How the romance “Burn, burn my star. "Burn, burn, my star": debunking the legends about one of the most famous romances

"Burn, burn, my star…"- Russian romance by Pyotr Bulakhov to the words of Vladimir Chuevsky. One of the most famous and popular Russian romances. Has many arrangements. The modern "academic" performance of the romance is carried out according to the arrangement of V. Sabinin. The history of the creation of the romance was overgrown with many implausible legends in connection with its ban as "White Guard" in the early years. Soviet power.

History of creation

The romance was written in 1846 by the composer Pyotr Bulakhov to the words of Vladimir Chuevsky,

To the 75th anniversary of the birth of Anna German Music by Pyotr Petrovich Bulakhov Arranged by Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sabinin Lyrics by Vasily Pavlovich Chuevsky There are...

student of the law faculty of Moscow University, and was submitted to a creative competition dedicated to the 700th anniversary of Moscow in 1847. Perhaps the "theme" of the romance was suggested by the astronomer J. Le Verrier's prediction of the existence of the planet Neptune in 1846. A few months later, the planet was discovered by Johann Galle.

The second wave of popularity of the romance dates back to the beginning of the First World War and was associated with its arrangement, performed by the singer Vladimir Sabinin, and recorded on a disc in 1915, thanks to which the romance immediately became popular and carried patriotic overtones.

With the establishment of Soviet power, the romance was banned as White Guard, popularity returned to it only in the 1950s and 60s, it was indicated that “folk music and words”, and then “P. Bulakhov’s music, folk words”.

Thanks to the ban on performance and the subsequent comments “folk music and words”, the history of the creation of the romance has several implausible versions. In particular, the words are attributed to N. Gumilyov and I. Bunin. In connection with the popularization of Admiral A. Kolchak, the most common erroneous version attributes the creation of the romance to him, as stated by most historians. Perhaps this is due to the "White Guard" subtext of the romance.

Romance text

The text of the romance includes several variations of performance, giving rise to a spirit of perception that is different in meaning.

One of the studies of Russian romances pointed to the distortion true text this romance. As an example, the author gave an example of true text and distortion.

First couplet:

Burn, burn, my star,

Magically blessed.

You will forever not sunset,

There will never be another.

Distortion:

Burn, burn, my star,

The star of love (Shine the star) is welcome.

You are my only cherished,

There will never be a friend (their / oh).

Second couplet:

Will the night fall to the clear land,

There are many bright stars in the clouds.

But you are alone, my beautiful,

You burn in the midnight rays of me.

Distortion:

Will it come down clear night on earth,

There are many stars shining in the sky.

But you are alone, my beautiful,

You burn in the rays that please me.

Third couplet:

Star of love, star of magic,

Star of my bygone days.

You will be forever the same

In my awakened soul.

Distortion:

Blessed star of hope

Star (of my magical/love of magical/past best/my past) days.

You will be forever (unforgettable \ unforgettable),

In my (exhausted / longing) soul. (in one of the editions of the early 20th century: " In my tormented chest")

Last couplet:

your rays, obscure Force,

My whole life is illuminated

Will I die, and over the grave,

Shine, shine, my star.

distortion:

Your rays heavenly power ,

My whole life is illuminated.

Will I die - you are over the grave,

Burn, burn, my star.

“Burn, burn, my star” is attributed by some experts to Admiral A.V. Kolchak, however, many are skeptical of this version, since the romance and the admiral do not coincide at all. It is more likely that Kolchak, the famous navigator and a very romantic nature, simply loved this romance. The primary source of the tune that has survived to this day is the original melody of the composer Pyotr Bulakhov, however, the romance received a new life before the First World War, when the singer and composer Vladimir Sabinin significantly reworked the melody and part of the romance, recording it on a record in a new form and performing with it on concerts.

It was in such a revised version that “Burn, Burn, My Star” reached modern music lovers.

From 1920 to 1930, the romance was banned and performed, since it was considered White Guard. Only in the mid-1940s legendary singers I. Kozlovsky, S. Lemeshev and G. Vinogradov dared to include it in their repertoire, thereby rehabilitating the song in the eyes of society. In 1944, a record saw the light of day with the performance of the romance by Georgy Vinogradov and the indication of the authorship of a certain Vasily Chuevsky. According to Vinogradov, such a move was made in order to refute the legend about the authorship of the White Guard Kolchak. This was the only reason why Chuevsky was listed as the author of the romance - in fact, he really was a co-author of some of Bulakhov's works, but, in, from the publication “Shine, shine, my star”, his name was always mentioned when publishing joint work with other authors.

Path and history of romance

For years the romance “Burn, burn, my star” was performed exclusively by tenors, but this tradition was broken by the singer Boris Shtokolov, who sang it in bass and was a huge success. It was in the performance of Shtokolov that the romance fell in love with modern fans. this genre and gained many new fans. The Pole Anna German also made a significant contribution to its popularity, recording it in Moscow together with an instrumental ensemble.

In addition to Admiral Kolchak, the authorship of the romance "Burn, burn, my star" was also attributed to famous poet Gumilev.

BURN, BURN, MY STAR…

Music by Peter Bulakhov
Words by Vasily Chuevsky

Burn, burn, my star,
Burn, hello star!
You are my only cherished
There will never be another.

Many stars shine in the sky
But you are alone, my beautiful,

Blessed star of hope
You will be forever unstoppable
In my yearning soul!

Your rays by heavenly power
My whole life is illuminated.
Will I die - you are over the grave
Burn, burn, my star!

The processing by V. A. Sabinin gained popularity. Successfully performed by Boris Shtokolov and Anna German.

Anthology of Russian romance. Golden age. / Aut. foreword and biogr. articles by V. Kalugin. - M.: Eksmo, 2006.

This is the original text with which the romance was published in 1868. The poem could have been written earlier - Chuevsky did not publish his poems, all of them are known only from music publications. Today, the romance is usually performed with a slightly modified text. In the collections there are two close versions of the melody - apparently, one is the original one, and the other, more familiar - Sabinin's processing (although the name of the processor is almost never indicated). In some publications, it is even given: "music unknown author" or "words by an unknown author", although both authors are known.

When repeated in the last verse, it is often sung:

Will I die - you are over the grave
Shine, shine, my star!

Pyotr Petrovich Bulakhov (1822-1885), composer, was born in the family of a famous Moscow opera singer. By the end of his life he was paralyzed, his property and many manuscripts perished in a fire. Last years spent in the Kuskovo estate of Count Sheremetev, who sheltered him. Romances were also written by his brother Pavel Petrovich Bulakhov, an operatic tenor.

Habitual tune:

Burn, burn, my star,
Hello Star of Love!
You are my only cherished
There will never be another.

Will the clear night fall on the earth,
There are many stars shining in the sky.
But you are alone, my beautiful,
You burn in the rays that please me.

Star of the Past better days,
You will be forever unforgettable
In my tormented soul.

Your rays by heavenly power
My whole life is illuminated.
Will I die - you are over the grave
Shine, shine, my star!

The last two couplet lines are repeated

Shadows of the Past: Ancient Romances. For voice and guitar / Comp. A. P. Pavlinov, T. P. Orlova. - St. Petersburg: Composer St. Petersburg, 2007.

Another edition:

Burn, burn, my star! Comp. and music. editor S. V. Pyankova. - Smolensk: Rusich, 2004, p. 91.

OPTIONS (3)

1. Burn, burn, my star

Music by P. Bulakhov
Words by V. Chuevsky

Burn, burn, my star,
Hello Star of Love!
You are my only cherished
There will never be another!

Star of love, star of magic,
Star of the best days gone by!
You will be forever unforgettable
In my tormented soul!

Your rays of obscure power
My whole life is illuminated;
Will I die, are you over the grave
Shine, shine, my star!

From the repertoire of Keto Japaridze (1901-1968)

Black eyes: Old Russian romance. - M .: Eksmo Publishing House, 2004.

2. Burn, burn, my star

Burn, burn, my star,
Hello Star of Love!
You are my only cherished
There will never be another.

Will the clear night fall on the earth,

But you are alone, my beautiful,
You burn in the rays that please me.

Blessed star of hope
Star of love of magical days,
You will be forever unstoppable
In my yearning soul!

Your rays by heavenly power
My whole life is illuminated
Will I die - you are over the grave
Shine, shine, my star!

unknown source

3. Burn, burn, my star

Music by P. Bulakhov
Words by V. Chuevsky

Burn, burn, my star,
Hello Star of Love!
You are my only cherished
There will never be another.

Will the clear night fall on the earth,
There are many stars in the sky.
But you are alone, my beautiful,
You burn in the rays that please me.

Star love magic,
Star of the best days gone by.
You will be forever unforgettable
In my tormented soul!

Your rays by heavenly power
My whole life is illuminated.
Will I die - you are over the grave
Burn, burn, my star!

Masterpieces of Russian romance / Ed.-comp. N. V. Abelmas. - M.: AST Publishing House LLC; Donetsk: "Stalker", 2004. - (Songs for the soul).

1. (four sheets)

2. (three sheets)

Kulev V. V., Takun F. I. The Golden Collection of Russian Romance. Arranged for voice with piano (guitar) accompaniment. Moscow: Modern music, 2003.

As for the chords for the first two bars, there is an objection from site visitors that instead of D7 and G it is more logical to play Am and Em.

3. (two sheets)

Old Russian romance. 111 masterpieces. For voice and piano. In four editions. Issue. I. Publishing house "Composer St. Petersburg", 2002.

The history of the creation of the romance was overgrown with many implausible legends in connection with its ban as "White Guard" in the early years of Soviet power.

Thanks to the ban on performance and the subsequent comments “folk music and words”, the history of the creation of the romance has several implausible versions. In particular, the words are attributed to N. Gumilyov and I. Bunin. In connection with the popularization of Admiral A. Kolchak, the most common erroneous version attributes the creation of the romance to him, as even historians claim. Perhaps this is due to the "White Guard" subtext of the romance.
The authorship of the romance has long been attributed entirely different people. But due to the fact that all these people were extremely undesirable, the romance also went “underground.” But when they “got” to the real authors, they also remembered the stars.

The romance is much older. His writing was preceded by two events. The first was the discovery of the planet Neptune in September 1846. The event was certainly discussed in Russian society, especially since Neptune was discovered thanks to mathematical calculations. Secondly, on the eve of the 700th anniversary of Moscow, the authorities announced all sorts of creative contests, but it was Christmas time, and the star mentioned more than once in the song could well be associated with the Christmas star.

It is not known at this time whether any of the events described affected the main image in a romance written at the same time. By the way, the romance won nothing in any competition. Maybe none of the above events affected. The authors have now been established precisely: they are Russian composer Pyotr Bulakhov and law student Vladimir Chuevsky. This creative union is known for many of its compositions. But why exactly is the romance “Burn, burn, my star” overgrown with conjectures and was forbidden for a long time?

Burn, burn, my star,
Hello Star of Love!
You are my only cherished
There will never be another.

First, about the author of the music. Pyotr Petrovich Bulakhov was born presumably in 1822 (the date needs to be clarified), died on December 2, 1885. His name may be familiar to many from such widely performed romances in our time as “The troika rushes, the troika jumps”, “My bells”, “No, I don’t love you”, “Do not awaken memories”, “Here is a big village on the way ”, “In a difficult moment of life”, “I go out alone on the road”. There are about a hundred romances in total, but the total number is unknown. There was confusion brother The composer also wrote romances, and both had the same initials.

Bulakhov's talent flourished in musical family(almost all relatives were famous opera singers). But the fate of Peter Bulakhov is a chain of continuous hardships and trials. Need, the inability to register a marriage with a beloved woman who bore him children, since her lawful husband did not give her a divorce. A fire in which all property was burned, as well as manuscripts that still burn. Illness leading to paralysis.

P. Bulakhov spent his last years in the Kuskovo estate of the Sheremetevs near Moscow. There, the Sheremetevs - admirers of the composer's work - allocated him a small house. He was remembered during his lifetime, he was remembered after his death: romances were performed not only on stage, but literally in every home. All major newspapers responded to the death of P. Bulakhov, the Moscow Conservatory took over the funeral, although the composer had nothing to do with it - with early childhood I studied at home due to illness.

Very little is known about the author of the words - V. Chuevsky. Yes, and there are still doubts about the exact authorship - for too long in the USSR romance was banned. In the first post-war editions of sheet music and performances of the romance, it could even mean: words and music of folk or unknown authors.

I would like to mention one more author of this romance - this is a music arranger and one of the most famous performers Romance Vladimir Sabinin (1885-1930). It was thanks to his recordings of the First World War period that the romance "Burn, Burn, My Star" became especially popular. And it has already begun to be perceived unambiguously: it is not about worldly love that is being discussed here. Against the backdrop of wartime, the opposition of life and death, the image of the star received a deeper interpretation. And in civil war and directly the image of the star began to be associated with the image of Russia.
It is clear that it was about "lost Russia", it is clear that this romance, in contrast to the "White Acacia" ("We will boldly go into battle"), was sung exclusively by those who were on the losing side. And it is even more clear why the authorship of this romance was attributed in turn to I. Bunin, N. Gumilyov and A. Kolchak.

There were two stories about the latter. The first is that the admiral wrote it himself. The second is that he sang this romance before being shot.

Your rays by heavenly power

My whole life is illuminated.

Will I die - you are over the grave

Burn, burn, my star!

As for authorship, the question is already considered clarified. But whether Admiral Kolchak sang it before his execution, apparently, it will no longer be necessary to find out. But precisely because of these alleged facts related to the life and death of the admiral, the romance became another "enemy of the people", was considered White Guard and was banned for many years.

It would seem that such a patriotic theme, if the Star in the romance is considered the way it is now considered to be. But - no, the irrational fear of the vanquished was stronger. And if the Star is just love, then why was it forbidden? That means fear. And love for the motherland, it turns out, is right and wrong, ideologically alien. Or maybe earthly love between a man and a woman is ideologically alien?

Whatever this romance is about, the reaction of the authorities proves only one thing: art has some power. “Today you are dancing jazz”, “And tomorrow you will sing a romance”, all the same “you will betray your Motherland”, because it was supposed to sing. Eternal suspicion and distrust of their own citizens, characteristic of any totalitarian state.

In the USSR, the romance was "rescued" from oblivion by the singer Georgy Vinogradov in 1944 and ... the American film "War and Peace" in 1956. "Shine, Shine, My Star" is how it sounds in English.

Since then began new life, Bulakhov's romance is sung on stage, at feasts, and even in karaoke. And how not to sing - because a wonderful romance. Unusual. His story, of course, is sad, but we can never do without it.