''From Jewish Folk Poetry'', Op. 79, is a

song cycle A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice ...

for

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

. It uses texts taken from the collection ''Jewish folk songs'', compiled by I. Dobrushin and A. Yuditsky, edited by Y. M. Sokolov (Goslitizdat, 1947). The piece was composed in the autumn of 1948, after Shostakovich's denunciation in the

Zhdanov decree The Zhdanov Doctrine (also called Zhdanovism or Zhdanovshchina; russian: доктрина Жданова, ждановизм, ждановщина) was a Soviet cultural doctrine developed by Central Committee secretary Andrei Zhdanov in 1946. I ...

of that year. The composer's situation made a public premiere impossible until January 15, 1955, when it was performed by Shostakovich himself with

Nina Dorliak Nina Dorliak (russian: Нина Львовна Дорлиак, translit=Nina L'vovna Dorliak; 7 July 190817 May 1998) was a Russian soprano and a voice teacher at the Moscow Conservatory. She is known for forming a duo with pianist Sviatoslav Ri ...

Zara Dolukhanova Zara Aleksandrovna Dolukhanova ( hy, Զարուհի Դոլուխանյան, russian: Зара Александровна Долуханова; 15 March 1918 – 4 December 2007) was a Soviet Armenian mezzo-soprano who achieved fame performing on ...

and Alec Maslennikov. Before the premiere the work received a number of private performances. The cycle is just one of many works by Shostakovich to incorporate elements of Jewish music; he said that he was attracted by "a jolly melody on sad intonations".

Structure

The cycle consists of 11 songs: # The Lament for the Dead Child. ''Russian translation by T. Spendiarova'' (1 August 1948)The dates of composition are taken from the autographs as printed in the score:Shostakovich, Collected Works, vol. 32. Romances and Songs, "Muzyka" Moscow, 1982 # The Thoughtful Mother and Aunt. ''Russian translation by A. Globa'' (5 August 1948) # Lullaby. ''Russian translation by V. Zvyagintseva'' (10 August 1948) # Before a Long Parting. ''Russian translation by A. Globa'' (15 August 1948) # A Warning. ''Russian translation by N. Ushakov'' (20 August 1948) # The Abandoned Father. ''Russian translation by S. Mar'' (25 August 1948) # The Song of Misery. ''Text by B. Shafir. Russian translation by B. Semyonov'' (29 August 1948) # Winter. ''Russian translation by B. Semyonov'' (29 August 1948) # A Good Life. ''Russian translation by S. Olender'' (10 October 1948) # The Young Girl's Song. ''Russian translation by S. Olender'' (16 October 1948) # Happiness. ''Russian translation by L. Dligach'' (24 October 1948)

References and sources

*Wilson, Elizabeth (2006). ''Shostakovich: A Life Remembered''. London: Faber.

External links

Info on geocities.com
Song cycles by Dmitri Shostakovich Classical song cycles in Russian 1948 compositions {{chamber-composition-stub