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Shostakovich Blok Suite, Op. 127 |
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7 Poems of Alexander Blok, Op. 1277 Стихи Александр Блока
Op. 127 Written in 1967 For Voice, Violin, Cello, and Piano
Shostakovich has stipulated that this cycle is to be performed complete and without interruption.
Written in 1967, on the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution of October 1917. The composer was recovering from hospitilization for a heart attack. The composer's friends and interpreters, soprano Galina Vishnevskaya and cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, had requested that he write a suite for soprano and cello. This suite, however, grew to include violin and piano as well. The music contains many small intervals, said to dominate his late vocal writing as a result of the influence of Mussorgsky, and even some 12-tone rows.
The poems are by Alexander Blok, considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet besides Pushkin. Like the character in the poem for the second song, Gamayun, the prophetic bird from Slavic mythology, he possessed precognitive powers. The poems, with the possible exception of Number 3, "We were together," are foreboding and apocalyptic. When writing these poems at the turn of the century, Blok knew that dark days were ahead for Russia. His mention in this same song of "war, famine, and conflagration" is especially poignant, knowing that he died of disease complicated by famine in 1921 in post-civil war Petrograd.
Translation and Transliteration
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1. Ophelia’s Song1. Песня Офелии[Based on Hamlet, Act IV, scene v] Parting from your sweet maiden, friend,Parting from maiden sweet friendРазлучаясь с девой милой, друг,Razluchajas s d'evoi miloi, drug, You swore to love me!You swore me to loveТы клялся мне любить!...Ti kl'alsa mne l'ubit'! Parting for that dreary land,Parting for land drearyУезжая в край постылый,Uyezhaja v krai postyly, To keep the vows you made!Vows given to keepКлятву данную хранить!...Kl'atvu dannuyu khranit'! There, far from happy Denmark,There, from Denmark happy,Там, за Данией счастливой,Tam, za Daniei schastlivoi, Your shores are shrouded in mist . . .Shores your in mist Берега твои во мгле...Byerega tvoi vo mgl'e . . The waves, murmuring angrily,Wave angry murmuringВал сердитый, говорливыйVal s'erdityj, govorlivyj Wash up tears on the rock . . .Wash tears on rockМоет слёзы на скале...Mo'et sl'ozy na skal'e . . . The sweet warrior will never return, Sweet warrior not will return,Милый воин не вернётся,Mylyj voin ne vern'otca,All dressed in silver . . .All dressed in silverВесь одетый в серебро...Ves' od'etyj v serebro . . . In the grave will wave in heavy agitationIn grave heavy will rock (become agitated)В гробе тяжко всколыхнётсяV grobe t'azhko vskolykhn'otcaThe ribbon and the black feather . . .Ribbon and black featherБант и чёрное перо...Bant i chornoe pero . . . |
2. Gamayun, the Prophetic Bird*(A Painting of V. Vasnetsov)2. Гамаюн птица вещая(Картина Б. Баснецова)On the glassy surface of the endless watersOn glassy surfaces of endless waters На гладях бесконечных вод,Na glad'akh beskon'echnikh vod, Which the sunset has clad in purple, By the sunset in purple clad Закатом в пурпур облечённых,Zakatom v purpur obl'echonnykh, It prophesies and sings,It prophesies and sings Она вещает и поёт,Ona veshchajet i pojot, It doesn’t have the strength to lift its agitated wings; Not able wings to lift agitated Не в силах крыл поднять смятённых...Ne v silakh kryl podn'at' sm'at'onnykh It prophesies the yoke of the evil Tartars, Prophesies yoke of evil Tartars Вещает иго злых татар,V'eshchaet igo zlykh tatar, It prophesies a string of bloody executions,Prophesies of executions row bloody Вещает казней ряд кровавых,V'eshchaet kazn'ej r'ad krovavykh, And upheaval, and famine, and conflagration,And upheaval and famine and conflagration И трус, и голод, и пожар,I trus, i golod, i pozhar, The strength of the wicked, and the destruction of the righteous . . . Of the evil ones strength destruction of the righteous Злодеев силу, гибель правых...Zlodejev silu, gibel' pravykh . . . Enveloped by the presaged horror,By the presaged horror enveloped, Предвечным ужасом объят,Predv'echnym uzhasom objat, Its splendid face burns with love,Splendid face burns with love, Прекрасный лик горит любовью,Pr'ekrasnyj lik gorit l'ubovju, But resounding with the truth of things prophesied,But of things with truth resounds Но вещей правдою звучатNo v'eshchej pravdoju zvuchat Its lips are covered with blood!Lips covered with blood Уста, запекшиеся кровью!Usta, zap'vekshi'esa krovju! *Gamayun, in Slavic Mythology, was a wise bird of prophecy and knowledge.
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3. We Were Alone3. Мы были вместе We were alone, I remember . . .We were alone remember I . ..Мы были вместе, помню я...''My byl'i vm'est'e, pomn'u ja . . . The night was in a state of ferment, and the violin sang,Night was agitated violin sang Ночь волновалась, скрипка пела,Noch volnovalas', skripka p'ela, You were mine in those days,You in those days were mine, Ты в эти дни была моя,Ty vehti dn'i byla maja, With every hour you grew more lovely.You with every hour grew lovelier. Ты с каждым часом хорошела.Ty skazhdym chasom khoroshela. Through the quiet murmur of the streams,Through quiet murmur of streams, Сквозь тихое журчанье струй,Skvoz' tikho'e zhurchan'e struj, Through the secret of the womanly smileThrough secret of womanly smile Сквозь тайну женственной улыбкиSkvoz' tajnu zhenstvennoj ulybki A kiss was crying out to your lips,To lips was crying out kiss К устам просился поцелуй,Kustam prosilsa potseluj, The sounds of the violin were crying out to your heart . . .Cried out to heart sounds of violin Просились в сердце звуки скрипки...Prosilis' vserdtse zvuki skripki . . . |
4. The City Is Asleep4. Город спитThe city sleeps, cloaked in shadows,City sleeps cloaked by shadowsГород спит, окутан мглою,Gorod spit, okutan mgloju, The lights are barely flickering . . .Barely flicker lights Чуть мерцают фонари...Chut' m'ertsajut fonari There, far away, across the Neva,There far across Neva Там далёко, за Невою,Tam dal'oko za Nevoju I see the gleam of the dawn.I see gleam of dawn. Вижу отблески зари.Vizhu otbl'eski zar'i. In that far-off gleam,In that far-off gleam В этом далнем отраженьи,Vetom daln'em otrazhen'i, In those gleams of flameIn those gleams of flame В этих отблесках огняWas lurking the awakeningWas lurking awakening Притаилось пробужденье Pritailos' probuzhden'e Of sorrowful days for me . . .Of days sorrowful for me . . . Дней, тоскливых для меня...Дn'ej, tosklivykh dl'a m'en'a . . .
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5. The Storm5. БуряYou, poor, naked unfortunates. -- King Lear (Act III, scene iv) Вы, бедные, нагие несчастливцы.
Лир
Oh, How insanely outside the window Oh how insanely outside window О, как безумно за окном O kak bezumno za oknom Howls and rages the evil storm,Howls rages storm evil Ревёт, бушует буря злая, Rev'ot byshu'et bur'a zlaja The storm-clouds fly by and pour rain,Fly by storm-clouds pour with rain Несутся тучи, льют дождём,Nesuts'a tuchi, l'ut dozhd'om, And the wind blows, dying down!And wind blows dying down И ветер воет, замирая!I v'et'er vo'et, zamiraja! What a terrible night! On such a nightTerrible night on such night Ужасна ночь! В такую ночьUzhasna noch! Vtakuyu noch I am sorry for people, who are without shelter,I am sorry for people deprived of shelter мне жаль людей, лишённых крова,Mn'e zhal' l'ud'ei l'ish'onnykh krova, And pity drives one out --Pity drives away Сожаление гонит прочь –Sozhal'enie gon'it proch -- Into the arms of the damp cold!Into arms of cold damp В объятья холода сырого!Vobjatja kholoda syrovo! To struggle with the darkness and the rain,To struggle with darkness and with rain, Бороться с мраком и дождём,Borot'sa smrakom i dozhd'om, Sharing the lot of the sufferers . . .Of sufferers lot sharing Страдалцев участь разделяя...Stradaltsev uchast' razd'el'aja . . . Oh, how insanely outside the windowOh how insanely outside window О, как безумно за окномO, kak bezumno za oknom Rages the wind, dying away!Rages wind pining away Бушует ветер, изнывая!Byshu'et v'et'er iznyvaja!
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6. Secret Signs6. Тайные знакиSecret signs flare upFlare up secret signs Разгораются тайные знакиRazgorajutsa tainye znaki On the deaf, unwakeable wall.On deaf unwakeable wall На глухой, непробудной стене.Na glukhoi neprobudnoi sten'e. Golden and red poppiesGolden and red poppies Золотые и красные макиZolotye i krasnye maki Hang over me in my sleep.Over me hang (over) in sleep (dream) Надо мной тяготеют во сне.Nado mnoi t'agot'ejut vo sn'e. I take shelter in the caves of the nightI take shelter in night caves Укрываюсь в ночные пещерыUkryvajus' vnochnye p'eshcheriy And do not remember the severe wonders.And do not remember severe wonders И не помню суровых чудес.I n'e pomn'u surovykh chud'es. At dawn, azure chimerasAt dawn azure chimeras На заре голубые химерыNa zar'e golubye khim'ery Gaze into the mirror of the bright heavens.Gaze into mirror of bright heavens Смотрят в зеркале ярких небес.Smotr'at vz'erkal'e jarkikh n'ebes. I run away to the moments gone by,I run away to the past moments Убегаю в прошедшие миги,Ub'egaju vproshedshie migi I shut my eyes from fear,I shut from fear eyes Закрываю от страха глаза,Zakryvaju ot strakha glaza, On the pages of books growing cold --On pages of growing cold books На листах холодеющей книги – Na l'istakh kholod'ejushchei knigi There is the golden braid of a maiden.Golden of maiden braid Золотая девичья коса.
Zolotaja d'evichja kosa.
The heavens already lower over me,Over me heavens already (are) low Надо мной небосвод уже низок,A black dream weighs upon my breast.Black dream weighs upon breast Чёрный сон тяготеет в груди.Chornyj son t'agot'eet v grudi. My predestined end is near,My end predestined (is) near Мой конец предначертанный близок,Moi kon'ets prednachertannyj blizok, And war, and conflagration lie ahead . . .And war and conflagration (are) ahead И война, и пожар - впереди...I vojna, i pozhar -- vperedi . . .
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7. Music
7. МузыкаAt night, when care falls asleepAt night when falls asleep care В ночи, когда уснёт тревогаV nochi, kogda usn'ot tr'evoga And the city is hidden in shadows,And city is hidden in shadows И город скроется во мгле,I gorod skro'etsa vo mgl'e, Oh, what music is with God,Oh what music with God О, сколько музыки у бога,O, skol'ko muzyki u boga, What sounds there are on Earth!What sounds on earth Какие звуки на земле!Kakie zvuki na zeml'e! What does the storm of life matter,What storm of life Что буря жизни,Chto bur'a zhizn'i, If your roses bloom and blaze for me!If roses your bloom for me and blaze Если розы твои цветут мне и горят!Jesl'i rozy tvoi tsvetut mn'e i gor'at! What are human tears,What (are) human tears Что человеческие слёзы,Chto chelov'echeskie sl'ozy, When the sunset is glowing red!When glows red sunset Когда румянится закат!Kogda rum'an'itsa zakat! Accept, Empress of the Universe,Accept Empress of the universe Прими, владычица вселенной,Pr'im'i, vladychitsa vs'el'ennoj, Through blood, through torments, through the graveThrough blood through torments through graves Сквозь кровь, сквозь муки, сквозь гробаSkvoz' krov', skvoz' muki, skvoz' groba The foaming goblet of the final PassionOf last passion goblet foamingПоследней страсти кубок пенныйPosl'edn'ei strasti kubok p'ennyi From your unworthy slave.From unworthy slave От недостойного раба!Ot n'edostoinovo raba!
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