Biography of Mussorgsky. Some facts

Mussorgsky's brief biography and interesting facts from the life of the Russian composer and pianist are set out in this article.

Modest Mussorgsky short biography

Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich was born on March 21, 1839 in the village of Karevo into a family of Smolensk noblemen.

At a young age, he learned to play keyboards. Having moved to St. Petersburg, Modest studies with the great pianist Gercke. The teacher encouraged his student to write music. Mussorgsky's first musical work is the polka Porte-enseigne Polka, written in 1852.

In the footsteps of his family, in 1852 he entered the School of Cavalry Junkers and Guards Ensigns in St. Petersburg. In 1856-1858 he served as an officer of the Life Guards in the Preobrazhensky Regiment.

At the service, he meets with the composer Alexander Borodin, Caesar Cui, Alexander Dargomyzhsky, Vladimir Stasov and Mily Balakirev. Modest joined the "New Russian Music School", which they created. Its broader name is "The Mighty Handful". Under the influence of Balakirev, Mussorgsky devoted all his time to composition, leaving the service in 1858.

During the period of 1850s-1860s he created many piano and orchestral compositions, romances and songs. But certain circumstances forced him again in 1863 to go to the service. Until 1868, Modest worked as an official in the Engineering Department. From 1868 to 1879 he moved to a new place of service - the Forest Department, and a year later - to the State Control.

In 1879, as an accompanist, he made a concert tour with the singer Leonova across Russia. In the period 1880-1881 he worked as an accompanist in her open music classes.

Mussorgsky's health deteriorated sharply in February 1881. He was placed in the Nikolaevsky military hospital. Once a visitor Ilya Repin came to him and painted his famous portrait. The composer died on March 28, 1881 in the same hospital.

Mussorgsky's works"Salambo", "Boris Godunov", "Marriage", "Khovanshchina", "Sorochinsky Fair", "Seminarist", "Goat", "Feast", "Sleep, sleep, peasant son", "Gopak", "Svetik Savishna ”,“ Flea ”,“ Kalistrat ”,“ For mushrooms ”,“ Lullaby of Eremushki ”,“ Mischievous ”,“ Night on Bald Mountain ”,“ Intermezzo ”.

Modest Mussorgsky interesting facts

From the age of 6 he studied music, under the guidance of his mother.

He had an excellent musical memory and could immediately memorize complex operas.

During his short life (42 years), Mussorgsky created 5 operas(4 of which have not been completed), a number of symphonic works, cycles of vocal and piano music, many romances and choirs.

Since 1863, the composer began to add the letter “G” to his last name. Until this year, all documents were signed as Mussorgsky.

Ilya Repin created the only portrait painted during Modest's lifetime.

At the burial place of the great composer, there is now a bus stop.

In the last years of Mussorgsky's life experienced severe depression because of the non-recognition of his work, loneliness, everyday and material difficulties.

Mussorgsky suffered from drunkenness. After another drinking he started delirium tremens. Once in the hospital, he was strictly forbidden to drink alcohol. But Modest bribed the worker and he bought him a bottle of wine. And the next day the composer was gone.

March 2, 1881 at the door of the capital's Nikolaev military hospital, located on Slonovaya Street in Sands, an unusual visitor entered with a canvas in his hands. He went to the room of his old friend, who had been brought in two weeks earlier with delirium tremens and nervous exhaustion. Putting the canvas on the table, opening the brushes and paints, Repin peered into the familiar tired and exhausted face. Four days later, the only lifetime portrait of the Russian genius was ready. Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky admired his image for only 9 days and died. He was defiantly bold and one of the most fatal musical creators of the 19th century. A brilliant personality, an innovator who was ahead of his time and had a significant impact on the development of not only Russian, but also European music. Mussorgsky's life, as well as the fate of his works, was difficult, but the fame of the composer will be eternal, because his music is imbued with love for the Russian land and the people who live on it.

Read a brief biography of Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky and many interesting facts about the composer on our page.

Brief biography of Mussorgsky

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was born on March 9, 1839. His family nest was an estate in the Pskov region, where he lived until the age of 10. The proximity of peasant life, folk songs and a simple village way of life formed in him that worldview, which later became the main theme of his work. Under the guidance of his mother, he began to play the piano early. The boy had a developed imagination and, listening to the nurse's tales, sometimes he could not fall asleep all night from shock. These emotions found their expression in piano improvisations.

According to Mussorgsky's biography, in connection with moving to St. Petersburg in 1849, his musical studies were combined with studies at the gymnasium, and then at the School of Guards Ensigns. Modest Petrovich emerged from the walls of the latter not only as an officer, but also as an excellent pianist. After a short military service, he retired in 1858 to concentrate entirely on his composing. This decision was greatly facilitated by acquaintance with M.A. Balakirev who taught him the basics of composition. With the advent of Mussorgsky, the final composition is formed " mighty handful».

The composer works hard, the premiere of the first opera makes him famous, but other works do not find understanding even among the Kuchkists. There is a split in the group. Shortly before this, Mussorgsky, due to extreme need, returns to serve in various departments, but his health begins to fail. Manifestations of "nervous disease" are combined with addiction to alcohol. He spends several years at his brother's estate. In St. Petersburg, being in constant financial difficulties, he lives with various acquaintances. Only once, in 1879, he managed to break out on a trip to the southern regions of the Empire with the singer D. Leonova as her accompanist. Unfortunately, the inspiration from this trip did not last long. Mussorgsky returned to the capital, was expelled from the service and again plunged into apathy and drunkenness. He was a sensitive, generous, but deeply lonely person. On the day when he was expelled from a rented apartment for non-payment, he had a stroke. Modest Petrovich spent another month in the hospital, where he died in the early morning of March 16, 1881.

Interesting facts about Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky

• Mentioning two versions Boris Godunov”, we mean - copyright. But there are also "editions" of other composers. There are at least 7 of them! ON THE. Rimsky-Korsakov, who lived with Mussorgsky in the same apartment at the time of the creation of the opera, had such an individual vision of this musical material that two of its versions left a few bars of the original source unchanged. E. Melngailis, P.A. Lamm, D.D. Shostakovich, K. Rathouse, D. Lloyd-Jones.
• Sometimes, in order to complete the reproduction of the author's intention and original music, a scene at St. Basil's Cathedral from the first edition is added to the version of 1872.
• Khovanshchina, for obvious reasons, also suffered numerous editing - Rimsky-Korsakov, Shostakovich, Stravinsky and Ravel. D.D. version Shostakovich is considered the closest to the original.

• Conductor Claudio Abbado for " Khovanshchina» In 1989, at the Vienna Opera, he made his own compilation of music: he restored some episodes in the author's orchestration, crossed out by Rimsky-Korsakov, based on D. Shostakovich's version and the finale ("Final Chorus"), created by I. Stravinsky. Since then, this combination has been repeatedly repeated in European productions of the opera.
• Despite the fact that both Pushkin and Mussorgsky presented Boris Godunov as a child killer in their works, there is no direct historical evidence that Tsarevich Dimitri was killed on his orders. The younger son of Ivan the Terrible suffered from epilepsy and, according to eyewitnesses and the official investigation, died in an accident while playing with a sharp object. The version of contract killing was supported by the mother of Tsarevich Marya Nagaya. Probably out of revenge on Godunov, she recognized her son in False Dmitry I, although she later retracted her words. Interestingly, the investigation into the case of Dimitri was led by Vasily Shuisky, who later, after becoming king, changed his point of view, unequivocally stating that the boy was killed on behalf of Boris Godunov. This opinion is also shared by N.M. Karamzin in "History of the Russian State".

• Sister M.I. Glinka L.I. Shestakova presented Mussorgsky with an edition of Boris Godunov by A.S. Pushkin with pasted blank sheets. It was on them that the composer marked the date of the start of work on the opera.
• Tickets for the premiere of "Boris Godunov" were sold out in 4 days, despite their price, which was three times higher than usual.
• Foreign premieres of "Boris Godunov" and "Khovanshchina" were held in Paris - in 1908 and 1913, respectively.
• Apart from works Tchaikovsky, "Boris Godunov" is the most famous Russian opera, repeatedly staged on the largest stages.
• The famous Bulgarian opera singer Boris Hristov performed three roles at once in the recording of Boris Godunov in 1952: Boris, Varlaam and Pimen.
• Mussorgsky is the favorite composer of F.I. Chaliapin.
• Pre-revolutionary productions of "Boris Godunov" were few and short-lived, in three of them the title role was performed by F.I. Chaliapin. The work was truly appreciated only in Soviet times. Since 1947, the opera has been staged at the Bolshoi Theatre, since 1928 at the Mariinsky Theatre, and both editions are in the theatre's current repertoire.

• The grandmother of Modest Petrovich, Irina Yegorovna, was a serf. Alexei Grigorievich Mussorgsky married her, already having three joint children, among whom was the composer's father.
• Modi's parents wanted him to join the military. His grandfather and great-grandfather were guards officers, his father, Pyotr Alekseevich, also dreamed about this. But due to a dubious origin, a military career was not available to him.
• Mussorgsky - Smolensk branch of the royal family of Rurikovich.
• Probably, at the heart of the internal conflict that tormented Mussorgsky all his life, there was also a class contradiction: coming from a wealthy noble family, he spent his childhood among the peasants of his estate, and the blood of the serf people flowed in his own veins. It is the people that are the main protagonist of both great operas of the composer. This is the only character to whom he treats with absolute sympathy and compassion.
• From Mussorgsky's biography we know that the composer remained a bachelor all his life, even his friends left no evidence of the composer's amorous adventures. There were rumors that in his youth he lived with a tavern singer who ran off with another, cruelly breaking his heart. But it is not known for certain whether this story actually happened. The version about the composer's love for Nadezhda Petrovna Opochinina, who was 18 years older than him, and to whom he dedicated many of his works, also remained unconfirmed.
• Mussorgsky is the third most performed Russian opera composer.
• "Boris Godunov" is shown in the theaters of the world more often than Massenet's "Werther", " Manon Lesko» Puccini or any opera « Rings of the Nibelung» Wagner.
• It was the work of Mussorgsky that inspired I. Stravinsky, who, being a student of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, did not recognize his edits in Boris Godunov.
• Among the foreign followers of the composer - C. Debussy and M. Ravel.
• Musoryanin is a nickname worn by the composer among friends. He was also called Modinka.

• In Russia, "Khovanshchina" was first performed in 1897, performed by the Russian Private Opera S.I. Mamontov. And only in 1912 it was staged at the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters.
• In the Soviet years, the Mikhailovsky Theater of St. Petersburg was named after M.P. Mussorgsky. After the reconstruction and the return of the historical name, several bars from the introduction to Khovanshchina (Dawn on the Moscow River) sound like bells in the theater as a tribute to the great composer.
• Both of Mussorgsky's operas require the performance of a much larger orchestra in order to accurately convey the expressiveness of the music.
• "Sorochinsky Fair" was finished by C. Cui. This production was the last opera premiere of the Russian Empire 12 days before the revolution.
• The first serious attack of delirium tremens overtook the composer as early as 1865. Tatyana Pavlovna Mussorgskaya, the wife of Filaret's brother, insisted that Modest Petrovich move to their estate. He was discharged, but he never fully recovered from his illness. Having left his relatives for St. Petersburg, without which he could not live, the composer did not leave his addiction.
• Mussorgsky died 16 days later than Emperor Alexander II, who was killed by terrorists in St. Petersburg.
• The composer bequeathed the rights to publish his works to the famous philanthropist T.I. Filippov, who repeatedly helped him. It was he who paid for the worthy funeral of Modest Petrovich at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Creativity Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky

First published work polka "Ensign"- saw the light when its author was only 13 years old. At 17, he wrote two scherzos, sketches of further works of a large form did not develop into full-fledged works. Since 1857, Mussorgsky has been writing songs and romances, most of which are on folk themes. This was unusual for a secular musician of those years. The first attempts to write operas remained unfinished - this and " Salambo"according to G. Flaubert, and" Marriage» according to N.V. Gogol. The music for "Salambo" will be completely included in the composition of the only opera completed by the composer - "Boris Godunov".

Mussorgsky's biography says that Mussorgsky begins to study his main work in 1868. He wrote the libretto of all his large-form works himself, the text of Godunov was based on the tragedy of A.S. Pushkin, and the authenticity of the events was checked against the "History of the Russian State" by N.M. Karamzin. According to Modest Petrovich, in the original idea of ​​the opera there were two main actors - the people and the tsar. In a year, the work was completed and presented to the court of the directorate of the imperial theaters. The composer's innovative, non-academic and in many ways revolutionary work shocked the members of the bandmaster's committee. The formal reason for refusing to stage " Boris Godunov was in the absence of a central women's party. This is how an amazing precedent in the history of opera was born - two editions, and in terms of meaning - two operas for one plot.

The second edition was ready by 1872, a bright female character appeared in it - Marina Mniszek, a magnificent part for mezzo-soprano, a Polish act was added and a love line of False Dmitry and Marina, the finale was reworked. Despite this, the Mariinsky Theater again rejected the opera. The situation was ambiguous - many excerpts from "Boris Godunov" had already been performed by singers at concerts, the audience received this music well, and the theater management remained indifferent. Thanks to the support of the Mariinsky Opera Company, in particular, the singer Yu.F. Platonova, who insisted on performing the work for her benefit performance, the opera saw the light of day on January 27, 1874.

Biography

Following that, M. wrote several romances and began to write music for Sophocles' tragedy Oedipus; the last work was not completed, and only one choir from the music to Oedipus, performed in a concert by K. N. Lyadov in 1861, was published among Mussorgsky's posthumous works. For opera processing, M. first chose Flaubert's novel Salammbo, but soon left this work unfinished, as well as an attempt to write music for the plot of Gogol's The Marriage.

Fame Mussorgsky brought the opera Boris Godunov, staged at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. in the city and immediately recognized as an outstanding work in some music circles. This was already the second version of the opera, significantly changed dramaturgically after the repertory committee of the theater rejected its first version for being "unscenic". Over the next 10 years, "Boris Godunov" was given 15 times and then removed from the repertoire. Only at the end of November, "Boris Godunov" saw the light again - but already in the edition, redone by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, who "corrected" and re-instrumented the entire "Boris Godunov" at his discretion. In this form, the opera was staged on the stage of the Great Hall of the Musical Society (the new building of the Conservatory) with the participation of members of the Society of Musical Meetings. Firm Bessel and Co. in St. Petersburg. by this time had released a new clavier of Boris Godunov, in the preface to which Rimsky-Korsakov explains that the reasons that prompted him to undertake this alteration were the allegedly “bad texture” and “bad orchestration” of the author’s version of Mussorgsky himself. In Moscow, "Boris Godunov" was staged for the first time at the Bolshoi Theater in the city. In our time, interest in the author's editions of "Boris Godunov" is being revived.

In 1875, M. began the dramatic opera (“folk musical drama”) “Khovanshchina” (according to the plan of V.V. Stasov), while also working on a comic opera based on the plot of Gogol’s “Sorochinsky Fair”. M. almost managed to finish the music and text of Khovanshchina - but, with the exception of two fragments, the opera was not instrumented; the latter was done by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, who at the same time finished Khovanshchina (again, with his own adaptations) and adapted it for the stage. The firm Bessel & Co. published the score of the opera and the clavier (g.). "Khovanshchina" was performed on the stage of St. Petersburg. a musical and drama circle in the city, under the direction of S. Yu. Goldstein; on the stage of the Kononovsky Hall, in St. Petersburg, in the city, by a private opera partnership; at Setov, in Kyiv, in the city. In 1960, the great Soviet composer Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich made his own version of the opera Khovanshchina, in which Mussorgsky's opera is now being staged all over the world.

For the "Sorochinsky Fair" M. managed to compose the first two acts, as well as for the third act: The Dream of Parubka (where he used a reworking of his symphonic fantasy "Night on Bald Mountain", made for an unrealized collective work - the opera-ballet "Mlada") , Dumku Parasi and Gopak. The opera is staged in the editorial office of the outstanding musician Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin.

Portrait by Repin

Mussorgsky was an unusually impressionable, enthusiastic, soft-hearted and vulnerable person. For all his external compliance and pliability, he was extremely firm in everything that concerned his creative convictions. Addiction to alcohol, which progressed strongly in the last decade of his life, became destructive for M.'s health, his way of life and the intensity of his work. As a result, after a series of failures in the service and the final dismissal from the ministry, M. was forced to live by odd jobs and thanks to the support of friends.

Creation

Mussorgsky is a great original talent, and, moreover, a purely Russian talent; he belongs to a group of musical figures who strove - on the one hand - for formalized realism, on the other hand - for a colorful and poetic disclosure of words, texts and moods through music, flexibly following them. M.'s national thinking, as a composer, comes through both in the ability to handle folk songs, and in the very warehouse of his music, in its melodic, harmonic and rhythmic features, and finally in the choice of subjects, mainly from Russian. life. M. is a hater of routine, for him there are no authorities in music; he paid little attention to the rules of musical grammar, seeing in them not the provisions of science, but only a collection of composing techniques of previous eras. Everywhere M. surrenders to his ardent fantasy, everywhere strives for novelty. Humorous music was generally successful for M., and in this genre he is diverse, witty and resourceful; one has only to recall his fairy tale about the "Goat", the story of the "Seminarian" pounding Latin, in love with the priest's daughter, "Picking Mushrooms" (May's text), "Feast".

M. rarely dwells on “pure” lyrical themes, and they are not always given to him (his best lyrical romances are “Night”, to the words of Pushkin, and “Jewish Melody”, to the words of May); on the other hand, M.'s work is widely manifested in those cases when he turns to Russian peasant life. The songs of M. are marked with rich coloring: "Kalistrat", "Lullaby of Eremushka" (words by Nekrasov), "Sleep, sleep, peasant son" (from Ostrovsky's "Voevoda"), "Gopak" (from Shevchenko's "Gaidamaks"), "Svetik Savishna "And" Mischievous "(both the latter - to the words of M. himself) and many others. others; Mussorgsky very successfully found here a truthful and deeply dramatic musical expression for that heavy, hopeless grief that is hidden under the external humor of the lyrics.

A strong impression is made by the expressive recitation of the songs “Orphan” and “Forgotten” (based on the plot of the famous painting by V.V. Vereshchagin).

In such a close, it would seem, area of ​​​​music as “romances and songs”, M. managed to find completely new, original tasks, and at the same time apply new peculiar techniques for their implementation, which was vividly expressed in his vocal paintings from childhood life, under the general title "Children's" (text by M. himself), in 4 romances under the general title "Songs and Dances of Death" (-; words by Count Golenishchev-Kutuzov; "Trepak" - a picture of a person freezing in a forest, in a snowstorm, tipsy peasant; "Lullaby" draws a mother at the bedside of a dying child; the other two: "Serenade" and "Commander"; all very colorful and dramatic), in "King Saul" (for a male voice with piano accompaniment; text by M.), in "The Defeat of Sennacherib" (for choir and orchestra; words by Byron), in Joshua, successfully built on the original. Jewish topics.

Mussorgsky's specialty is vocal music. He is an exemplary reciter, grasping the slightest bends of the word; in his works, he often gives a wide place to the monologue-recitative warehouse of presentation. Akin to Dargomyzhsky in terms of his talent, M. adjoins him in his views on musical drama, inspired by Dargomyzhsky's opera The Stone Guest. However, unlike Dargomyzhsky, in his mature compositions Mussorgsky overcomes the pure "illustrativeness" of the music passively following the text, which is characteristic of this opera.

Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, written based on the drama of the same name by Pushkin (and also under the great influence of Karamzin's interpretation of this plot), is one of the best works of world musical theater, whose musical language and dramaturgy already belong to a new genre that took shape in the 19th century in various countries - to the genre of musical stage drama, on the one hand breaking with many routine conventions of the then traditional opera house, on the other hand, striving to reveal the dramatic action primarily by musical means. At the same time, both author's editions of "Boris Godunov" (1869 and 1874), differing significantly from each other in terms of dramaturgy, are essentially two equivalent author's solutions to the same plot. Especially innovative for its time was the first edition (which was not put on stage until the middle of the 20th century), which was very different from the then-dominated routine opera canons. That is why, during the years of Mussorgsky's life, the opinion prevailed that his "Boris Godunov" was distinguished by an "unsuccessful libretto", "many rough edges and blunders."

This kind of prejudice was largely characteristic primarily of Rimsky-Korsakov, who argued that M. was inexperienced in instrumentation, although it was sometimes not devoid of color and a successful variety of orchestral colors. This opinion was typical for Soviet textbooks of musical literature. In reality, Mussorgsky's orchestral writing simply did not fit into the canvas that suited Rimsky-Korsakov in the main. Such a lack of understanding of Mussorgsky's orchestral thinking and style (to which he, indeed, came almost self-taught) was explained by the fact that the latter was strikingly unlike the lushly decorative aesthetics of orchestral presentation, characteristic of the second half of the 19th century - and, especially, of Rimsky-Korsakov himself. Unfortunately, the conviction cultivated by him (and his followers) about the alleged "shortcomings" of Mussorgsky's musical style for a long time - almost a century ahead - began to dominate the academic tradition of Russian music.

To an even greater extent, the skepticism of colleagues and contemporaries touched on Mussorgsky's next musical drama - the opera Khovanshchina on the theme of historical events in Russia at the end of the 17th century (the split and the Streltsy revolt), written by M. on his own script and text. He wrote this work with long breaks, and by the time of his death it remained unfinished. (Among the currently existing editions of the opera, performed by other composers, the closest to the original can be considered the orchestration by Shostakovich and the completion of the last act of the opera, made by Stravinsky.) Both the idea of ​​this work and its scale are unusual. Compared to Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina is not just a drama of one historical person (through which the philosophical themes of power, crime, conscience and retribution are revealed), but already a kind of “impersonal” historiosophical drama in which, in the absence of a pronounced “ central" character (characteristic of the standard operatic dramaturgy of that time), whole layers of folk life are revealed and the theme of the spiritual tragedy of the whole people, which takes place when their traditional historical and way of life is broken, is raised. To emphasize this genre feature of the opera "Khovanshchina", Mussorgsky gave it the subtitle "folk musical drama".

Both of Mussorgsky's musical dramas won a relatively quick worldwide recognition after the composer's death, and to this day they are among the most frequently performed works of Russian music all over the world. (Their international success was greatly facilitated by the admiring attitude of such composers as Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky - as well as the entrepreneurial activity of Sergei Diaghilev, who staged them for the first time abroad at the beginning of the 20th century in his Russian Seasons in Paris.) Nowadays, most opera theaters around the world tend to stage both Mussorgsky's operas in urtext editions as close as possible to the author's. At the same time, in different theaters there are different author's editions of Boris Godunov (either the first or the second).

M. was little inclined to music in "finished" forms (symphonic, chamber, etc.). Of the orchestral works of M., in addition to those already mentioned, the “Intermezzo” (composed in the city, instrumented in the city), built on a theme reminiscent of the music of the 18th century, and published among the posthumous works of M., with the instrumentation of Rimsky- Korsakov. The orchestral fantasy "Night on Bald Mountain" (the material of which was subsequently included in the opera "Sorochinsky Fair") was also completed and instrumented by N. Rimsky-Korsakov and performed with great success in St. Petersburg; this is a brightly colorful picture of the "coven of the spirits of darkness" and "the magnificence of Chernobog."

Another outstanding work of Mussorgsky is “Pictures at an Exhibition”, written for piano in 1874, as musical illustrations-episodes for watercolors by V. A. Hartmann. The form of this work is a “through” suite-rondo with sections soldered together, where the main theme-refrain (“Promenade”) expresses the change of moods when walking from one picture to another, and the episodes between this theme are the very images of the paintings in question. This work has repeatedly inspired other composers to create its orchestral editions, the most famous of which belongs to Maurice Ravel (one of Mussorgsky's most staunch admirers).

In the 19th century, M.'s works were published by the firm V. Bessel and Co. in St. Petersburg; a lot was also published in Leipzig by the firm of M. P. Belyaev (see its catalog in 1999). In the 20th century, urtext editions of M.'s works began to appear in their original versions, based on a thorough study of primary sources. The pioneer of such activity was the Russian musicologist P. Ya. Lamm, who first published the urtext claviers Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina, the author's editions of all vocal and piano works by M.

The works of Mussorgsky, in many respects anticipating a new era, had a tremendous influence on the composers of the 20th century. The attitude to the musical fabric as an expressive extension of human speech and the coloristic nature of its harmonic language played an important role in the formation of the "impressionistic" style of C. Debussy and M. Ravel (by their own admission!), Mussorgsky's style, dramaturgy and imagery greatly influenced the works of L. Janacek, I. Stravinsky, D. Shostakovich (it is characteristic that they are all composers of Slavic culture), A. Berg (the dramaturgy of his opera "Wozzeck" on the principle of "scene-fragment" is very close to "Boris Godunov"), O. Messiaen and many others.

Major works

• "Boris Godunov" (1869, 2nd edition 1872)
• "Khovanshchina" (1872-80, completed by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, 1883)
• "Kalistrat",
• "Orphan"
• "Sorochinsky Fair" (1874-80, completed by Ts. A. Cui, 1916),
• piano cycle "Pictures at an Exhibition" (1874),
• vocal cycle "Children's" (1872),
• vocal cycle "Without the Sun" (1874),
• vocal cycle "Songs and Dances of Death" (1877)
• symphonic poem "Night on Bald Mountain"

Memory

Streets named after Mussorgsky in cities

Monuments to Mussorgsky in cities

• Karevo village

Other objects

• Ural State Conservatory
• Opera and Ballet Theater in St. Petersburg
• Musical College in St. Petersburg

Bibliography

• Roerich N. K. Mussorgsky // Artists of Life. - Moscow: International Center of the Roerichs, 1993. - 88 p.
• V. V. Stasov, article in Vestnik Evropy (May and June).
• V. V. Stasov, "Perov and M." (“Russian Antiquity”, 1883, vol. XXXVIII, pp. 433-458);
• V. V. Stasov, "M. P. Mussorgsky. In memory of him ("Histor. Vestn.", 1886, March); his own, "In Memory of M." (St. Petersburg, 1885);
• V. Baskin, “M. P. M. Biographical. essay "(" Russ. Thought ", 1884, books 9 and 10; separately, M., 1887);
• S. Kruglikov, "M. and his" Boris Godunov ("Artist", 1890, No. 5);
• P. Trifonov, “Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky” (“Vestn. Evropy”, 1893, Dec.).
• Tumanina N., M. P. Mussorgsky, M. - L., 1939;
• Asafiev B.V., Izbr. works, vol. 3, M., 1954;
• Orlova A., Works and days of MP Mussorgsky. Chronicle of life and creativity, M., 1963
• Khubov G., Mussorgsky, M., 1969.
• Shlifshtein S. Mussorgsky. Painter. Time. Fate. M., 1975
• Rakhmanova M. Mussorgsky and his time. - Soviet music, 1980, No. 9-10
• MP Mussorgsky in the memoirs of his contemporaries. M., 1989

Links

About Modest Mussorgsky

• Mussorgsky Modest A site about Mussorgsky.
• Mussorgsky Modest A site about the life and work of the Russian composer.

Biography

Following that, Mussorgsky wrote several romances and set to work on the music for Sophocles' tragedy Oedipus; the last work was not completed, and only one choir from the music for Oedipus, performed in a concert by K. N. Lyadov in 1861, was published among the composer's posthumous works. Mussorgsky first chose Flaubert's Salammbô for operatic adaptation, but soon left this work unfinished, as well as an attempt to write music for the plot of Gogol's The Marriage.

Fame Mussorgsky brought the opera Boris Godunov, staged at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg in the city and immediately recognized as an outstanding work in some musical circles. This was already the second version of the opera, significantly changed dramaturgically after the repertory committee of the theater rejected its first version for being "unscenic". Over the next 10 years, "Boris Godunov" was given 15 times and then removed from the repertoire. Only at the end of November, "Boris Godunov" saw the light again - but already in the edition, redone by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, who "corrected" and re-instrumented the entire "Boris Godunov" at his discretion. In this form, the opera was staged on the stage of the Great Hall of the Musical Society (the new building of the Conservatory) with the participation of members of the Society of Musical Meetings. Firm Bessel and Co. in St. Petersburg. by this time had released a new clavier of Boris Godunov, in the preface to which Rimsky-Korsakov explains that the reasons that prompted him to undertake this alteration were the allegedly “bad texture” and “bad orchestration” of the author’s version of Mussorgsky himself. In Moscow, "Boris Godunov" was staged for the first time at the Bolshoi Theater in the city. In our time, interest in the author's editions of "Boris Godunov" is being revived.

Portrait by Repin

In 1875, Mussorgsky began the dramatic opera (“folk musical drama”) “Khovanshchina” (according to the plan of V.V. Stasov), while simultaneously working on a comic opera based on the plot of Gogol’s “Sorochinsky Fair”. Mussorgsky almost managed to finish the music and text of Khovanshchina - but, with the exception of two fragments, the opera was not instrumented; the latter was done by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, who at the same time finished Khovanshchina (again, with his own adaptations) and adapted it for the stage. The firm Bessel & Co. published the score of the opera and the clavier (g.). "Khovanshchina" was performed on the stage of the St. Petersburg Music and Drama Circle in the city, under the direction of S. Yu. Goldstein; on the stage of the Kononovsky Hall - in the city, by a private opera partnership; at Setov, in Kyiv, in the city. In 1960, the Soviet composer Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich made his own version of the opera Khovanshchina, in which Mussorgsky's opera is now being staged all over the world.

For the Sorochinsky Fair, Mussorgsky managed to compose the first two acts, as well as for the third act: The Dream of the Parubka (where he used a reworking of his symphonic fantasy Night on Bald Mountain, made for an unrealized collective work - the opera-ballet Mlada), Dumku Parasi and Gopak. The opera is staged in the editorial office of the outstanding musician Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin.

Mussorgsky was an unusually impressionable, enthusiastic, soft-hearted and vulnerable person. For all his external compliance and pliability, he was extremely firm in everything that concerned his creative convictions. Addiction to alcohol, which progressed strongly in the last decade of his life, acquired a destructive character for Mussorgsky's health, his life and the intensity of his work. As a result, after a series of failures in the service and the final dismissal from the ministry, Mussorgsky was forced to live on odd jobs and thanks to the support of friends.

Creativity belongs to a group of musical figures who strove - on the one hand - for formalized realism, on the other hand - for a colorful and poetic disclosure of words, texts and moods through music, flexibly following them. Mussorgsky's national thinking, as a composer, shows through both in his ability to handle folk songs, and in the very warehouse of his music, in its melodic, harmonic and rhythmic features, and finally, in the choice of subjects, mainly from Russian life. Mussorgsky is a hater of routine, for him there are no authorities in music; he paid little attention to the rules of musical grammar, seeing in them not the provisions of science, but only a collection of composing techniques of previous eras. Mussorgsky everywhere gave himself up to his ardent fantasy, everywhere he strove for novelty. Humorous music generally succeeded Mussorgsky, and in this genre he is diverse, witty and resourceful; one has only to recall his fairy tale about the "Goat", the story of the "Seminarian" pounding Latin, in love with the priest's daughter, "Picking Mushrooms" (May's text), "Feast".

Mussorgsky rarely dwells on "pure" lyrical themes, and they are not always given to him (his best lyrical romances are "Night", to the words of Pushkin, and "Jewish Melody", to the words of May); on the other hand, Mussorgsky's work is widely manifested in those cases when he turns to Russian peasant life. The following songs by Mussorgsky are noted for rich coloring: “Kalistrat”, “Lullaby of Eremushka” (words by Nekrasov), “Sleep, sleep, peasant son” (from Ostrovsky’s “Voevoda”), “Gopak” (from Shevchenko’s “Gaidamaks”), “Svetik Savishna "And" Mischievous "(both the latter - to the words of Mussorgsky himself) and many others. others; Mussorgsky very successfully found here a truthful and deeply dramatic musical expression for that heavy, hopeless grief that is hidden under the external humor of the lyrics.

A strong impression is made by the expressive recitation of the songs “Orphan” and “Forgotten” (based on the plot of the famous painting by V.V. Vereshchagin).

In such a seemingly narrow field of music as "romances and songs", Mussorgsky managed to find completely new, original tasks, and at the same time apply new unique techniques for their implementation, which was vividly expressed in his vocal paintings from childhood life, under under the general title "Children's" (text by Mussorgsky himself), in 4 romances under the general title "Songs and Dances of Death" ( -; words by Golenishchev-Kutuzov; "Trepak" - a picture of a tipsy peasant freezing in a forest, in a snowstorm; "Lullaby "draws a mother at the bedside of a dying child; the other two: "Serenade" and "Commander"; all are very colorful and dramatic), in "King Saul" (for a male voice with piano accompaniment; text by Mussorgsky himself), in "The Defeat of Sennacherib" ( for choir and orchestra; words by Byron), in Joshua, successfully built on the original. Jewish topics.

Mussorgsky's specialty is vocal music. He is an exemplary reciter, grasping the slightest bends of the word; in his works, he often gives a wide place to the monologue-recitative warehouse of presentation. Akin to Dargomyzhsky in terms of his talent, Mussorgsky shares his views on musical drama inspired by Dargomyzhsky's opera The Stone Guest. However, unlike Dargomyzhsky, in his mature compositions Mussorgsky overcomes the pure "illustrativeness" of the music passively following the text, which is characteristic of this opera.

Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, based on Pushkin's drama of the same name (and also under the great influence of Karamzin's interpretation of this plot), is one of the best works of world musical theater, whose musical language and dramaturgy already belong to a new genre that took shape in the 19th century in various countries - to the genre of musical stage drama, on the one hand breaking with many routine conventions of the then traditional opera house, on the other hand, striving to reveal the dramatic action primarily by musical means. At the same time, both author's editions of "Boris Godunov" (1869 and 1874), differing significantly from each other in terms of dramaturgy, are essentially two equivalent author's solutions to the same plot. Especially innovative for its time was the first edition (which was not put on stage until the middle of the 20th century), which was very different from the then-dominated routine opera canons. That is why, during the years of Mussorgsky's life, the opinion prevailed that his "Boris Godunov" was distinguished by an "unsuccessful libretto", "many rough edges and blunders."

Such prejudices were in many respects characteristic primarily of Rimsky-Korsakov, who claimed that Mussorgsky was inexperienced in instrumentation, although it was sometimes not devoid of color and a successful variety of orchestral colors. This opinion was typical for Soviet textbooks of musical literature. In reality, Mussorgsky's orchestral writing simply did not fit into the canvas that suited Rimsky-Korsakov in the main. Such a lack of understanding of Mussorgsky's orchestral thinking and style (to which he, indeed, came almost self-taught) was explained by the fact that the latter was strikingly unlike the lushly decorative aesthetics of orchestral presentation, characteristic of the second half of the 19th century - and, especially, of Rimsky-Korsakov himself. Unfortunately, the conviction cultivated by him (and his followers) about the alleged "shortcomings" of Mussorgsky's musical style for a long time - almost a century ahead - began to dominate the academic tradition of Russian music.

Even more skeptical attitude of colleagues and contemporaries touched Mussorgsky's next musical drama - the opera "Khovanshchina" on the theme of historical events in Russia at the end of the 17th century (split and streltsy revolt), written by Mussorgsky on his own script and text. He wrote this work with long breaks, and by the time of his death it remained unfinished (among the currently existing editions of the opera, performed by other composers, the orchestration by Shostakovich and the completion of the last act of the opera, made by Stravinsky, can be considered the closest to the original). Unusual and the idea of ​​this work, and its scale. Compared to Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina is not just a drama of one historical person (through which the philosophical themes of power, crime, conscience and retribution are revealed), but already a kind of “impersonal” historiosophical drama in which, in the absence of a pronounced “ central" character (characteristic of the standard operatic dramaturgy of that time), whole layers of folk life are revealed and the theme of the spiritual tragedy of the whole people, which takes place when their traditional historical and way of life is broken, is raised. To emphasize this genre feature of the opera "Khovanshchina", Mussorgsky gave it the subtitle "folk musical drama".

Both Mussorgsky's musical dramas won a relatively quick worldwide recognition after the composer's death, and to this day they are among the most frequently performed works of Russian music all over the world (their international success was greatly facilitated by the admiring attitude of such composers as Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky - as well as the entrepreneurial activities of Sergei Diaghilev, who staged them for the first time abroad at the beginning of the 20th century in his Russian Seasons in Paris). Nowadays, most of the world's opera houses strive to stage both Mussorgsky's operas in urtext editions that are as close as possible to the author's. At the same time, in different theaters there are different author's editions of Boris Godunov (either the first or the second).

Mussorgsky had little inclination towards music in "finished" forms (symphonic, chamber, etc.). Of Mussorgsky's orchestral works, in addition to those already mentioned, the Intermezzo (composed in, instrumented in) deserves attention, built on a theme reminiscent of the music of the 18th century, and published among Mussorgsky's posthumous works, with Rimsky-Korsakov's instrumentation. The orchestral fantasy Night on Bald Mountain (the material of which was subsequently included in the opera Sorochinskaya Fair) was also completed and instrumented by N. Rimsky-Korsakov and performed with great success in St. Petersburg; this is a brightly colorful picture of the "coven of the spirits of darkness" and "the magnificence of Chernobog."

Another outstanding work of Mussorgsky is “Pictures at an Exhibition”, written for piano in 1874, as musical illustrations-episodes for watercolors by V. A. Hartmann. The form of this work is a “through” suite-rondo with sections soldered together, where the main theme-refrain (“Promenade”) expresses the change of moods when walking from one picture to another, and the episodes between this theme are the very images of the paintings in question. This work has repeatedly inspired other composers to create its orchestral editions, the most famous of which belongs to Maurice Ravel (one of Mussorgsky's most staunch admirers).

In the 19th century, Mussorgsky's works were published by the firm V. Bessel and Co. in St. Petersburg; much was also published in Leipzig by the firm of MP Belyaev. In the 20th century, urtext editions of Mussorgsky's works in original versions began to appear, based on a thorough study of primary sources. The pioneer of such activity was the Russian musicologist P. Ya. Lamm, who for the first time published the urtext claviers Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, the author's editions of all Mussorgsky's vocal and piano works.

The works of Mussorgsky, in many respects anticipating a new era, had a tremendous influence on the composers of the 20th century. The attitude to the musical fabric as an expressive extension of human speech and the coloristic nature of its harmonic language played an important role in the formation of the "impressionistic" style of C. Debussy and M. Ravel (by their own admission), Mussorgsky's style, dramaturgy and imagery greatly influenced creativity L. Janacek, I. Stravinsky, D. Shostakovich (characteristically, they are all composers of Slavic culture), A. Berg (the dramaturgy of his opera "Wozzeck" on the principle of "scene-fragment" is very close to "Boris Godunov"), O Messiaen and many others.

Major works

• "Boris Godunov" (1869, 2nd edition 1872)
• "Khovanshchina" (1872-80, completed by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, 1883)
• "Kalistrat",
• "Orphan"
• "Sorochinsky Fair" (1874-80, completed by Ts. A. Cui, 1916),
• satirical romances "Seminarian" and "Classic" (1870)
• vocal cycle "Children's" (1872),
• piano cycle "Pictures at an Exhibition" (1874),
• vocal cycle "Without the Sun" (1874),
• vocal cycle "Songs and Dances of Death" (1877)
• symphonic poem "Night on Bald Mountain"

Memory

Monument at the grave of Mussorgsky

Streets named after Mussorgsky in cities

Monuments to Mussorgsky in cities

• Karevo village

Other objects

• Ural State Conservatory in Yekaterinburg.
• Opera and ballet theater in St. Petersburg.
• Musical school in St. Petersburg.

see also

Bibliography

Antonina Vasilyeva. Russian labyrinth. Biography of M. P. Mussorgsky. Pskov regional printing house, 2008.

• Roerich N. K. Mussorgsky // Artists of Life. - Moscow: International Center of the Roerichs, 1993. - 88 p.
• V. V. Stasov, article in Vestnik Evropy (May and June).
• V. V. Stasov, "Perov and M." (“Russian Antiquity”, 1883, vol. XXXVIII, pp. 433-458);
• V. V. Stasov, "M. P. Mussorgsky. In memory of him ("Histor. Vestn.", 1886, March); his own, "In Memory of M." (St. Petersburg, 1885);
• V. Baskin, “M. P. M. Biographical. essay "(" Russ. Thought ", 1884, books 9 and 10; separately, M., 1887);
• S. Kruglikov, "M. and his" Boris Godunov ("Artist", 1890, No. 5);
• P. Trifonov, “Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky” (“Vestn. Evropy”, 1893, Dec.).
• Tumanina N., M. P. Mussorgsky, M. - L., 1939;
• Asafiev B.V., Izbr. works, vol. 3, M., 1954;
• Orlova A., Works and days of MP Mussorgsky. Chronicle of life and creativity, M., 1963
• Khubov G., Mussorgsky, M., 1969.
• Shlifshtein S. Mussorgsky. Painter. Time. Fate. M., 1975
• Rakhmanova M. Mussorgsky and his time. - Soviet music, 1980, No. 9-10
• MP Mussorgsky in the memoirs of his contemporaries. M., 1989

Links

• Mussorgsky Modest A site about Mussorgsky.
• Mussorgsky Modest A site about the life and work of the Russian composer.
• Mussorgsky Modest Creative portrait at Belcanto.Ru.
• Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky: Sheet music at the International Music Score Library Project
• Mussorgsky Modest Photo of Mussorgsky's grave.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

Choirs

"Jesus Nun", choir for soloists, choir and piano;; cit.: 1866 (1st ed.), 1877 (2nd ed.); dedicated to: Nadezhda Nikolaevna Rimskaya-Korsakova; ed.: 1883 (edited and arranged by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov).

"March of Shamil", for tenor, bass, choir and orchestra; cit.: 1859; dedicated to: Alexander Petrovich Arseniev.

"The Defeat of Sennacherib" for choir and orchestra to words by J. N. G. Byron from "Jewish Melodies"; cit.: 1867 (1st ed.), 1874 (2nd ed.; Mussorgsky's postscript: "The second exposition, improved according to the remarks of Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov"); dedicated to: Mily Alekseevich Balakirev (1st ed.); Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov (2nd ed.); ed.; 1871 (1st edition for choir and piano).

“Oh, you, drunken black grouse” (From the adventures of Pakhomych), a song to the words of the composer; cit.: 1866; Dedicated to: Vladimir Vasilyevich Nikolsky; ed.: 1926 (edited by A. N. Rimsky-Korsakov).
“Without the Sun”, a vocal cycle to the words of A. A. Golenishchev-Kutuzov (1. “Within four walls”; 2. “You didn’t recognize me in the crowd”; 3. “An idle noisy day is over”; 4. “Miss me” ; 5. "Elegy"; 6. "Over the river"); cit.: 1874; dedicated to: A. A. Golenishchev-Kutuzov; ed.: 1874.
"Merry Hour", a drinking song to the words of A.V., Koltsov; cit.: 1858; dedicated<: Василию Васильевичу Захарьину; изд.: 1923.
"Evening song" to the words of A. N. Pleshcheev; cit.: 1871; Dedicated to: Sofia Vladimirovna Serbina (Fortunato); ed.: 1912 (in the free edition of V. G. Karatygin), 1929 (ed.).
"Vision", a romance to the words of A. A. Golenishchev-Kutuzov; cit.: 1877; dedicated to: Elizaveta Andreevna Gulevich; ed.: 1882 (edited by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov), 1934 (ed.).
“Where are you, little star”, a song to the words of N.P. Grekov; cit.: 1858; dedicated: I, L. Grunberg; ed.: 1909 (only with French text), 1911 (with Russian and German text, edited by V. G. Karatygin).
"Gopak", a song to the words from the poem "Gaidamaki" by T. G. Shevchenko in the lane. L. A. Meya; cit.: 1866; Dedicated to: Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov; ed.: 1933.
“The Soul Quietly Flew Up the Heavens”, a romance to the words of A. K. Tolstoy; cit.: 1877; ed.: 1882 (edited by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov), 1934 (ed.).
“Children’s” (Episodes from a Child’s Life), a vocal cycle to the words of the composer (1. “With the Nanny”; op.: 1868; dedicated: A. S. Dargomyzhsky; 2. “In the Corner”, op.: 1870; dedicated .: V. A. Hartman, 3. "Beetle", op.: 1870, dedicated: V. V. Stasov, 4. "With a doll", lullaby, op.: 1870, dedicated: Tanya and Goge Mussorgsky; 5. “For the dream to come”, op.: 1870, dedicated to Sasha Cui); ed.: 1871 (No. 2, 3, 4), 1872 (in full) and 1907 (with the addition of the songs "Cat Sailor" and "I rode on a stick").
"Children's Song" to the words of L. A. May from "Russian Songs" (No. 2 "Nana") op.: 1868; ed.: 1871.
“The winds are blowing, violent winds”, a song to the words of A. V. Koltsov; cit.: 1864; Dedicated to: Vyacheslav Alekseevich Loginov; ed.: 1909 (Paris; only with French text), 1911 (edited by V. G. Karatygin), 1931 (ed.).
"Jewish Song" to the words of L. A. May (from "Song of Songs"); cit.: 1867;
dedicated to: Filaret Petrovich and Tatyana Pavlovna Mussorgsky; ed.: 1868

"Desire", a romance to the words of G. Heine in the lane. M. I. Mikhailova; cit.: 1866; dedicated to: Nadezhda Petrovna Opochinina (“in memory of her trial against me”); ed.: 1911 (edited by V. G. Karatygin), 1933 (ed.).
"Forgotten", vocal ballad to the words of A. A. Golenishchev-Kutuzov "from Vereshchagin"; cit.: 1874; dedicated to: V. V. Vereshchagin; ed.: 1874 (not allowed to be published) and 1877.
"Evil Death", grave letter for voice with piano. to the words of the composer; cit.: 1874 (under the impression of the death of N. P. Opochinina); ed.: 1912 (edited by V. G. Karatygin, who completed the last 12 measures).
“Many have grown out of my tears”, a romance to the words of G. Heine (translated by M. I. Mikhailov); cit.: 1866; dedicated to: Vladimir Petrovich Opochinin; ed.: 1933.
"Kalistrat", a song to the words of N. A. Nekrasov (slightly modified); cit.: 1864; dedicated to: Alexander Petrovich Opochinin; ed.: 1883 (edited by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov), 1931 (ed.).
"Classic", music. a pamphlet on the words of the composer; cit.: 1867; dedicated to: Nadezhda Petrovna Opochinina; ed.: 1870.
"Goat", a secular fairy tale to the words of the composer; cit.: 1867; dedicated to: Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin; ed.: 1868.
"Lullaby of Eremushki", a song to the words of N. A. Nekrasov; cit.: 1868; dedicated: "To the great teacher of musical truth Alexander Sergeevich Dargomyzhsky"; ed.: 1871.

"Cat Sailor", a song to the words of the composer for the cycle "Children's" (see), No. 6; cit.: 1872; ed.: 1882 (edited by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, together with the song “I went on a stick” under the general title “At the Dacha”) and 1907 (as No. 6 of the “Children's” cycle).
“Leaves rustled sadly”, music. story to the words of A. N. Pleshcheev; cit.: 1859; dedicated to: Mikhail Osipovich Mikeshin; ed.: 1909 (Paris, with one French text), 1911 (with Russian text, edited by V. G. Karatygin), 1931 (ed.).
"Baby", a romance to the words of A. N. Pleshcheev; cit.: 1866; dedicated: L. V. Azaryeva, ed.: 1923.
“I have many houses and gardens”, a romance to the words of A. V. Koltsov; cit.: 1863; dedicated to: Platon Timofeevich Borispolts; ed.: 1923.

"Prayer", a romance to the words of M. Yu. Lermontov; cit.: 1865; dedicated to: Yulia Ivanovna Mussorgskaya; ed.: 1923.
"Incomprehensible", a romance to the words of the composer; cit.: 1875; dedicated to: Maria Izmailovna Kostyurina; ed.: 1911 (edited by V. G. Karatygin), 1931 (ed.).
“But if I could meet you”, romance to the words of V. S. Kurochkin; cit.: 1863; dedicated to: Nadezhda Petrovna Opochinina; ed.: 1923, 1931 (ed.).

"Night", fantasy on the words of A. S. Pushkin; cit.: 1864 (1st ed.), 1871
(2nd edition with a free presentation of Pushkin's poem); dedicated to: Nadezhda Petrovna Opochinina; ed.: 1871 (2nd ed.), 1923 (1st ed.), 1931 (author's ed.). "Mischievous", a song to the words of the composer; cit.: 1867; Dedicated to: Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov; ed.: 1871.
“Oh, is it an honor for a young man to spin flax”, a song to the words of A. K. Tolstoy;
cit.: 1877; ed.: 1882 (edited by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov), 1934 (ed.).

"Les Miserable", the experience of recitative to the words of Eve. G. M.; cit.: 1865; ed.: 1923.

“Why, tell me, soul-maiden”, a song to the words of an unknown author; cit.: 1858; Dedicated to: Zinaida Afanasyevna Burtseva; ed.: 1867. “Songs and Dances of Death”, a vocal cycle to the words of A. A. Golenishchev-Kutuzov (1. “Lullaby”; op.: 1875; dedicated: Anna Yakovlevna Petrova-Vorobyeva; 2. “Serenade”; cit.: 1875; dedicated: Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova; 3. "Trepak"; cit.: 1875; dedicated: Osip Afanasyevich Petrov; 4. "Commander"; cit.: 1877; dedicated: Arseny Arkadyevich Golenishchev-Kutuzov) ; ed.: 1882 (edited by I. A. Rimsky-Korsakov), 1928 (ed.).
"Song of the Elder" to the words of J. V. Goethe (from "Wilhelm Meister"); cit.: 1863; dedicated to: Alexander Petrovich Opochinin; ed.: 1909 (Paris, with one French text), 1911 (with Russian text, edited by V. G. Karatygin), 1931 (ed.). "The Song of Mephistopheles" to the words of J. V. Goethe (from "Faust" in the lane, A. N. Strugovshikov); cit.: 1879; Dedicated to: Daria Mikhailovna Leonova; ed.: 1883 (edited by I. A. Rimsky-Korsakov), 1934 (ed.). "Feast", a story for voice and piano. to the words of A. V. Koltsov; op.:
1867; Dedicated to: Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova; ed.: 1868. “For Mushrooms”, a song to the words of L. A. May; cit.: 1867; Dedicated to: Vladimir Vasilyevich Nikolsky; ed.: 1868. “I rode on a stick”, a song to the words of the composer for the cycle “Children's” (see), No. 7; cit.: 1872; dedicated to: Dmitry Vasilyevich and Poliksena Stepanovna Stasov; ed.: 1882 (as edited by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, together with the song "Cat Sailor" under the general title "In the Country") and 1907 (as No. 7 of the "Children's" cycle). “Across the Don, the garden is blooming”, a song to the words of A. V. Koltsov; cit.: 1867;
ed.: 1883 (edited by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov), 1929 (ed.). "Rayok", music, joke for voice with piano. to the words of the composer; op.:
1870; Dedicated to: Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov; ed.: 1871. “Disperses, Parts”, a song to the words of A. K. Tolstoy; cit.: 1877; dedicated to: Olga Andreevna Golenishcheva-Kutuzova; ed.: 1882 (edited by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov), 1934 (ed.). "Svetik Savishna", a song to the words of the composer; cit.: 1866; dedicated:
Caesar Antonovich Cui; ed.: 1867. "Seminarian", a song to the words of the composer; cit.: 1866; Dedicated to: Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova; ed.: 1870.
"Orphan", a song to the words of the composer; cit.: 1868; dedicated to: Ekaterina Sergeevna Protopopova; ed.: 1871,
"Arrogance", a song to the words of A. K. Tolstoy; cit.: 1877; dedicated to: Anatoly Evgrafovich Palchikov; ed.: 1882 (edited by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov).
“Sleep, sleep, peasant son”, a lullaby to the words of A. N. Ostrovsky (from the comedy “Voevoda”); cit.: 1865; dedicated: In memory of Yulia Ivanovna Mussorgskaya; ed.: 1871 (2nd ed.), 1922 (1st ed.).
"Wanderer", a romance to the words of A. N. Pleshcheev; cit.: 1878; ed.: 1883 (edited by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov), 1934 (ed.).
"White-flanked Chatter", a joke for voice with piano. to the words of A. S. Pushkin (from the poems “White-flanked Chatter” and “The Bells Are Ringing” - with slight changes); cit.: 1867; dedicated to: Alexander Petrovich and Nadezhda Petrovna Opochinin; ed.: 1871.
"King Saul", Hebrew melody to words by J. N. G. Byron in trans.
P. A. Kozlova; cit.: 1863 (1st and 2nd ed.); dedicated to: Alexander Petrovich Opochinin (1st ed.); ed.: 1871 (2nd ed.), 1923 (1st ed.).
“What are the words of love to you”, romance to the words of A. N. Ammosov; cit.: 1860; dedicated to: Maria Vasilievna Shilovskaya; ed.: 1923.
“Meines Herzens Sehnsuchb (“The Desire of the Heart”), a romance on a German text by an unknown author; cit.: 1858; dedicated to: Malvina Bamberg; ed.: 1907.