A journey to Russia, as imagined by poets and musicians: natives, exiles and foreigners. Music by French composer Tournemire conjures up the bells of Moscow, while verses by Marina Tsvetaeva give a Russian literary slant on the same subject. Stravinsky depicts his homeland from the perspective of both resident and emigre, one in an unabashedly Russian vein, the other unmistakably coloured by his exposure to American jazz. Including poems by Anna Akhmatova, Mikhail Lermontov and Osip Mandelstam, and music by Borodin, John Field and Benny Goodman. Readings by Andrew Sachs and Siobhan Redmond.
Russian Dreams
Siobhan Redmond
Readers: Siobhan Redmond and Andrew Sachs
Producer's Note
This week's sequence is intended as a poetic journey to Russia, seen through the eyes of inhabitants, exiles and visitors. This is a romanticised Russia, a country of colourful folk traditions, picturesque cities and rural charm - this selection deliberately ignores the characteristically darker strand of national culture that with intense self-examination deals with the often harsh realities of Russian life.
The programme has three main themes. We begin with poems by Pasternak, Parnok and Mandelstam about cities in general and Moscow in particular, complemented by one of Russia's most popular songs, Moscow Nights, and Tournemire's evocative symphonic movement entitled The Bells of Moscow. I wanted also to reflect the Russian spring, a violent climatic event which, to quote Stravinsky, "seemed to begin in an hour and was like the whole Earth cracking", and poems by Andreev and Pasternak depict this, as does music by Glazunov. The final section of the programme deals with the Russian's attachment to his or her homeland, and includes poems of exile and patriotism by Anna Akhmatova, Arseny Tarkovsky and Lermontov. Stravinsky is represented by music from The Firebird (one of his most Russian ballets) and by his jazz-inflected Scherzo a la Russe, a work written after many years' self-imposed American exile. The sequence closes with music by Tchaikovsky, a string quartet movement (based on a folk melody) which is said to have moved Tolstoy to tears.
Thomas Morris (Producer)
Running Order
00:00:00
Moscow Nights (Podmoskovn Vechera)
Vladimir Troshin/Women's Chorus & Radio Concert Orchestra/V. Knushevitzky
Moscow Nights: Popular Russian Hits, Vol 1
Monitor MF590
Side 1, track 1
00:00:00
Derek Mahon
After Pasternak: 1. White Night
Reader: Andrew Sachs
00:03:50
Sofiya Parnok, trans. Diana Burgin
"Night. And it's snowing"
Reader: Siobhan Redmond
00:04:24
Ivan Dzerzhinsky
From Border to Border
Paul Robeson (bass-baritone)
Lawrence Brown (piano)
Songs of Free Men
Sony MHK 63223
00:06:50
Osip Mandelstam, trans. Richard McKane
The Soft Moscow Rain
Ten Russian Poets(ed. Richard McKane)
Anvil Press Poetry, 2003
Reader: Andrew Sachs
00:07:22
Arr. Mossolov
Julius Isserlis
Souvenir Russe
Steven Isserlis (cello)
Thomas Ades (piano)
Cello World
RCA 09026689282
00:09:46
Marina Tsvetaeva, trans. Elaine Feinstein
Verses about Moscow: 7
Reader: Siobhan Redmond
00:10:13
Charles Tournemire
Symphony No. 3 in D "Moscow 1913" (II: Les Cloches de Moscou: Lentement)
Moscow Symphony Orchestra
Antonio de Almeida (conductor)
Marco Polo 8223808
00:18:51
Katia Kapovich, trans. Richard McKane
"Oh to live, to live not in the sad capital"
Reader: Siobhan Redmond
00:19:50
Igor Stravinsky
Suite: The Firebird (1919): Ronde des Princesses
London Symphony Orchestra
Claudio Abbado (conductor)
Deutsche Grammophon 4158542
00:25:15
John Field
Kamarinskaya - Air russe varie
Miceal O'Rourke (piano)
John Field: Piano Pieces
Chandos CHAN9315
00:28:11
Daniel Andreev, trans. Richard McKane and Vladimir Baskayev
"Oh how glorious it is"
Ten Russian Poets(ed. Richard McKane)
Reader: Andrew Sachs
00:29:18
Alexander Glazunov
The Seasons: Spring
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Jose Serebrier (conductor)
Warner Classics 2564614342
00:34:07
Derek Mahon
After Pasternak: 2. The Earth
Reader: Siobhan Redmond
00:35:26
Dmitri Shostakovich
String Quartet no 10 in A flat (II: Allegretto furioso)
Borodin String Quartet
EMI CDC 7492692
00:39:20
Igor Stravinsky
Scherzo a la Russe (jazz band version)
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Simon Rattle (conductor)
EMI CDC7491782
00:43:12
Arseny Tarkovsky, trans. Richard McKane
"I dreamed this dream and I still dream of it"
Reader: Andrew Sachs
00:44:08
Marina Tsvetayeva, trans. Elaine Feinstein
"I know the truth - give up all other truths!"
Reader: Siobhan Redmond
00:44:40
Alfred Schnittke
Piano Quintet (III: Andante)
Irina Schnittke (piano)
Mark Lubotsky (violin)
Dimity Hall (violin)
Irina Morozova (viola)
Julian Smiles (cello)
Naxos 8554728
00:50:08
Mikhail Lermontov, trans. Frances Cornford and Esther Polianowsky Salaman
The Testament
Reader: Andrew Sachs
00:51:35
Alexander Borodin (Pushkin)
For the Shores of Your Distant Homeland
Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone)
Mikhail Arkadiev (piano)
My Restless Soul
Philips 4425362
00:56:24
Anna Akhmatova, trans. Richard McKane
"I am not among those who left our land"
Reader: Siobhan Redmond
00:57:12
Tchaikovsky
String Quartet no 1 in D (II: Andante Cantabile)
Borodin String Quartet
Teldec 4509 90422 2
