Russian music of romanticism
The work of A. A. Alyabyev (1787-1851), A. E. Varlamov (1801-1848), A. L. Gurilyov (1803-1858) and A. N. Verstovsky (1799-1862) is associated with the development of the romantic trend in music. The greatest successes were achieved by these composers in the art of romance and song. Russian romance developed under the direct influence of Russian poetry in the first quarter of the 19th century. Poems by V. A. Zhukovsky, D. V. Davydov, A. A. Delvig, A. Pushkin and M. Yu. Lermontov served as the basis for the creation of many musical masterpieces of this genre.
Especially popular were the romances by A. A. Alyabyev “Winter Road”, “Two Crows” to the verses of A. Pushkin and “Nightingale” to the verses of A. A. Delvig.
Lyric songs and romances by A. Ye. Varlamov “Red Sarafan”, “At the dawn you don’t wake her …”, “Along the street a blizzard is sweeping …” sounded everywhere: both in secular living rooms and in peasant huts. They captivated the audience with sincerity and depth of experience. Quite different – agitated and romantic – was the character of the romance “A lonely sail is whitening …” to the words of M. Yu. Lermontov.
The songs and romances of AL Gurilyov “Mother-dear”, “Don’t make a noise, rye …”, “Bell” with the warmth and sincerity of feelings, expressiveness and melody of the melody were consonant with folk songs, the soul of the Russian people.
A. N. Verstovsky created a new romantic genre of musical ballad, or “dramatic cantata”. The most famous among them are “Black Shawl”, “Three Songs of the Skald”. He also belongs to the first romantic opera “Askold’s Grave” (1835), which is distinguished by an intriguing, exciting plot of the era of the formation of the Old Russian state and melodic music.
The romantic trend in the development of operatic art was subsequently continued by AS Dargomyzhsky (1813-1869). Opera “Mermaid” (1855), based on the unfinished drama of Alexander Pushkin, is one of the composer’s best works. New melodic recitations and accords, unusually flexible rhythms, amusing plot and tragic fate of the main characters made this opera a truly innovative work.
At the end of his career, Dargomyzhsky turned to the plot of Pushkin’s tragedy “The Stone Guest”, creating in 1866-1869. the opera of the same name. It presents a brilliant musical variation of the famous legend of Don Juan. The opera was unusual in that it did not contain the usual arias, vocal “inserts”, sonorous, effective ensembles and finals. It is a musical and dramatic recitative, brilliantly reproducing the text of Pushkin’s drama. The unusual, experimental character of this opera opened up new horizons in the development of operatic art.
