''The Sun Shines Over Our Motherland'' ( rus, Над Родиной нашей солнце сияет), Op.90 is a

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

composed in 1952 by

Dimitri 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 First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

, based on a text by Yevgeny Dolmatovsky. Originally titled ''Cantata About the Party'', it was commissioned to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

. In it, the sun is a metaphor for the achievement of the Soviet people under the leadership of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

. It begins with a lyrical section for boys' chorus and woodwind, followed by a more energetic section for the men's voices.

Performance and Recording History

It was premiered by the USSR Symphony Orchestra and Choir with the Moscow Choir School Boys' Choir under Konstantin Ivanov at the Bolshoi Hall of the

Moscow Conservatoire The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

on 6 November 1952. It was recorded in mono with the same forces under

Alexander Yurlov Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

after a public concert ten years later. It was re-recorded with the

Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra The Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Moscow, Russia. It was founded in 1951 by Samuil Samosud, as the Moscow Youth Orchestra for young and inexperienced musicians, acquiring its current name in 1953. It is most associated wit ...

under

Kirill Kondrashin Kirill Petrovich Kondrashin (, ''Kirill Petrovič Kondrašin''; – 7 March 1981) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian Conducting, conductor. People's Artist of the USSR (1972). Early life Kondrashin was born in Moscow to a family of orchestra ...

in 1965 for

Melodiya Records Melodiya ( rus, links=no, Мелодия, t=Melody) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm ...

. In the West, the Kondrashin appeared in an

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

record of 1970, and again in a box of Shostakovich symphonies mainly under the direction of Kondrashin (1975). More recently, it was recorded by

Mikhail Jurowski Michail Vladimirovich Jurowski (; 25 December 1945 – 19 March 2022) was a Russian conductor who worked internationally, based in Germany for most of his career. He was particularly interested in the works of Dmitri Shostakovich, in concerts a ...

with the Kölner Rundfunk-Symphonie-Orchester on Capriccio Records, and a live recording of

Paavo Järvi Paavo Järvi (; born 30 December 1962) is an Estonian-American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia, to Liilia Järvi and the Estonian conductor Neeme Järvi. His siblings, Kristjan Järvi and Maarika Järvi, are also mu ...

with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and the Estonian Concert Choir on

Erato Records Erato Records is a record label founded in 1953 as Disques Erato by Philippe Loury to promote French classical music. Loury was head of éditions musicales Costallat. His first releases in France were licensed from the Haydn Society of Boston, a ...

. Because of the nature of the text, it remains a highly controversial work to perform. Paavo Jarvi's performance of the work in 2011 caused outrage amongst many in Estonia, to the point of him receiving death threats.

Lyrics

The original lyrics begin: :Над Родиной нашей, страной созиданья, солнце сияет. Великие стройки, высотные зданья оно озаряет. (Transliterated as: ''Over our homeland, our country of birth, the sun shines. Great buildings and monuments, it illuminates.'')

Recordings

* USSR Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Yurlov (Original recording 1961, Russian Disc 1994) * Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin (Original recording 1967, Melodiya) * Kölner Rundfunks-Symphonie-Orchester, Mikhail Jurowski (Capriccio, 1999) *''Shostakovich: Cantatas'' - Estonian Concert Choir, ENSO

(Erato 2015)

References

External links

Russian libretto to Erato recording of Shostakovich Cantatas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun Shines over Our Motherland 1952 compositions Compositions by Dmitri Shostakovich