Videos

Kalinka, a famous Russian song

Kalinka is maybe the most famous and the most recognizable Russian folk melody. Actually, it is not a folksong: it has a definite author, the composer Larionov, who wrote the song in 1860. But it captures the essence of Russian folk music as no other song.The word Kalinka is a name of a bush. I have seen translations as diverse as arrowwood, snowball bush, viburnum and highbush cranberry. That doesn't matter much, though: the name has no bearing on the meaning of the song. Not that the song has much meaning at all! The verses don't complement each other or the refrain. What can be extracted from this collection of incompatible lines is that a young boy is dreaming that a pretty, young maiden will love him.But of course it is not the nonsense of the text, but the beauty of music that made Kalinka so popular. And popular it is! There are countless Russian cafes, souvenir shops, dance groups and singing choirs, named after this song. There is even the dog breed: a small terrier called Kalinka!I play the song in my own arrangement.

Russian song Ochi Chernie (Dark Eyes)

The composition I play is little known. The main melody of it, though, is known all over the world: the melody of Russian song Ochi Chernie (Dark Eyes). Dark eyes, burning eyes, Passionate and splendid eyes. How I love you, how I fear you, Verily, I saw you at a sinister hour. If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't be suffering so, I would have lived my life smiling. You have ruined me, dark eyes, You have taken my happiness away forever. This is a Feodor Chaliapin's version of the lyrics by Ukrainian poet Yevhen Hrebinka. The music was arranged in 1884 from the waltz composed by some F. Hermann -- not much is known about him. In some websites he is called a French composer Florian Hermann, in other sources - a Russified German Feodor Hermann.I learned his waltz from a Russian sheet music, where it is called Вальс Воспоминание (Recollection Waltz in my own translation). It may be that the original title is Hommage Valse.

Anyway, whatever the title is and whoever the composer is, the music is beautiful and exciting.

Since the song Ochi Chernie is commonly, albeit incorrectly, believed to be a Gypsy song, I added a bit of Gypsy flourish to it. I hope you will enjoy it!

Czardas, by Vittorio Monti

Most people, when hearing the expression “Gypsy music”, would imagine a fiery Hungarian or Romanian violinist. At least, that’s what I imagine. For me, the free, improvisational, virtuoso violin playing is at the very heart of Gypsy music. That style came from Hungary.

Historically, life was safer for Gypsies in Hungary than almost anywhere else. They came there as early as in the 15th century, and soon thereafter the Court chronicles mentioned the first professional Gypsy musician – a lute player. Gradually, more and more Gypsies became professional musicians: first one in a hundred, then one of fifty, and, at its peak, about hundred years ago – every one in fifteen!

The Gypsies were serious about their chosen profession. Every little boy was given a tiny violin at the age of 5 or 6, and began scraping on it. An observer wrote that it was considered shameful for a boy “not to exert himself fully, not to put all his heart into learning violin...” The boys often competed amongst themselves, and the winner raised the social status of the whole family. They had incentives to play well, and play well they did!

When, in the 18th century, Hungary began a liberation war with Austria, Gypsies were invited to play during recruitment, to attract more people to join the army. The fiery dances they played were called Verbunkos, from the German word Werben, which means “to recruit”. Later these dances were developed into the Czardas: a dance that begins slow, then gradually becomes faster and more vigorous.

Many renowned musicians – Liszt, Brahms, Sarasate, Tchaikovski, Strauss – used the Czardas style in their compositions. The best one, though, was written by an otherwise unknown composer: Vittorio Monti. His “Czardas” is the only piece he is famous for – but rightly so! Although not Hungarian himself, Monti was able to convey the spirit of this dance as no one else could.

The original piece was composed for violin. I made my own solo piano arrangement, quite improvisational and free – as befits the Gypsy music...