very interested in literature, and then music. His first musical instrument was the balalaika. He studied at a music school, and then at a music college. At the Leningrad Conservatory he was a student of D. Shostakovich.

He created 6 romances based on verses by A. Pushkin, 7 romances based on verses by M. Lermontov, 13 romances based on verses by A. Blok, romances based on verses by W. Shakespeare, R. Burns, F. Tyutchev, S. Yesenin.

Grigory Fedorovich Ponomarenko (1921-1996)

Born in the Chernigov region (Ukraine) into a peasant family. At the age of 5, he learned to play the button accordion from his uncle, M.T. Ponomarenko, who not only played himself, but also made button accordions.

He independently studied musical notation, and at the age of 6 he was already playing at all the village holidays.

During his service, he participated in the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Border Troops of the NKVD of the Ukrainian SSR. After demobilization, he was accepted as an accordion player into the Orchestra of Russian Folk Instruments named after N. Osipov. Since 1972 he lived in the Krasnodar region. He wrote 5 operettas, spiritual choral music “All-Night Vigil”, concerts for button accordion and orchestra, quartets, pieces for orchestra of folk instruments, oratorios for mixed choir and orchestra, works for domra, button accordion, music for drama theater performances, for films, many songs. His romances based on the poems of S. Yesenin are especially famous: “I don’t regret, I don’t call, I don’t cry...”, “I’m wandering through the first snow,” “I left my home,” “The golden grove dissuaded me,” etc.

After the revolution of 1917, romance was forcibly removed from the artistic life of the country and called a “bourgeois” phenomenon. If the classical romances of Alyabyev, Glinka and other composers were still heard at concerts, then the everyday romance was completely “driven underground.” And only from the beginning of the 60s it gradually began to revive.

Russian classical romance is over 300 years old, and concert halls are always full when romances are performed. International romance festivals are held. The romance genre continues to live and develop, delighting its fans.

• And finally I will say...(A. Petrov - B. Akhmadulina)
• And I'm still waiting... ( K. Khmarsky)
• Oh, why this night...(Nick. Bakaleinikov - N. Ritter)
• Oh those black eyes

B

• White acacia fragrant clusters- music by unknown author, lyrics - A. Pugachev (?). Published in 1902.
• Bells- music by A. Bakaleinikov, lyrics by A. Kusikov.
• Past joys, past sorrows

IN

• In the garden where we met
• At the hour when the flicker
• At the fateful hour(gypsy waltz by S. Gerdal)
• You don't understand my sadness
• Come back, I will forgive everything!(B. Prozorovsky - V. Lensky)
• Evening bells- poems by Ivan Kozlov and music by Alexander Alyabyev, -
• Evening romance ( K. Mikhailov-Khmarsky)
• The look of your black eyes(N. Zubov - I. Zhelezko)
• In the moonlight (Ding-ding-ding! The bell is ringing, words and music by Evgeny Yuryev)
• Here comes the postal troika
• This is what your songs have done!(M. Steinberg)
• Everything that was(D. Pokrass - P. Herman)
• You ask for songs, I don't have them(Sasha Makarov)
• I go out alone on the road(M. Lermontov)

G

• “Gas scarf” (Don’t tell anyone about love)
• Gaida, three(M. Steinberg)
• Eyes(A. Vilensky - T. Shchepkina-Kupernik)
• Have you forgotten (Looking at the ray of purple sunset)(Pavel Alekseevich Kozlov)
• Shine, burn, my star- music by P. Bulakhov to words by V. Chuevsky, 1847.
• Burn, my heart

D

• Two guitars- music by Ivan Vasiliev (to the tune of a gypsy Hungarian woman), lyrics by Apollon Grigoriev.
• Day and night the heart sheds affection
• You made a mistake(V. Goloshchanov - I. Severyanin)
• Dear long- music by B. Fomin, lyrics by K. Podrevsky
• Weeping willows are dozing
• Duma

E

• If you want to love(music: A. Glazunov, lyrics: A. Korinfsky)
• More than once you will remember me

AND

• The autumn wind moans pitifully(M. Pugachev - D. Mikhailov)
• My joy lives on- based on the poem by Sergei Fedorovich Ryskin (1859-1895) “Udalets” (1882), arr. M. Shishkina
• Lark(M. Glinka - N. Kukolnik)

Z

• For a friendly conversation (He came to us, he came to us)
• Stars in the sky (I dreamed of a garden in a wedding dress) (V. Borisov - E. Diterichs)
• winter road- poems by Pushkin, music by Alyabyev.

AND

• Emerald

TO

• How good
• Gate(A. Obukhov - A. Budishchev)
• Capricious, stubborn
• When you have a premonition of separation...(D. Ashkenazi - Y. Polonsky)
• Bells, bells(M. Steinberg)
• You are my fallen maple (Sergei Yesenin in 1925)
• When with a simple and gentle gaze
• Red sundress

L

• Swan song(music and lyrics by Marie Poiret), 1901
• Only the moon will rise

M

• My days are slowly passing by(music: N. Rimsky-Korsakov, lyrics by A. Pushkin)
• Honey, can you hear me- music by E. Waldteufel, lyrics by S. Gerdel
• My fire is shining in the fog(Ya. Prigogine and others - Yakov Polonsky)
• Hairy bumblebee(A. Petrov - R. Kipling, trans. G. Kruzhkov)
• Flies are like black thoughts(Mussorgsky - Apukhtin)
• We went out into the garden
• We only know each other(B. Prozorovsky - L. Penkovsky)

N

• To the far shore...(words - V. Lebedev, music - G. Bogdanov)
• Don't wake her up at dawn(A. Varlamov - A. Fet)
• Don't wake me up... (K. Khmarsky)
• Don't scold me, dear. Words: A. Razorenov, music: A. I. Dyubuk
• Don't tell me about him(M. Perrottet)
• Spring will not come for me- based on the text of the poet A. Molchanov, created in 1838 in the Caucasus, music. and words by N. Devitte.
• Don't fool me
• Don't awaken memories(P. Bulakhov - N. N.)
• Don't leave, my darling(N. Pashkov)
• Don't go, stay with me(N. Zubov)
• Bad weather(K. Khmarsky)
• No, he didn't love it!(A. Guerchia - M. Medvedev). A translation of the Italian romance, performed with great success by V.F. Komissarzhevskaya and introduced into the play “Dowry” by A.N. Ostrovsky on the stage of the Alexandria Theater as Larisa’s romance (premiere September 17, 1896).
• No, it’s not you I love so passionately (poems by M. Lermontov)
• I don't need anything in the world
• Beggar
• But I still love you
• Crazy nights, sleepless nights(A. Spiro - A. Apukhtin)
• The night is bright(M. Shishkin - M. Yazykov)
• The night is silent(A. G. Rubinstein)

ABOUT

• Oh, at least talk to me(I. Vasiliev - A. Grigoriev), 1857
• The bell rings loudly(K. Sidorovich - I. Makarov)
• He left(S. Donaurov - unknown author)
• With a sharp ax
• Move away, don't look
• Chrysanthemums have bloomed(first romance by Nikolai Kharito, 1910)
• Charming eyes(I. Kondratyev)
• Black eyes- lyrics by Evgeniy Grebenka (1843), performed to the music of F. Herman’s waltz “Hommage” (Valse Hommage) arranged by S. Gerdel in 1884.
• The golden grove dissuaded(to verses by S. Yesenin)

P

• A pair of bays(S. Donaurov - A. Apukhtin)
• Under your enchanting caress
• Lieutenant Golitsyn (song)- first dated performance in 1977.
• Really, I'll tell my mom
• Take a peek at me, my darling- music: A. I. Dyubuk
• Confession
• Farewell, my camp!(B. Prozorovsky - V. Makovsky)
• Farewell dinner
• Song of the Gypsy (poems by Yakov Polonsky)
• Pierrot/dedication to Alexander Vertinsky (K. Khmarsky)

R

• As she parted, she said
• Romance about romance- music by Andrei Petrov, lyrics by Bela Akhmadulina, from the film “Cruel Romance”, 1984.
• Romance(Words and music by Alexander Vasiliev)

WITH

• White tablecloth(F. Herman, sample by S. Gerdahl - unknown author)
• The night was shining
• Blue eyes ( K. Khmarsky)
• Random and simple
• Nightingale- composer A. A. Alyabyev on poems by A. A. Delvig, 1825-1827.
• Good night gentlemen- music - A. Samoilov, poetry - A. Skvortsov.
• Among the worlds
• Faceted cups

T

• Your eyes are green(words by K. Podrevsky, music by B. Fomin)
• Dark cherry shawl(V. Bakaleinikov)
• Just once(words by P. German, music by B. Fomin)
• Shadows of the past...(lyrics by Anatoly Adolfovich Frenkel, music by Nikolai Ivanovich Kharito)

U

• On the high bank
• Alas, why does she shine?- poetry

list of Tchaikovsky's romances, list of romances
List of Russian romances

• 1 List
  • 1.1 A
  • 1.2 B
  • 1.3 V
  • 1.4 G
  • 1.5 D
  • 1.6 E
  • 1.7 F
  • 1.8 Z
  • 1.9 I
  • 1.10 K
  • 1.11 L
  • 1.12 M
  • 1.13 N
  • 1.14 O
  • 1.15 P
  • 1.16 R
  • 1.17 C
  • 1.18 T
  • 1.19 U
  • 1.20 C
  • 1.21 H
  • 1.22 Sh
  • 1.23 E
  • 1.24 I
• 2 Links

List

A

• And finally, I will say... (A. Petrov - B. Akhmadulina)
• Oh, why this night... (Nick. Bakaleinikov - N. Ritter)
• Oh those black eyes

B

• “White acacia fragrant clusters” - music by an unknown author, lyrics by A. Pugachev (?). Published in 1902. Modern version - music by V. E. Basner, words by M. L. Matusovsky.
• Bells - music by A. Bakaleinikov, lyrics by A. Kusikov.
• Past joys, past sorrows

IN

• In the garden where we met
• At the hour when the flicker
• At the fatal hour (gypsy waltz by S. Gerdal)
• You don't understand my sadness
• Come back, I will forgive everything! (B. Prozorovsky - V. Lensky)
• Evening bells - poems by Ivan Kozlov and music by Alexander Alyabyev, 1827-28
• The look of your black eyes (N. Zubov - I. Zhelezko)
• In the moonlight (Ding-ding-ding! The bell is ringing, words and music by Evgeny Yuryev)
• Here comes the postal troika
• Everything that was (D. Pokrass - P. German)
• You ask for songs, I don’t have them (Sasha Makarov)
• I go out alone onto the road (M. Lermontov)

G

• “Gas scarf” (Don’t tell anyone about love)
• Gaida, troika (M. Steinberg)
• Eyes (A. Vilensky - T. Shchepkina-Kupernik)
• Looking at the purple sunset beam
• Shine, burn, my star - music by P. Bulakhov to the words of V. Chuevsky, 1847.

D

• Two guitars - music by Ivan Vasiliev (to the tune of a gypsy Hungarian woman), lyrics Apollo Grigoriev.
• Day and night the heart sheds affection
• You made a mistake (unknown - I. Severyanin)
• A long road - music by B. Fomin, lyrics by K. Podrevsky
• Weeping willows are dozing

E

• If you want to love (music: A. Glazunov, lyrics: A. Korinfsky)
• More than once you will remember me

AND

• The autumn wind moans pitifully (M. Pugachev - D. Mikhailov)
• My joy lives on - based on the poem by Sergei Fedorovich Ryskin (1859-1895) “The Udalets” (1882), arr. M. Shishkina

Lark (M. Glinka - Puppeteer N)

Z

• For a friendly conversation (He came to us, he came to us)
• Stars in the sky (V. Borisov - E. Diterichs)
• Winter road - poems by Pushkin, music by Alyabyev

pipi kaka.

AND

• Emerald

TO

• How good
• Wicket (A. Obukhov - A. Budishchev)
• Capricious, stubborn
• When there is a premonition of separation... (D. Ashkenazi - Y. Polonsky)
• You are my fallen maple (Sergei Yesenin in 1925)
• When with a simple and gentle gaze

L

• Swan Song (music and lyrics by Marie Poiret), 1901
• Calendar sheets
• Only the moon will rise (K. K. Tyrtov, dedication to Vyaltseva)

M

• My days are slowly passing (music: N. Rimsky-Korsakov, lyrics by A. Pushkin)
• Darling, can you hear me - music by E. Waldteifel, lyrics by S. Gerdel
• My fire shines in the fog (Ya. Prigogine and others - Yakov Polonsky)
• The Shaggy Bumblebee (A. Petrov - R. Kipling, trans. G. Kruzhkova)
• Flies are like black thoughts (Mussorgsky - Apukhtin)
• We went out into the garden
• We only know each other (B. Prozorovsky - L. Penkovsky)

N

• To the far shore... (words - V. Lebedev, music - G. Bogdanov)
• Don't wake her up at dawn (A. Varlamov - A. Fet)
• Don't scold me, dear. Words: A. Razorenov, music: A. I. Dyubuk
• Don't tell me about him (M. Perrottet)
• Spring will not come for me - based on the text of the poet A. Molchanov, created in 1838 in the Caucasus, music. and words by N. Devitte.
• Don't fool me
• Don’t awaken memories (P. Bulakhov - N.N.)
• Don't leave, my darling (N. Pashkov)
• Don't go, stay with me (N. Zubov - M. Poigin)
• No, he didn't love it! (A. Guerchia - M. Medvedev). A translation of the Italian romance, performed with great success by V. F. Komissarzhevskaya and introduced into the play “Dowry” by A. N. Ostrovsky on the stage of the Alexandria Theater as Larisa’s romance (premiere September 17 1896).
• No, it’s not you I love so passionately (poems by M. Lermontov)
• I don't need anything in the world
• Beggar
• But I still love you
• Crazy nights, sleepless nights (A. Spiro - A. Apukhtin)
• The night is bright (M. Shishkin - M. Yazykov)
• The night is silent (A. G. Rubinstein)

ABOUT

• Oh, at least talk to me (I. Vasiliev - A. Grigoriev), 1857
• The bell rattles monotonously (K. Sidorovich - I. Makarov)
• The month turned crimson
• He left (S. Donaurov - unknown author)
• With a sharp ax
• Move away, don't look
• The chrysanthemums have bloomed (the first romance by Nikolai Kharito, 1910)
• Charming eyes (I. Kondratiev)
• Black eyes - lyrics by Evgeny Grebenka (1843), performed to the music of F. Herman's waltz “Hommage” (Valse Hommage) arranged by S. Gerdel, 1884.
• The golden grove dissuaded me (to poems by S. Yesenin)

P

• A pair of bays (S. Donaurov - A. Apukhtin)
• Under your enchanting caress
• Lieutenant Golitsyn (song) - first dated performance in 1977.
• Really, I'll tell my mom
• Dove me, my darling - music: A. I. Dubuk
• Confession
• Farewell, my camp! (B. Prozorovsky - V. Makovsky)
• Farewell dinner
• Song of the Gypsy Poems by Yakov Polonsky

R

• As she parted, she said
• Romance about romance - music by Andrei Petrov, lyrics by Bela Akhmadulina, from the film “Cruel Romance”, 1984.
• Romance (Words and music by Alexander Vasiliev)

C

• White tablecloth (F. Herman, design by S. Gerdal - unknown author)
• The night was shining
• Random and simple
• I dreamed of a garden in a wedding dress - music by Boris Borisov, poetry by Elizaveta Diterichs
• Nightingale - composer A. A. Alyabyev to poems by A. A. Delvig, 1825-1827.
• Good night, gentlemen - music - A. Samoilov, poetry - A. Skvortsov.
• Among the worlds
• Faceted cups

T

• Your eyes are green Boris Fomin
• Dark cherry shawl (V. Bakaleinikov)
• Only once (words by P. German, music by B. Fomin)
• Shadows of the past... (lyrics by Anatoly Adolfovich Frenkel, music by Nikolai Ivanovich Kharito)

U

• On the high bank
• Alas, why does she shine - poems by Pushkin, music by Alyabyev
• You are a true friend
• Go away, go away completely (L. Friso - V. Vereshchagin)
• Street, street, you, brother, are drunk - poetry: V. I. Sirotin, music: A. I. Dyubyuk
• Foggy morning (E. Abaza, according to other sources Yu. Abaza - Ivan Turgenev)

C

• The nightingale whistled to us all night - music by Veniamin Basner, lyrics by Mikhail Matusovsky. Romance from the film “Days of the Turbins”. 1976. Created under the influence of the popular romance “The fragrant bunches of white acacia”
• FLOWERS old noble romance, music. Sartinsky-Bey, words by unknown author

H

• The Seagull - music: E. Zhurakovsky, M. Poiret, lyrics: E. A. Bulanina
• Circassian song - poems by Pushkin, music by Alyabyev
• Black eyes. Words: A. Koltsov, music: A. I. Dyubuk
• What is this heart
• Wonderful rose

Sh

• Silk Lace, musical arrangement by Boris Prozorovsky, lyrics by Konstantin Podrevsky

E

• Hey, coachman, drive to “Yar” (A. Yuryev - B. Andrzhievsky)

I

• I'm not telling you words and music by D. Mikhailov
• I loved you - poems by Pushkin, music by Alyabyev
• I met you (music unknown author, edited by I. Kozlovsky - F. Tyutchev)
• I was driving home (lyrics and music by M. Poiret), 1905
• I won't tell you anything (T. Tolstaya - A. Fet)
• I'll leave, I'll leave, I'll leave
• Coachman, don't drive the horses - composer Yakov Feldman, poet Nikolai von Ritter, 1915
• I lived out my desires based on the poems of A. S. Pushkin

Links

• Russian classical romance - texts, biographical information, mp3
• List of romances and gypsy songs with lyrics on the website a-pesni.org
  • List of gypsy romances with lyrics on the website a-pesni.org
• Russian Records - SKURA GOOD PERSON

list of romances, list of Tchaikovsky's romances

Educational and methodological development "Romances in the works of Russian composers"

The work is intended for a wide range of readers, and can also be used for themed evenings dedicated to Russian romance for the age category starting from secondary schools, children's music schools and children's art schools.

INTRODUCTION

I love to listen, plunging into bliss,
Fiery romances, sighs of fire.
S. Danilov

Sometimes in concerts, on radio, television, and in playing music at home, we hear works that are distinguished by rare expressiveness, high poetic language, bright melody, and the merging of a poetic idea with a musical idea. These works are often short in volume, their voice is not loud and is addressed to a small audience of listeners.
These works are romances.
Romance... It is full of charm and light sadness.
Romances provide the greatest opportunities for expressing thoughts, feelings, moods...

The history of the creation of the romance.

The word romance takes us back to the distant Middle Ages in Spain. It was there, in the 13th-14th centuries, that a new song genre was established in the works of traveling poet-singers, combining the techniques of recitative, melodic, melodic and mimic dance. The songs of the troubadour singers were performed in their native Romance language. This is where the name “romances” came from, which determined not only a special genre of poetic text and performing traditions, but also a characteristic type of melody accompanied by a musical instrument.
In the 15th century, with the development of lyric poetry, especially court poetry, the publication of romance collections - the so-called romanceros - began to be published in Spain. From Spain, romance migrated to England and France.
Romance first penetrated into the countries of Western Europe as a literary and poetic genre, but gradually penetrated as a musical genre, forming an independent direction in the vocal music of various countries.
The English called romances not only vocal compositions, but also large chivalric poems, and the French called lyrical love songs. Moving closer to folk art, romance was enriched with folk features and became a popular democratic genre, preserving, unlike Spanish folk songs, its specific features.
As a musical genre, romance expanded its scope over time and was filled with love, humorous, and satirical content.

Russian romance

In the 18th century, the romance genre took shape in Russian musical art, becoming one of the outstanding phenomena of Russian culture. Romance became a genre in which poetry and music most closely merged.
In Russia, romance initially appears in the metropolitan nobility, and then in the provincial environment. It is specially adapted for a narrow circle of people who visit salons and gather for evenings. A warm, homely atmosphere is created there, and this promotes the expression of heartfelt feelings.
The first romances were predominantly of a salon nature; they were characterized by the artificiality of both the experiences themselves and their expression. But over time, romances became simpler, love feelings began to be conveyed openly and more clearly. Romance spread widely not only among the educated strata of society, but also became the property of commoners, philistines, and ordinary people, who appreciated its depth of feeling, sincerity and cordiality. Romance was addressed to every person who experienced ardent and strong love or was disappointed in love. The eternal feeling in its diversity and conflicts, exciting and making the human heart suffer, remaining the content of the romance, opposes the coldness, indifference and alienation that a person often feels in real life.
Romance consolidates a memorable moment in the history of relationships and in the fate of people, one way or another separating them from the bustle world and taking them to the realm of eternal truths, to the realm of truly human values.

Types of romance in Russia:

The wide dissemination of romance in different strata of society in Russia also caused the emergence of its varieties: “estate”, “city” romance, which penetrated into the city among the raznochinsky environment. A special variety is bourgeois, or “cruel,” romance. He was distinguished by extremely intense passions, strain, exaggerated and extreme intonations.
The “gypsy” romance is also close to the “cruel”, with a cult wave that knows no boundaries of love passion.
Romance combines such genre varieties as ballad, elegy, barcarolle, and romances in dance rhythms.
An elegy is a lyrical and philosophical poem. An example of a romance that resembles an elegy is the beautiful romance “Foggy Morning” to the words of I. S. Turgenev. It captures with poetic charm the aching feeling of longing for bygone happiness.
A romance, which is similar to a ballad, is characterized by images inspired by ancient traditions and legends. An example is the romance “Black Shawl” by A. N. Verstovsky based on poems by A. S. Pushkin.
Many composers have created vocal and instrumental pieces in the barcarolle genre. Barcarolle - (Italian barcarola, from barca - boat), the song of the Venetian gondoliers is typical of the soft, swinging movement of the melody and lyrical character. Traits of folk barcarolle also appear in Russian romances.
Currently, the term “romance” refers to the whole variety of chamber vocal forms (solo and ensemble) with instrumental accompaniment, most often piano.
Such options as accompaniment on guitar and harp are also possible:

(picture of a girl playing the harp)
(picture of a young man playing the guitar)

Composers Alyabyev, Varlamov, Gurilev, Verstovsky, Bulakhov played an important role in the development of Russian romance in the first half of the 19th century. The genre of romance and chamber song also occupies a prominent place in the works of classical composers - Dargomyzhsky and Glinka.
(Portrait of M.I. Glinka)
The romances of Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka are the pride of Russian classics. The composer wrote them throughout his life. Some of them depict pictures of Russian nature and life, and lyrical romances are a kind of confession.
Everything captivates in M. I. Glinka’s romances: sincerity and simplicity, modesty and restraint in expressing feelings and moods, classical harmony, severity of form, beauty of melody.
M.I. Glinka is the founder of the Russian school of vocal singing. His romances are an inexhaustible spring of beauty and perfection.
The composer composed romances based on poems by contemporary poets - Zhukovsky, Delvig, Pushkin, close friends, for example I.V. Puppeteer.
Romances to the words of A.S. occupy a special place in the composer’s vocal lyrics. Pushkin. Among them is the pearl of Russian vocal lyrics “I remember a wonderful moment.” The genius of the poet and composer merged in this romance.
In 1838 M.I. Glinka met Ekaterina, daughter of Anna Petrovna Kern, to whom A.S. Pushkin dedicated the poem “I Remember a Wonderful Moment.”
“She was not pretty,” the composer later recalled, “even something painful was reflected on her pale face, but her clear, expressive eyes, an unusually slender figure and a special kind of charm and dignity, spilled throughout her entire person, attracted me more and more.” .
M.I. Glinka’s feelings were divided: He wrote: “I felt disgusted at home, but there was so much life and pleasure on the other side. Fiery poetic feelings for E.K., which she fully understood and shared...”
The meeting with Ekaterina Kern brought great joy to the composer. The girl’s sensitivity, spirituality, and education amazed M. I. Glinka. Thanks to the composer’s deep, pure feeling for Catherine Kern, the inspired poetic romance “I Remember a Wonderful Moment” appeared.
(Portrait of A.S. Dargomyzhsky)
More than a hundred songs and romances were written by the famous Russian composer A. S. Dargomyzhsky.
Romances deeply and psychologically truthfully reveal the inner world of a person, his feelings and thoughts.

Favorite poets A.S. Dargomyzhsky were A. S. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov, A. Delvig, Beranger. Their genius served as a source of inspiration for many composers of the time.
Dargomyzhsky’s romance “I’m Sad” to the words of M. Yu. Lermontov is imbued with deep lyricism. Such romances as “I have passed 16 years old”, “Titular Councilor”, “Old Corporal” are famous.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote his romances (more than a hundred of them) throughout his life. They are very diverse in genres, moods, and characters.
Pyotr Ilyich's romances are characterized by sincerity of lyrical feeling, spiritual openness and simplicity of expression.
(Portrait of P.I. Tchaikovsky)
About the romances of P. I. Tchaikovsky, composer B. V. Asafiev wrote:
“...In the monstrous conditions of Russian reality, especially provincial ones, among people suffering from a petty and vulgar life, there was a need for music... of immediate, sincere feeling, which would make it possible... to “unwind your soul”...
Tchaikovsky’s music came at the right time and opened up the full possibility of this kind of intense emotional communication.”
It is difficult to find a person who has not heard the romances of P. I. Tchaikovsky. Here are some of them:
“Among the noisy ball” to the words of A. N. Tolstoy It is written in the rhythm of a waltz, which corresponds to the content of the poem (memories of meeting with his beloved during the ball). This romance is a subtle, heartfelt, lyrical miniature, an intimate confession of one’s feelings.

One of the composer’s most radiant romances is “Does the Day Reign” to the words of A. N. Tolstoy. Everything in him reflects stormy delight, the ardor of a boundless, all-consuming feeling.

The romance “I bless you, forests” based on words from A. N. Tolstoy’s poem “John of Damascus”, by its nature, can be classified as one of the philosophical pages of P. I. Tchaikovsky’s vocal lyrics. Its main idea is the glorification of the beauty and power of nature, with which human life is inextricably linked.
(Portrait of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov)
It is impossible not to mention one more composer who enriched the treasury of Russian romance - Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov.

Romances occupy a special place in the composer’s multifaceted work, and he created 79 of them.
Nikolai Andreevich's vocal lyrics are characterized by deep poetry and impeccable artistic form.
The main content of his romances is love feelings, images of nature, motifs of oriental poetry, reflections on art.
The poems that attracted N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov indicate his delicate taste.
The composer's favorite poets are Pushkin, Maikov, Nikitin, Fet, Koltsov, A. Tolstoy.
The most famous romances: “Anchar”, “My Voice for You”, “To the Yellow Fields”, the vocal cycle “By the Sea”.
(Portrait of P.P. Bulakhov)
Everyday music, closely related to Russian folk songs, sounded widely and freely in Moscow. Therefore, it is not surprising that it was in Moscow that Russian everyday romance found refuge, the brightest representative of which in the second half of the 19th century was the composer and singer Pyotr Petrovich Bulakhov (1822-1885).

The son of opera artist P. A Bulakhov, brother of the famous Russian tenor Pavel Bulakhov, Pyotr Bulakhov became famous as the creator and performer of Russian songs and everyday romance.
The art of Pyotr Petrovich was admired by such famous representatives of Russian culture as playwright A. N. Ostrovsky, founder of the art gallery P. M. Tretyakov, philanthropist, connoisseur of Russian music S. I. Mamontov.
In the romances and songs of Bulakhov and in the work of the authors of everyday romance at the beginning of the century, melodic alloys of urban Russian songs, gypsy songs were combined with forms of salon music, romance creativity of Western and Russian composers.
Contemporaries of P.P. Bulakhov called him the predecessor of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in the romance genre. Bulakhov knew how to express his feelings sincerely and simply.
This can be seen in the famous romance “Shine, Shine, My Star,” inspired by autobiographical motifs. This romance, very popular today, was included in their performing repertoire by such famous singers as Anna German and Joseph Kobzon:
"Shine, burn, my star
Shine, welcome star,
You are my only treasured one,
There will never be another..."

The famous song “My bells, steppe flowers” ​​reveals Russian roots and features close to urban romance.

And in the romance “No, I don’t love you,” the influence of salon music is noticeable:

No, I don't love you
Yes, and I won’t love,
Your treacherous eyes
I don't believe the deception.
The fire of the soul has cooled down
And my heart grew cold!
You are very good
Who cares!

An elegant, fluttering waltz, with a flexible soaring melody, with pauses, sighs, playing, changing major and minor, with lively, figurative musical speech, in which much of Bulakhov’s own style is a reflection of his creative quest.
One of his best elegies, “Do not awaken memories,” is filled with the same expressiveness. Every sound, every word sings here. Everything from the heart and soul:

"Don't awaken memories
Days gone by, days gone by
You won't get back your old desires
In my soul, in my soul..."

Accompaniment! Luxury or necessity?

One of the features of the romance, in contrast to the song, is the presence of piano accompaniment. In a song it is not always necessary. Let's remember how often we have to sing songs without accompaniment - one melody. Of course, if the singing is accompanied by a piano or accordion, then the sound becomes fuller, richer, and more colorful. But it is quite possible to do without instrumental accompaniment, especially if the song is performed by a choir. Simplicity, accessibility, performance is one of the advantages of the song.
But the performance of a romance is often completely impossible to imagine without accompaniment.
In romances, the vocal and instrumental parts are closely connected. Here, both the melody and instrumental accompaniment closely interact, participating in the creation of a musical image.
Take, for example, Tchaikovsky’s romance “Among the Noisy Ball”:
(Note example)
The voice sings phrase by phrase; the melody unfolds slowly, like a gradually emerging vision, the outlines of which become clearer and clearer. Heartfelt, thoughtful intonations with sadly drooping endings of phrases, intermittent breathing with pauses convey the trepidation of the first, timid and tender feeling and paint the image of the heroine - poetic, fragile.
But no less important is the accompaniment, weightlessly transparent, almost airy. Maintained in the rhythm of a waltz, it seems to bring to us echoes of a distant ball.
And the uniform pattern of the accompaniment, fascinating in its monotony, further contributes to the fact that the entire romance sounds like a memory and appears in a romantic haze...
And if you listen to “Spring Waters” by Rachmaninov! Is it possible to imagine this romance without piano accompaniment?
When listening to this romance, you can immediately understand that the joyfully upbeat melody with its jubilant exclamations and the seething streams of the continuously raging piano passages make up a single artistic whole.
Continuing the work of S. Rachmaninov, many examples can be given.
One of the most remarkable is the romance “Spring Waters” based on poems by F. Tyutchev:
“The snow is still white in the fields, and the waters are already noisy in spring...”
There is so much light and hope in this sunny hymn, so much youthful strength and joy conveyed in the accompaniment!
Another example: “Island” to the words of K. Balmont.
Here the music conveys the soundscape. The melody seems to flow silently and transparently, without disturbing the silence.

Words and Music form a single whole!

Let's look at some of the differences between a romance and a song. We know that songs are usually written in verse form. When you learn a song, you only remember the music of the first verse, because in all subsequent verses the words change, but the melody remains the same.
If a song has a chorus, then we are dealing with two different melodies: the chorus and the chorus. Alternating, they follow one after another. And, despite the fact that in the text of the song the words in each next verse are new, the music of the chorus remains unchanged.
The text and music must be in full harmony. The melody perfectly reflects the main idea of ​​the text as a whole and corresponds to its general mood.
It's in the song. But what about romance?
If the composer, creating a romance, wants to reflect the general mood of the poetic text, then he resorts to a generalized song melody, to the verse form.
These are many of the romances of Schubert, Glinka, Alyabyev, Varlamov. Often they are even difficult to distinguish from the song. But in most romances, music gives not only a general mood, reflects not only the main idea of ​​the test, but reveals all the diversity of its content, explains the meaning of stanzas and phrases, and focuses the listener’s attention on some individual words and details. The composer can no longer limit himself to the song verse form; he chooses more complex musical forms, often based on the structure and content of the poem itself.
Thus, the main task of romances is to convey the artistic meaning of the music and text, as well as the creative idea of ​​the composer. Then any romance will find a soul and will “live” forever!

Conclusion

Listening to chamber and vocal works of Russian musical culture, we penetrate into the innermost creativity of great masters, follow their affections and hobbies, and become witnesses to the birth of certain artistic movements, reflected in the intonational language of literary and musical speech.
Listening to romances, we clearly see and feel the techniques, strokes, and features of the artistic method characteristic of its time, and in this regard, the role of romance is invaluable.
The tradition of composing and singing romances continues to live.
And, if we listen to the incessant voice of today, to the mighty stream of sound impressions, then even today we can discern the gentle voice of our friend, the good old romance, which is not at all going to give up its position,
and gradually, unobtrusively, but steadily and beautifully, he captivates more and more young and young, old and elderly people into his special and beautiful world of real feelings, deep thoughts, genuine passions and life ideals!