"Shine, Shine, My Star" (russian: "Гори, гори, моя звезда") is an acclaimed

Russian romance Russian romance (russian: рома́нс ''románs'') is a type of sentimental art song with hints of Gypsy influence that was developed in Imperial Russia by such composers as Nikolai Titov (1800-1875), Alexander Alyabyev (1787–1851), Alexa ...

. The authorship of the song was uncertain for some time, being ascribed to various people, including

Nikolay Gumilyov Nikolay Stepanovich Gumilyov ( rus, Никола́й Степа́нович Гумилёв, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ɡʊmʲɪˈlʲɵf, a=Nikolay Styepanovich Gumilyov.ru.vorb.oga; April 15 NS 1886 – August 26, 1921) was a poe ...

and

Ivan Bunin Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin ( or ; rus, Ива́н Алексе́евич Бу́нин, p=ɪˈvan ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ ˈbunʲɪn, a=Ivan Alyeksyeyevich Bunin.ru.vorb.oga; – 8 November 1953) was the first Russian writer awarded the ...

. A popular belief attributed it to Russian Admiral

Aleksandr Kolchak Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (russian: link=no, Александр Васильевич Колчак; – 7 February 1920) was an Imperial Russian admiral, military leader and polar explorer who served in the Imperial Russian Navy and fought ...

until the 1847

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...

was found in archives. According to Russian romance researcher Yelena Ukolova, the song was created amid celebrations of the 700th anniversary of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in January 1847. The music was composed by Pyotr Bulakhov (Петр Булахов), and the lyrics written by student Vladimir Chuyevsky (Владимир Чуевский). However, the romance did not become popular until the eve of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

when singer Vladimir Sabinin re-arranged it. The breakthrough came in 1915 when Sabinin's

gramophone record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

appeared. During the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

years, the romance was labelled a ' white one' and obliterated for a while. In 1944 it was performed on record by

Georgi Vinogradov Georgy Pavlovich Vinogradov (Russian language, Russian: Гео́ргий Па́влович Виногра́дов) (12 November 1980) was a Soviet and Russian tenor: a popular World War II singer on Radio Moscow, recording artist, and soloist w ...

. But, according to Ukolova, it was the 1956 American film ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...

'' that made it possible for this romance to make a true comeback in USSR. The romance itself persisted only in

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 ...

s' repertoire until the bass singer Boris Shtokolov broke the custom.

Lyrics

The lyrics were later adapted into 3 verses. The most famous version of this song, as sung by

Anna German Anna Wiktoria German-Tucholska (14 February 1936 – 26 August 1982) was a Polish singer, immensely popular in Poland and in the Soviet Union in the 1960s–1970s. She released over a dozen music albums with songs in Polish, as well as severa ...

, has the following lyrics:

Гори, гори, моя звезда. Звезда любви приветная, Ты у меня одна заветная, Другой не будет никогда. Ты у меня одна заветная, Другой не будет никогда Звезда любви, звезда волшебная Звезда моих минувших дней. Ты будешь вечно неизменная В душе измученной моей. Ты будешь вечно неизменная В душе измученной моей! Лучей твоих неясной силою Вся жизнь моя озарена. Умру ли я — ты над могилою Гори, сияй, моя звезда! Умру ли я — ты над могилою Гори, сияй, моя звезда!

The following version, by Peter Farnbank, can be sung to the melody of "Gori, gori, moya zvezda".

;“Oh shine, oh shine, my wondrous star” ;1. Oh shine, oh shine, my wondrous star, Oh star of love, you welcome are. , , : Here in my heart are you the precious one: No place for more: there can be none! :, , ;2. Tho’_a million stars light up from high, On cloudless nights, both earth and sky, , , : ‘Tis none but you, my wondrous star so bright, That shine on me such glorious light! :, , ;3. Enchanted star of love divine, Of cherished bygone days of mine. , , : But come what may, in my tormented soul There shall you stay to keep me whole! :, , ;4. How brightly beams your heav'nly ray. Shine on my paths of life today. , , : Forever shine! Ev'n on my grave afar! Oh brightly shine, my wondrous star! :, ,

References

External links

Музей Шансона: Романс "Гори, гори, моя звезда"
(Museum of Chanson: ''Shine, Shine, My Star''), History, Original sheetmusic, etc.
YouTube entry (Dmitri Khvorostovsky)
{{Authority control Russian folk songs 1847 songs