The

opus ''Opus'' (pl. ''opera'') is a Latin word meaning "work". Italian equivalents are ''opera'' (singular) and ''opere'' (pl.). Opus or OPUS may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Opus number, (abbr. Op.) specifying order of (usually) publicatio ...

Six Romances was composed in 1878 by

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

(1840 – 1893) for voice and piano, and was published as Opus 38 later that year. Of these six songs, "Don Juan's Serenade" was the most successful, becoming one of the best-known works among the approximately 100 romances that Tchaikovsky composed during his lifetime. At this point in his life, the composer was rebounding from a personal crisis, having married and quickly separated the year before. Tchaikovsky characterized the creation of this opus as "something between relaxation and work".

List of six songs

Opus 38 consists of the following six songs, with tempo indicated in Italian: #Don Juan's Serenade (Серенада Дон-Жуана), Allegro non tanto (B minor, 164 bars) #It was in the Early Spring (То было раннею весной), Allegro moderato (E♭ major, 101 bars) #Amid the Din of the Ball (Средь шумного бала), Moderato (B minor, 99 bars) #O, If Only You Could (О, если б ты могла), Allegro agitato (D major, 38 bars) #The Love of a Dead Man (Любовь мертвеца), Andante non tanto (F major, 129 bars) #Pimpinella: Florentine Song (Пимпинелла: Флорентинская песня), Allegretto molto moderato (G major, 135 bars)

Origin of lyrics

The lyrics of the first four songs are from writings of

Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy Count Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (russian: Граф Алексе́й Константи́нович Толсто́й; – ), often referred to as A. K. Tolstoy, was a Russian poet, novelist, and playwright. He is considered to be the most ...

(1817 – 1875), the Russian poet, novelist and playwright.Brown, David.
Tchaikovsky: The final years, 1885-1893
', p. 501 (W. W. Norton & Company, 1991). For example, the first song is based on Tolstoy's 1862 drama ''

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, ''El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...

''. The lyrics for "The Love of a Dead Man" are from Mikhail Lermontov (1814 – 1841), the Russian writer, poet and painter. And, the lyrics for "Pimpinella" are by Tchaikovsky, based upon a Florentine popular song.

Composition and dedication

The six songs are not in chronological order of composition. He wrote the last two ("The Love of a Dead Man" and "Pimpinella") while visiting

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

in February and March 1878, respectively.Chaaeikovskiaei, P. and Sylvester, Richard.
Tchaikovsky's Complete Songs: A Companion with Texts and Translations
', pp. 111, 125 (Indiana University Press, 2004). Later, he wrote the first four songs (based on Tolstoy) in May 1878 while visiting the Ukrainian estate of his benefactor,

Nadezhda von Meck Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck (russian: Надежда Филаретовна фон Мекк; 13 January 1894) was a Russian businesswoman who became an influential patron of the arts, especially music. She is best known today for her artistic ...

(1831 – 1894), who previously suggested he might want to put Tolstoy to music. The opus was dedicated to Anatoly, one of the composer's brothers, in gratitude for helping Tchaikovsky through a difficult emotional period in 1877. It was during that year when the composer married and separated from

Antonina Miliukova Antonina Ivanovna Miliukova (russian: Антонина Ивановна Милюкова; – ) was the wife of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky from 1877 until his death in 1893. After marriage she was known as Antonina Tchaikovskaya. ...

(1848 – 1917).Wiley, Roland. ''Tchaikovsky'', p. 197 (Oxford University Press, 2009).

Footnotes

External links

Tchaikovsky Six Romances Op. 38
(YouTube)
English Translations of the Lyrics
(Oberlin College) {{Portalbar, Classical Music Compositions by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1878 compositions