Russian romance
Russian romance ( ''románs'') is a type of sentimental art song with hints of Romani people, Romani influence that was developed in Imperial Russia by such composers as Nikolai Titov (1800-1875), Alexander Alyabyev (1787–1851), Alexander Egoro ...
.
The authorship of the song was uncertain for some time, being ascribed to various people, including
Nikolay Gumilyov
Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilev (also Gumilyov; , ; – August 26, 1921) was a Russian poet, literary critic, traveler, and military officer. He was a co-founder of the Acmeist poetry, Acmeist movement. He was the husband of Anna Akhmatova and the ...
and
Ivan Bunin
Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin ( or ; rus, Ива́н Алексе́евич Бу́нин, p=ɪˈvan ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbunʲɪn, a=Ivan Alyeksyeyevich Bunin.ru.vorb.oga; – 8 November 1953) A popular belief attributed it to Russian Admiral
Aleksandr Kolchak
List of Russian admirals, Admiral Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (; – 7 February 1920) was a Russian navy officer and Arctic exploration, polar explorer who led the White movement in the Russian Civil War. As he assumed the title of Supreme Ru ...
until the 1847
sheet music
Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed Book, books or Pamphlet, pamphlets ...
was found in archives.
According to Russian romance researcher Yelena Ukolova, the song was created amid celebrations of the 700th anniversary of
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
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 a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...
appeared.
During the
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
years, the romance was labelled a ' white one' and obliterated for a while. In 1944 it was performed on record by Georgi Vinogradov. But, according to Ukolova, it was the 1956 American film ''
War and Peace
''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...
'' 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 male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
s' repertoire until the
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
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 (lirico-spinto), immensely popular in Poland and in the Soviet Union in the 1960s–1970s. She released over a dozen music albums with songs in Polish l ...
, 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! :, ,