Three Russian Songs, Op. 41 (Rachmaninoff)
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The ''Three Russian Songs'', Op. 41 (''Trois Chansons Russes''; ''Tri Russkie Pesni'') for chorus and orchestra (also seen as ''Three Russian Folk Songs'') were written by
Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...
in 1926. It is the last of Rachmaninoff's three works for chorus and orchestra, the others being the
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 ...
''
Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...
'', Op. 20 (1902), and the choral symphony '' The Bells'', Op. 35 (1913). The work takes about 15 minutes to perform. The thematic material for the work came from three traditional folk songs: * Через речку, речку (''Cherez rechku''; Across the River, Swift River), ''Moderato'', was a song Rachmaninoff had probably heard for the first time by the touring Moscow Art Theatre's opera studio a year or so before * Ах ты, Ванька (''Akh ty, Vanka''; Ah, You Vanka! You Devil-May-Care Fellow), ''Largo'', had been sung to him by
Feodor Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; April 12, 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass v ...
* Белилицы, румяницы, вы мои (''Belilitsy, rumyanitsy, vy moi''; You, My Fairness, My Rosy Cheeks), ''Allegro moderato'', was a favourite of
Nadezhda Plevitskaya Nadezhda Vasilievna Plevitskaya (russian: Надежда Васильевна Плевицкая; born ''Vinnikova'', russian: Винникова; 17 January 18841 October 1940) was a popular female Russian singer and a Soviet agent. Ea ...
.Bertensson, Leyda, Satina, Sergei Rachmaninoff: A Life
/ref> The ''Three Russian Songs'' were dedicated to
Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appeara ...
, who conducted the first performance in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
on 18 March 1927 with the
Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...
and the
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is a Canadian large vocal ensemble based in Toronto, Ontario. It was co-founded in 1894 by Augustus S. Vogt and W. H. Hewlett to celebrate the opening of the Massey Hall. The ensemble was originally an extension of ...
. The program also included the world premiere of Rachmaninoff's Fourth Piano Concerto, with the composer as soloist. The ''Three Russian Songs'' were favourably received by the critics, the concerto less so. The pair of works was repeated on 19 March, and given in New York on 22 March, with similar critical reactions. The songs are scored for
alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...
s and basses only, and they sing mostly in unison. The orchestration is quite extensive, although all the instruments rarely play simultaneously: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba, percussion, harp, piano and strings. It seems likely that the choir for the first three performances was augmented by local
Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
priests who could reach the bass notes required by Rachmaninoff. The conductor
Igor Buketoff Igor Konstantin Buketoff (29 May 19157 September 2001) was an American conductor, arranger and teacher. He had a special affinity with Russian music and with Sergei Rachmaninoff in particular. He also strongly promoted British contemporary musi ...
recalled that he attended the rehearsals as an eleven-year-old boy in the company of his father, a priest and a friend of Rachmaninoff's. The composer had asked the senior Buketoff to acquire the services of some of his fellow priests with basso profundo voices. Buketoff also reports that Stokowski took the final song too quickly for Rachmaninoff's liking, but would not be persuaded to obey the composer's instructions. When Buketoff himself programmed the piece some years later as a choral conductor at the
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...
, he approached Rachmaninoff for advice as to the exact tempo he had envisaged. The ''Three Russian Songs'' have been recorded several times, including by Leopold Stokowski himself, Igor Buketoff, Charles Dutoit and
Yevgeny Svetlanov Yevgeny Fyodorovich Svetlanov (russian: Евгéний Фёдорович Светлáнов; 6 September 1928 – 3 May 2002) was a Russian conductor, composer and a pianist. Life and work Svetlanov was born in Moscow and studied conducting ...
. The music has also been used as the basis of a
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
.New York Times, 21 July 1991
/ref>


References

{{Sergei Rachmaninoff Compositions by Sergei Rachmaninoff 1926 compositions Choral compositions