Alexander Dargomyzhsky was born on February 2 (according to the new calendar, February 14), 1813. The researcher established that Alexander Dargomyzhsky was born in the village of Voskresenskoye (now Arkhangelsk) in the Tula province. His father, Sergei Nikolaevich, was illegitimate son rich landowner Alexei Petrovich Ladyzhensky, who owned the estate in the Chernsky district. Shortly after his birth, Sergei was taken into care and eventually adopted by Colonel Nikolai Ivanovich Boucharov, who brought him to his estate Dargomyzhka in the Tula province. As a result, the son of A.P. Ladyzhensky became Sergey Nikolaevich Dargomyzhsky (after the name of the estate of his stepfather N.I. Boucharov). Such a change of surname was required for admission to the Noble Boarding School at Moscow University. Mother, nee Princess Maria Borisovna Kozlovskaya, sister of the famous wit Peter Kozlovsky, married against the will of her parents.

Until the age of five, the boy did not speak, his late-formed voice remained forever high and slightly hoarse, which did not prevent him, however, from subsequently touching him to tears with the expressiveness and artistry of his vocal performance. In 1817, the family moved to St. Petersburg, where Dargomyzhsky's father got a position as the head of the office in a commercial bank, and he himself began to receive musical education. His first piano teacher was Louise Wolgeborn, then he began studying with Adrian Danilevsky. Finally, Franz Schoberlechner was Dargomyzhsky's teacher for three years. Having achieved a certain skill, Dargomyzhsky began to perform as a pianist at charity concerts and in private collections. By that time, he had already written a number of piano compositions, romances and other works, some of which were published.

In the autumn of 1827, Dargomyzhsky, following in his father's footsteps, entered the public service and thanks to diligence and a conscientious attitude to business, he quickly began to move forward career ladder. In the spring of 1835 he met Mikhail Glinka, with whom he played the piano four hands. Having visited the rehearsals of Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar, which was being prepared for production, Dargomyzhsky decided to write a major stage work on his own. On the advice of Vasily Zhukovsky, the composer turned to the author's work, which was very popular in Russia in the late 1830s - Hugo's Notre Dame Cathedral. Dargomyzhsky used a French libretto written by Hugo himself for Louise Bertin, whose opera Esmeralda had been staged shortly before. By 1841, Dargomyzhsky completed the orchestration and translation of the opera, for which he also took the name Esmeralda, and handed over the score to the directorate of the Imperial Theaters. An opera written in the spirit French composers, has been waiting for its premiere for several years, since Italian productions were much more popular with the public. Despite the good dramatic and musical decision of Esmeralda, this opera left the stage some time after the premiere and was practically never staged in the future. In his autobiography, published in the newspaper Music and Theatre, published by A. N. Serov in 1867, Dargomyzhsky wrote:
Esmeralda lay in my briefcase for eight years. These eight years of vain waiting, and in the most ebullient years of my life, laid a heavy burden on my entire artistic activity.

melancholic waltz.

experiencesDargomyzhsky about the failure of "Esmeralda" was aggravated by the growing popularity of Glinka's works. The composer begins to give singing lessons (his students were exclusively women, while he did not charge them) and writes a number of romances for voice and piano, some of which were published and became very popular. In 1843, Dargomyzhsky retired, and soon went abroad.

He meets the leading European composers of the time. Returning to Russia in 1845, the composer is fond of studying Russian musical folklore, elements of which were clearly manifested in the romances and songs written during this period: “Darling Maiden”, “Fever”, “The Miller”, as well as in the opera “Mermaid”, which the composer began to write
in 1848."Mermaid" occupies a special place in the composer's work, written on the plot tragedy of the same name in the verses of A. S. Pushkin. The premiere of "Mermaid" took place in May 1856 in St. Petersburg. Biggest Russian musical critic of that time, Alexander Serov responded to it with a large-scale positive review.

Fantasy "Baba Yaga". Scherzo.

In 1859Dargomyzhsky is elected to the leadership of the newly founded Russian Musical Society, he meets a group of young composers, the central figure among whom was Mily Balakirev (this group would later become the "Mighty Handful"). Dargomyzhsky plans to write a new opera. The choice of the composer stops at the third of Pushkin's "Little Tragedies" - "The Stone Guest". Work on the opera, however, is proceeding rather slowly due to the creative crisis that began at Dargomyzhsky, associated with the exit from the repertoire of the Mermaid theaters and the neglect of younger musicians. The composer again travels to Europe, where his orchestral piece "Cossack", as well as fragments from "Mermaid", are successfully performed. Approvingly speaks about the work of Dargomyzhsky Franz Liszt.

"Bolero"

Returning to Russia, inspired by the success of his works abroad, Dargomyzhsky, with renewed vigor, takes on the composition of The Stone Guest. The language he chose for this opera - built almost entirely on melodic recitatives with simple chordal accompaniment - interested the composers of The Mighty Handful. However, the appointment of Dargomyzhsky to the post of head of the Russian Musical Society and the failure of the opera The Triumph of Bacchus, which he wrote back in 1848 and had not seen the stage for almost twenty years, weakened the composer's health, and on January 5, 1869, he died, leaving the opera unfinished. According to his will, The Stone Guest was completed by Cui and orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov.

Laura's first song from the opera "The Stone Guest"

Prince's aria from the opera "Mermaid"

Romance "I still love him, crazy"

Evgeny Nesterenko performs romances by A. Dargomyzhsky

1, Timofeev - "Ballad"

2. A.S. Pushkin - "I loved you"

3. M.Yu. Lermontov - I'm sad

Dargomyzhsky's innovation was not shared by his younger colleagues and was condescendingly considered oversights. The harmonic dictionary of the style of the late Dargomyzhsky, the individualized structure of consonances, their typical characteristic were, as in ancient fresco, recorded with later layers, beyond recognition "ennobled" by Rimsky-Korsakov's editorial, brought into line with the requirements of his taste, like Mussorgsky's operas "Boris Godunov" and "Khovanshchina", also radically edited by Rimsky-Korsakov.

Dargomyzhsky was buried in the Necropolis of Masters of Arts at the Tikhvin Cemetery, not far from Glinka's grave.

Opera "The Stone Guest".

(1813-1869) Russian composer

A contemporary of Pushkin and Lermontov, a friend of Glinka and Varlamov, a senior colleague of Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Dargomyzhsky was a brilliant pianist and violinist, worked as a singing teacher in difficult times, collaborated with the Iskra magazine, and was chairman of the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Musical Society. But for us, he is primarily a composer, one of the founders of classical Russian music.

A. Dargomyzhsky was born in a difficult time for Russia: the Patriotic War of 1812 was going on. Their family then lived in the Tula province with relatives. Returning home, Dargomyzhsky's father threw himself into business. In May 1816, a commission was set up to investigate abuses in the distribution of government benefits for the devastated Smolensk province. Participation in this commission brought S. Dargomyzhsky not only the respect and gratitude of fellow countrymen, but also the rank of collegiate secretary and the Order of St. Anna of the third degree. This was followed by an invitation to serve in St. Petersburg - in the State Commercial Bank. In a new place, Sergei Nikolayevich advanced to the rank of court adviser, but in 1826 he was fired without any explanation. After a long red tape, he received a position as an official for special assignments at the Ministry of the Imperial Court.

A modest salary, of course, was not enough to support big family and educating children, but helped by income from the estates of his wife and her brother. Dargomyzhsky's mother came from a family of princes Kozlovsky. She was an intelligent woman, endowed with a lively and cheerful character, kind and loving heart. She received the usual home education for that time, had a penchant for literature, composed poems that were even published in magazines and almanacs (one of them was placed in A. Delvig's almanac "Northern Flowers" in 1825).

Parents zealously cared about the fate of their children and sought to give them a versatile education. On the recommendation of acquaintances, the best teachers were invited to the house, and the father never spared money for this. great attention in the Dargomyzhsky family they devoted themselves to music. My brother played the violin, my sister played the harp. In 1819 Sasha was taught to play the piano. Noticing the child's inclination towards music, the parents invited a more experienced teacher.

In addition to the fact that the children of the Dargomyzhskys studied literature, history, and foreign languages, their parents encouraged them to compose poetry and translate from French. Children's literary albums were full of fables, parables, epigrams. Mother wrote small plays, which were played by the whole family.

For three years, from 1828 to 1831, Sasha studied with the Austrian musician Schoberlechner. Already in the thirties, Dargomyzhsky was considered a very strong pianist in St. Petersburg. Although the father, not without reason, feared that music lessons son, even the most successful, will not be able to provide him financially. Therefore, he began to worry early about his service career.

When Alexander was fourteen years old, he was appointed to the public service. In September 1827, the young official began his duties in the office, at first without a monetary reward - they began to pay him only two years later. True, this service was not too burdensome for Dargomyzhsky. He served under the command of his father's good friends, besides, they were great music lovers and did not interfere with Alexander's art. The track records noted the zeal of the young clerk, and he was regularly promoted: in 1829 Dargomyzhsky became a collegiate registrar, three years later - provincial secretary, and then - junior assistant controller. After that, he moved to the department of the Ministry of Finance - a clerical officer of the State Treasury. He finished his service in 1843, having retired with the rank of titular adviser.

In the thirties, disaster struck in the Dargomyzhsky family: two sons and a son-in-law died, a few years later a daughter and her child died. Because of these sad events, the Dargomyzhskys almost did not accept anyone, and therefore the grown-up Alexander, accustomed to home concerts from childhood, often visited literary and musical salons of his acquaintances. Watching with interest metropolitan life, young Dargomyzhsky was getting closer and closer to the circle creative intelligentsia Petersburg. He visited the houses of the poet I. Kozlov, V. Odoevsky, visited literary salon writer and historian N.M. Karamzin, where brilliant meetings were led by his widow and daughters. Here he played the piano and sang his romances with Karamzin's daughter, accompanied. It is believed that here he could also meet Lermontov, whose poems he loved very much. huge role in creative life Dargomyzhsky played a long-term friendship with M.I. Glinka.

Long conversations with Glinka and other composers strengthened Dargomyzhsky in his decision to write onera, and he set to work. He wrote his first opera Esmeralda for about four years and completed work on it in 1842, but it was staged in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theater only five years later. I must say that the composer himself was not very pleased with his music.

In 1844 Dargomyzhsky went abroad for the first time. He visited Berlin, then went to Brussels, to Paris, played excerpts from his opera, romances, piano works. Returning to his homeland, the musician again plunged into work. At this time he wrote many romances, gave charity concerts in memory of his friend, composer A. Varlamov, to support his family. But the main thing for him was work on the new opera "Mermaid". In 1855, Dargomyzhsky finished writing the opera, and on May 4, 1856, it premiered. However, this time the composer was dissatisfied with the staging of his work, the sound of the orchestra.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he began to contribute to the democratic magazine Iskra. He showed the gift of a satirist, and he mostly wrote feuilletons in collaboration with one of the journalists. During these years, Dargomyzhsky decided to write satirical novel"Confessions of a Liberal". However, this work remained unfinished, only the opening page of the novel is known.

In 1864, another misfortune happened: Dargomyzhsky's father, his support and chief adviser, died. Not having own family, the composer lived all his life side by side with his father, whom he loved and respected very much. The father conducted the economic and financial affairs of his son, he was also responsible for managing the estate of his late wife, from where the family received the main means of subsistence.

In the last years of his life, the composer worked hard on the opera The Stone Guest, completely preserving the text of A.S. Pushkin. But he already felt unwell and more than once told his friends that he would like to transfer The Stone Guest for completion and staging to Caesar Antonovich Cui. He asked Rimsky-Korsakov to instrument the opera.

Soberly assessing the patient's condition, the friends still did not lose hope that Dargomyzhsky would have time to complete the work. At some moments he felt better, and then in the composer's apartment they again played and sang, and not only the works of the owner of the house. So, in November 1868, Mussorgsky introduced his friends to fragments from new opera"Boris Godunov", which Dargomyzhsky accepted with keen interest and said that Mussorgsky in this opera goes much further than him. He especially liked the scenes at the Novodevichy Convent and in the tavern.

Temporary improvement, however, was soon replaced by a new onset of illness, which eventually bedridden the composer. Now he wrote lying down, barely holding a naughty pencil with weak hands, suffering from unbearable pain in his chest: as he himself said, every breath "cut with a knife." And yet he continued to write, in a hurry to finish his last work.

The composer died at the very beginning of 1869. On January 9, a memorial service was held at the Semyonovskaya Church on Mokhovaya Street, which brought together the entire musical Petersburg: composers, Dargomyzhsky's colleagues in the Russian Musical Society, his students - students of the conservatory, friends, artists and simply admirers of the composer's talent. Dargomyzhsky was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Fulfilling his will, the composers C. Cui and N. Rimsky-Korsakov completed his opera The Stone Guest in September 1869. Then Cui proposed to the directorate of the Mariinsky Theater that the opera be staged with the line-up of performers that the author himself wanted to see. This opera has become the pinnacle of creativity of the talented composer, it clearly shows the author's desire to create a strong fusion of music and text, to look for new operatic forms, and above all a special, melodic recitative.

Evaluating all the work of the last year of Dargomyzhsky's life, the Russian music critic Stasov wrote: “This victory of the spirit over the body, this triumph of the spirit over the most unbearable suffering, this boundless devotion to the cause, which alone is full of the soul, is this not greatness! Indeed, such colossal creations as the “Stone Guest” can only come from the head of someone for whom the creation of his creative spirit is everything, all life, all love, all his existence.

Since then, the music of Dargomyzhsky, whom Mussorgsky called "the great teacher of musical truth," has been one of the best pages Russian classical culture.

Romances of Dargomyzhsky

Alexander Dargomyzhsky, together with Glinka, is the founder of the Russian classical romance. chamber vocal music was for the composer one of the main genres of creativity.

He composed romances and songs for several decades, and if in early works had a lot in common with the works of Alyabyev, Varlamov, Gurilev, Verstovsky, Glinka, then the later ones anticipate the vocal work of Balakirev, Cui and especially Mussorgsky with some features. It was Mussorgsky who called Dargomyzhsky "the great teacher of musical truth."

Dargomyzhsky created more than 100 romances and songs. Among them are all the popular vocal genres of that time - from the "Russian song" to the ballad. At the same time, Dargomyzhsky became the first Russian composer who embodied in his work the themes and images taken from surrounding reality, and created new genres - lyrical-psychological monologues ("Both boring and sad", "I'm sad" to the words of Lermontov), ​​folk scenes ("The Miller" to the words of Pushkin), satirical songs ("Worm" to the words of Pierre Beranger in the translation of V. Kurochkin, "Titular Advisor" to the words of P. Weinberg).

Despite Dargomyzhsky's special love for the work of Pushkin and Lermontov, the circle of poets whose poems the composer turned to is very diverse: these are Zhukovsky, Delvig, Koltsov, Yazykov, Kukolnik, the Iskra poets Kurochkin and Weinberg and others.

At the same time, the composer invariably showed special demands on the poetic text of the future romance, carefully selecting the best poems. When embodying the poetic image in music, compared to Glinka, he used a different creative method. If it was important for Glinka to convey general mood poems, to recreate the main poetic image in music, and for this he used a wide song melody, then Dargomyzhsky followed every word of the text, embodying his leading creative principle: “I want the sound to directly express the word. I want the truth." Therefore, along with the song-ariose features in his vocal melodies, the role of speech intonations, which often become declamatory, is so great.

The piano part in Dargomyzhsky's romances is always subordinated to common task- consistent embodiment of the word in music; therefore, it often contains elements of figurativeness and picturesqueness, it emphasizes the psychological expressiveness of the text and is distinguished by bright harmonic means.

"Sixteen years" (words by A. Delvig). In this early lyrical romance, Glinka's influence was strongly manifested. Dargomyzhsky creates musical portrait beautiful, graceful girl, using the graceful and flexible rhythm of the waltz. A short piano introduction and conclusion frame the romance and are built on the initial motive of the vocal melody with its expressive ascending sixth. The vocal part is dominated by cantilena, although recitative intonations are clearly audible in some phrases.

The romance is built in three-part form. With light and joyful extreme sections (C major), the middle section clearly contrasts with a change of mode (A minor), with a more dynamic vocal melody and an excited climax at the end of the section. The role of the piano part is the harmonic support of the melody, and in texture it is a traditional romance accompaniment.

The romance "I'm sad" (words by M. Lermontov) belongs to a new type of romance-monologue. In the reflection of the hero, anxiety is expressed for the fate of the beloved woman, who is destined to experience the "rumors of the insidious persecution" of a hypocritical and heartless society, to pay with "tears and longing" for short-lived happiness. The romance is built on the development of one image, one feeling. The artistic task is also subject to the one-part form of the work - a period with a reprise addition, and a vocal part based on an expressive melodious recitation. The intonation at the beginning of the romance is already expressive: after the ascending second, there is a descending motive with its tense and mournful sounding diminished fifth.

Great importance in the melody of a romance, especially its second sentence, they acquire frequent pauses, jumps at wide intervals, excited intonations-exclamations: such, for example, is the culmination at the end of the second sentence (“tears and longing”), emphasized by a bright harmonic means - a deviation in tonality II low step (D minor - E-flat major). The piano part, based on soft chord figuration, combines a vocal melody saturated with caesuras (Caesura is a moment of articulation of musical speech. Signs of caesura: pauses, rhythmic stops, melodic and rhythmic repetitions, register changes, and others) and creates a concentrated psychological background, a feeling of spiritual introspection.

In the dramatic song "Old Corporal" (words by P. Beranger, translated by V. Kurochkin), the composer develops the monologue genre: this is already a dramatic monologue-scene, a kind of musical drama, the main character of which is an old Napoleonic soldier who dared to respond to an insult to a young officer and sentenced to death for it. The theme of the “little man” that worried Dargomyzhsky is revealed here with extraordinary psychological certainty; music draws a living, truthful image, full of nobility and human dignity.

The song is written in a variation couplet form with an unchanging chorus; it is the harsh chorus with its clear marching rhythm and persistent triplets in the vocal part that becomes the leading theme of the work, main characteristic hero, his mental stamina and courage.

Each of the five verses reveals the image of a soldier in a different way, filling it with new features - sometimes angry and resolute (the second verse), then tender and cordial (the third and fourth verses).

The vocal part of the song is sustained in a recitative style; her flexible recitation follows every intonation of the text, achieving complete merging with the word. The piano accompaniment is subordinated to the vocal part and, with its strict and stingy chord texture, emphasizes its expressiveness with the help of dotted rhythm, accents, dynamics, bright harmonies. A reduced seventh chord in the piano part - a volley of a shot - cuts off the life of an old corporal.

Like a mournful afterword, the theme of the refrain sounds in the E-hole, as if saying goodbye to the hero. The satirical song "Titular Advisor" was written to the words of the poet P. Weinberg, who actively worked in Iskra. In this miniature, Dargomyzhsky develops Gogol's line in his musical creativity. Talking about the unfortunate love of a modest official for a general's daughter, the composer draws a musical portrait, akin to literary images"humiliated and offended".

The characters receive well-aimed and laconic characteristics already in the first part of the work (the song is written in two-part form): the poor timid official is outlined with cautious second intonations of the piano, and the arrogant and domineering general's daughter is depicted with decisive fourth moves forte. The chord accompaniment emphasizes these "portraits".

In the second part, describing the development of events after an unsuccessful explanation, Dargomyzhsky uses simple but very precise means of expression: time signature 2/4 (instead of 6/8) and staccato piano depict the erratic, dancing gait of the hero on a spree, and the ascending, slightly hysterical jump to the seventh in the melody (“and drank all night”) emphasizes the bitter climax of this story.

25. creative look Dargomyzhsky:

Dargomyzhsky, a younger contemporary and friend of Glinka, continued the work of creating Russian classical music. However, his work belongs to a different stage in development. national art. If Glinka expressed the range of images and moods Pushkin era, then Dargomyzhsky finds his way: his mature works are consonant with the realism of many works by Gogol, Nekrasov, Dostoevsky, Ostrovsky, the artist Pavel Fedotov.

The desire to convey life in all its diversity, interest in the personality of a "small" person and in the topic of social inequality, the accuracy and expressiveness of psychological characteristics, in which Dargomyzhsky's talent as a musical portraitist is most clearly revealed - these are the distinguishing features of his talent.

Dargomyzhsky was by nature a vocal composer. The main genres of his work were opera and chamber vocal music. Dargomyzhsky's innovation, his searches and achievements were continued in the works of the next generation of Russian composers - members of the Balakirev circle and Tchaikovsky.

Biography

Childhood and youth. Dargomyzhsky was born on February 2, 1813 in the estate of his parents in the Tula province. A few years later, the family moved to St. Petersburg, and from that moment most of the life of the future composer takes place in the capital. Dargomyzhsky's father served as an official, and his mother, a creatively gifted woman, was famous as an amateur poetess. Parents sought to give their six children a broad and versatile education, in which the main place was occupied by literature, foreign languages, and music. From the age of six, Sasha was taught to play the piano, and then the violin; later he also took up singing. The young man completed his piano education with one of the best metropolitan teachers, the Austrian pianist and composer F. Schoberlechner. Having become an excellent virtuoso and having a good command of the violin, he often took part in amateur concerts and quartet evenings in St. Petersburg salons. At the same time, from the end of the 1820s, Dargomyzhsky's official service began: for about a decade and a half he held positions in various departments and retired with the rank of titular adviser.

The first attempts to compose music date back to the age of eleven: these were various rondos, variations and romances. Over the years, the young man shows an increasing interest in composition; in mastering the techniques of composing technique, Schoberlechner provided him with considerable assistance. “At the eighteenth and nineteenth year of my age,” the composer later recalled in his autobiography, “many were written, of course not without errors, many brilliant works for piano and violin, two quartets, cantatas and many romances; some of these works were published at the same time ... ”But, despite the successes with the public, Dargomyzhsky still remained an amateur; the transformation of an amateur into a true professional composer began from the moment he met Glinka.

The first period of creativity. The meeting with Glinka took place in 1834 and determined the whole further fate Dargomyzhsky. Glinka was then working on the opera Ivan Susanin, and his seriousness artistic interests, professional skills forced Dargomyzhsky for the first time to really think about the meaning of composer creativity. Music-making in the salons was abandoned, and he began to fill in the gaps in his musical and theoretical knowledge, studying notebooks with Siegfried Dehn's lecture notes, which Glinka gave him.

Acquaintance with Glinka soon turned into a true friendship. “The same education, the same love for art immediately brought us closer, but we soon got along and became sincere friends, despite the fact that Glinka was ten years older than me. For 22 years in a row we were with him constantly in the shortest, most friendly relations, ”the composer later recalled.

In addition to in-depth studies, Dargomyzhsky, since the mid-1830s, has been visiting the literary and musical salons of V. F. Odoevsky, M. Yu. History of the Russian State”), where he meets with Zhukovsky, Vyazemsky, Kukolnik, Lermontov. The atmosphere of artistic creativity that reigned there, conversations and disputes about the development of national art, about state of the art Russian society was shaped by aesthetic and social views young composer.

Following the example of Glinka, Dargomyzhsky conceived the composition of an opera, but in choosing the plot he showed independence of artistic interests. Instilled in childhood love for French literature, passion for the French romantic operas of Meyerbeer and Aubert, the desire to create "something truly dramatic" - all this stopped the composer's choice on the popular novel by Victor Hugo "Notre Dame Cathedral". The opera Esmeralda was completed in 1839 and presented for staging at the Directorate of the Imperial Theatres. However, its premiere took place only in 1848: “... These eight years of vain waiting,” wrote Dargomyzhsky, “and the most ebullient years of my life, laid a heavy burden on my entire artistic activity.”

In anticipation of the production of Esmeralda, romances and songs became the composer's only means of communication with the audience. It is in them that Dargomyzhsky quickly reaches the pinnacle of creativity; like Glinka, he is engaged in vocal pedagogy a lot. Musical evenings are held in his house on Thursdays, which are attended by numerous singers, lovers of singing, and sometimes Glinka, accompanied by his friend Kukolnik. At these evenings, as a rule, Russian music was performed, and above all the compositions of Glinka and the host himself.

In the late 30s and early 40s, Dargomyzhsky created many chamber vocal works. Among them are such romances as “I loved you”, “Young man and maiden”, “Night marshmallow”, “Tear” (to the words of Pushkin), “Wedding” (to the words of A. Timofeev), and some others are distinguished by subtle psychologism, search for new forms and means of expression. Passion for Pushkin's poetry led the composer to create the cantata "The Triumph of Bacchus" for soloists, choir and orchestra, which was later reworked into an opera-ballet and became the first example of this genre in the history of Russian art.

important event in the life of Dargomyzhsky was his first trip abroad in 1844-1845. He went on a trip to Europe, and main goal was Paris. Dargomyzhsky, like Glinka, was fascinated and captivated by the beauty of the French capital, the wealth and diversity of its cultural life. He meets with composers Meyerbeer, Halévy, Aubert, violinist Charles Berio and other musicians, attends opera and drama performances, concerts, vaudeville, lawsuits with the same interest. According to Dargomyzhsky's letters, one can determine how his artistic views and tastes are changing; in the first place, he begins to put the depth of content and fidelity to the truth of life. And, as happened earlier with Glinka, a trip to Europe aggravated the composer's patriotic feelings and the need to "write in Russian."

mature period creativity. In the second half of the 1840s, major changes took place in Russian art. They were associated with the development of an advanced social consciousness in Russia, with increased interest in folk life, with the desire for a realistic display of the everyday life of people of a simple class and the social conflict between the world of the rich and the poor. A new hero appears - a "little" person, and the description of the fate and life drama of a petty official, peasant, artisan becomes main theme works of contemporary writers. Many mature works of Dargomyzhsky are devoted to the same theme. In them, he sought to enhance the psychological expressiveness of music. Creative search led him to create in vocal genres method of intonational realism, which truthfully and accurately reflects the inner life of the hero of the work.

In 1845-1855, the composer worked intermittently on the opera Rusalka based on Pushkin's unfinished drama of the same name. Dargomyzhsky composed the libretto himself; he carefully approached Pushkin's text, preserving as much of the verse as possible. He was attracted tragic fate a peasant girl and her unfortunate father, who lost his mind after his daughter's suicide. This plot embodies the theme of social inequality, which constantly interested the composer: the daughter of a simple miller cannot become the wife of a noble prince. Such a theme made it possible for the author to reveal the deep emotional experiences of the characters, to create a real lyrical musical drama full of life's truth.

At the same time, the deeply truthful psychological characteristics of Natasha and her father are wonderfully combined in the opera with colorful folk-everyday choral scenes, where the composer masterfully translated the intonations of peasant and urban songs and romances.

Distinctive feature operas were her recitatives, reflecting the composer's desire for declamatory melodies, which had previously manifested itself in his romances. In "Mermaid" Dargomyzhsky creates a new type of operatic recitative, which follows the intonation of the word and sensitively reproduces the "music" of lively Russian colloquial speech.

Rusalka became the first Russian classical opera in the realistic genre of psychological everyday musical drama, paving the way for the lyric-dramatic operas of Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky. The premiere of the opera took place on May 4, 1856 in St. Petersburg. The directorate of the imperial theaters reacted unkindly to her, which affected the careless production (old, miserable costumes and scenery, the reduction of individual scenes). Higher metropolitan society, completely fascinated by Italian opera music, showed complete indifference to the "Mermaid". Nevertheless, the opera was a success with a democratic public. An unforgettable impression was made by the performance of the part of Melnik by the great Russian bass Osip Petrov. Leading music critics Serov and Cui warmly welcomed the birth of a new Russian opera. However, she rarely appeared on stage and soon disappeared from the repertoire, which could not but cause the author of heavy feelings.

While working on The Mermaid, Dargomyzhsky writes many romances. He is increasingly attracted to the poetry of Lermontov, on whose poems heartfelt monologues “I am sad”, “Both boring and sad” are created. He opens up new sides in Pushkin's poetry and composes an excellent comedy-everyday scene "The Miller".

The late period of Dargomyzhsky's work (1855-1869) is characterized by the expansion of the range of the composer's creative interests, as well as the intensification of his musical and social activities. and the orders of modern society, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Herzen, Nekrasov, Dobrolyubov were published. The directors of the magazine were the talented cartoonist N. Stepanov and the poet-translator V. Kurochkin. During these years, based on poems and translations of Iskra poets, the composer composes the dramatic song "Old Corporal", the satirical songs "Worm" and "Titular Counselor".

By the same time, Dargomyzhsky's acquaintance with Balakirev, Cui, Mussorgsky, which a little later turns into a close friendship, belongs. These young composers, together with Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin, will go down in the history of music as members of the Mighty Handful circle and subsequently enrich their work with Dargomyzhsky's achievements in various areas of musical expression.

The public activity of the composer was manifested in his work on the organization of the Russian Musical Society(RMO - concert organization, created in 1859 by A. G. Rubinshtein. She set herself the task of musical education in Russia, the expansion of concert and musical and theatrical activities, the organization of musical educational institutions). In 1867 he became chairman of its St. Petersburg branch. He also takes part in the development of the charter of the St. Petersburg Conservatory.

In the 60s, Dargomyzhsky created several symphonic pieces: "Baba Yaga", "Cossack", "Chukhonskaya Fantasy". These "characteristic fantasies for the orchestra" (as defined by the author) are based on folk melodies and continue the traditions of Glinka's Kamarinskaya.

From November 1864 to May 1865, a new trip abroad took place. The composer visited a number of European cities - Warsaw, Leipzig, Brussels, Paris, London. A concert of his works was held in Brussels, which had big success from the public, received sympathetic responses in the newspapers and brought the author a lot of joy.

Soon after returning home in St. Petersburg, the renewal of the "Mermaid" took place. The triumphal success of the production, its wide public acceptance contributed to a new spiritual and creative upsurge of the composer. He begins work on the opera "The Stone Guest" based on Pushkin's "little tragedy" of the same name and sets himself an incredibly difficult and bold task: to keep Pushkin's text unchanged and build the work on the musical embodiment of the intonations of human speech. Dargomyzhsky abandons the usual operatic forms (arias, ensembles, choirs) and makes the basis of the work recitative, which is both the main means of characterizing the characters and the basis of a through (continuous) musical development operas (Some principles of the operatic dramaturgy of The Stone Guest, the first Russian chamber opera, found their continuation in the works of Mussorgsky (The Marriage), Rimsky-Korsakov (Mozart and Salieri), Rachmaninov ( Miserly knight»))

On the musical evenings scenes from the almost finished opera were repeatedly performed and discussed in the composer's house in a friendly circle. Her most enthusiastic admirers were the composers of The Mighty Handful and the music critic V.V. Stasov, who became especially close to Dargomyzhsky in last years his life. But "The Stone Guest" turned out to be the "swan song" of the composer - he did not have time to finish the opera. Dargomyzhsky died on January 5, 1869 and was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, not far from Glinka's grave. According to the composer's will, the opera The Stone Guest was completed according to the author's sketches by Ts. A. Cui, and Rimsky-Korsakov orchestrated. Thanks to the efforts of friends in 1872, three years after the death of the composer, his last opera was staged. Mariinsky Theater In Petersburg.

Alexander Sergeevich Dargomyzhsky was born on February 2, 1813 in a small estate in the Tula province. The early childhood years of the future composer were spent in the estate of his parents in the Smolensk province. In 1817 the family moved to Petersburg. Despite the modest income, the parents gave their children a good home upbringing and education. In addition to general education subjects, children played various musical instruments and learned to sing. In addition, they composed poems and dramatic plays, which they themselves performed in front of the guests.

Well-known writers and musicians often visited this cultural family, and children took an active part in literary and musical evenings. Young Dargomyzhsky began to play the piano at the age of 6. And at the age of 10-11 he already tried to compose music. But his first creative attempts were suppressed by the teacher.

After 1825, the position of his father was shaken and Dargomyzhsky had to start serving in one of the departments of St. Petersburg. But official duties could not interfere with his main passion, music. By this time, his studies with the outstanding musician F. Schoberlechner belong. Since the beginning of the 30s, the young man has been visiting the best literary and artistic salons of St. Petersburg. And everywhere young Dargomyzhsky is a welcome guest. He plays the violin and piano a lot, participates in various ensembles, performs his romances, the number of which is rapidly increasing. He is surrounded by interesting people of that time, he is accepted into their circle as an equal.

In 1834 Dargomyzhsky met Glinka, who was working on his first opera. This acquaintance turned out to be decisive for Dargomyzhsky. If earlier he did not betray serious importance to his musical hobbies, now in the face of Glinka he saw a living example of an artistic feat. Before him was a man not only talented, but also devoted to his work. And the young composer reached out to him with all his heart. With gratitude, he accepted everything that his senior comrade could give him: his knowledge of composition, notes on music theory. Communication of friends also consisted in joint music-making. They lost and took apart the best works musical classics.

In the mid-1930s, Dargomyzhsky was already a well-known composer, the author of many romances, songs, piano pieces, and the symphonic work Bolero. His early romances are still close to the type of salon lyrics or urban song that existed in the democratic strata of Russian society. The influence of Glinka is also noticeable in them. But gradually Dargomyzhsky realizes an ever greater need for a different self-expression. He has a special interest in the obvious contrasts of reality, the clash of its various sides. This was most clearly manifested in the romances "Night Marshmallow" and "I Loved You".

In the late 1930s, Dargomyzhsky planned to write an opera based on the plot of V. Hugo's novel The Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris". Work on the opera lasted 3 years and was completed in 1841. At the same time, the composer composed the cantata "The Triumph of Bacchus" based on Pushkin's poems, which he soon remade into an opera.

Gradually, Dargomyzhsky becomes more and more famous as a major, original musician. In the early 1940s, he headed the St. Petersburg Society of Lovers of Instrumental and Vocal Music.

In 1844, Alexander Sergeevich went abroad, to major musical centers - Berlin, Brussels, Vienna, Paris. The main purpose of the trip was Paris - the recognized center of European culture, where the young composer could satisfy his thirst for new artistic experiences. There he introduces the European public to his compositions. One of the best works of that time is the lyrical confession "Both boring and sad" to the verses of Lermontov. In this romance, a deep sad feeling is conveyed. The trip abroad played a big role in shaping Dargomyzhsky as an artist and citizen. Upon his return from abroad, Dargomyzhsky conceives the opera Rusalka. In the late 40s, the composer's work reached its greatest artistic maturity, especially in the field of romance.

At the end of the 1950s, great social changes were ripe in Russia. And Dargomyzhsky did not remain aloof from public life, which had a noticeable influence on his work. Elements of satire are intensified in his art. They appear in the songs: "Worm", "Old Corporal", "Titular Advisor". Their heroes are humiliated and offended people.

In the mid-60s, the composer undertook a new trip abroad She brought him great creative satisfaction. There, in European capitals, he heard his works, which were accompanied by great success. In his music, as critics noted, there was "a lot of originality, great energy of thought, melodiousness, sharp harmony ...". Some concertos, composed entirely of works by Dargomyzhsky, caused a real triumph. It was joyful to return to his homeland - now, on the slope of his life, Dargomyzhsky was recognized by a wide mass of music lovers. These were new, democratic strata of the Russian intelligentsia, whose tastes were determined by love for everything Russian, national. Interest in the composer's work instilled new hopes in him, awakened new ideas. The best of these plans was the opera "The Stone Guest". Written to the text of one of Pushkin's "little tragedies", this opera was an unusually bold creative quest. It is all written in recitative, there is not a single aria in it and only two songs - like islands among recitative monologues and ensembles. Dargomyzhsky did not finish the opera The Stone Guest. Anticipating his imminent death, the composer instructed his young friends Ts.A. Cui and N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov to complete it. It was completed by them, and then staged in 1872, after the death of the composer.

The role of Dargomyzhsky in the history of Russian music is very great. Continuing the assertion in Russian music of the ideas of nationality and realism begun by Glinka, he anticipated the achievement of subsequent generations of Russians with his work. composers of the XIX century - members of the "Mighty Handful" and P.I. Tchaikovsky.

The main works of A.S. Dargomyzhsky:

Operas:

- "Esmeralda". Opera in four acts to own libretto based on Victor Hugo's novel Notre Dame de Paris. Written in 1838-1841. First production: Moscow, Bolshoi Theatre, December 5 (17), 1847;

- "The Triumph of Bacchus." Opera-ballet based on the poem of the same name by Pushkin. Written in 1843-1848. First production: Moscow, Bolshoi Theatre, January 11 (23), 1867;

- "Mermaid". Opera in four acts to its own libretto based on the unfinished play of the same name by Pushkin. Written in 1848-1855. First production: St. Petersburg, May 4 (16), 1856;

- Stone Guest. Opera in three steps on the text of Pushkin's Little Tragedy of the same name. Written in 1866-1869, completed by Ts. A. Cui, orchestrated by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. First production: St. Petersburg, Mariinsky Theatre, February 16 (28), 1872;

- Mazepa. Sketches, 1860;

- "Rogdan". Fragments, 1860-1867.

Works for orchestra:

- Bolero. Late 1830s;

- "Baba Yaga" ("From the Volga to Riga"). Finished in 1862, first performed in 1870;

- "Cossack". Fantasy. 1864;

- "Chukhon fantasy". Written in 1863-1867, first performed in 1869.

Chamber vocal works:

Songs and romances for one voice and piano on the verses of Russian and foreign poets: "Old Corporal" (words by V. Kurochkin), "Paladin" (words by L. Uland, translated by V. Zhukovsky), "Worm" (words by P. Beranger in translated by V. Kurochkin), “Titular Advisor” (words by P. Weinberg), “I loved you ...” (words by A. S. Pushkin), “I am sad” (words by M. Yu. Lermontov), ​​“I have passed sixteen years ”(words by A. Delvig) and others to the words of Koltsov, Kurochkin, Pushkin, Lermontov and other poets, including two inserted romances by Laura from the opera The Stone Guest.

Works for piano:

Five Pieces (1820s): March, Counterdance, "Melancholic Waltz", Waltz, "Cossack";

- "Brilliant Waltz". Around 1830;

Variations on a Russian Theme. Early 1830s;

- Esmeralda's Dreams. Fantasy. 1838;

Two mazurkas. Late 1830s;

Polka. 1844;

Scherzo. 1844;

- Tobacco waltz. 1845;

- "Eagerness and composure." Scherzo. 1847;

Fantasy on themes from Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar (mid-1850s);

Slavic tarantella (four hands, 1865);

Arrangements of symphonic fragments from the opera "Esmeralda", etc.

Opera "Mermaid"

Characters:

Melnik (bass);

Natasha (soprano);

Prince (tenor);

Princess (mezzo-soprano);

Olga (soprano);

Swat (baritone);

Huntsman (baritone);

Sang (tenor);

Little Mermaid (without singing).

History of creation:

The idea of ​​"Mermaid" based on the plot of Pushkin's poem (1829-1832) came from Dargomyzhsky in the late 1840s. The first musical sketches date back to 1848. In the spring of 1855 the opera was finished. A year later, on May 4 (16), 1856, the premiere took place in St. Petersburg on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater.

The Mermaid was staged carelessly, with large banknotes, which reflected the hostile attitude of the theater management towards the new, democratic direction in operatic creativity. Ignored Dargomyzhsky's opera and " elite". Nevertheless, "Mermaid" withstood many performances, gaining recognition from the general public. Advanced music criticism in the person of A. N. Serov and Ts. A. Cui welcomed her appearance. But true recognition came in 1865. When resumed on the St. Petersburg stage, the opera met with an enthusiastic reception from a new audience - the democratically minded intelligentsia.

Dargomyzhsky left intact most of Pushkin's text. They introduced only the final scene of the death of the Prince. The changes also affected the interpretation of images. The composer freed the image of the Prince from the features of hypocrisy, which he is endowed with in the literary source. The emotional drama of the Princess, barely outlined by the poet, is developed in the opera. The image of Melnik is somewhat ennobled, in which the composer sought to emphasize not only greed, but also the power of love for his daughter. Following Pushkin, Dargomyzhsky shows profound changes in Natasha's character. He consistently displays her feelings: hidden sadness, thoughtfulness, stormy joy, vague anxiety, a premonition of impending disaster, mental shock and, finally, protest, anger, the decision to take revenge. Affectionate, loving girl turns into a formidable and vindictive Mermaid.

Opera features:

The drama underlying the "Mermaid" was recreated by the composer with great truth in life, deep penetration into the spiritual world of the characters. Dargomyzhsky shows the characters in development, conveys the subtlest shades of experiences. Images of the main actors, their relationship is revealed in tense dialogic scenes. Because of this, ensembles, along with arias, occupy a significant place in the opera. The events of the opera unfold against a simple and artless everyday background.

The opera opens with a dramatic overture. The music of the main (fast) section conveys the passion, impetuosity, determination of the heroine and, at the same time, her tenderness, femininity, purity of feelings.

A significant part of the first act consists of extended ensemble scenes. Melnik's comedy aria "Oh, that's it, all you young girls" is warmed by moments of warm feeling of caring love. The tercet's music vividly conveys Natasha's joyful excitement and sadness, the Prince's soft, soothing speech, and Miller's grouchy remarks. In the duet of Natasha and Prince, bright feelings gradually give way to anxiety and growing excitement. The music achieves high drama on Natasha's words "You're getting married!". The next episode of the duet is psychologically subtly resolved: short, as if unfinished melodic phrases in the orchestra, depict the confusion of the heroine. In the duet of Natasha and Melnik, confusion is replaced by bitterness, determination: Natasha's speech becomes more and more abrupt, agitated. The act ends with a dramatic choral finale.

Second act - colorful domestic scene; choirs and dances occupy a large place here. The first half of the act has a festive flavor; the second is filled with worry and anxiety. The majestic choir sounds solemnly and widely, “Like in an upper room, at an honest feast.” Sadness marked the heartfelt aria of the Princess "Girlfriends of Childhood". The aria turns into a bright, joyful duet of the Prince and Princess. Dances follow: “Slavic”, combining light elegiacity with scope and prowess, and “Gypsy”, mobile and temperamental. Natasha's melancholy and sad song "On Pebbles, On Yellow Sand" is close to peasant lingering songs.

There are two scenes in the third act. In the first one, the Princess's aria "Days of Past Pleasures", which creates the image of a lonely, deeply suffering woman, is imbued with grief and heartache.

The Prince's cavatina “Involuntarily to these sad shores”, which opens the second picture, is distinguished by the beauty and plasticity of the melodious melody. The duet of the Prince and the Miller is one of the most dramatic pages of the opera; sadness and prayer, rage and despair, caustic irony and causeless gaiety - in the comparison of these contrasting states, the tragic image crazy Miller.

In the fourth act, fantastic and real scenes alternate. The first picture is preceded by a small colorfully pictorial orchestral introduction. Natasha's aria "The long-desired hour has come!" sounds majestic and menacing.

The aria of the Princess in the second picture "For many years already in severe suffering" is full of hot, sincere feelings. An enchantingly magical shade is given to the melody of the call of the Mermaid "My Prince". Tercet is imbued with anxiety, a premonition of an approaching disaster. In the quartet, the voltage reaches its highest limit. The opera ends with the enlightened sound of the Mermaid's call melody.

Women's choir "Svatushka" »

In it, the composer very colorfully conveyed the comic-everyday scene of the wedding ceremony. The girls sing a song that makes fun of the unlucky matchmaker.

Libretto by A. Dargomyzhsky based on the drama by A. Pushkin

Matchmaker, matchmaker, stupid matchmaker;

We went to the bride, we stopped in the garden,

They spilled a barrel of beer, poured all the cabbage.

They bowed to Tyn, prayed to faith;

Faith or faith, show the path,

Indicate the path for the bride to go.

Matchmaker, guess, take on the scrotum

Money moves in the purse, red girls strive,

Money moves in the purse, red girls strive,

Strives, red girls strives, strives, red

girls, strive.

Choir "Matchmaker" is playful. This wedding song sounds in the 2nd act.

Genre of the work: comic wedding song accompanied by accompaniment. The choir "Svatushka" is close to folk songs, as there are chants here.

Musical-theoretical analysis

The piece is performed with accompaniment.

Musical form:

The form of the work is 2-part couplet, the 2nd part is 2 couplets, between which there is a loss. The verses are exactly the same in terms of melodic.

1 part

1 verse - 12 tons. loss 2 verse - 12 tons.

1 week 2 weeks 1 week 2 weeks

4 t. 8 t. 4 t. 8 t.

part 2

12 t. 10 t. 12 t.

The texture of the presentation of the work is homophonic-harmonic. The main theme is in the soprano part, while the altos and accompaniment are the harmonic support.

The main key is B-dur. But in the 2nd part there is a deviation in g-minor, then Es-dur, and then again a return to B-dur.

Harmony in the work is simple

Size in product 2/4. It does not change throughout the entire work.

There are many small durations in the work, which gives a light and playful character.

The "Moderato" tempo is (moderately) constant throughout the piece.

The accompaniment plays an auxiliary role, it also emphasizes the liveliness of the scene, the joke of the girls and the clumsiness of the drunken matchmaker. The dynamics of the accompaniment from p to f is very diverse. Sometimes a visual moment is included in the accompaniment. So, for example, in a loss between verses, the accompaniment resembles the tune of a flute that accompanies folk festivals (wind instruments are performed in the orchestra). Independent accompaniment in the loss recreates the mood, connects the parts, serves as a “thematic bridge”.

Vocal-choral analysis.

The score "The Matchmaker" was written for a female 3-voice choir: soprano I and II and alto.

Chorus type: homogeneous female.

The choir "Svatushka" is performed moderately, the method of sound leading is non legato. The main type of attack is soft, non legato, it implies clear diction, clear, close articulation.

Breathing in a work runs along phrases, and in the middle of phrases it is chain, it is intended to get a continuous sound of a phrase and to achieve development in phrases, and, therefore, to achieve an accurate transfer of the idea of ​​the work, inspiration.

The tempo ensemble will depend on the conductor. He must clearly show, with the conductor's gesture, the removal and aftertastes, especially the aftertactics to the second beat, as well as at the end of the work, where a syncopated rhythm is used. The tempo ensemble is continuously connected with the rhythmic one. Its difficulty is in the movement of the rhythm. The pace is moderate, but small durations visually speed it up, you need to develop accurate intonation, the diction ensemble also depends on this, you need to clearly pronounce and pronounce all the words, you can work on diction with the help of tongue twisters. You can also use the text itself. The dynamics are mainly mf and f. The general climax, which is at the end of the work, is expressed in ff. The work also has some climaxes. In a dynamic ensemble, it is important to show development, despite the fact that it is narrow, there should be a contrast.

The timbre ensemble assumes the performance with a light, light sound. The low sounds of the viola should be sung in a high position, without "loading" the sound. It should be noted that the tessitura of the work is very convenient.

The melodic line of the parties is original. The predominance of jumps introduce their own difficulties in execution. There are jumps on hours 4, hours 5, meters 6, b6, hours 8. And not only in the leading voice, but also in soprano 2 and altos.

In addition to the horizontal melodic system, it is necessary to create, build a vertical harmonic system in the work, which is the correct intonation of consonances, chords in their sequential movement. The parties must listen, "adjust" to each other, align the chords, i.e. create a harmonic ensemble. In order for the parties in the piece to work, you can sing with your mouth closed or with the syllable “lu”, so that all parties are well heard.

Some difficulty is the creation of a unison ensemble. There are few such places in the work "The Matchmaker", and nevertheless one should not turn a blind eye to this. When all parties sing in unison, it is necessary to try to remove the sound of all parties, because otherwise this sound will stand out from the general sound.

There are others in the parties vocal difficulties other than those discussed above.

So, for example, the performer needs to remember that in the melody the same sound is repeated at the same height, it must be formed positionally higher than the previous one, as if intoned upwards. This helps maintain altitude.

Another vocal difficulty is the chromatisms that occur in the 2nd movement. They need to pay attention. Semitones should be intoned as closely as possible. The difficulty lies in the fact that semitones are intoned next to whole tones, it is necessary to switch your hearing in time.

The jump to ch8 in violas should be sung actively, but in one position. Violas should not “fill up”, sing low low sounds, they need to sing them in a high vocal position, then there will be no gap between the lower sound and the upper one, the jump will be smoothed out.

Diction: Choir "Svatushka" has a light, playful character, in order to emphasize this, clear diction is needed. Good, understandable pronunciation of words, active articulation is required for all parties.

Proper singing involves stretching out vowels and quickly pronouncing consonants. In the work "Svatushka" there are such words as "bowed", "prayed", "accept", "moves", "strives". Instead of the syllable "sya" it is necessary to sing the syllable "sa", and instead of the combination "tsya" - "tsa".

It is also necessary to exaggerate some consonants in the words "accept", "red".

The work is performed moderately, but the text should be pronounced clearly, although in character - softly.

It is necessary to focus the attention of the choir on the intonation of consonants, they are pronounced in a high position, at the height of the vowels to which they adjoin.

Dynamics: the difficulty will be the dynamic development in the work, because the dynamics in the work "The Matchmaker" is very flexible and varied from p to ff. The most striking dynamics is in 2 parts. ffpfpf, this alternation makes the work brighter. The climax of the work sounds in 2 parts on ff after the introduction to the 2nd beat. The conductor needs to lead the choir, clearly show the development in phrases and to the climax, the choir needs to simultaneously cresc and dim, i.e. create a dynamic ensemble.

Conducting difficulties: The successful performance of this work depends mainly on the conductor, on how clear his gesture will be to the choir.

The gesture should be light, nonlegato, correspond to the character, mood of the work. Particular attention should be paid to backtaks and withdrawals. Auftacts and withdrawals are given in the character softly, calmly, at the climax with a more elastic gesture.

Conclusion:

The final result of the work on this work is the disclosure of the ideological concept to the audience, the reflection of the mood of the work and the scene in the opera.

The work "Svatushka", in addition to being performed in the opera, can be performed at creative evenings, at theme nights dedicated to opera or the work of composers. The performance of the choir "Svatushka" is within the power of both a highly professional choir and an amateur, amateur one.