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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 July 2014
Stravinsky's first ideas for Les Noces date from 1913, when mention of the ballet first appears in his correspondence, yet they did not come to fruition until the ballet's premiere in 1923. This protracted gestation, the longest for any of his compositions, was largely caused by the impositions and consequences of World War I and the revolution in Russa. Both Stravinsky and the Ballet Russes, the company he had been associated with since 1909, experienced economic difficulties. Without any promised performance of Les Noces, Stravinsky concentrated his efforts on other compositions.
During the genesis of the ballet, Stravinsky reformulated his musical philosophy. Before the war; Stravinsky was composing large-scale works for sizable orchestras, with plots derived from Russian folktales and customs, and melodies borrowed from Russian folk music; a few years after the war, he began composing works for smaller forces that borrowed features from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European music, rather than Russian elements. Both styles — “Russian” and “neoclassical” — are present in Les Noces.
page 31 note 1. I am indebted to the following individuals: To Wayne Shirley of the Library of Congress for his knowledge of Les Noces; to Professor Horace G. Lunt and Paulina Lewin of Harvard University for their assistance on dialect.
page 36 note 1. Recent research has vastly broadened our knowledge of the Russian folk wedding ritual. See Iu.G., Kruglov, Russkie svadebnye pesni (Moscow: Vyshchaia shkola, 1978)Google Scholar; Sokolov, Yu.M., Russian Folklore (Detroit: Folklore Associates, 1971)Google Scholar; Reeder, Roberta, Down Along the Mother Volga (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1975)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Balashov, D. and Kraskovskaia, I., Russkie svadebnye pesni (Leningrad: Muzyka, 1969)Google Scholar and Kolpakova, N. P., Lirika russkoi svad'by (Leningrad: Nauk, 1973)Google Scholar. For works specifically on the lament, see Prichitaniia, 2nd ed. (Biblioteka poeta, bol'shaia seriia) (Leningrad, 1960)Google Scholar and Efimenkova, B.B., Severnorusskaia prichet' (Sovetskii kompozitor, 1980)Google Scholar.
page 36 note 2. Recently another collection of folksongs was published, Sobranie narodnykh pesen P.V. Kireevskogo (Leningrad: Nauka, 1983)Google Scholar with songs from the Kireevsky collection transcribed by Iakushkin.
page 36 note 3. Pushkin, Alexander, Polnoe sobranie sochinenie, XI (Moscow: AN SSSR, 1937), p. 40Google Scholar.
page 36 note 4. Gogol, Nicholas, Polnoe sobranie sochinenie, VIII (Moscow-Leningrad: AN SSSR, 1958) p. 289Google Scholar.
page 36 note 5. Cited by Soimonov, A.D., P.V. Kireevskii i ego sobranie narodnykh pesen (Leningrad: Nauka, 1971), p. 324Google Scholar.
page 36 note 6. Soimonov, p. 325.
page 36 note 7. Cited by Soimonov, p. 169.
page 36 note 8. Cited by Soimonov, p. 160.
page 36 note 9. For works on Mamontov and Tenisheva, see Bowlt, John, The Silver Age (Newtonville, MA: Oriental Research Partners, 1982)Google Scholar; Kopshitser, M., Mamontov (Moscow, 1972)Google Scholar; Muzei Abramtsevo (Moscow, 1968)Google Scholar; Tenisheva, M., Vpechatleniia moei zhizni (Paris: Russkoe Istoriko-Genealo-gicheskoe Obshchestvo vo Frantsii, 1933), p. 388Google Scholar; Rybchenkov, B. and Chaplin, A., Talashkino (Moscow, 1973)Google Scholar; Makovsky, Sergei, “Talashkino” in Izdeliia masterskoi kn. M.Kl. Tenishevoi (St. Petersburg: Sodruzhestvo, 1905), p. 43Google Scholar.
page 36 note 10. Kireevsky, P.V., Pesni sobrannyia P.V. Kireevskim, novaia seriia (Moscow: Obshchestvo liubitelei rossiiskoi slovesnosti, 1911), vyp. 1, p. 48Google Scholar.
page 36 note 11. Another form of “looking over” a prospective bride is described by the scholar Stravkhov in Kireevsky, section Ab. The term na smotr (for a look) is used to describe the custom in which parents send their son to a village to look over the unmarried girls. He stays for awhile, usually for some holiday such as Christmas or Carnival week. During the various games and parties, the son makes his choice on the basis of the girl's family, her health, and her potential as a good worker. He then returns home and informs his parents of the selection, and they send a matchmaker.
page 36 note 12. Kireevsky, p. 196.
page 36 note 13. Kireevsky, p. 199.
page 36 note 14. Kireevsky, p. 141.
page 36 note 15. Kireevsky, p. 135.
page 36 note 16. Kireevsky, p. 147.
page 36 note 17. On p. 247, Strakhov reports that normally in this area no one pays much attention to whether the bride is a virgin or not. As one old man tells him: “Well, what's so bad about that, why is it a sin? She hasn't done us any harm. Oh, my friend, if we were to judge all human sins, then we wouldn't accept anyone, and no one would accept us.”
In the Orlov province, Maloarkhangel district, the village of Kolpna, the couple is brought in after having slept together, and feasting begins. If the bride was a virgin and the consummation was successful, her chemise is shaken three times and thrown under the bench as proof. In the opposite case, the bride's parents treat everyone with only a small amount of wine. If the groom was impotent, it is ascribed to the charms of a sorcerer, and both the sorcerer's charms as well as those to exorcise them are provided in this section.
page 36 note 18. Kireevsky, p. 45.
page 36 note 19. Kireevsky, p. 81.
page 36 note 20. An example of Stravinsky's use of apocope is the opening passage of the first Tableau: “Kosal' moia ko … Kosa moia kosyn'ka rusaia!” (Braid of mine brai … Braid of mine, little blond braid!”).
page 36 note 21. Evgenéva, A.P. in her book Ocherki po iazyku russkoi ustnoi poezii (Moscow-Leningrad: Akademii mauk SSSR, 1963)Google Scholar devotes a whole section to the problem of the repeated prepostion (pp. 20-98) and notes that while dialectologists have paid little attention to the problem, it has been recorded in spoken conversation, although by the 1930's it seems to have disappeared (p. 53).
page 49 note 1. a) 1.1-4: K 421,1. 3-5 (p. 128). Kaluga province, Likhvin district, village of Alfonov.
b) According to Kireevsky, this song is sung when the groom arrives to take the bride to the church ceremony. At this time the bride is having her hair combed.
c) Russian folk poems frequently open with an address to nature or inanimate objects that play an important role in the life of the main character in the poem. Here, the braid of the bride is being addressed. See Reeder, Roberta, Down Along the Mother Volga, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1975), p. 53CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
page 49 note 2. a) 1.5: K 671, 1.7 (p. 186) Orlov province, Maloarkhangel district, village of Tatarino.
b) Kireevsky says that this was sung at the point in the wedding ritual when the couple is seated in some vehicle that will take them to the church ceremony. The introduction to the poem, not set by Stravinsky, describes the action of the bride, crying and pacing the seni, a passageway between the hut and the barn.
c) The narrative says that geese and swans are swimming across the blue sea; geese symbolize the groom and his male friends, swans the bride and her friends, in Russian wedding lyrics. Both symbols appear later in the libretto when Stravinsky turns to other poems in the Kireevsky collection with these symbols.
page 50 note 3. a) 1. 6-18: K 635, 1. 2-7 (p. 177). Orlov province, Maloarkhangel district, village of Tatarino.
b) Kireevsky says that the poem was sung when the bride's braid was being sold.
c) The syntactic parallelism often found in Russian folk poetry is clearly seen here. Often two lines are paired where a noun appears in one line and the adjective modifying it is found in the same position in the following line (e.g., blond braid). The appearance of someone's first name, such as Nastas'ia, in one line and the person's patronymic, such as Timofeev'na, in the next is also typical of Russian folk poetry.
page 50 note 4. c) In the laments about the combing of the hair, the verb “to comb” is considerably varied, e.g., “I comb,” “I'll keep combing,” “I'll part the hair” (Chesu, pochesu, raschesu”).
page 50 note 5. a) 1.19: K13, 1.17 (p. 8). Arkhangel province, Mezen' district. The phrase “chastym grebnem” (fine comb) often appears in the wedding lyrics in Kireevsky's collection.
page 50 note 6. c) The matchmaker here is female. Frequently, the matchmaker is male. The groom often has his godfather act as his own matchmaker.
page 50 note 7. a) 1. 20-23: K 421, 1. 6-9 (see n. 1).
d)In Kireevsky, the phrase at the end of the penultimate line is repeated at the beginning of the last line, which is typical of Russian folk poetry.
page 50 note 8. a) 1. 24: K 671, 1. 7 (see n. 2).
page 50 note 9. a) 1. 25-32: K 635, 1. 1-8 (see n. 3).
page 50 note 10. a) 1. 33: K 421, 1. 3 (see n. 1).
page 50 note 11. a) 1. 34-55: Sakharov, , Skazanii russkago naroda, 3rd ed., I (St. Petersburg, 1841), p. 150Google Scholar.
d) Stravinsky changed the names of the couple in the poem. In Sakharov the name of the bride is Mashen'ka Ivanovna, while the groom's name is Ivan Petrovich. Stravinsky uses the name “Nastasia Timofeevna” which occurs in K#635, throughout the libretto for the bride, while he chooses the name Fentis Pamfilevich for the groom, which occurs in poems from the Tambov province in Kireevsky (pp. 140-149). The poem K#937 is similar to the poem in Sakharov.
page 50 note 12. d) The diminutive form of her name denoting endearment, which is typical in Russian folk songs.
page 50 note 13. d) Kvetis would be Fetis in Northern Russia. It is typical that names that begin with “f” in Northern Russia are substituted by “khv-” in Southern Russia and Ukraine. Stravinsky uses the Southern Russian form. (Personal communication, Prof. Horace Lunt, Harvard University)
page 50 note 14. a) 1.56-60: K 564, 1. 12-15 (p. 161). Orlov province, Maloarkhangel district, village of Kolpna.
c) Skomorokhs were wandering minstrels and actors who were very popular among the folk and often led the pagan ceremonies. They were banned at the end of the seventeenth century by Tsar Alexei.
page 50 note 15. a) 1. 61-64: Tereshchenko, A., Byt russkago naroda, II (St. Petersburg, 1848). The poem appears on p. 160Google Scholar.
page 50 note 16. a) 1. 65: Tereschenko, p. 307. Lines 67-69 are also from this poem.
page 50 note 17. a) 1. 66: K 646, 1.15 (p. 180). Orlov province, Maloarkhangel district, village of Tatarino.
page 50 note 18. a) 1. 70-73: K 721, 1. 3-6 (p. 199). Simbirsk province, Syzransk district, no village is given.
b) In this area, on the eve of devichnik the bride's girlfriends accompany the bride to the bathhouse. On leaving the bathhouse, one of the girlfriends combs the hair of the bride and plaits a braid; the bride at this time wails,, lamenting the song #721. After this devichnik begins, which frequently occurs at two in the morning, sometimes in the morning.
page 50 note 19. a) 1. 74-81: K 568, 1. 1-6 (p. 162). Province of Orlov, Maloarkhangel district, village of Kolpna.
b) Kireevsky says that this poem was sung when the bride's braid is being combed.
page 50 note 20. a) 1. 82-98: K 635, 1. 2-8 (see n. 3).
page 50 note 21. a) 1. K 13. (see n. 5).
page 50 note 22. a) 1. 100-02: K 714, 1. 1-3 (p, 198). Province of Simbar, Syzran district, no village specified.
page 50 note 23. a) 1. 103-11: K 569, 1. 1-7 (p. 162). Province of Orlov, Maloarkhangel district, village of Kolpna.
b) Sung when the groom's hair is being combed at the groom's house (see n. 18). This poem occurs immediately after a poem about the bride's hair being combed.
page 50 note 24. a) 1. 112-15: K 636, 1. 1-4 (p. 177). Province of Orlov, Maloarkhangel district, village of Tatarino.
d) Stravinsky changed the color of the curls from “chiorny” (black) to “rusy” (blond) to keep the color consistent with the color of Kvetis' hair specified in the rest of the libretto.
page 50 note 25. a) 1. 116-118: K 569, 1. 2-4 (see n. 23).
page 50 note 26. a) 1. 119-26: K 636, 1. 5-12 (see n. 24).
d) Paravani is a city in Georgia in the Caucasus.
page 50 note 27. a) 1. 127-130: K 569, 1. 1-4 (see n. 23).
page 50 note 28. a) 1. 131-134: K 454, 1. 1-4 (p. 126). Province of Ryazan (K. p. 131), Zarai district, no village given.
b) Kireevsky, p. 135, says that this is sung in the morning when the groom and his suite leave his yard to go to the bride's house. The groom's name is Denis Fedorych.
page 50 note 29. a) 1. 135-142: K 712, 1. 9-13 (p.197). Simbirsk province, Syzransk district, no village is given.
b) This poem is sung at the “zapoi,” when the groom comes with his relatives and friends to the bride's house, where her relatives and friends are already gathered, and they all celebrate the betrothal.
page 50 note 30. a) 1. 143-144: Dal', V.A.. Tolkovyi slovar' zhivogo velikorusskogo iazyka, III (Moscow, 1955)Google Scholar, under “malina” (raspberry) (p. 292).
b) Kvas is fermented rye bread, and is a very popular peasant drink.
page 50 note 31. a) 1. 145-154: K 481, 1. 1-2, 4-6, 8-10 (p. 141). Province of Tambov, Kozlov district, village of Aleksandrov.
b) In this area on Friday evening in the groom's house they bake the korovai, a special wedding bread, and the baking is accompanied by songs and rituals. K 481 was sung repeatedly during the kneading of the dough for the korovai.
d) Here for the first time Stravinsky employed a poem where “Fetis” appears.
page 50 note 32. b) Lines 153-154 contain the typical motifs of the guelder rose and raspberry, which frequently occur in refrains of folk songs. The motifs usually have no relationship whatsoever to the text of the song. Sometimes, as in this case, the words of the refrain form nonsense lines and appear simply for the sake of rhyme.
page 50 note 33. a) 1. 155-162: K 678, 1. 1-4, 6-9 (p. 187). Voronezh province, Bobrov district, no village given.
a) Kireevsky includes a note from the collector stating that all the songs in this section (678-693) are sung by the darnitsas, girls who gather in the bride's house to sew gifts or the items of the dowry.
c) This poem is a velichanie or praise song, which is here addressed to a bachelor. The praise song is one of the main genres of Russian folk wedding lyrics; it is sung at the feast after the church ceremony, and each one is almost always addressed to a specific participant in the wedding.
page 50 note 34. c) The groom's hair was frequently curled the night before the wedding in curl papers.
page 50 note 35. a) 1. 163-169: K 794, 1. 7-8, 10-12 (p. 219). This poem occurs in the section of Kireevsky which contains poems collected by Kireevsky, according to the editor, but the geographical origins of these poems are unknown.
page 50 note 36. a) 1. 170. This is line 5 from K. 678.
page 50 note 37. a) 1. 171-177: K 569, 1. 1-7 (see n. 27).
page 50 note 38. a) 1. 178-182: K 125, 1. 18-22 (p. 50). Province of Pskov, Toropets district, no village given.
b) Kireevsky says that the poem was sung at a party for the groom which took place some time before the wedding day.
page 50 note 39. a) 1. 183-184: K 125, 1. 1-2 (see n. 38).
page 51 note 40. a) 1. 185-191. Pskov province, Toropets district, no village is given. The lines are not from a song, but come from a description of the druzhko's formulaic request to the groom's parents that they bless theirchild (see p. 51 of Kireevsky), which is spoken rather than sung. The dialect version of “otets” (father), “chado” (child), and “tserkov'” (church) used by Stravinsky is typical of Pskov.
page 51 note 41. a) 1. 192-194: K 497, 1. 1-3 (p. 145). Province of Tambov, Kazlov district, village of Aleksandrov.
b) The poem is sung to the groom after he has come with his suite to the bride's, and he and his suite have been seated at the table.
c) Several lines of the text have paired synonyms, which is typical of Russian folk lyrics: onlookers-observers; idlers-squabblers, path-road.
page 51 note 42. a) 1. 195-200. These lines come from a description of the wedding ritual included under section Ab in K (p. 243), where the material has been copied by Kireevsky from published ethnographic sources.
b) This formulaic request is shouted by the druzhko to the guests gathered in the groom's home immediately after the parents bless the groom, before the groom and his suite depart for the bride's house.
page 51 note 43. a) 1. 201: K 629, 1. 1, 4-8 (p. 176). Province of Orlov, Maloarkhangel district, village of Tatarino.
b) This is said when the parents bless their child with the icon. There is no indication whether it is the bride, groom, or both being blessed.
d) Stravinsky changed the groom's name from Viktorushka to Ivan. He then changes it to Fetis, the name he has used for the groom throughout the libretto.
page 51 note 44. a) 1. 202-211: K 486, 1. 2-7 (p. 142) Tambov province, Kozlov district, village of Aleksandrov.
c) “Venchanitsa” is dialect for “venchanie,” which refers to the ceremony in church. During an Orthodox ceremony, the couple stands under the “venets,” a crown or wreath. The word “svad'ba” or its diminutive “svad'ebka” alludes to the entire wedding ritual, including the pagan rites before and after the church ceremony.
page 51 note 45. a) 1. 211-212: K 485, 1. 8-9 (p. 142). Tambov province, Kozlov district, village of Aleksandrov.
b) This is sung at the groom's house before he leaves to get the bride. The druzhko takes the groom by the hand and stands him in the middle of the hut and recites (not sings) K 485. After his speech, the groom is blessed by his parents.
page 51 note 46. a) 1. 213-214: K 495, 1. 13-14 (p. 145). Tambov province, Kozlov district, village of Aleksandrov.
b) This is sung at the bride's home after the groom and his suite have arrived. The bride's relatives get up from the table and the groom's suite sits down. Poem #495 is then recited.
page 51 note 47. a) 1. 215-223: K 496, 1. 1-8 (p. 145). Tambov province, Kozlov district, Aleksandrov village.
b) After poem #495 is sung, the druzhko says “May God bless you!” and then the girls sing #496. Stravinsky chose not to include the words of the druzhko.
page 51 note 48. b) The real parents of the couple are not allowed at the church ceremony. The godparents of the bride and groom appear in their place and are called the “posazhenyi” parents, that is, the official parental sponsors of the wedding. St. Nikita is patron saint of travellers. St. Michael is the head of the heavenly army of angels.
page 51 note 49. a) 1. 224-231: K 125, 1-2, 5-10 (see n. 38).
page 51 note 50. a) 1. 232-245: K 137, 1. 1-7, 11-17 (p. 53). Province of Pskov, Toropets district, no village given.
b) This is sung after the bride has been dressed. Her father and mother greet her as she enters, and they are dressed in fur coats turned inside out. Her father takes an icon with a candle, her mother bread and salt. The bride and groom stand opposite the table on a spread cloth and fall down. The parents bless them, sending them off to the church ceremony. During this time #137 is sung.
c) “Khlembon sol'iu (bread and salt),” in 1. 245 of the libretto, is often paired in folk poetry to symbolize hospitality and is used in many Russian rituals, including the peasant wedding.
page 51 note 51. c) “Skory nozhen'ki” (quick feet) is a typical fixed formula in Russian folk poetry. For an excellent discussion of fixed epithets in Russian folklore, see Evgenéva, A.P., Ocherki iazyku russkoi ustnio poezii (Essays on the Language of Russian Oral Poetry) (Moscow-Leningrad: Akademiia nauk SSSR, 1963), pp. 298–339Google Scholar.
page 51 note 52. c) Frequently in Russian pagan rituals the participant begins the ritual by bowing to all four directions.
page 51 note 53. a) 1. 246: K 125, 1. 11. (see n. 38).
page 51 note 54. 1. 247-248: K 243, 1. 1-2 (p. 82). Kostrom province, no district or village is given.
b) Kireevsky says that after the blessing of the bride, this poem was sung by her girlfriends.
c) Both “gornitsa” and “svetlitsa” do not have equivalents in English. A “gornitsa” is a special room in a peasant's hut where guests are received. A “svetlitsa” is a room on the upper floor that receives much light; the word derives from “svet,” which means “light.”
page 51 note 55. a) 1. 249-254: K 125, 1. 11-16 (see n. 38).
c) The image of forging a wedding is important because it alludes to the fact that both saints were also patron saints of blacksmiths.
page 51 note 56. 1. 255-257: K 828, 1. 1, 7-8 (p. 277). This poem comes from the section of Kireevsky Aa, that contains poems collected by him, but not the geographical origin.
page 51 note 57. c) See n. 2 about seni.
d) By leaving out line 9 of #828, Stravinsky left out a clue to the relationship between nails and forging. In this poem, on line 8 of Kireevsky, the words “gvozdi sobirala” (gathered nails) are followed by “Svad'bu kovala” (To forge a wedding), which has been omitted by Stravinsky. The imagery suggested is that of melting nails to provide metal for forging.
page 51 note 58. a) 1. 258-259: K 125, 1. 16-17 (see n. 38).
page 51 note 59. a) 1. 260-264: K 243, 1. 1-5 (see n. 54).
page 51 note 60. a) 1. 265-268: K 125, 1. 11, 6, 16-17 (see n. 38).
page 51 note 61. a) 1. 269-272: K 828, 1. 6-9 (see n. 56).
This poem is similar to #643, which Stravinsky uses later.
page 51 note 62. d) The form of the word “wedding” (svad'ebka) is a diminutive, and is the title of Stravinsky's work. In the original version in Kireevsky, the word is not a diminutive, but is simply “svad'ba.”
page 51 note 63. a) 1. 273-282: K 125, 1. 18-20, 6, 13, 21-25 (see n. 38).
c) Normally “krepka svad'ba” (strong wedding) appears in wedding poetry with the image of forging a wedding (“skui nam svad'bu” — forge us a wedding). Here it appears with the image of pairing off a wedding (“slutsi svad‘bu” — pair off the wedding), which is atypical.
page 51 note 64. a) 1. 283-284: K 884, 1. 1 and 5 (p. 242). Kireevsky reproduced the poem as found in the article by Professor Peter Strakhov of Moscow University; the article was reprinted in Uchionye Zapiski (Moscow University, 1836, X, 187–204, XI, 351-372.)Google Scholar “Ditiatko” and “ditiaka” are both dialect forms for “child”; the standard form is “rebionok.”
b) This is sung by the groom's mother as he leaves for the bride's house. As the suite goes to harness the horses, his mother, praying to God, sits her son on a bench on a fur coat, takes a glass of beer in her hand and with a prayer crosses herself, moistens his hair with beer, combs it with a comb and falling on his chest, wails the song #884.
page 51 note 65. a) 1. 285-286: K 749, 1. 5-6 (p. 208). This poem comes from Section Aa in Kireevsky, which contains poems collected by him, but the geographical origin of these poems are unknown.
page 51 note 66. a) 1. 287: K 884, 1. 1 (see n. 64).
page 51 note 67. a) 1. 288: K 887, 1. 2 (p. 245). This poem comes from Kireevsky section Ab based on ethnographic articles.
b) This song is sung when the bride and groom leave the bride's for the church ceremony, and the bride's mother sits in the hut and wails for the loss of her daughter.
page 51 note 68. a) 1. 289-292: K 749, 1. 6-9 (p. 208). (see n. 65).
page 51 note 69. a) 1. 293: K 884, 1. 1 (see n. 64).
page 52 note 70. a) 1. 294-295: K 142, 1. 1-2 (p. 54). Pskov province, Opochets district, village of Mikhailovskoe? (The “?” is noted in Kireevsky). This section of Kireevsky contains the poems transcribed by Alexander Pushkin. Kireevsky states that Pushkin faithfully transcribed 50 poems from the peasants themselves. He notes that the exact place that they were written down was not given by Pushkin; however, Kireevsky assumes they were written down in 1824 (K p. 60) in the Pskov region, probably in Pushkin's house. He probably assumes the year 1824 because that was the year in which Pushkin was exiled to his father's estate in Pskov.
b) Kireevsky notes that this poem was sung by the girls when the bride returns from church.
page 52 note 71. a) 1. 296-299: K 447, 1. 1-3 (p. 134). Province of Riazan, Ranenburg district, no village given.
b) Kireevsky says that #447 is a velichalnaia, praising the girls.
page 52 note 72. a) 1. 300-301: K 142, 1. 3-4 (see n. 70).
page 52 note 73. a) 1. 302-305: K 451, 1. 1-4 (p. 135). Riazan province, Zarai district, no village given.
b) Kireevsky says it is a drinking song and notes that it is not sung at the feast, but before the wedding day.
c) Fedor Tikhanavich is the groom's father, who has found a “ring,” the bride, and Palagei Spanovich, the bride's father, has lost his “ring,” his daughter.
page 52 note 74. a) 1. 306-307. No source has been found. It is similar to K 738, 1. 3-4, where Ivan is compared to a vineyard and Avdot'ia to a berry.
page 52 note 75. a) 1. 308-318: K 451, 1. 5-8 (see n. 73).
page 52 note 76. a) 1. 319-320: K 407, 1. 1-2 (p. 125). Province of Tula, Chernsk district, no village given.
page 52 note 77. a) 1. 321-322: K 142, 1. 2-3 (p. 125). Province of Tula, Chernsk district, no village given.
page 52 note 78. a) 1. 323-330. Tereshchenko, V.A., Byt russkovo naroda (St. Petersburg, 1848), II, p. 332Google Scholar. This volume of the Tereshchenko collection of folk lyrics is devoted to descriptions of the ancient wedding ritual among the upper classes as well as to rituals in various geographic regions of the Russian empire.
page 52 note 79. a) 1. 331-336: K 407, 1. 1-6 (see n. 76).
page 52 note 80. Tereshchenko (see n. 78).
page 52 note 81. a) 1. 338-340: K 458, 1. 1-3 (p. 136). Province of Riazan, Zari district, no village.
b) This poem was sung just before the couple left the bride's home for the church. The father of the bride hands over his daughter to the groom with the words of this poem.
page 52 note 82. a) 1. 341: K 199, 1. 9 (p. 65). Province of Tver, town of Ostashkov.
d) In the Kireevsky poem, the woman is named Anna Mikhailovna.
page 52 note 83. a) 1. 342: K 458, 1. 4 (see n. 81).
page 52 note 84. a) 1. 343: K 199, 1. 10. (see n. 82). d) Stravinsky substitutes milaia, “sweet,” for the line containing Anna's patronymic in the Kireevsky poem.
page 52 note 85. a) 1. 344-349: K 493, 1. 1-2, 5-6, 3-4 (p. 145). Tambov province, district of Kozlov, Aleksandrov village.
b) This poem is recited by the father as he joins the hands of the couple together before they leave for the church ceremony.
page 52 note 86. a) 1. 350-353: K 458, 1. 5-8 (see n. 81).
page 52 note 87. a) 1. 354-355: K 407, 1. 11-12 (see n. 76).
page 52 note 88. a) 1. 356. No source found.
page 52 note 89. a) 1. 357-364: K 407, 1. 13-21. (see n. 76).
page 52 note 90. a) 1. 365-368: K 1009, 1. 1-5 (p. 281). From K, section Ab (song books).
page 52 note 91. a) 1. 369-373: K 177, 1. 1-2 (p. 61). Province of Tver, district of Ostashkov, village of Ostrits.
d) The poem has a refrain that is meant to be repeated after every line, which Kireevsky illustrates for two lines before indicating the pattern to be followed with the direction “etc.” Stravinsky follows this pattern for his setting of the first line of the poem, then introduces a new line immediately followed by the second line of the poem, and only then introduces the refrain “liuli,” and repeats the second half of 1. 2 of the poem (1. 380).
page 52 note 92. a) 1. 374-381: K 571, 1. 1-8 (p. 162). Province of Orlov, district of Maloarkhangel, village of Kolpna.
b) This poem is sung when the bridal pair go to the church ceremony.
d) The poem in Kireevsky is addressed to a swan, but Stravinsky changes it so it is addressed to a goose. (The goose symbolizes the groom and the swan the bride.) Then in 1. 378 he changes it so the poem is addressed to a white swan.
page 52 note 93. a) 1. 382-390: K 177, 1. 3-6, 2, 1, 7-9 (see n. 91).
page 52 note 94. a) 1. 391-393. These lines come from the formulaic dialogue of the wedding ritual from Olonets. K, p. 44. The lines are recited when the groom and his suite arrive at the bride's home on the day of the wedding and ask for the bride. She is brought out, veiled.
page 52 note 95. a) 1. 394-399: K 438, 1. 1-6 (p. 132). Province of Riazan, district of Ranenburg, no village given.
b) This takes place at the “propoi” or betrothal ceremony. In Kireevsky, in the description of the Simbirsk province, Syzransky district (p. 196) there is discussion of the “zapoi” in which this song is sung. It occurs after the sgovor (when the fathers of the bride and groom agree on a marriage contract). Beer is brewed in the bride and groom's houses. The groom and his relatives come to the bride's home, each carrying a korovai. Everyone is given a glass of wine. When the bride's father is served, the girls sing to him in the bride's name, asking him not to sell her off for a glass of wine, to sell his tower instead.
page 52 note 96. a) 1. 400-408: K 806, 1. 1-9 (p. 222). The geographic origin of the poems from this section is unknown.
page 52 note 97. a) 1. 409-414: K 510, 1. 106 (p. 147). Province of Tambov, Kozlov district, Aleksandrov village.
b) The poem is sung at the groom's after the wedding ceremony. When the meal is over, a prayer is said to God, then the druzhko selects a married couple from the groom's wedding suite to warm the wedding bed.
page 52 note 98. a) 1. 415-418: K 1021, From Kireevsky Ac, where poems are taken from song books printed in the 18th and 19th centuries. From a song book by Glazunov, 1819.
page 52 note 99. a) 1. 419-422: K 156, 1. 19-21 (p. 57). Province of Pskov, Opochetsky District, Mikhailovskoe village.
b) These lines come from one of the poems collected by Alexander Pushkin.
c) The song is a velichanie (praise song) to a bachelor.
d) Stravinsky substitutes “Khvetis Gospodin” for gost' dorogoi (dear guest) and Khvetis' patronymic “Pamfil'evich” for “dear guest.”
page 52 note 100. a) 1. 423-428: K 803, 1. 1-6 (p. 222). This poem appears in the section of Kireevsky where the geographical origin is unknown.
d) Stravinsky retains Savel'iushka, instead of changing the name to Nastas'iushka to keep it consistent with the bride's name in the rest of the text; he does, however, substitute Fetis for Egor, the groom's name in the poem.
page 52 note 101. a) 1. 429-433: K 438, 1. 7-11 (see n. 95).
page 52 note 102. a) 1. 434-437: K 803, 1. 7-10 (see n. 100).
page 52 note 103. a) 1. 438-448: K 823, 1. 1-6, 8-12 (p. 226). This poem appears in the section of Kireevsky where geographic origin is unknown.
d) Stravinsky substitutes Fetis for Vaniushka from the original poem. It is typical in Russian folk poetry to have tautologically paired verbs, adjectives, or nouns that are related in meaning. In 1. 453, for example, “gliadel” and “smotrel” are a pair of related verbs, “gaze” and “look.”
page 52 note 104. a) 1. 449-454: K 448, 1. 1-6 (p. 134). Province Riazan, district Ranenburg, no village given.
page 52 note 105. a) 1. 455-472: K 591, 1. 1-16 (p. 168). Province of Orlov, Maloarkhangel district, Temeriazeva village.
b) There is a note by the collector of this poem that this is a pribautka (jocular song) of the great matchmaker which is uttered when the young pair begins to give presents to their relatives. Approaching the father of the bride and groom, he recites this song. Depending on the person whom the great matchmaker approaches, toasting with wine, the beginning of this poem changes. The main goal is to add joy to the occasion.
page 53 note 106. d) The rehearsal number is labeled 127 in the vocal score, but should be 126.
page 53 note 107. a) 1. 473-474: K p. 200. Province of Simbirsk, Svzransky district.
The lines appear in the description of the devichnik, when the guests say their drink is bitter, which provokes the bride and groom to kiss and make it sweeter.
page 53 note 108. a) 1. 475-478. No source found. The song tells of how the woman increases in worth as soon as she becomes pregnant.
page 53 note 109. a) 1. 479-481: K 491, 1-2 (p. 144). Province of Tambov, Kozlov district, Aleksandrov village.
b) Kireevsky says that this poem was sung on the day of the wedding by the bride's friends at the locked gate of the bride's house when the groom's suite arrives. After the song, the best man (druzhko) and his aide get down from their horses, knock at the gate, and bargain with those standing in the courtyard so that the gate be opened.
page 53 note 110. a) 1. 482-485: K 668, 1. 1-4 (p. 185). Province of Orlov, Maloarkhangel district, Tatarino village.
b) Kireevsky says the poem was sung when the couple was brought to the bed in which the marriage would be consumated.
page 53 note 111. a) 1. 486-487: K 438, 1. 12-13 (see n. 95).
page 53 note 112. a) 1. 488-495: K 396, 1. 106 (p. 123). Province of Tula, Chrensk district.
d) The name of the young man in the original poem is Afanas'iushka Vasil'evich.
page 53 note 113. a) 1. 496-500: K 514, 1. 1-5 (p. 147). Province of Tambov, Kozlov district, Aleksandrov village.
b) An hour after the wedding feast has begun at the groom's, the druzhko leads the newlyweds to a hut where the bed is prepared, and there is a dialogue between him and the married couple that has been brought to warm it. He “pays” them for their labor by bringing them each a glass of wine, as the girls sing #514.
page 53 note 114. 1. 501-505: K 465 (p. 134). Province of Riazan, Zarai district.
page 53 note 115. We would like to thank Paulina Lewin, Fellow, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, Richard Taruskin, Professor of Music, Columbia University, and Musia Giants, Fellow, Harvard Russian Research Center, for their generous help in this project.
page 61 note 1. All works are from the Kireevsky collection unless indicated otherwise.
page 61 note 2. seni — passageway from outside to main room of hut
page 61 note 3. skomorokh — traveling actor and minstrel who took part in pagan rituals. They were banned in the 17th century by Tsar Alexis.
page 61 note 4. gornitsa — room set aside for guests in peasant hut; svetlitsa — room on top floor that receives much light (svet)
page 61 note 5. korovai — special round cake baked for a wedding.
page 61 note 6. ten copeck piece
page 61 note 7. In Russian folk poetry frequently nouns and verbs are paired as synonomous: “walk-stroll,” “path-road.”
page 61 note 8. brothers of husband
page 61 note 9. aides to the druzhko
page 61 note 10. Apparently there is no end to the song; it has been lost. (Ed.)
page 61 note 11. cabbage soup
page 61 note 12. brother of husband
page 61 note 13. chade — old Russian for “child,” “rebionik” is contemporary standard Russian
page 61 note 14. words left out in original text
page 61 note 15. words left out in original text
page 61 note 16. pirog — pastry filled with meat, potatoes, etc.
page 61 note 17. real father as opposed to godfather or patron father at wedding
