Russian romance (russian: рома́нс ''románs'') is a type of sentimental

art song An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such songs ...

with hints of Gypsy influence that was developed in

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

by such composers as Nikolai Titov (1800-1875), Alexander Alyabyev (1787–1851), Alexander Varlamov (1801–48), and Alexander Gurilyov (1803–58). By the early 20th century, several types of the Russian romance had emerged. An elite type of the Italianate opera-influenced song known as the "salon romance" is contrasted to the lower-class genre of "cruel romance" which features "sentimental courtship, illicit love, pained rejection, and often suicide". The latter is supposed to have given birth to the

Russian chanson Russian chanson ( rus, русский шансон, r=russkiy shanson}; from French "chanson") is a neologism for a musical genre covering a range of Russian songs, including Russian romance, city romance songs, Bard (Soviet Union), author song ...

. The Russian romance had its heyday in the 1910s and 1920s when the top performers included

Anastasia Vyaltseva Anastasia Dmitrievna Vyaltseva (russian: Анастаси́я Дми́триевна Вя́льцева, 1871-1913) was a rather renowned Russian mezzo-soprano, specializing in Gypsy art songs. Enjoying the cult following and supported by the pop ...

, Varvara Panina, Nadezhda Plevitskaya,

Tamara Tsereteli Tamara Semyonovna Tsereteli ( ka, თამარ წერეთელი, russian: Тама́ра Семёновна Церете́ли, 14 August 1900, in Sveri, Kutais Governorate, Georgia, Russian Empire – 3 April 1968, in Moscow, USSR ...

Pyotr Leshchenko Pyotr Konstantinovich Leshchenko (russian: Пётр Константинович Лещенко; 2 June 189816 July 1954), a singer in the Russian Empire, and later Romania, is universally considered "the King of Russian Tango" and specifically kno ...

, and Alexander Vertinsky. In the early Soviet era the genre was less favoured, as it was seen as a vestige of the pre-revolutionary "decadent and bourgeois" sensibility through much of the 20th century. A new generation of singers, such as

Valentina Ponomaryova Valentina Leonidovna Ponomaryova (russian: Валентина Леонидовна Пономарёва, born 18 September 1933) is a former Soviet cosmonaut, pilot and scientist. Ponomaryova left the school for girls No.156 in Moscow with a gol ...

and

Nani Bregvadze Nani Bregvadze ( Ge. ნანი ბრეგვაძე, Rus. Нани Брегвадзе; born 21 July 1936, in Tbilisi) is a Georgian and Soviet singer, pianist, music pedagogue, people's artist of the USSR (1983). She was born, raised and s ...

, emerged in the 1970s. Several vocalists from the pre-WWII era, including Izabella Yurieva (1902–2000),

Vadim Kozin Vadim Alekseyevich Kozin (russian: Вадим Алексеевич Козин; March 21, 1903 – December 19, 1994) was a Russian tenor, songwriter, and an openly homosexual man until 1934 when male homosexuality became a crime in USSR. Vadim Al ...

(1903–1994) and

Alla Bayanova Alla Nikolayevna Bayanova (russian: Алла Николаевна Баянова; 18 May 1914 – 30 August 2011) was a Russian Romance singer sometimes compared with Édith Piaf for her simple yet dramatic style of performance. Bayanova was bor ...

(1914–2011), also returned to prominence in the late Soviet years. Alexander Malinin, Sergey Zakharov and

Oleg Pogudin Oleg Evgenevich Pogudin (russian: Оле́г Евге́ньевич Погу́дин; born 22 December 1968) is a Russian singer, TV presenter and actor. He is noted for his vocal and artistic style of interpretation of Russian romances and trad ...

are among the Russian romance singers active in the 21st century. In 1994, . Alexander Malinin received the World Music Award as best selling Russian artist.

César Cui César Antonovich Cui ( rus, Це́зарь Анто́нович Кюи́, , ˈt͡sjezərʲ ɐnˈtonəvʲɪt͡ɕ kʲʊˈi, links=no, Ru-Tsezar-Antonovich-Kyui.ogg; french: Cesarius Benjaminus Cui, links=no, italic=no; 13 March 1918) was a Ru ...

's 1895 book ''Russian Art Song: A Study of Its Development'' was translated in J.R. Walker’s ''Classical Essays on the Development of Russian Art Songs'' (Northfield, MN, 1993).

Notable songs

* '' Black Eyes'' * '' Shine, Shine, My Star'' * '' Along the Long Road'' * '' Evening Bell'' * '' Les Chrysanthemes''

References

{{reflist

External links

Russian composers and singer-songwriters of 19th century (English)
an educational site
Synthesis of poetry and music (Russian)
a site dedicated to Russian romance Russian styles of music Song forms Art songs Romance (music) Russian songs