Troika (Julia Kogan album)

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Troika
Troika (Album).jpg
Studio album by
Julia Kogan
Released8 December 2011
Genre Contemporary classical
Length64:46
Label Rideau Rouge Records / Harmonia Mundi distribution
Producer Chloë Nicolas

Troika: Russia's westerly poetry in three orchestral song cycles is a 2011 album of contemporary classical songs performed by soprano Julia Kogan, who also conceived the project. [1] She is accompanied by The St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic conducted by Jeffery Meyer. The songs are set to Russian, English, and French language poetry by five classic Russian writers: Joseph Brodsky, Mikhail Lermontov, Vladimir Nabokov, Aleksandr Pushkin and Fyodor Tyutchev. Eight modern composers, from France, Russia, and the United States, wrote music for the album: Isabelle Aboulker, Ivan Barbotin, Eskender Bekmambetov, Jay Greenberg, James DeMars, Andrey Rubtsov, Michael Schelle and Lev Zhurbin.

Contents

The three song cycles on the album are “there…”, set to Russian poems and their English auto-translations by Joseph Brodsky; “Sing, Poetry”, set to Russian poems and their English auto-translations by Vladimir Nabokov; and “Caprice étrange”, set to French poems by Mikhail Lermontov, Aleksandr Pushkin and Fyodor Tyutchev. The common point of the three song cycles is that they are based upon poetry that reflects its authors’ active linguistic integration into Western culture.

Album structure

“there…” (2006)

“there…” is a setting of five poems originally written by Joseph Brodsky in Russian and subsequently translated into English by the author: “Пятая годовщина” / “The Fifth anniversary” (extract), “Английские каменные деревни” / “Stone Villages”, “То не Муза воды набирает в рот” / “Folk Tune” (extract), “Колыбельная” / “Lullaby” (extract) and “Новый Жюль Верн” / “The New Jules Verne” (Part IX). The English and Russian versions of each poem are set to music by Eskender Bekmambetov. In the case of the first four poems, the Russian and English texts are interspersed to form a single song. In the case of “Новый Жюль Верн” / “The New Jules Verne”, the Russian and English versions are sequential: the character of Blanche Delarue first reads letters addressed to her in Russian, then (supposedly in a state of inebriation ten years later) [2] in English. “there…” was premiered at the Pavel Slobodkin Concert Hall in Moscow 14 June 2007. [3] A New York Times review of the American premiere at Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall with Chamber Orchestra Kremlin stated “The work, a sort of musical theater piece with lyrical, thick orchestral textures, was at times redolent of Shostakovich, Piazzolla and Weill.” [4] Following a performance at the Library of Congress, The Washington Post described “there…” as “a constantly shifting fabric of earthy Russian melody, folksy Americana and all sorts of wryly spoofed dance forms, from ragtime to tango.” [5]

“Sing, Poetry” (2009)

The cycle is based on three poems originally written by Vladimir Nabokov in Russian in his youth and self-translated into English towards the end of the author's life. The Russian and English versions of each poem are independently set to music by a Russian and an American composer, respectively: “Дождь пролетел” / “The Rain Has Flown” by Lev Zhurbin and Michael Schelle; “Еще безмолвствую” / “I Still Keep Mute” by Andrey Rubtsov and Jay Greenberg; and “Прованс” / “Provence” by Ivan Barbotin and James DeMars. The title of the cycle evokes that of Nabokov's autobiography (“Speak, Memory”). “Sing, Poetry” was premiered at Glinka Hall in Saint Petersburg on 25 December 2009. [6]

“Caprice étrange” (2008)

The cycle, by composer Isabelle Aboulker, is based on four poems written in French by three great poets of the “golden age” of Russia's poetry: Aleksandr Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, and Fyodor Tyutchev. The poems are: Pushkin's “Mon Portrait” (1814) and “Couplets” (1817) (titled “Jusqu’au plaisir de nous revoir” on the album after the phrase ending each of the couplets), Lermontov's “Quand je te vois sourire…” (1830 or 1831) and Tyutchev's “Nous avons pu tous deux…”. The title of the cycle is taken from the text of Lermontov's poem. “Caprice étrange” was premiered at Glinka Hall in Saint Petersburg on 25 December 2009. [7]

Critical reception

The album was released in France on 8 December 2011 with international release to follow in 2012. It was featured on Radio France [8] and has been praised for its “irresistible charm”, “musicality of the singing”, and “originality and quality of realization” [9] as well as for its “luxurious” presentation and “Julia Kogan’s magical voice”. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Pushkin</span> Russian poet, playwright, and novelist (1799–1837)

Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era. He is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikhail Lermontov</span> Russian writer, poet and painter (1814–1841)

Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucasus", the most important Russian poet after Alexander Pushkin's death in 1837 and the greatest figure in Russian Romanticism. His influence on later Russian literature is still felt in modern times, not only through his poetry, but also through his prose, which founded the tradition of the Russian psychological novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Brodsky</span> Russian poet (1940–1996)

Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky was a Russian and American poet and essayist. Born in Leningrad, Soviet Union, in 1940, Brodsky ran afoul of Soviet authorities and was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1972, settling in the United States with the help of W. H. Auden and other supporters. He taught thereafter at Mount Holyoke College, and at universities including Yale, Columbia, Cambridge, and Michigan. Brodsky was awarded the 1987 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an all-embracing authorship, imbued with clarity of thought and poetic intensity". He was appointed United States Poet Laureate in 1991.

A song cycle is a group, or cycle, of individually complete songs designed to be performed in sequence, as a unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Blok</span> Russian poet (1880–1921)

Alexander Alexandrovich Blok was a Russian lyrical poet, writer, publicist, playwright, translator and literary critic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fyodor Tyutchev</span> Russian poet (1803-1873)

Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev was a Russian poet and diplomat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasily Zhukovsky</span> Russian poet (1783–1852)

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Golden Age of Russian Poetry is the name traditionally applied by philologists to the first half of the 19th century. This characterization was first used by the critic Peter Pletnev in 1824 who dubbed the epoch "the Golden Age of Russian Literature."

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Alexander Borisovich Zhurbin is a Russian composer.

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Julia Kogan is a Ukrainian-born American–French–British operatic coloratura soprano, writer, and presenter.

Irina Dubkova (Russian: Дубкова Ирина Анатольевна) is a Russian composer, music teacher and an associate professor at the Moscow Conservatory.

Eugene Mark Kayden (1886–1977) was a professor emeritus of economics at Sewanee: The University of the South and a translator of Boris Pasternak's poems. Kayden, a pro-integrationist, declined an honorary degree from the university in protest of its decision to award another degree to noted segregationist Thomas R. Waring.

References

  1. "Troika: Russia’s westerly poetry in three orchestral song cycles", Rideau Rouge Records, ASIN: B005USB24A, 2011, liner notes, p.5
  2. "Troika: Russia’s westerly poetry in three orchestral song cycles", Rideau Rouge Records, ASIN: B005USB24A, 2011, liner notes, p.2
  3. "Chamber Orchestra KREMLIN – Concerts in Moscow - Season 2004-2005".
  4. "Poetry and Song to Plumb the Russian Soul’s Depths" by Vivien Schweitzer, New York Times (14 February 2008)
  5. "Performing Arts: Chamber Orchestra Kremlin" by Joe Banno, Washington Post (p. C9, 18 February 2008)
  6. "The St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic | Concert Seasons | 2009-10". www.st-pcp.org. Archived from the original on 2010-07-03.
  7. "The St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic | Concert Seasons | 2009-10". www.st-pcp.org. Archived from the original on 2010-07-03.
  8. “Pourquoi la poésie russe est très belle ?” by David Christoffel, “France Musique” (14 December 2011)
  9. “Poésie, musique et troïka” Archived 2012-01-14 at the Wayback Machine by Serge Chauzy, “Classic Toulouse”
  10. “Chante poésie, langue natale du peuple russe !” by Gil Pressnitzer, “Culture 31” (26 December 2011)