Beloy akatsii grozd'ya dushistyye
White Acacias, Белой акации гроздья душистые
This Russian romance was published for the first time in 1902, in the series "The Gypsy Nights", without specifying the name of the authors. In the summer of 1903 the Saint-Petersburg score printing house "Нотопечатня В.Бесселя и Ко" (Notopechatnya B. Besselya i Ko) published the clavier of the romance "with the vocal staffs for tenor and soprano", within the series "The Gypsy Songs by N. P. Lutsenko". According to this publication, the composer arranged the tune of the romance, having heard it from the Gypsies.
Later on the song was published as a well-known Gypsy romance, with the lyrics as they were sung by the famous performer of Gypsy songs Barbara Panina (1872-1911), and the musical processing by A. M. Zorin. Since the authors were unknown, they stood unmentioned. |
Nevertheless it is commonly believed that the true basis of the lyrics is a poem written by A. Pugachov, who owns more than three dozen songs on the music written by the Russian composer M. Steinberg (1883-1946), by J. De Botari (18??-?), and others. Some other sources also do mention A. Volin-Volsky as the author of the poem, and the composers M. Sharov or A. Lutsenko as the possible authors of the music. (A. Volin-Volsky became famous for the poem on which M. Sharov wrote the music: "A tear clouds my eyes").
Whoever the authors were, "White Acacias" soon became well known all over Russia, thanks to the gramophone recordings by B. Panina, S. Sergeeva, Yuri Morfessi, N. Seversky, A. Vyaltseva, and the Sadovnikov brothers. The melody would form the basis for the popular song of the World War I, "Did you hear, grandfathers, a war has begun", and during the Civil War in Russia (1918-1924) it was transformed to fit for the White Guard and the Red Army. It would also be at the origin of the well known red song "Boldly We Go Into Battle".
Whoever the authors were, "White Acacias" soon became well known all over Russia, thanks to the gramophone recordings by B. Panina, S. Sergeeva, Yuri Morfessi, N. Seversky, A. Vyaltseva, and the Sadovnikov brothers. The melody would form the basis for the popular song of the World War I, "Did you hear, grandfathers, a war has begun", and during the Civil War in Russia (1918-1924) it was transformed to fit for the White Guard and the Red Army. It would also be at the origin of the well known red song "Boldly We Go Into Battle".
The romance "White acacias" did not only appear on recordings, or as the basis for other songs: from 25 September 1926 on, it sounded in the last act of the play "The Days of Turbins", that was written by M. Bulgakov on request of the Moscow Art Theater. The play was based on his own novel "The White Guard", which had been written according to his memories of the Kiev time of the Civil War.
The events described in "The Days of Turbins" take place in the late 1918 - early 1919 and cover the fall of the regime of Hetman Skoropadsky, the arrival of Petlura and his expulsion from the Bolsheviks. Against the background of constant change of power, a personal family tragedy takes place. The song was well known in Kiev of that time for its melody and partly its words became the anthem of the White Guard leaded by the general A. Denikin, who mastered Kiev. Modern critics consider the play a theatrical success, and also in the Moscow Art Theater, the play enjoyed a large audience success, but it received a devastating review in the Soviet Press. The article of the magazine "New Audience" wrote the following, on February 2, 1927: |
Lyudmila Zykina performs romance version 1902
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We are ready to agree with some of our friends that "The Days of Turbins" are a cynical attempt to idealize the White Guards, but we have no doubt that it is the "The Days of Turbins" - a stake in her coffin. Why? Because for a healthy Soviet viewer the most perfect slush can not present temptation, and for endangered active enemies and for passive, flabby, indifferent inhabitants the same slush can not give neither an emphasis, nor a charge against us. All the same, like a funeral hymn can not serve as a military march.
Mikhail Bulgakov
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However, the piece referred to the old order so strongly that when the actors on the stage started to sing the Russian Empire anthem "God, Save The Tsar", a large part of the audience stood up and sang together unconsciously, keeping to the communist views at the same time.
In 1929 "The Days of Turbins" was removed from the repertoire, though Stalin himself did like the play, and even saw it probably fifteen times. Bulgakov, on his turn, was accused of pety-bourgeois and bourgeois mood, and promotion of the White Movement. Under influence of Stalin, however, the play was resumed, and the legendary performance at the last act, containing the song "White Acacias", was banned. From 18 February 1932 on, the shortened version of the play appeared on stage of the Moscow Art Theater, till June 1941. Stalin himself wrote a letter to the playwright V. Bill-Belotserkovsky, pointing out that he liked the play, as it showed the failure of the White Movement. He also insisted on publishing this letter in Bulgakov's collected works in 1949. Since 1929, the original song "White Acacias" got forgotten, till since 1950 it suddenly appeared again in the repertoire of the masters of the Russian romances: Alla Bayanova, Georgy Vinogradov, Peter Medvedev, Nadezhda Obukhova, and Boris Shtokolov. |
In 1975 the Russian government gave permission to Vladimir Basov for shooting a movie based on Bulgakov's novel. In 1976 the shooting started and Basov remembered that in the original play the romance "White Acacias" had sounded, and that the tune of the romance was also the base for the well known revolutionary sound "Boldly We Go Into Battle". He wanted the theme of both these melodies in his film, as a review, a memory of those years, and the task to work this out was given to the poet Mikhail Matusovsky and to the composer Veniamin Basner. They both did a brilliant job. Matusovsky remembered how his parents had sung old and even pre-revolutionary songs in his hometown Lugansk, when he was a child. The poet also went to Kiev, where he visited the Mikhail Bulgakov museum, and where he saw the blossoming acacias in Kiev's gardens. His mood influenced the composer Basner, who reworked the old romance, and composed a beautiful melody, that was new, and, at the same time, reminiscent of the old.
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Lyudmila Senchina perform romance version 1976
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Almost immediately after the premiere of the TV movie, the songstress Lyudmila Senchina came to Basner, with a request for a new songs for her. The composer gave her several reworked versions of the old romance "White acacia". Performed by Senchina, the song gained a wide popularity all over the former USSR. It stays very popular in our days.
The performers (older variant): Ludmila Zykina, Alla Bayanova, Boris Shtokolov, Eugenia Smolyaninova, Alexei Mochalov.
The performers (newer variant): Ludmila Senchina, Maria Pakhomenko, Iosif Kobzon, Vika Tsyganova, Zara and Dmitri Pevtsov, Oleg Pogudin, D. Arbenina and E. Dyatlov, Andrei Makarevich, Elena Vasilieva, Moscow Sretensky Monastery Choir, Sergey Volchkov, Trio "Relict"
SCORE FOR ACCORDION (BASNER) SIMPLE SCORES (OLDER MUSIC)
The performers (older variant): Ludmila Zykina, Alla Bayanova, Boris Shtokolov, Eugenia Smolyaninova, Alexei Mochalov.
The performers (newer variant): Ludmila Senchina, Maria Pakhomenko, Iosif Kobzon, Vika Tsyganova, Zara and Dmitri Pevtsov, Oleg Pogudin, D. Arbenina and E. Dyatlov, Andrei Makarevich, Elena Vasilieva, Moscow Sretensky Monastery Choir, Sergey Volchkov, Trio "Relict"
SCORE FOR ACCORDION (BASNER) SIMPLE SCORES (OLDER MUSIC)
Russian text (1902)
Белой акации гроздья душистые Вновь аромата полны, Вновь разливается песнь соловьиная В тихом сиянии чудной луны! Помнишь ли лето, под белой акацией Слушали песнь соловья?.. Тихо шептала мне чудная, светлая: "Милый, поверь мне!.. навек твоя". Годы давно прошли, страсти остыли, Молодость жизни прошла, Белой акации запаха нежного, Верь, не забыть мне уже никогда... 1976 version, lyrics Matusovsky, composer B. Basner Целую ночь соловей нам насвистывал, Город молчал и молчали дома. Белой акации гроздья душистые Ночь напролет нас сводили с ума. Сад весь умыт был весенними ливнями, В темных оврагах стояла вода. Боже, какими мы были наивными, Как же мы молоды были тогда! Годы промчатся седыми нас делая, Листья срывая с акаций пустых Только зима да метелица белая Может быть, снова напомнит о них. В час когда ветер бушует неистовый, В час, когда в окнах не видно ни зги, Белой акации гроздья душистые Ты мне хоть вспомнить на миг помоги. |
Transliteration
Veloy akatsii grozd'ya dushistyye Vnov' aromata polny, Vnov' razlivayetsya pesn' solov'inaya V tikhom siyanii chudnoy luny! Pomnish' li leto, pod beloy akatsiyey Slushali pesn' solov'ya?.. Tikho sheptala mne chudnaya, svetlaya: "Milyy, pover' mne!.. navek tvoya". Gody davno proshli, strasti ostyli, Molodost' zhizni proshla, Beloy akatsii zapakha nezhnogo, Ver', ne zabyt' mne uzhe nikogda... Transliteration version 1976 Tseluyu noch' solovey nam nasvistyval, Gorod molchal i molchali doma. Beloy akatsii grozd'ya dushistyye Noch' naprolet nas svodili s uma. Sad ves' umyt byl vesennimi livnyami, V temnykh ovragakh stoyala voda. Bozhe, kakimi my byli naivnymi, Kak zhe my molody byli togda! Gody promchatsya sedymi nas delaya, List'ya sryvaya s akatsiy pustykh Tol'ko zima da metelitsa belaya Mozhet byt', snova napomnit o nikh. V chas kogda veter bushuyet neistovyy, V chas, kogda v oknakh ne vidno ni zgi, Beloy akatsii grozd'ya dushistyye Ty mne khot' vspomnit' na mig pomogi. |
English translation
The fragrant bunches of the white acacia Waft their odorous tune, And newly the sublime song of the nightingale Pours out in the soft shine of the moon! Just you recall that white summer acacia And that old nightingale`s song! Wonderful and bright, you whispered me quietly: "Sweetheart, believe, I`m yours all my life long!" Though the years and passions fled long ago, Though my youthfulness passed, The gentle scent of that old white acacia Stays unforgettable and unsurpassed. Translation by Alexander 1976 version For us the nightingale was singing all night long, The town`s homes kept silence and lights. The white acacias blossomed and smelled so strong, Making us crazy together at nights. The garden was washed up by the warm spring rainfalls , The water still stood in the dark ravines. God! How innocent we were, that place recalls, How much youthful we were in those times! The years will pass and make our hair white, Plucking the empty acacia`s leaves. The winter and the white snow storm outside May stay the only thing that all retrieves. When an inclement wind is raging all night long, When through the windows nothing is seen, The white acacias` bunches, which smelled so strong, Please, recollect with me for the time being. Translation by Alexander |
http://www.liveinternet.ru/community/frondam/post216099759/; http://a-pesni.org/romans/belakacii.htm;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Steinberg;
https://otvet.mail.ru/question/28355496; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1scTmeZC0W8;
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Дни_Турбиных_(пьеса);
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Дни_Турбиных_(фильм) ;
https://vk.com/club11604208?w=wall-11604208_82
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Steinberg;
https://otvet.mail.ru/question/28355496; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1scTmeZC0W8;
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Дни_Турбиных_(пьеса);
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Дни_Турбиных_(фильм) ;
https://vk.com/club11604208?w=wall-11604208_82