“Love lyrics by A.K. Tolstoy in the romances of Russian composers" methodological development in music (grade 10) on the topic

“I can say, not without pleasure, that I am a bogeyman for our democrats and at the same time a favorite of the people, whose patron they consider themselves,” said the writer.

“And I feel incomparably better. Thanks to the one who advised me morphine,” said Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, and the next day, October 10, 1875, at eight in the evening, he injected himself with another dose. Half an hour later, his wife tried to wake him up, but all attempts were in vain. This is how the classic of Russian literature ended his earthly journey.

The way of death for a domestic writer is unique. A bullet, a noose, illness, even hunger and madness, although tragic, fit well into the unwritten canon. The syringe is more befitting the image of a “damned poet”, or even a rock idol. But just such a paradoxical, “wrong” ending was natural. For the reason that it exactly corresponded to the biography of Alexei Konstantinovich. She, too, was completely “wrong.”

The hero and the pirate?

Alyosha Tolstoy in childhood. Reproduction from a portrait

It can be expressed literally in two words: “The minion of fate.” Including literary ones - not every boy will have a fairy tale written for him, which is included in the golden fund of children's reading. And for Alyoshenka, Uncle Alexey Perovsky, though under the pseudonym Antony Pogorelsky, composed the well-known “Black Chicken, or Underground Inhabitants.” No, a happy childhood, wealth, shared love, a close-knit family and even a successful career - all this has happened to others. But, as a rule, separately and overshadowed, for example, by serious friction with the state. For Tolstoy, the conflict with the authorities occurred only in childhood.

Little Count Alyosha was a friend of Sasha Romanov, heir to the throne. Being very healthy and strong even then, he repeatedly beat the prince. And once he even fought with his father, Emperor Nicholas I: “Tolstoy took off like a cannonball fired from a cannon. The Emperor repelled this attack with one hand. Then he picked him up, kissed him and said: “Well done and a hero!” His friend, Prince Alexander Meshchersky, also recalled Tolstoy’s extraordinary strength: “I kept a silver fork for a long time, from which he twisted not only the handle, but also each tooth separately with a screw with his fingers.”

Strength was accompanied by an adventurous character. During the Crimean War, Tolstoy was enraged by the meanness of the British: “Some act like wild ones - they burn and rape civilians.” And he launched his project. It was planned to use personal money to purchase a yacht or steamship, arm volunteers and open pirate operations against the English fleet. “I ordered 40 carbines for 20 rubles each and am leaving as soon as possible... With the first success, we will ask for permission to carry out partisan actions.” The project was postponed only for the reason that too many people found out about it - this threatened an international scandal, since Tolstoy by that time held the position of master of ceremonies of the imperial court.

Lyrics and horror

The most interesting thing is that it was at this moment that one of Tolstoy’s most tender poems was published, the wonderful music for which was composed by the composer Pyotr Bulakhov:

My bells
Steppe flowers!
Why are you looking at me?
Dark blue?

It has been familiar to us since childhood and falls under the category of “poems about nature.” But several stanzas were dropped from the romance and the children's version. Nowadays they would be considered an example of imperial chauvinism:

The noise flies to the far south
To the Turk and the Hungarian -
And the sound of Slavic ladles
The German doesn't like it!

However, they were indignant at them even then. Nikolai Chernyshevsky attacked both “Bells” and another poem, which is also included in the golden fund of Russian poetry:

In the middle of a noisy ball, by chance,
In the anxiety of worldly vanity,
I saw you, but it's a mystery
Your features are covered.

Tolstoy ironically remarked on this matter: “I can say, not without pleasure, that I am a scarecrow for our democrats and at the same time a favorite of the people, whose patron they consider themselves.”

This is not empty boasting. For the same “Among the noisy ball” Pyotr Tchaikovsky wrote a famous romance. In total, more than 150 works by Alexei Konstantinovich were set to music - an absolute record.

Less known is the fact that Tolstoy can rightfully be called the founder of the literature of the absurd. “In the village of Lousy Gorka, a wild general was caught. He was completely unaccustomed to speaking, but only commanded. It is believed that in winter it fed by sucking its own boots, and when captured, it laid an egg speckled with brown color. An egg was placed under the turkey in the presence of witnesses, but it is unknown what will come out of it” - here both Kharms and even Bulgakov fade.

Contemporaries often called him a “second-tier writer.” Critic Apollon Grigoriev predicted: “Tolstoy’s novel “Prince Silver” will very soon be forgotten.” Meanwhile, during the author’s lifetime, it went through 8 editions and was translated into all European languages. His early works in the horror style - "The Ghoul", "The Family of the Ghoul" and "Meeting After Three Hundred Years" - were contemptuously called imitation of Byron. But it was there that Bram Stoker drew inspiration, who let the vampire Dracula roam the world. Tolstoy was able to clearly and for centuries explain what a vampire is, how to expose him and how to finish him off, thereby giving birth to a solid part of the modern Hollywood canon.

Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (1817-1875) is a wonderful Russian poet, prose writer and playwright. He has written poems (“John of Damascus,” “The Sinner,” “The Alchemist”), epics, ballads and many lyric poems. As a prose writer, he became famous for his historical novel “Prince Silver” from the times of the oprichnina, and his dramatic trilogy “The Death of Ivan the Terrible,” “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich” and “Boris Godunov” gained fame not only in Russia but also abroad.

Creativity A.K. Tolstoy had a noticeable influence on Russian chamber vocal music. Many composers in both the 19th and 20th centuries turned to Tolstoy’s lyrics, which attracted them for the capacity and truthfulness in the depiction of feelings and the musicality of the verse. As a result, at least half of the poems written by Tolstoy “turned” into romances and songs. There is also a major musical composition based on Tolstoy’s text – S. Taneev’s cantata “John of Damascus”.

The concert will feature romances by P. Tchaikovsky, N. Rimsky-Korsakov, S. Rachmaninov, M. Mussorgsky, A. Borodin, P. Bulakhov. As for Tchaikovsky, you will be able to hear both universally recognized masterpieces that have long become hits (“Among the Noisy Ball” and “I Bless You, Forests”), and much lesser-known works, for example, the duet “Scottish Ballad” for soprano and baritone. The poem by Alexei Tolstoy, which formed the basis of this romance, is a translation of a Scottish folk ballad. The plot, which is quite typical for this genre, is built around a bloody event. The ballad tells the story of the tragedy of a patricidal son, who was pushed into crime by his own mother. The passions of the characters “find a way out” in the stormy piano introduction and conclusion; its main part takes place against the backdrop of a hard march accompaniment.

Tchaikovsky’s romance “If only I knew, if only I knew” is written on a text that also refers the listener to folklore, but this time Russian. In Tolstoy's poem, in expressions characteristic of Russian folk poetry, the longing of a young girl for the young man she loves is conveyed. However, in Tchaikovsky's romance there is no folk stylization of any kind: the entire composition is designed in a style characteristic of Tchaikovsky's vocal music.

Among Rimsky-Korsakov’s romances included in the program, two compositions are very popular – “Singing Louder than a Lark” and “Not the Wind, Blowing from Height.” Both are dominated by a joyful, upbeat mood, which is set by a lively piano accompaniment. Two other romances by Rimsky-Korsakov, which will also be performed at the concert, “Oh, If You Could...” and “The Waves Are Rising,” on the contrary, in full accordance with the text, are designed in very dark tones.

Some poems by A.K. Tolstoy's works have been set to music several times. For example, the poem “The soul quietly flew through the heavens” is known in the musical interpretation of at least four composers - Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky and Cui. The concert will feature romances written by Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky. Their sound and emotional appearance are very different. In Tchaikovsky’s romance, the “operatic” beginning predominates: the vocal part, following the text, emphasizes the most significant phrases with expressive intonations; the singer, as it were, transforms into the “soul” depicted in the poem. Mussorgsky's romance, rather, resembles a picturesque fresco, conveying in spare colors a certain mystical “supramundane” picture.

It is equally interesting to compare the romances “Don’t Believe, My Friend” by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff (both will be performed in the concert), “Harse” by Borodin and Mussorgsky (Borodin’s version will be performed at the concert).

In addition to romances, the evening program included piano works by Russian composers – Tchaikovsky’s “Sentimental Waltz” from “Six Pieces for Piano” op. 51, his “Autumn Song” from “The Seasons” and “Elegy” by Rachmaninoff. All pieces will be performed in an arrangement for a sextet consisting of five strings and a piano. The same composition will replace the piano part in the romances.

The concert will feature Bolshoi Opera Company soloists Maria Gavrilova (soprano), Ekaterina Morozova (soprano), Alexandra Durseneva (mezzo-soprano), Maxim Paster (tenor), Yuri Syrov (baritone), Mikhail Kazakov (bass) and the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra Sextet consisting of Roman Denisov (violin), Kirill Filatov (violin), Dmitry Bezinsky (viola), Vyacheslav Chukhnov (cello), Kirill Nosenko (double bass), Alla Basargina (piano).

Oksana Usova

Municipal budgetary non-standard educational institution

"Gymnasium No. 70"

Methodological development of a musical and literary evening

“Love lyrics by A.K. Tolstoy in the romances of Russian composers"

music teacher

Novokuznetsk, 2017

Love lyrics by A.K. Tolstoy in the romances of Russian composers

Target: acquaintance with romances by Russian composers, written to poems by A.K. Tolstoy.

Form: dialogue between presenters (leaders are high school students), performance of romances by students, listening to audio recordings.

The romance “If you love so madly...) performed by Yu. Gulyaev sounds.

Presenters:

If you love, so without reason,
If you threaten, it’s not a joke,
If you scold, so rashly,
If you chop, it’s too bad!

If you argue, it’s too bold,
If you punish, that's the point,
If you forgive, then with all your heart,
If there is a feast, then there is a feast!

This romance by Reinhold Glier based on poems by A.K. Tolstoy paints the image of a Russian man, who is characterized by breadth of soul, courage, and daring.

In this poem, “If you love, so without reason:” subtly, sweepingly and cheerfully lists the strong traits of an integral character. We see a strong, healthy, cheerful man who loves nature, brave hunting, a friendly feast, a well-aimed, sharp word. A Russian person cannot do things halfway, be a rationalist and a pragmatist.
Perhaps these lines contain a poetic self-portrait of Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy himself. It was not for nothing that he said to Yesenin: “He is a man of a wide heart:.”

And the lines “If you love, you are crazy” is the love story of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy and Sofia Andreevna Miller. It was their romantic and beautiful meeting that gave us the lines of a wonderful poem:
In the middle of a noisy ball, by chance......

They first met at a masquerade ball at the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Theater. He accompanied the heir to the throne, the future Tsar Alexander II, there. She appeared at the masquerade because, after breaking up with her husband, Horse Guardsman Miller, she was looking for an opportunity to forget herself, to disperse. For some reason, in the secular crowd, he immediately noticed her. The mask hid her face. But the gray eyes looked intently and sadly. Beautiful ashen hair crowned her head. She was slender and graceful, with a very thin waist. They did not speak for long: the bustle of the colorful masquerade ball separated them. But she managed to amaze him with the accuracy and wit of her fleeting judgments. In vain he asked her to open her face, take off her mask... But she took his business card, making a sly promise not to forget him.

Perhaps it was precisely on that January night in 1851, when he was returning home, that the first lines of this poem formed in his mind:

In the middle of a noisy ball, by chance,
In the anxiety of worldly vanity,
I saw you, but it's a mystery
Your veils of features..."

This poem will become one of the best in Russian love lyrics. Nothing was invented in it, everything is as it was...

Only the eyes looked sadly,

Like the sound of a distant pipe,

Like a playing shaft of the sea.

I liked your thin figure

And your whole thoughtful look.

And your laughter, both sad and ringing,

Since then it has been ringing in my heart.

The future was hidden from him. He didn't even know if he would see her again...

In the lonely hours of the night

I love, tired, to lie down -

I see sad eyes

I hear cheerful speech;

And sadly I fall asleep like that,

And I sleep in unknown dreams...

Do I love you - I don't know

But it seems to me that I love it!

And soon after this meeting at a masquerade ball, he received an invitation from her.
- This time you won't escape me! - said Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, entering the living room of Sofia Andreevna Miller. In her, in Sofya Andreevna, Alexey Konstantinovich found not only his only woman, but also an intelligent friend. During the “noisy ball”, Sofya Andreevna was married to an unloved man - cavalry guard Colonel L.F. Miller; before her marriage, she experienced a tragedy - she was carried away by Prince P.A. Vyazemsky, because of this hobby, one of her brothers was killed in a duel ... Tolstoy was not happy either. He was tormented by his service at the royal court, which was morally difficult for him, and he dreamed of literature, of art - he wanted to devote himself completely to them and did not find the strength to break with the service, the court, the uniform. In 1857, he firmly wrote to Emperor Alexander II: “Sire, service, whatever it may be, is deeply disgusting to my nature... Service and art are incompatible. One harms the other. And a choice must be made.” He writes to the emperor that he can no longer wear a uniform. This letter contains all the pure, direct nature of A.K. Tolstoy, who combined kindness, tenderness and delicacy of soul with truly masculine beauty and enormous physical strength. He was like that in love, waiting 12 years for Sofya Andreevna to get a divorce. His letters to her are the same poems, only in prose.

In 1851, he wrote to her: “There are moments in which my soul, when thinking about you, seems to remember distant, distant times, when we knew each other better and were even closer than now, and then I seem to imagine a promise that we will again become as close as we once were, and in such moments I experience a happiness so great and so different from everything accessible to our imaginations here that it is like a foretaste or premonition of a future life ... "

The second half of the 1850s turned out to be the period of greatest poetic productivity. “I attribute everything to you: fame, happiness, existence; Without you there will be nothing left for me, and I will become disgusting to myself.” During these years, two-thirds of all his lyric poems were born, which were published in great demand in almost all Russian magazines of that time.

Tolstoy dedicated many poetic works to Sofya Andreevna, namely romance poems: “A tear trembles in your jealous gaze” (1858), “Don’t believe me, friend:” (1856), “Autumn, Our whole poor garden is crumbling,” “That it was early spring:" (1871)

The poem “Among the Noisy Ball” will become one of the best in Russian love lyrics, but it will become famous when it turns into a romance to the music of P. I. Tchaikovsky. Three years after the death of A.K. Tolstoy, P.I. Tchaikovsky wrote music for these poems.

Tchaikovsky's Romance "Among the Noisy Ball" performed by D. Hvorostovsky

Presenters: Tolstoy is an inexhaustible source for lyrics to music; this is one of the poets I like,” said P. I. Tchaikovsky.

At the turn of the 70s and 80s, Tchaikovsky wrote 12 romances and 8 of them based on poems by Tchaikovsky’s favorite poet A.K. Tolstoy. Among them are such vocal miniatures, enchanting with their poetic charm and penetrating lyrical feeling, “That Was in Early Spring,” “Among the Noisy Ball,” “Oh, If You Could,” “Don Juan’s Serenade,”

Tolstoy himself called his poem “That Was in Early Spring...” “a small pastoral, translated from" However, this is not a translation. Tolstoy obviously wanted to emphasize that some poem by Goethe gave impetus to the creation of these lines. The poet recalls his first meetings and the images of awakening nature do not allow him to forget it. This is a memory of distant youth, the timidity of first confessions, the happiness of bright hopes. The May morning merges with the “morning of our years,” and life itself turns into a unique and fleeting moment.

Students: Read the poem “That Was in Early Spring”

Presenters: Tchaikovsky carefully and sensitively reproduces the “music of verse”, at the same time introducing some special individual accents into the interpretation of the poetic text. The beauty of nature, a peaceful landscape, a sunrise, a clear day is just a background that enhances and highlights a person’s psychological state, his heartfelt melancholy, thoughts, memories, deep emotional experiences. A whole series of exclamatory sentences that attract attention are pronounced not at all joyfully, but with aching pain.

Tchaikovsky's romance “That Was in Early Spring” performed by A. Netrebko sounds

Presenters: More than half of Tolstoy's poems were set to music by Russian composers; romances based on his words were written by Bulakhov, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Cui, Mussorgsky, Taneyev, Rachmaninov.

It is difficult today to meet a person who would not know anything about romance - a musical genre that is so popular these days. A small vocal work that combines lyrical poetry and music, telling us about a person’s feelings, about his love, joy, happiness. A romance can glorify the beauty of nature, raise high moral themes, grieve about the past in a soft, confidential tone, turn over the pages of history, and look into the future. And we hear all this in ancient and modern romances. And, of course, if you declare your love, then in the “high syllable of Russian romance.”

Romances are written based on a wide variety of poems, but the main goal of the composer is always the desire to express, with the greatest possible sensitivity, the poet’s intention and to enhance the emotional tone of the poems with music.

Russian romance: How many secrets of broken destinies, trampled feelings does he keep! But how much charm, poetry, touching love is sung in it! Marvelous! And these lines were undoubtedly created for romance:

Students: Read the poem: “Not the wind, blowing from above...”

Presenters: At the end of the 90s of the 19th century, Nikolai Andreeviya Rimsky-Korsakov, the recognized head of the St. Petersburg school of composers, author of numerous operas and symphonic works, professor at the conservatory, teacher of a galaxy of significant composers, turned to chamber-instrumental works, which he did not turn to for a long time. In “The Chronicle of My Musical Life,” which the composer kept for many years, he writes: “I haven’t composed romances for a long time. Turning to the poems of Alexei Tolstoy, I wrote four romances and felt that I was composing them differently than before... > Feeling that the new method of composing was true vocal music, and being pleased with my first attempts in this direction, I composed one romance after another..." A captivating and complete image was born in the romance “Not the wind, blowing from above”

Rimsky-Korsakov's romance "Not the Wind, Blowing from Height" is performed by a student.

Presenters: Tolstoy considered the poem “My Bells” to be his best poem. Its theme was not the bell flowers that accidentally fell under the hooves of the rider's horse. These were reflections on the fate of the country, its history and future.

However, composer P. Bulakhov, having begun to create the romance, swept away the overly patriotic part, leaving only the poetic image of bell flowers. As a result, the resulting romance became a song about bells that the rider would be glad not to crush, “but the reins cannot hold back the indomitable run.” It is in this form that romance has existed for approximately a century and a half.

This poem by A.K. Tolstoy attracted the attention of not only Pyotr Bulakhov. It is known that at least 12 composers still turned to these lines when creating their romances. However, only his romance gained fame.

Bulakhov's romance “My little bells, steppe flowers” ​​performed by 10th grade students.

Panasenko Galina Konstantinovna

Teacher of Russian language and literature

MBOU "Secondary school 33 of Vladivostok"

« In the midst of a noisy ball»

(the story of a romance)

Literary and musical composition according to

works of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy

One verse of P.I. Tchaikovsky’s romance “Among the Noisy Ball” sounds:

In the middle of a noisy ball, by chance,

In the anxiety of worldly vanity,

I saw you, but it's a mystery

Your features are covered.

Reader 1. A familiar, beloved romance containing a secret...Who is the author of this poetic masterpiece, who is the stranger who inspired the creation of these lines, who wrote the music, captivating, soulful, so harmoniously merging with the content of the poem? In it, the author says that he met a woman at a ball, she was wearing a mask, which she refused to take off. But the poet is captivated by her “sad eyes”, pensive look, thin figure and wondrous voice. Who is she, what secret was the woman with a sad look hiding by chance at the ball? Yes, this meeting turned out to be destiny for two people.

(Ballroom dance music sounds).

Reader2 In January 1851, Alexey Tolstoy, on duty, accompanied the heir to the throne to a masked ball, which was given at the Bolshoi Theater. Here he met a stranger who had a rich contralto voice, an intriguing manner of speaking, lush ashen hair and a beautiful figure. But she was struck by the sad, mysterious look. The stranger refused to give her name and take off her mask, but took Tolstoy’s business card, promising to make herself known.

Returning home, Tolstoy could not work. The thought of the stranger haunted him. (The music of Tchaikovsky’s romance “Among the Noisy Ball” sounds without words). No, it was not a youthful trembling feeling that attracted him to the mask. He realized that this was a woman, not a girl. He can talk to her freely, she will understand everything, no matter what he says, she seemed smart to him. There was something about her that distinguished her from secular beauties. Obviously, that night he wrote the words of a poem, which from now on will always inspire composers and lovers.

In the middle of a noisy ball, by chance,

In the anxiety of worldly vanity,

I saw you, but it's a mystery

Your features are covered.

Like the sound of a distant pipe,

Like a playing shaft of the sea.

I liked your thin figure

And your whole thoughtful look,

And your laughter, both sad and ringing,

Since then it has been ringing in my heart.

In the lonely hours of the night

I love to lie down when tired -

I see sad eyes

I hear a cheerful speech.

And sadly I fall asleep like that,

And I sleep in unknown dreams...

Do I love you - I don’t know

But it seems to me that I love it!

Reader 3 A few days later, A.K. Tolstoy saw his stranger without a mask. She invited Alexei Konstantinovich and Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev to visit her, who was also at the ball and also drew attention to the mysterious mask. It was Sofya Andreevna Miller, the wife of a Horse Guards officer. Sofya Andreevna was not pretty. She was spoiled by a high forehead, expressionless eyebrows, and wide cheekbones. But, having looked closer, the men began to admire the full, fresh lips and gray eyes that shone with intelligence. Turgenev also became interested in Sofya Andreevna. He was under her spell for a long time. A friendly correspondence began between them. Turgenev was the first to trust her with his works and highly valued her opinion.

Sofya Andreevna Miller had great literary taste, mastered

fourteen languages, knew art, history, philosophy. Alexey Tolstoy became interested in Sofia Andreevna and very much so. But everything was not so simple in this love. By nature, Tolstoy was kind, gentle, delicate, with a vulnerable soul. And this was combined with truly masculine beauty: he was of heroic height and physique and possessed enormous physical strength. He easily twisted an iron fork, straightened a horseshoe, swam in an ice hole in winter and was handsome. And at the same time, he was a shy person, modest and, as we will soon see, a monogamous man. From now on, Sofya Andreevna became his idol, the source of his artistic inspiration. Poems dedicated to her appear one after another.

Me, in the darkness and dust

Who has been dragging his chains until now,

Love's wings have risen

To the homeland of flames and words.

And my dark gaze brightened,

And the invisible world became visible to me,

And the ear hears from now on,

What is elusive to others.

And everywhere there is sound, and everywhere there is light,

And all the worlds have one beginning,

And there is nothing in nature

Whatever breathes love.

Many of Tolstoy’s poems of this period were set to music by Russian composers (the romance by A.N. Rimsky - Korsakov “Not the Wind, Blowing from Height” sounds).

Reader4. Alexander Konstantinovich and Sofya Andreevna very soon realized that their meeting was their destiny. But the wedding had to be postponed for many years. Sophia And's husband

Reevny, whom she left long ago, did not give her a divorce and kept waiting for her return, and Tolstoy’s mother did not want to hear about such an alliance for her son. And their relationship at first was far from simple. Sofya Andreevna, apparently, did not yet quite believe in the durability of their feelings. And Alexey Konstantinovich was very upset about the explanation he had with Sofya Andreevna.

Listening to your story, I fell in love with you, my joy!

I lived your life, and I cried with your tears,

Mentally, I have suffered through the past years with you,

I felt everything with you, both sadness and hope,

It hurt me a lot, I reproached you for a lot of things,

But I don’t want to forget your mistakes or your suffering.

What mistakes did Sofya Andreevna make? Why did she have to suffer so much? She told Tolstoy about her life before meeting him. It turns out that Sofia Andreevna, whose maiden name was Bakhmetyeva, had an affair in her youth with Prince Vyazemsky, who took advantage of her gullibility and deceived her by refusing to marry her. Sophia's brother stood up for his sister's honor and challenged Vyazemsky to a duel. But Vyazemsky killed his brother. Life at home became unbearable. To avoid sidelong glances and reproaches, Sophia married Captain Miller, who was passionately in love with her. The marriage was unsuccessful, and she soon left her husband. Then Sophia got along with Grigorovich, but this union did not bring her happiness either. After all this, Sofya Andreevna settled on the estate of her second brother and occasionally visited Moscow or St. Petersburg. Alexey Konstantinovich had something to think about! Sofya Andreevna's past caused both pain and reproaches in his soul. But he forgave everything. “I swear to you,” he wrote to her at that time, “that I love you with all my abilities, all my thoughts, all the sufferings and joys of my soul... Accept this love for what it is, and do not look for a reason for it...”

Reader 5. But doubts remained in Alexei Konstantinovich’s soul, of course. And they were reflected in several of his poems.

The sea sways, wave after wave

They run and make noise hastily...

Oh my poor friend, I'm afraid you're with me

You won't be happy for long!

There is a swarm of hopes and despairs in me,

The surf and the end of nomadic thoughts,

The ebb and flow of love.

Don't ask, don't inquire,

Don't waste your mind,

How I love you, why I love you,

And why do I love you, and for how long?..

When I fell in love with you, I didn't ask

I didn’t solve it, I didn’t investigate,

Having fallen in love with you, I waved my hand,

Outlined his violent head!

Tolstoy is increasingly burdened by his service at court. He tried by all means to avoid duty and increasingly retired to his estate Pustynka near St. Petersburg. Nature has an intoxicating effect on him, forest smells awaken memories in him, silence calls for creativity. (P.I. Tchaikovsky’s romance “I bless you, forests” sounds).

From Pustynka he writes to Sofya Andreevna: “There are moments in which my soul, when thinking about you, seems to remember distant, distant times, when we knew each other better and were even closer than now... I could never be a minister, neither a department director, nor a governor...My real calling is to be a writer. If I know that you are interested in my writing, I will be more diligent and work better.”

Silence descends on the yellow fields,

In the cooled air from the fading villages

Trembling, ringing sounds... My soul is full

Separation from you and bitter regrets.

And I remember my every reproach again,

And I repeat every friendly word,

What could I tell you, my love,

But what I buried harshly inside myself.

Reader 6. In 1854, for the first time under his own name A.K. published many of his poems in the Sovremennik magazine. His lyrics sound completely different motives - a feeling of great fullness of being, the joy of a mighty spiritual rebirth. At this time, the poet firmly stood on his feet, he found his themes and artistic forms. The poet shows himself to be a born landscape painter, and his talent was visible in all his poems. And, of course, many poems are dedicated to Sofya Andreevna.

It was getting dark - the hot day was turning pale imperceptibly,

The fog stretched across the lake in a stripe,

And your meek image, familiar and beloved,

In the evening quiet hour he rushed before me.

It was the same smile that I love,

And the soft braid, as before, unraveled,

And sad eyes, still yearning,

They looked at me in the evening hour.

There is so much music and feeling in this wonderful poem! But at this time Russia was fighting the Crimean War, and A.K. alarming news from besieged Sevastopol. The Russian army is defeated. Typhoid, dirt, and diseases cause more damage to the Russian army than enemy bullets. As a patriot of his country, Tolstoy could not observe the progress of the war from the sidelines. He asks his uncle, Minister of Appanages Lev Perovsky, to enlist him in the “Rifle Regiment of the Imperial Family.” Two Zhemchuzhnikov brothers and Alexei Konstantinovich’s cousin Alexei Bobrinsky were already enrolled in this regiment. But this rifle regiment never entered the battle, since a typhus epidemic began within it, and all Tolstoy’s brothers and himself fell ill.

Having learned about the illness, Sofya Andreevna comes near Odessa, where the regiment was located, and carefully looks after the sick A.K. Risking infection, she did everything to get Tolstoy out and put him on his feet.

From Odessa, Tolstoy returns to St. Petersburg, and Sofya Andreevna returns to her estate. Communication is maintained through correspondence and rare meetings. New poems appear. (P.I. Tchaikovsky’s romance “Don’t believe it, my friend” sounds).

Reader 7. After the Crimean campaign, Tolstoy began to stubbornly seek his resignation and turned directly to the emperor with the request: “Your Majesty! I hoped to conquer my artist nature. But experience has proven to me that I fought against it in vain. Service and art are incompatible. One harms the other, and you need to choose one of the two...” Alexander11 was dissatisfied, but he allowed Tolstoy to be fired and promoted him to the aide-de-camp, which gave him the opportunity to hunt in the royal lands and visit the court whenever he wanted.

In 1857, Tolstoy's mother died. Now, it would seem, he could fulfill his dream of marrying Sofya Andreevna. But her divorce proceedings with her ex-husband dragged on. (The song by P.I. Tchaikovsky “If only I knew, if only I knew”) plays.

Several more years will pass before he unites his fate with the woman he loves. In the meantime, he works hard, he often has to travel for treatment to sanatoriums abroad, and from there Sofya Andreevna receives more and more new poems.

Since I've been alone, since you've been far away,

In an anxious half-sleep, when I forget myself,

Brighter than my soul is the never-sleeping eye

And your spiritual closeness is more obvious.

Sister of my soul, with a smile of happiness

Your quiet meek face bends towards me,

And I, filled with painful happiness,

Loving, I feel his gaze in an anxious half-sleep.

And if at this hour you are also embraced by him,

We are thinking, tell me, are we imbued with one

And do you see a hazy image of your brother?

With a sad smile bowed over you?

And now, finally, the time has come when Alexey Konstantinovich was able to unite his fate with Sofya Andreevna. They got married in 1863 in Dresden. Tolstoy turned 46 years old.

Reader 8 Alexey Konstantinovich devotes himself entirely to literary work: he works on dramatic works, on the trilogy “The Death of Ivan the Terrible”, “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich” and “Tsar Boris”, writes the dramatic poem “Don Juan”. (The sound is "Don Juan's Serenade" by P.I. Tchaikovsky).

Sofya Andreevna was a good assistant to her husband in his literary work: she literally absorbed hundreds of books in different languages ​​and had such a memory that Tolstoy received help from her on any issue. In addition, she was an excellent musician and reigned supreme at literary evenings, where the guests were Goncharov, Maikov, Tyutchev, Ostrovsky, Turgenev.

Passion has passed, and its anxious ardor

It no longer torments my heart,

But it’s impossible for me to stop loving you,

Everything that is not you is so vain and false,

Everything that is not you is colorless and dead.

Unfortunately, the happiness of Alexei Konstantinovich and Sofya Andreevna was short-lived. Tolstoy's illness made itself felt more and more. The best resorts in Europe and the best doctors could not cope with Count Tolstoy’s illness. In one of his letters from a sanatorium abroad, he writes to his wife: “I still have the same feeling as twenty years ago, when we parted - absolutely the same.” At this time, remembering his youth, he writes one of his best poems, set to music by P.I. Tchaikovsky, “That was in early spring.” (Romance sounds).

Reader 9. Exactly three months before his death, Alexei Konstantinovich writes from Carlsbad to Sofya Andreevna: “And for me, life consists only of being with you and loving you, the rest for me is death, emptiness...”.

Do you remember the evening, how the sea roared,

A nightingale sang in the rose hips,

Fragrant branches of white acacia

We swung on your hat.

Between stones overgrown with thick grapes,

The road was so narrow

In silence over the sea we rode side by side,

A hand met a hand.

You bent over the saddle so beautifully,

You plucked the scarlet rose hips,

Brown horse's shaggy mane

With love you cleaned for them.

Your clothes have naughty folds

We were clinging to the branches, and you

Laughed carelessly - flowers on a horse,

Flowers in hands and on hat.

Do you remember the roar of the rain stream

And foam and splashes all around?

And how our grief seemed far away,

And how we forgot about him.

There is a gradual decline of the poet, a man of unusually enormous strength. Asthma, dilatation of the aorta, terrible headaches... On September 28, 1875, A.K. Tolstoy passed away. Many romances written to Tolstoy's poems - and there are more than eighty of them - were heard by him during his lifetime. And the romance “Among the Noisy Ball” was written by P.I. Tchaikovsky three years after the poet’s death. These poems were sent to the composer by Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck. He answered her: “I am especially pleased with Tolstoy, whom I love very much... Tolstoy is an inexhaustible source for texts to music, he is one of the most sympathetic poets to me.” And Sofya Andreevna outlived Alexei Konstantinovich by seventeen years old. (P.I. Tchaikovsky’s romance “Among the Noisy Ball” sounds).

"Music in the Tolstoy House"

September 9, 2013 marked the 185th anniversary of the birth of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy. For the third year now, I have had the good fortune to spend the last days of August in Yasnaya Polyana, participating in the International Seminar of Translators. I really like house museums and estate museums. The spirit of the past that reigns there is sometimes much closer to me than the atmosphere of modern establishments. (Sometimes it seems that I was born a little late - it would have been a hundred years ago!))) But in Yasnaya the sensations are different than just museum ones: the house is alive, the estate is thriving, the garden is growing, hay is being cut, horses are walking, dogs are running, cats bask in the sun. It feels like you are one of the many guests of Lev Nikolaevich and his family.

Maybe that’s why at the VIII translators’ seminar I wanted to show the program “Music in the Tolstoy House” to try to fill this space with the sounds that once sounded here.

The Tolstoys not only always loved music and listened to it, but also performed it, inspired others to write beautiful works, and composed it themselves.

The romance “We went out into the garden,” written by the writer’s youngest son based on his wife’s poems, is one of the most popular and beloved romances in the history of this genre. And the romances of Tatyana Tolstoy (Tolstoy - in marriage, Shilovskaya - as a girl) are heard by everyone, even those who have just come into contact with this genre: “Oh, forget your past hobbies!”, “Mirage”, “Bayushki-Bayu” , “I won’t tell you anything”, “Everything is quiet.” Tatyana Konstantinovna herself performed romances beautifully. Although the title of count did not allow her to give widely concerts, she performed at private invitations and at charity events. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, she literally mesmerized listeners with her singing. She did not strive for pop brilliance or showiness, but captivated with sincerity, richness of feelings and psychological colors.

Perhaps the most popular poet in the Tolstoy family was Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy. “Among the Noisy Ball,” “My Bells,” “I Bless You, Forests” are favorite, popular, and performed romances. And here is another romance based on the poems of A.K. Tolstoy by composer V.N. Paskhalov.

Romance by V. N. Paskhalov to the poems of A. K. Tolstoy “Don’t Ask.”

Paskhalov's romances were also loved to be listened to and performed in the Tolstoys' house.

Viktor Nikandrovich Paskhalov was born in Saratov, studied at Kazan University, at the Moscow Conservatory, was a volunteer at the Paris Conservatory, then returned to Russia, and lived in Kazan in recent years. The creator and head of the first free music school in Kazan, the author of 60 romances, the opera “The First Distiller” (unfinished), and the compiler of a collection of Russian folk songs, Paskhalov himself was an excellent performer of his music. From the memoirs: “...Paskhalov played wonderfully, played, getting carried away and forgetting the melancholy that was gnawing at his sick heart. In a strange, expressive whisper, he sang his romances, accompanying them to the point of artistic subtlety. Listeners spent whole nights with the musician until the morning; the nervous tension caused by his inspired music made some ladies faint and men cry. Such concerts were called “Easter nights” in Kazan...” The composer's life ended tragically: after spending his last years in poverty, Paskhalov committed suicide at the age of 44.

Speaking about the music created by the Tolstoys, one cannot fail to mention the Waltz, composed by Count Leo Tolstoy himself in his youth. In February 1906, Sergei Taneyev persuaded Tolstoy to perform this work in order to record it. The Waltz was first published in Tolstoy's Yearbook in 1912.

Joaquin Fernandez performs "Waltz" by Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy.

According to the writer’s son, Sergei, “the first person in the musical business at home was Aunt Tanya Kuzminskaya.”

Sofia Andreevna Tolstoy’s sister, Tatyana Andreevna, was very musical and had a good voice.

The music collections of T. A. Kuzminskaya are stored in Yasnaya Polyana, from which one can determine the most frequently performed romances. Here's one of them.

Yulia Ziganshina and Joaquin Fernandez perform M. Balakirev's romance to M. Lermontov's poems "Can I Hear Your Voice."

All lovers of romance are well aware of Shiryaev’s romance to Fet’s poems “The Night Was Shining.” But not everyone, I think, knows that we owe the birth of these poems to Tatyana Kuzminskaya, who inspired the poet to create this creation with her singing. This is the story from the words of Tatyana Andreevna herself. (From the memoirs of T. A. Kuzminskaya (Bers) “My life at home and in Yasnaya Polyana”:

“On one Sunday in May, quite a lot of guests gathered, among whom were Fet and his wife. After lunch, the men went into the office to smoke. As I remember now, I sang a gypsy romance, “Tell me why.” Everyone returned to the living room. I thought about not singing anymore and leaving, but it was impossible, since everyone insistently asked me to continue.
Tea was served and we went into the hall. This wonderful, large hall, with large open windows onto the garden, illuminated by the full moon, was conducive to singing. Marya Petrovna came up to many of us and said: “You will see that this evening will not be in vain for little darling Fet, he will write something this night.”
The singing continued. It was two o'clock in the morning when we parted ways. The next morning, when we were all sitting at the round tea table, Fet came in, followed by Marya Petrovna with a beaming smile. Afanasy Afanasyevich came up and placed a piece of paper near my cup: “This is for you in memory of yesterday’s evening in Eden.”
The title was “Again”. It happened because in 1862, when Lev Nikolaevich was still a groom, he asked me to sing something to Fet. I refused, but I sang. Then Lev Nikolaevich told me: “You didn’t want to sing, but Afanasy Afanasyevich praised you.” You love it when people praise you.”
Four years have passed since then. I still have this piece of paper. The poems were published in 1877, ten years after my marriage, and now music has been written on them.”

Romance "The Night Shined" ("Again") Music by Shiryaev, poetry by Fet.

Her singing was admired not only by Tolstoy, Kuprin, Chekhov, Blok, Korovin, but also by the great singers Chaliapin and Sobinov (in the artistic, especially vocal world - the admiration of some singers for others is not common!)

One day, after a concert at the Mariinsky Theater, the Emperor approached the singer, gave her an expensive gift and expressed regret that there were no recordings of Varya Panina in his record collection. Within a few days, such a recording was made and released in a luxurious gift binding. It was these records that were included in the collection of the Tolstoy family.

Two romances from Varya Panina’s repertoire: “Eyes”...

And "Pick up your guitar."

In the Tolstoys' house they loved to listen to Russian folk songs. Tatyana Shentalinskaya narrates and sings.

Gypsy romances and songs were highly valued and loved by Tolstoy: “Dark Eyes”, “Not Evening”, “At the Fatal Hour”.

Lev Nikolaevich’s love for music, in particular, for songs and romances, of course, could not help but manifest itself in his works. This is how “Not Evening” sounds in the play “The Living Corpse” along with other gypsy songs.

But the romance “The Key,” which Tolstoy knew from his youth, is heard in the Rostov house in “War and Peace.” This romance was especially revered in the Tolstoy house. It was sung one by one, in a duet, in a trio, in a quartet, and in a choir!

The romance "The Key" is performed by Yulia Ziganshina, Joaquin Fernandez and a choir of translators!

“Music in the Tolstoy House” is an inexhaustible topic! So much the better for romance singers! To voice history, to turn our views back to the depths of centuries, to revive and fill with sounds those spaces where great poets, writers, artists, composers lived and worked - this is one of the honorable tasks of modern performers!

Video recording by Sergei Krasavin.
Many thanks to Galina Alekseeva, Evgenia Gritsenko, Tatyana Shentalinskaya, Joaquin Fernandez and Sergei Krasavin for their invaluable assistance in preparing the program!