The Russian Masters

Notes on the Program

by Steven Blier

Doubt (Glinka/poem by Kukolnik), Composed 1838

A beautiful example of Glinka's ability to wed Russian soul and Italian bel canto cantilena.  He was a friend of both Bellini and Donizetti, and adorned his operas (and some of his songs) with florid virtuoso vocal display to rival theirs.  Here the vocal line is simple and flowing, with an urgent legato melody which Glinka does not bother to modify for the different moods of the song; the character despairs, weeps, and is comforted to the same (beautiful) tunes--giving his relief at the song's end a melancholy uncertainty.

Traveller's Song (Glinka/poem by Kukolnik), Composed 1840

This song comes from a cycle, Farewell to St. Petersburg; it can be seen as a remote Russian ancestor to Honneger's Pacific 231.  The first Russian railroad, which connected Moscow and St. Petersburg, was still an exciting novelty, having been built just a few years before.  The music captures the thrill of the new invention, while two interludes take us into more personal territory.  The song is a very early example of Urbanistic music - works which depict the machinery, rhythms, and noise of the city, often in perpetuo moto.

For the complete text of these program notes, please e-mail us at:  info@nyfos.org.