Maria Voinovna Zubova (Russian: ''Мария Воиновна Зубова''), (1749?–1799) was a Russian poet,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, and

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

singer, known for her rendition of

folksong Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has bee ...

s. She was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and was the daughter of Vice-Admiral Warrior Yakovlevich Rimsky-Korsakov. She was married to Afanasy Nikolaevich Zubov (1738–1822), Governor of

Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...

from 1782 to 1791. With her husband, on June 19, 1780, they moved into an estate located near

Murom Murom (, ) is a historical types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which sprawls along the west bank of the Oka River. It borders Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and is situated from the administrative center Vladimir, ...

Vladimir Oblast Vladimir Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Vladimir, which is located east of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, the oblast's population was 1,443,693. The UNESCO World Heritage L ...

, regarded as one of the most ancient cities within Russia.

Composer

Zubova was the creator of heartfelt poems and a composer of salon songs during the late 18th and was considered by the Russian Writer

Daniil Mordovtsev Daniil Lukich Mordovtsev (; December 19, 1830 in Danilovka, Don Host Oblast, Russian Empire – June 23, 1905 in Kislovodsk, Russian Empire) was a Russian writer and historian. Biography Mordovtsev was born in Danilovka, Volgograd Oblast, Russi ...

as one of the ''"literary daughters of

Lomonosov Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (; , ; – ) was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries were the atmosphere of Venus and the law of conservation of ...

and

Sumarokov The Sumarokov family is an old Russian noble family dating back to the 15th century, originated in either Sweden or Lithuania. Members of the family held the title of Count in the Russian Empire. Notable people * Alexander Sumarokov (1717–1777) ...

''." Only a small portion of her musical work was published, the majority being published in Saint Petersburg during 1770. She was also a minor translator of French literature, although her work remains unpublished. She is most recognized for her folksong ''"I am moving to the desert..."'' written in 1791, whose words are now commonly used within the Russian vernacular. The second line of the first stanza is used, e.g., "''From the beautiful places here,"'' to denote a cynically tongue-in-cheek attitude of fake nostalgic sadness at one's departure from a less-than-satisfactory place of dwelling. Hence, they prefer the heat of the desert over the inferior conditions of the present. The date attributed to the song is disputed, as many of her songs were printed 10 years earlier in an anthology published by the duo M. D Chulkov and N. I Novikov. The song is present within several different anthologies, the most recent being the Soviet collection of songs called "Monuments of Russian Musical Art" as collected by the Soviet Musicologist Yuri V. Keldysh in 1979. It was presented by Keldysh in the

Classical style Classical architecture typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De architectura'' (c. 10 AD) by the Roman architect Vitruvius. Va ...

, unadorned and with no given bass accompaniment, only

figured bass Figured bass is musical notation in which numerals and symbols appear above or below (or next to) a bass note. The numerals and symbols (often accidental (music), accidentals) indicate interval (music), intervals, chord (music), chords, and non- ...

. Zubova's songs featured her own poetic verse and was heavily influenced by pre-Revolutionary expansionism as a result of Peter's 1st Petrian reforms and further intellectual cultivations under

Catherine The Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

during the

Russian Enlightenment The Russian Age of Enlightenment was a period in the 18th century in which the government began to actively encourage the proliferation of arts and sciences, which had a profound impact on Russian culture. During this time, the first Russian unive ...

. Because she was mostly active during the latter half of the 18th-century, themes used in her romances and folksongs dealt with expressing the naturality of life and the realistic experiences of the folk people, all the while maintaining sophisticated objectivity. Because of this, she won much support from Russian society and her career was immensely fruitful throughout Russia's societal hierarchy. Mordovtsev notes that Zubova's songs were "the first" compositions that were emotionally able to be sung due to Russia's demoralized and socioculturally bruised position as a result of the mid/late 17th century

Raskol The Schism of the Russian Church, also known as (, , meaning 'split' or 'schism'), was the splitting of the Russian Orthodox Church into an official church and the Old Believers movement in the 1600s. It was triggered by the reforms of Patria ...

movement, a religious

Schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

led by

Patriarch Nikon Nikon (, ), born Nikita Minin (; 7 May 1605 – 17 August 1681) was the seventh Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' of the Russian Orthodox Church, serving officially from 1652 to 1666. He was renowned for his eloquence, energy, piety and close t ...

to centralize the Russian Orthodox faith and its practices, as well as consolidate the chain of command, leading to widespread persecution against the "

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists ( Russian: староверы, ''starovery'' or старообрядцы, ''staroobryadtsy'') is the common term for several religious groups, which maintain the old liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian ...

Performance career

Along with her compositional career, she was widely known for being a highly skilled folk-song performer, often performing at parties and salons to high praise. The Russian folklorist Mikhail Nikolaevich Makarov (1785–1847) said she was, ''"the best singer in the early reign of

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

."'' Her musical talent was steeped in the Italian style and participated in the 18th-century convention of ornamentation and melodic improvisation while performing, as per the custom during the Baroque period. This style was known as "figured singing," with the focus on dexterous movement and emotional fervanices all the while retaining a cool demeanor and composed vibrancy a quintessentiality of Zubova's singing style.

Personality and death

Natalia Kirillovna Zagryazhskaya (1747–1837), a lady in waiting to

and close acquaintance of

Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is conside ...

, called Zubova "''an intelligent and amiable woman''", akin to the behavioral style of "''Monsieur Morte,''" the Marquise de Merteuil and hero of the novel ''

Les Liaisons dangereuses ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (; English: ''Dangerous Liaisons'') is a French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu on March 23, 1782. It is the story of the Marquise Isabelle de Merteu ...

'' by

Choderlos de Laclos Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos (; 18 October 1741 – 5 September 1803) was a French novelist, official, Freemason and army general, best known for writing the epistolary novel ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (''Dangerous Liaisons'') ...

. On October 9, 1799, Count Fyodor Vasilievich Rostopchin (1763–1826) and Count

Semyon Vorontsov Count Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov (or Woronzow; ; 9 July 1832) was a Russian diplomat from the aristocratic Vorontsov family. He resided in Britain for the last 47 years of his life, from 1785 until his death in 1832, during which time he was the ...

(1744–1832) notified Zubova's relatives that she had suddenly died following a stroke during a card game with friends.

Compositions

Songs

* 1791'': I am moving away from the beautiful local places into the desert,'' for piano and voice

Anthologies

* 1770: ''Collection of Various Songs (Собрание разных песен:(Second version,1788)'', by M. D Chulkov and N. I Novikov * 1827: ''Newest Selected Songbook'' *1979: ''Monuments of Russian musical art. Issue 1: Russian vocal lyrics of the 18th century'', curated and published by Yuri. V. Keldysh

Cantatas

* hey are said to have existed, but no more detail is providedref name=":1" />

Poem

* According to Amanda Ewington, "Zubova's present obscurity belies the intense popularity once enjoyed by her poem 'I am Leaving for the Wilds.' This poem long attributed to Zubova, was a staple in Russian culture among all social classes."

Recordings

# ''I am banished to the Desert'': Ensemble Talisman, Oleg Timofeyev (Guitar), Anne Harley (Soprano) Dorian Recordings, ''Music of Russian Princesses'' (2013) #''I am retiring to the Desert:'' M. Zhilkin (soprano), E. Mityushkina (mezzo-soprano), I. Malyshev (piano)