Bass is the lowest male singing voice. The range of the bass is from the F of a large octave to the F (G) of the first. True, the range of the central bass and profundo bass can capture lower notes. The brightest note in the high bass is up to the first octave, the working middle is the B flat of the big octave - D of the first octave. The bass is a very expressive and rich voice, but unfortunately there are very few singers with such a voice, and there are few opera parts written for the bass. The range distinguishes between high (bass cantato), medium (central) bass and low (bass profundo). According to the nature of the sound, baritone bass, characteristic bass or comic bass (bass buffo) are distinguished.
high bass - this is a melodious bass, timbre is the brightest and brightest voice. It sounds like a baritone, especially in the upper tessitura. Its operating range is from the salt of a large octave to the salt of the first.
central bass – it is a bass that has a wider range of possibilities. It has a solid, sonorous and formidable timbre color. The working middle of such voices is the salt of a large octave - up to the first octave. The entire range of such a voice sounds good only in the chest resonator; in the head resonator, the bass loses its timbre color greatly.
Low bass, profundo bass – another name for this extremely rare male voice is bass octavist. Vocalists with these voice characteristics can sing the lowest notes (counter-octave F-sol). It even seems that the human voice cannot produce such sounds. Bass profundos often perform parts in opera or church choir. A low deep sound, reminiscent of a roar or seething, is mesmerizing. Such a phenomenon, according to critics and connoisseurs of vocals, can only be found in Russia, they are called the “Russian miracle”, awarding such a voice with the title of a unique natural phenomenon.
baritone bass— it is a voice that has features of both bass and baritone. It has a good high and low, but without profundus notes. Bass-baritones often have a very rich timbre and powerful sound, and are able to sing the baritone repertoire.
bass buffo— this about usually the bass-buffo performs the supporting parts. Often these are comic parties or the parties of old people. From the owner of such a voice, first of all, acting skills are required, and they might not have any singing features or beauty of timbre at all. In the opera seria of the 18th century, basses were rarely used, and recognition came to them only with the advent of opera buff, where a significant place was given to basses.
By its nature, the bass singing voice is less common than other male voices, often it does not appear immediately, and for a long time the singer may consider himself a baritone, but as a result of training, over time, a baritone can develop into a bass. The fact is that the signs by which this or that voice is determined may be blurred or not yet developed among beginners. An exception can only be voices set by nature. The exercises for the bass voice are the same as for other singing voices only in their tessitura. So if you have a bass, then you are the representative of very rare singing voices.
On February 13, 1873, 140 years ago, Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin, the great Russian opera singer, was born.
High bass - this is how the voice of the singer, who could also sing in a baritone, was characterized in a professional language. But he really became the high and tragic bass of a turning point era. The son of ordinary peasants, he did not receive any special education: neither musical, nor acting, even his general education was minimal (three years of elementary school in the provincial city of Kazan), but this nugget ascended to the top of performing opera art, became the most cultured a man of his time. All the great conductors and directors reckoned with him. Despite the poor quality of the recordings of the time, Chaliapin continued to have a huge impact on the entire Russian artistic world. A striking confession was made in his declining years by the late poet Viktor Fedorovich Bokov in an interview with Literaturnaya Gazeta: “I learned to write poetry not from anyone - from Chaliapin. I went with a backpack in which there were ten records with the singer's records. I think that all my drama and Russianness came out of Chaliapin ... "
“We don’t need to exaggerate, but we don’t need to underestimate either,” recalls his comrade Ivan Alekseevich Bunin, “he spent himself decently after all ... Somehow we rushed with him in a reckless car through winter Moscow at night from Prague to Strelna: the frost is cruel, the reckless driver rushes at full speed, and he sits at his full height, opening his fur coat, talking and laughing at the top of his lungs, smoking so that sparks fly in the wind. I could not stand it and shouted:
What are you doing to yourself! Shut up, wrap yourself up and throw a cigarette!
You are smart, Vanya, - he answered with a sweet accent, - you only worry in vain: you lived with me, brother, special, Russian, she will withstand everything.
Yes, Fyodor's life endured everything. Chaliapin's childhood was poor and hungry: from the age of 10 he was an apprentice shoemaker, then a turner, worked as a scribe, a loader. He got acquainted with musical literacy by participating in church choirs. However, the singer's autobiography is not worth retelling, especially since he himself wrote two books about himself. As a child, Fedor received a religious upbringing from his parents, which he wrote about in the book Pages from My Life. In the summer of 1922, the singer and his family leave Russia "for treatment, rest and tour" - with this wording, he is given a long vacation. Permission for long tours was a covert form of expulsion from the country of a well-known artist who increasingly resisted the established regime.
When the singer settled in Paris, began to give grandiose tours, he had the idea to give a large amount of money to help the Russian unemployed and donate them through the priest Father George, although, according to contemporaries, he loved money and often repeated: “Only birds sing for free” . So, when Father George's report on the distribution of this donation by the singer appeared in a Parisian newspaper, Moscow was outraged that the singer entrusted the distribution of money to the priest. In those years, the anti-religious campaign in the USSR was intensified through the efforts of foreigners-theomachists.
The proletarian poet V. Mayakovsky reacted immediately: he writes the poem "Mr. People's Artist", where he castigates the singer for "throwing 5,000 francs into the bottom of a priest's hat." Mayakovsky himself, without a twinge of conscience, took such fees for his agitation that he brought Lilechka Brik not only fashionable fur coats, but also a Ford of the latest model, while not sharing it with any compatriots.
By the way, during the First World War, the already recognized first bass of the world quite often gave free concerts in favor of wounded compatriots. After the revolution, which he met with enthusiasm, he returned to the Mariinsky Theater, which, having ceased to be imperial, was in crisis, lost its former audience, and was also attacked by proletarians who demanded that the building and all theatrical props be transferred to amateur workers' circles. Chaliapin became the actual artistic director of the theater, made - the only one - huge fees, supported others, traveled to Moscow, met with Lenin, achieved the creation of an association of academic theaters with the preservation of property and rations.
Having become the first People's Artist of the USSR, as he became the first soloist of the imperial theaters immediately from the peasantry, Chaliapin continued to tour abroad, fees again rained down, fabulous after the starving Petrograd. Before leaving forever for France, he performed at Christmas in the Butyrka prison "for those who are in trouble." Maybe in memory of the benefactor Mamontov, whom he never visited in prison, where he ended up after bankruptcy. And in April 1922, he sang farewell to Boris Godunov in Petrograd and a few days later, as we said, he left forever, which led to the deprivation of the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1927. Ten years later, doctors found an incurable disease in him, and in early April 1938, the Russian genius died of leukemia. He was buried in France, but in October 1984, according to the last will of the singer, who wanted to be buried in his homeland, his ashes were transferred to the cemetery of the Novodevichy Convent.
Under the Russian Cultural Foundation, there is a sluggish commission on the legacy of Fyodor Chaliapin, a house-museum on the Garden Ring, next to the US Embassy. The well-known writer and TV journalist Alexander Artsibashev, who is the confidant of the children of Fyodor Chaliapin in Russia, conducted a private investigation and outlined his results in the documentary story Chaliapin's Diamonds. But, of course, the biggest diamond in the tarnished crown of Russian culture is Fedor Chaliapin himself, which means "Gift of God"!
Alexander Alexandrovich MOSKALEV
Singing voices have their own classification, which is distinguished by diversity. Differences in classification systems can be based on a variety of factors: the strength of the voice, the degree of virtuosity and distinctness of performance, etc. However, experts note the need for a powerful foundation under all the possibilities of the performer's voice, which is the support of singing.
Quite often, the classification is based on the range of the performer's voice and his gender. However, these two criteria also give grounds for formulating a large number of varieties of classification. Highlighting a certain group of voices, professionals specify the presence of narrower groups in it.
Bass - low male voice
A group of male voices called Bass is combined in a classification according to the sound of a very low range of voice, for which the characteristic features are: breadth, "darkness", richness of the timbre formed by the chest resonator.
Touching upon the issue of range for bass, experts are ambiguous in their conclusions. However, the traditional classical idea of the position occupied by the bass on the musical staff is that which is united by the framework of the FA of the large and first octaves.
bass tone
In accordance with the quality side of the sound, basses are considered in three groups:
High-pitched bass, also called bass-baritone or cantante: a voice characterized by a high-pitched operating range, with borders of the major G and the first octave; the maximum similarity with the baritone timbre is felt in the upper tessitura; the timbre of this type of voice, in comparison with other basses, is characterized by kindness and radiance;
Central or dramatic bass: characterized by maximum expressiveness of imperiousness, menacingness, wisdom and hardness of the bass timbre;
Low bass, also called profundo or octavist.
Each subgroup has its own characteristics. For example, a feature of the dramatic bass can be called the inability of the singer to take the notes of F and G of the first octave. However, the MI note range is large and takes the first octave confidently. It is connected with the ease of sounding of the range on the chest resonator. The percentage of use of the head resonator decreases as the sound of the voice decreases.
We will talk about the bass profundo below. In the meantime, it is worth noting that opera parts are being created for basses with fairly representative heroes, among whom one can find representatives of royal, princely, boyar and other families, wise men of generals and other images that are characterized by masculinity and confidence. All this can be heard in the voice of the performer, which, according to experts, always inspires confidence among the listeners.
Another noteworthy fact is the evidence that in Italy Russia is recognized as the primacy of a state rich in beautiful basses. And Italy itself is famous as the birthplace of excellent tenor voices.
bass profundo
Returning to this type of bass, it is worth noting that the translation of the word with Italian roots sounds like “deep”. The owner of such a voice is recognized as unique. The difference between this variety of the male voice and others lies in the lowest tessitura of the sound. Experts note the possibility of going beyond the conceivable human capabilities.
The exclusivity that the bass profundo shows is fixed in all aspects of vocal art: in timbre and range, in physiological structure and resonance, and in other parameters.
The timbre is deep, but quantitatively, within the framework of low sounding, it is limited in overtones, that is, without excluding attractiveness, it is characterized by the absence of timbre saturation. Bass profundo is almost never heard in solo parts. A rare exception is the church choir. The bass octavist can often be heard in choirs, while its sound is minimal, and is required to highlight the volume of the timbre.
Another case of using the bass-profundo is doubling the root tone of chords of major and minor triads. When merging the sound of the bass timbres of ordinary and octavist, occurring in the choral bass parts, the latter acquire the character of massiveness and monumentality. Such a technique is important in terms of influencing the listener, who will certainly have feelings of anxiety and association with the sound of the tocsin bell.
Dwelling on the question of the range for bass profundo, it is worth noting that the note FA of the counter octave and DO of the first octave can serve as its framework.
Considering the resonance factor for bass-profundo, professionals point out the peculiarity of the process, in which only the larynx and chest resonator are involved. The structure of the ligaments (long) and their characteristics (dense, elastic) exclude the possibility of using the head resonator in this case.
All singing voices are divided into women's, men's and children's. The main female voices are soprano, mezzo-soprano and contralto, and the most common male voices are tenor, baritone and bass.
All sounds that can be sung or played on a musical instrument are high, medium and low. Musicians, when talking about the pitch of sounds, use the term "register", meaning whole groups of high, medium or low sounds.
In a global sense, female voices sing high or "upper" register sounds, children's voices sing middle register sounds, and male voices sing low or "lower" sounds. But this is only partly true, in fact, everything is much more interesting. Within each of the groups of voices, and even within the range of each individual voice, there is also a division into high, medium and low registers.
So, for example, a high male voice is a tenor, a middle one is a baritone, and a low one is a bass. Or, another example, the singers have the highest voice - the soprano, the middle voice of the vocalists is the mezzo-soprano, and the low one is the contralto. To finally master the division of male and female, well, at the same time, children's voices into high and low, this plate will help you:
If we talk about the registers of any one voice, then each of them has both low sounds and high ones. For example, a tenor sings both low chest sounds and high falsetto sounds, which are not available to basses or baritones.
Female singing voices
So, the main types of female singing voices are soprano, mezzo-soprano and contralto. They differ primarily in range, as well as in timbre coloration. The timbre properties include, for example, such as transparency, lightness or, conversely, saturation, voice power.
Soprano- the female highest singing voice, its usual range is two octaves (entirely the first and second octaves). In opera performances, the parts of the main characters are often performed by singers with such a voice. If we talk about artistic images, then best of all a high voice characterizes a young girl or some fantastic character (for example, a fairy).
Soprano, according to the nature of the sound, is divided into lyrical and dramatic- you yourself can easily imagine that the parts of a very tender girl and a very passionate girl cannot be performed by the same performer. If the voice can easily cope with fast passages and graces in its high register, then such a soprano is called coloratura.
Contralto- it has already been said that this is the lowest of the female voices, moreover, very beautiful, velvety, and also very rare (in some opera houses there is not a single contralto). A singer with such a voice in operas is often entrusted with the role of teenage boys.
Below is a tablet that gives examples of opera parts that are often performed by one or another female singing voice:
Let's hear how female singing voices sound. Here are three video examples for you:
Soprano. Aria of the Queen of the Night from the opera The Magic Flute by Mozart performed by Bela Rudenko
Mezzo-soprano. Habanera from the opera "Carmen" by Bizet performed by the famous singer - Elena Obraztsova
Contralto. Ratmir's aria from the opera "Ruslan and Ludmila" by Glinka performed by Elizaveta Antonova.
Male singing voices
There are only three main male voices - tenor, bass and baritone. Tenor of these, the highest, its pitch range is the notes of the small and first octaves. By analogy with the soprano timbre, performers with this timbre are divided into dramatic tenors and lyric tenors. In addition, sometimes they mention such a variety of singers as "characteristic" tenor. "Character" is given to it by some phonic effect - for example, silveriness or rattling. The characteristic tenor is simply indispensable where you want to create the image of a gray-haired old man or some sly rogue.
Baritone- this voice is distinguished by its softness, density and velvety sound. The range of sounds that a baritone can sing is within the limits of the la large octave to the la of the first octave. Performers with such a timbre are often entrusted with the courageous roles of heroic or patriotic characters in operas, however, the softness of the voice allows one to reveal love-lyrical images.
Bass- the voice is the lowest, can sing sounds from the F of a large octave to the F of the first. Basses are different: some are booming, “humming”, “bell-shaped”, others are hard and very “graphic”. Accordingly, the parts of characters for basses are diverse: these are heroic, and “fatherly”, and ascetic, and even comic images.
Probably, you are interested to know which of the male singing voices is the lowest? it bass profundo, sometimes singers with such a voice are also called Octavists, since they "take" low notes from the counteroctave. By the way, we have not yet mentioned the highest male voice - this tenor altino or countertenor, who sings quite calmly in an almost female voice and easily reaches the high notes of the second octave.
As in the previous case, male singing voices with examples of their opera parts are displayed in the tablet:
Now listen to what male singing voices sound like. Here are three more videos for you.
Tenor. Song of the Indian guest from the opera "Sadko" by Rimsky-Korsakov performed by David Poslukhin.
Baritone. Gliere's romance "Sweetly sang the soul-nightingale", sung by Leonid Smetannikov
Bass. Prince Igor's aria from Borodin's opera "Prince Igor" was originally written for baritone, but in this case it is sung by one of the best basses of the 20th century, Alexander Pirogov.
The working range of the voice of a professionally trained vocalist is usually two octaves on average, sometimes, however, singers and singers have much more opportunities. In order for you to be well-versed in tessituras when choosing notes for practice, I suggest that you get acquainted with a drawing that clearly demonstrates the allowable ranges for each of the voices:
Before concluding, I want to please you with one more sign, with the help of which you can get acquainted with vocalists who have one or another timbre of voice. This is necessary so that you can independently find and listen to even more audio examples of the sound of male and female singing voices:
That's all! We talked about what kind of voices singers and singers have, figured out the basics of their classification, the size of the ranges, the expressive possibilities of timbres, and also listened to examples of the sound of the voices of famous vocalists. If you liked the material, share it on your page in contact or on your Twitter feed. To do this, under the article there are special buttons. Good luck!
Height By timbre- baritone bass
- characteristic bass
- deep bass (bass profundo)
- comic bass (bass buffo)
high bass, melodious bass (cantanto), live bass - has a working range from F 2 (F of a large octave) to F 4 (F of the 1st octave), and sometimes F 4, F # 4, G 4, Ab 4 (F sharp, G and even A-flat of the first octave) at the top. This voice is light, bright sounding, reminiscent of a baritone timbre. However, the mids and lows are absolutely bass. Singers with this type of voice sing excellently in the lower parts, as well as the central basses can go down to the big octave (however, some singers did not sing below the working F of the big octave). Working middle: Bb 2 -D 4 (b-flat of a large octave - D of the first octave).
central bass has a wider range, the timbre has a pronounced bass character. This type of voice sometimes has problems with the upper register, although it sounds very powerful in the delivered voice (much more powerful up to the first octave than in high basses). Parts are available to these voices that require a rich sounding of the lower range up to F 2 (large octave F), and sometimes E 4 (large octave E). Working middle: G 2 -C 4 (sol of a large octave - up to the first octave).
low bass has a particularly thick bass flavor, velvety, booming timbre, a shorter upper part of the range, has deep, powerful low notes. In opera, this voice is called bass profundo, the range in opera parts is C 2 -D 4 (to, re of a large octave - to, re of the first octave). Working middle: E 2 -B 4 (mi, fa of a large octave - la, si of a small octave).
Octavists In choral Orthodox church practice, there are singers with a special nature of sound production, i.e. singing not in the chest register, but in the third low register (oscillations of other parts of the sound apparatus), which are called bass-octavists (“octave”). Here, the lower register of low bass is used to the maximum - up to G, less often mi, very rarely even up to the counteroctave (Zlatopolsky). Usually this voice is not used in classical music and is not sung below a large octave.
Some famous bass lines in operas
Operas in Russian
- Susanin ("Life for the Tsar" by M. I. Glinka)
- Ruslan, Farlaf, Svetozar (Ruslan and Lyudmila by M. I. Glinka)
- Melnik (Mermaid by A. S. Dargomyzhsky)
- Quasimodo (Esmeralda by A. S. Dargomyzhsky)
- Leporello (The Stone Guest by A. S. Dargomyzhsky)
- Boris Godunov, Pimen, Varlaam (Boris Godunov by M. P. Mussorgsky)
- Ivan Khovansky, Dosifei (Khovanshchina by M. P. Mussorgsky)
- Vladimir Galitsky, Konchak (Prince Igor by A. P. Borodin)
- Varangian guest, King of the Sea (Sadko by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov)
- Frost (The Snow Maiden by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov)
- Tsar Saltan (The Tale of Tsar Saltan by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov)
- Sobakin, Skuratov (The Tsar's Bride by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov)
- Holofernes (Judith by A. N. Serov)
- Prince Gudal (The Demon by A. G. Rubinstein)
- Gremin (Eugene Onegin by P. I. Tchaikovsky)
- Kochubey (Mazepa by P. I. Tchaikovsky)
- King Rene (Iolanta by P. I. Tchaikovsky)
- Surin, Narumov (The Queen of Spades by P. I. Tchaikovsky)
- Old Gypsy (Aleko by S. V. Rachmaninov)
- Kutuzov (War and Peace by S. S. Prokofiev)
- King of Clubs, Mage Cheliy, Cook, Farfarello (Love for Three Oranges by S. S. Prokofiev)
Operas in other languages
- Basilio (The Barber of Seville by G. Rossini)
- Bartolo (The Barber of Seville by G. Rossini; bass buffo)
- Don Magnifico, Alidoro (Cinderella by G. Rossini)
- Don Profondo, Lord Sydney, Baron Trombonock, Don Alvaro, Don Prudenzio (Journey to Reims by G. Rossini)
- Mustafa (Italian in Algiers by G. Rossini)
- Douglas, Bertram (Lady of the Lake by G. Rossini)
- Walter Furst, Melchtal, Gesler (William Tell by G. Rossini)
- Gouverneur (Count Ori by G. Rossini)
- Assur, Oroi (Giovanni Rossini's Semiramide)
- Tsambri (Cyrus in Babylon by G. Rossini)
- Elmiro (Otello by G. Rossini)
- Moses, Pharaoh (Moses in Egypt by G. Rossini)
- Bruschino (Signor Bruschino by G. Rossini)
- Bartolo (The Marriage of Figaro by W. A. Mozart)
- Leporello, Commander, Masetto (Don Giovanni by W. A. Mozart)
- Sarastro (The Magic Flute by W. A. Mozart)
- Figaro ("The Marriage of Figaro" by W. A. Mozart; high bass)
- Osmin (Abduction from the Seraglio by W. A. Mozart)
- Uberto (Maid-Mistress by D. B. Pergolesi)
- Henry VIII, Rochefort (Anne Boleyn by G. Donizetti)
- Dulcamara ("Love Potion" by G. Donizetti)
- Raymond (Lucia di Lammermoor by G. Donizetti)
- Oroveso (Norma by V. Bellini)
- Mephistopheles ("Faust" by Ch. F. Gounod; high bass)
- Lorenzo, Count Capulet (Romeo and Juliet by Ch. F. Gounod)
- Zuniga (Carmen by G. Bizet)
- Nilakanta ("Lakme" by L. Delibes)
- Abemelech ("Samson and Delilah" by C. Saint-Saens)
- Lindorff, Coppelius, Dappertutto, Dr. Miracle (The Tales of Hoffmann by J. Offenbach; baritone, high bass)
- Kuno, Kaspar, Hermit (Free Shooter by K. M. Weber)
- Mephistopheles (Mephistopheles by A. Boito)
- Attila, Leone (Attila by G. Verdi)
- Ramfis, Pharaoh (Aida by G. Verdi)
- Philip II, Grand Inquisitor (Don Carlos by G. Verdi)
- Tom, Samuel (Un ballo in maschera by G. Verdi)
- Banquo (Macbeth by G. Verdi)
- Zachariah (Nabucco by G. Verdi)
- Sparafucile, Count Ceprano (Rigoletto by G. Verdi)
- Ferrando ("Troubadour" by G. Verdi)
- Marquis Calatrava (Force of Destiny by G. Verdi)
- Marquis d "Aubigny, Dr. Grenville ("La Traviata" by G. Verdi)
- Alvise (La Gioconda by A. Ponchielli)
- Wotan, Donner, Fasolt, Fafner (The Rhine Gold by R. Wagner)
- Hunding ("Valkyrie" by R. Wagner)
- Wotan, Alberich, Fafner ("Siegfried" by R. Wagner)
- Gunther, Hagen, Alberich ("Death of the Gods" by R. Wagner)
- Prince of Bouillon, Quino (Adriana Lecouvreur by F. Cilea)
- Fleville, Rocher, Fouquier-Tinville (Andre Chenier by W. Giordano)
- Stromminger, Pastor (Wally by A. Catalani)
- Collin, Benois, Alcindor (La Boheme by G. Puccini)
- Bonza (Madama Butterfly by G. Puccini)
- Timur (Turandot by G. Puccini)
- Doctor ("Wozzeck" A. Berg)
- Porgy (Porgy and Bess by J. Gershwin, bass-baritone)
- Genius of cold ("King Arthur" G. Purcell)
- Karas, Ibrahim-Ali ("Zaporozhian beyond the Danube" S. S. Gulak-Artemovsky)
- Taras Bulba (Taras Bulba by N. V. Lysenko)
- Makogonenko (Natalka Poltavka by N. V. Lysenko)
- Moses (Moses by M. Skoryk)
- Yaroslav the Wise, Sylvester, Svechkogas, Ludomir, Stemir (Yaroslav the Wise by G. Mayboroda)
Parts in operettas
- Pluto, Bacchus (Orpheus in Hell by J. Offenbach)
- Calchas (The Beautiful Helena by J. Offenbach)
- General Boom (The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein by J. Offenbach)
- Theater director (Mademoiselle Nitouche by F. Herve)
- Frank ("The Bat" by I. Strauss)
- Bartolomeo Delaqua (A Night in Venice by I. Strauss)
- Koloman Zupan (The Gypsy Baron by I. Strauss)
- Booms, Janos (Light Cavalry by F. von Suppe)
- Würmchen (The Birdseller by K. Zeller)
- First Minister, Master of Ceremonies ("Tsarevich" F. Legar)
- Manuel Biffi, Lieutenant Antonio, Professor Martini ("Guditta" F. Legar)
- Ferry, Ronsdorff, Prince Leopold (The Czardas Queen (Silva) by I. Kalman)
- Carl Stefan Lienberg ("Maritsa" I. Kalman)
- Director of the circus Stanislavsky ("Circus Princess" I. Kalman)
- Louis-Philippe (La Bayadère by I. Kalman)
- Count Kutaisov ("Servant" N. Strelnikov)
see also
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Notes
Literature
- // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
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An excerpt characterizing Bass
“I don’t like to borrow from my own, I don’t like it,” grumbled Denisov.“And if you don’t take money from me comradely, you will offend me. Really, I have, - repeated Rostov.
- No.
And Denisov went to the bed to get a wallet from under the pillow.
- Where did you put it, Rostov?
- Under the bottom cushion.
- Yes, no.
Denisov threw both pillows on the floor. There was no wallet.
- That's a miracle!
“Wait, didn’t you drop it?” said Rostov, picking up the pillows one at a time and shaking them out.
He threw off and brushed off the blanket. There was no wallet.
- Have I forgotten? No, I also thought that you were definitely putting a treasure under your head, ”said Rostov. - I put my wallet here. Where is he? he turned to Lavrushka.
- I didn't go in. Where they put it, there it should be.
- Well no…
- You're all right, throw it somewhere, and forget it. Look in your pockets.
“No, if I didn’t think about the treasure,” said Rostov, “otherwise I remember what I put in.”
Lavrushka rummaged through the whole bed, looked under it, under the table, rummaged through the whole room and stopped in the middle of the room. Denisov silently followed Lavrushka's movements, and when Lavrushka threw up his hands in surprise, saying that he was nowhere to be found, he looked back at Rostov.
- Mr. Ostov, you are not a schoolboy ...
Rostov felt Denisov's gaze on him, raised his eyes and at the same moment lowered them. All his blood, which had been locked up somewhere below his throat, gushed into his face and eyes. He couldn't catch his breath.
- And there was no one in the room, except for the lieutenant and yourself. Here somewhere,” said Lavrushka.
- Well, you, chog "those doll, turn around, look," Denisov suddenly shouted, turning purple and throwing himself at the footman with a menacing gesture. Zapog everyone!
Rostov, looking around Denisov, began to button up his jacket, fastened his saber and put on his cap.
“I’m telling you to have a wallet,” Denisov shouted, shaking the batman’s shoulders and pushing him against the wall.
- Denisov, leave him; I know who took it,” said Rostov, going up to the door and not raising his eyes.
Denisov stopped, thought, and, apparently understanding what Rostov was hinting at, grabbed his hand.
“Sigh!” he shouted so that the veins, like ropes, puffed out on his neck and forehead. “I’m telling you, you’re crazy, I won’t allow it. The wallet is here; I will loosen my skin from this meg'zavetz, and it will be here.
“I know who took it,” Rostov repeated in a trembling voice and went to the door.
“But I’m telling you, don’t you dare do this,” Denisov shouted, rushing to the cadet to restrain him.
But Rostov tore his hand away and with such malice, as if Denisov was his greatest enemy, directly and firmly fixed his eyes on him.
– Do you understand what you are saying? he said in a trembling voice, “there was no one else in the room except me. So, if not, then...
He could not finish and ran out of the room.
“Ah, why not with you and with everyone,” were the last words that Rostov heard.
Rostov came to Telyanin's apartment.
“The master is not at home, they have gone to the headquarters,” Telyanin’s orderly told him. Or what happened? added the batman, surprised at the junker's upset face.
- There is nothing.
“We missed a little,” said the batman.
The headquarters was located three miles from Salzenek. Rostov, without going home, took a horse and rode to headquarters. In the village occupied by the headquarters, there was a tavern frequented by officers. Rostov arrived at the tavern; at the porch he saw Telyanin's horse.
In the second room of the tavern the lieutenant was sitting at a dish of sausages and a bottle of wine.
“Ah, and you stopped by, young man,” he said, smiling and raising his eyebrows high.
- Yes, - said Rostov, as if it took a lot of effort to pronounce this word, and sat down at the next table.
Both were silent; two Germans and one Russian officer were sitting in the room. Everyone was silent, and the sounds of knives on plates and the lieutenant's champing could be heard. When Telyanin had finished breakfast, he took a double purse out of his pocket, spread the rings with his little white fingers bent upwards, took out a gold one, and, raising his eyebrows, gave the money to the servant.
“Please hurry,” he said.
Gold was new. Rostov got up and went over to Telyanin.
“Let me see the purse,” he said in a low, barely audible voice.
With shifty eyes, but still raised eyebrows, Telyanin handed over the purse.
"Yes, a pretty purse... Yes... yes..." he said, and suddenly turned pale. “Look, young man,” he added.
Rostov took the wallet in his hands and looked at it, and at the money that was in it, and at Telyanin. The lieutenant looked around, as was his habit, and seemed to suddenly become very cheerful.
“If we’re in Vienna, I’ll leave everything there, and now there’s nowhere to go in these crappy little towns,” he said. - Come on, young man, I'll go.
Rostov was silent.
- What about you? have breakfast too? They are decently fed,” continued Telyanin. - Come on.
He reached out and took hold of the wallet. Rostov released him. Telyanin took the purse and began to put it into the pocket of his breeches, and his eyebrows casually rose, and his mouth opened slightly, as if he were saying: “Yes, yes, I put my purse in my pocket, and it’s very simple, and no one cares about this” .
- Well, what, young man? he said, sighing and looking into Rostov's eyes from under his raised eyebrows. Some kind of light from the eyes, with the speed of an electric spark, ran from Telyanin's eyes to Rostov's eyes and back, back and back, all in an instant.
“Come here,” said Rostov, grabbing Telyanin by the hand. He almost dragged him to the window. - This is Denisov's money, you took it ... - he whispered in his ear.
“What?… What?… How dare you?” What? ... - said Telyanin.
But these words sounded a plaintive, desperate cry and a plea for forgiveness. As soon as Rostov heard this sound of a voice, a huge stone of doubt fell from his soul. He felt joy, and at the same moment he felt sorry for the unfortunate man who stood before him; but it was necessary to complete the work begun.
“The people here, God knows what they might think,” muttered Telyanin, grabbing his cap and heading into a small empty room, “we need to explain ourselves ...
“I know it, and I will prove it,” said Rostov.
- I…
Telyanin's frightened, pale face began to tremble with all its muscles; his eyes still ran, but somewhere below, not rising to Rostov's face, and sobs were heard.
- Count! ... do not ruin the young man ... here is this unfortunate money, take it ... - He threw it on the table. - My father is an old man, my mother! ...
Rostov took the money, avoiding Telyanin's gaze, and, without saying a word, left the room. But at the door he stopped and turned back. “My God,” he said with tears in his eyes, “how could you do this?
“Count,” said Telyanin, approaching the cadet.
“Don’t touch me,” Rostov said, pulling away. If you need it, take this money. He threw his wallet at him and ran out of the inn.
In the evening of the same day, a lively conversation was going on at Denisov's apartment among the officers of the squadron.
“But I’m telling you, Rostov, that you need to apologize to the regimental commander,” said, turning to the crimson red, agitated Rostov, the high headquarters captain, with graying hair, huge mustaches and large features of a wrinkled face.
The staff captain Kirsten was twice demoted to the soldiers for deeds of honor and twice cured.
"I won't let anyone tell you I'm lying!" cried Rostov. He told me that I was lying, and I told him that he was lying. And so it will remain. They can put me on duty even every day and put me under arrest, but no one will make me apologize, because if he, as a regimental commander, considers himself unworthy of giving me satisfaction, then ...
- Yes, you wait, father; you listen to me, - the captain interrupted the staff in his bass voice, calmly smoothing his long mustache. - You tell the regimental commander in front of other officers that the officer stole ...
- It's not my fault that the conversation started in front of other officers. Maybe I shouldn't have spoken in front of them, but I'm not a diplomat. I then joined the hussars and went, thinking that subtleties are not needed here, but he tells me that I am lying ... so let him give me satisfaction ...
- That's all right, no one thinks that you are a coward, but that's not the point. Ask Denisov, does it look like something for a cadet to demand satisfaction from a regimental commander?
Denisov, biting his mustache, listened to the conversation with a gloomy look, apparently not wanting to intervene in it. When asked by the captain's staff, he shook his head negatively.
“You are talking to the regimental commander about this dirty trick in front of the officers,” the headquarters captain continued. - Bogdanich (Bogdanich was called the regimental commander) laid siege to you.
- He didn’t siege, but said that I was telling a lie.
- Well, yes, and you said something stupid to him, and you need to apologize.
- Never! shouted Rostov.
“I didn’t think it was from you,” the headquarters captain said seriously and sternly. - You do not want to apologize, and you, father, not only before him, but before the whole regiment, before all of us, you are to blame all around. And here's how: if only you thought and consulted how to deal with this matter, otherwise you directly, but in front of the officers, and thumped. What should the regimental commander do now? Should we put the officer on trial and mess up the entire regiment? Shame the entire regiment because of one villain? So, what do you think? But in our opinion, it is not. And well done Bogdanich, he told you that you are not telling the truth. It’s unpleasant, but what to do, father, they themselves ran into it. And now, as they want to hush up the matter, so you, because of some kind of fanabery, do not want to apologize, but want to tell everything. You are offended that you are on duty, but why should you apologize to an old and honest officer! Whatever Bogdanich may be, but all honest and brave, old colonel, you are so offended; and messing up the regiment is okay for you? - The voice of the captain's staff began to tremble. - You, father, are in the regiment for a week without a year; today here, tomorrow they moved to adjutants somewhere; you don’t give a damn what they will say: “Thieves are among the Pavlograd officers!” And we don't care. So, what, Denisov? Not all the same?
