Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka "The Lark"
The name of the outstanding Russian composer Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka is well known to all lovers of classical music. His beautiful, imbued with patriotism, creations praising good and justice, do not cease to delight listeners in the present time. Speaking about the merits of the composer, who is rightly considered the founder of Russian classical music, it is impossible not to note his contribution to the development of the chamber-vocal genre. Romance creativity Glinka is called an inexhaustible spring of beauty and perfection. It captivates with its sincerity, beauty of melodies, as well as the complete unity of music and poetic text. A vivid example of this is the vocal miniature "The Lark" - a romance that from the first sounds enchants with the naive charm and the intimate simplicity of its melody.
The history of the creation of the romance "The Lark", as well as many interesting facts and musical content of the work, read on our page.
History of creation
The story of the romance "Lark" is inextricably linked with the creation Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka vocal cycle "Farewell to St. Petersburg", the composition of which was preceded by a series of sad events that filled the life of the maestro in the second half of the thirties. First, the death of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, whom he considered his idol, knocked him off track. Then the younger brother of the composer died, at the funeral of which Mikhail Ivanovich learned about his wife’s infidelity.
The maestro’s mental devastation was such that he completely abandoned work on opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila". Being in upset feelings, Glinka left his wife and refused to work as a conductor of the court Singing Chapel, which greatly upset the emperor himself. At that difficult time for the composer, he found solace only in communion with one person - Ekaterina Kern. With "cute EK" Mikhail Ivanovich met at the Smolny Institute, where the girl worked as a teacher, and the maestro visited the family of his sister, who lived in a public apartment at an educational institution. Frequent meetings with Katenka had a positive effect on Glinka's state of mind. He was beginning to feel that he was happy and that his strength was coming back to him.
At that moment, Glinka's mood was darkened only by the impending lengthy litigation of the divorce proceedings, as well as by the illness that suddenly befall him. After Katenka recovered, Mikhail Ivanovich conceived a plan to leave Russia with a girl and secretly enter into marriage with her, as relatives from both sides were against their relationship.
It is also important to note that at that time Glinka became very friendly with the Kukolniki brothers, who were highly respected in St. Petersburg literary circles. The apartment where they lived, located in Fonarny Lane, was a favorite meeting place for creative people. Often Mikhail Ivanovich went there too. So, in one of the May evenings of 1840, the composer, in an interview with the owner of the house, Nestor Kukolnik, told him about his idea: to create a series of romances. Since Glinka planned to leave his homeland in the near future, with the general agreement of the poet and the composer it was decided to create a cycle called Farewell to Petersburg.
The poetry texts of Nestor Kukolnik, to which the composer created vocal miniatures, were not connected by a single storyline, but Mikhail Ivanovich united the compositions by reflecting the emotional state of the person who was about to leave his native place and make an exciting journey. The compilation of the collection with the creative support of Nestor Kukolnik advanced rather quickly and by August 9 the vocal cycle “Farewell to Petersburg”, which included the song “The Lark”, was completed. The composer, meanwhile, had not yet given up his intentions and was preparing for a trip abroad. The Kukolniki Brothers, with great respect for Glinka, decided before the composer's departure to arrange a farewell party for him, at which Mikhail Ivanovich performed his new vocal compositions with great inspiration. The next day, the composer really left, but not in sunny Italy with his beloved, as he had expected, but at the insistence of his mother on the Novospasskoye family estate. Glinka returned to St. Petersburg a month later and was pleasantly surprised that Pyotr Ivanovich Gurskalin’s music publishing house “Odeon” published the collection “Farewell to Petersburg” and, accordingly, the song The Lark. The cycle was bought up so quickly that it doubled its circulation soon from afar again.
Interesting Facts
- The romance “The Lark” along with “Passing Song” is the most popular work from Mikhail Glinka’s vocal cycle “Farewell to Petersburg”.
- Mikhail Ivanovich dedicated his vocal miniature "The Lark" to the poet Alexander Nikolaevich Strugovshchikov, who became famous for his translations of Goethe and Schiller.
- Outstanding Russian composer Balakirev He was so fascinated by the naive charm and the intimate simplicity of the song "The Lark" that put his thematic material into the basis of his piano fantasy. The work of Milia Alekseevich contributed even more to the popularization of this romance.
- Nestor Kukolnik during his lifetime was a very popular writer. He wrote his works in various genres, published a newspaper and magazines and at the same time called himself the greatest poet of his time. However, if Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka had not written romances on the texts of this arrogant writer about his works at the present time, no one would have remembered.
- Many contemporaries were puzzled how a balanced Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka could make friends with such a frivolous person like Nestor the Puppeteer. The fact is that the composer was attracted by the fact that the Puppeteer could easily and quickly compose poetic texts, and besides he was a very understanding listener.
- Contemporaries of the composer noted that Glinka loved to perform romances himself and did it very expressively. In the summer of 1840, while working on the vocal cycle "Farewell to St. Petersburg", Mikhail Ivanovich, often visiting Nestor Kukolnik, sat down at the piano after two o'clock in the morning and sang his compositions in the company of bohemian friends who loved to gather in the house of the writer.
- It is worth noting that, in addition to Nestor Kukolnik’s poems, in addition to the series “Farewell to Petersburg,” Glinka composed his famous novel “Doubt”, and also decorated the drama “Prince Holmsky” with music.
Content of "The Lark"
"The Lark" is a soul romance similar to a folk song with a simple but beautiful and soulful melody. Having painted with light lyrics, the composer picturesquely created in him the image of Russian nature, and also expressed the tender feelings of a man: his hope for finding true love.
The composition, written in the key of E minor and, like a folk song, enclosed in a couplet form, opens with a small piano introduction, which brings a dreamy tint to the mood of the piece. The author of the miniature filled it with melodious trills imitating the singing of a little bird, using the high register and an abundance of musical ornaments in the form of forshlag. Then begins the main, surprisingly melodious vocal theme of the romance. A feature of its melodic line is an unceasing return to the fifth step of the main tonality. The composer used this technique to give the effect of lightness to the music. In addition, the octave jumps soaring upwards give a sensation of light flying to the thematic material, which throughout the composition is played in the accompaniment.
Each verse of the romance ends with the theme of the skylark sounded in the introduction. She reminds the audience that the main character in the composition is still a little bird whose singing calls on the lyrical hero to express tender feelings for his chosen one.
"Lark"- intimate vocal miniature Mikhail Ivanovich Glinkawhich is often called the song of hope, is one of the most popular works of the composer’s romance heritage. The captivating charm of the melody attracts not only vocalists, so this fascinating tune today can be heard performed on a variety of musical instruments.
Leave Your Comment