Funeral of a doll analysis of the work. Analysis of the play “March of the Wooden Soldiers” from “Children’s Album” P

Municipal state-financed organization

additional education

Children's Art School No. 8

Ulyanovsk

Methodological development

"Methodological analysis of plays from

"Children's Album" by P.I. Tchaikovsky"

teacher of the highest qualification category

piano class

MBU DO DSHI No. 8

Chevacina Galina Aleksandrovna

201 6 G.

annotation

The work presents the history of the creation of the most famous and popular composition for children in close connection with the biography of the composer. The main part of the work provides an imaginative description of the plays and methodological recommendations for teachers in working on the works. .

1.Introduction………………………………………………………..………….………….2-4

2. Main part………………………………………………………………5-20

3. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….20

4. Literature……………………………………………………………….20-21

"Methodological analysis of plays from

"Children's Album" by P.I. Tchaikovsky"

I. Introduction

Musical language is very good at conveying feelings and moods. In order to “draw” something with the help of music or “tell” about something, composers resort to ordinary, verbal language. It could be just one word in the title of the play.

But this word guides our imagination. For example, in the play “The Lark's Song,” small figures in triplets and grace notes convey the chirping of birds.

All names and verbal explanations for musical works are called a program. And music that has a program is called program music. All works in the “Children's Album” collection are programmatic.

The first outstanding collection of music for children in Russian piano literature was “Children's Album” by P.I. Tchaikovsky. The appearance of this collection is not an accidental occurrence in creative biography composer. Tchaikovsky devoted a lot of time and effort to teaching. In addition to working at the Moscow Conservatory, he wrote a textbook on harmony and translated several works by Western European musicians, which could be useful in the education of Russian students.

"Children's Album" is distinguished not only by its enormous artistic value, but also extremely useful for educating students.

Returning to Russia after a trip abroad in the spring of 1878, Tchaikovsky visited the village. Kamenka his sister Alexandra Ilyinichna Davydova, who had 7 children. Pyotr Ilyich adored his nephews and nieces, he walked with them, arranged fireworks, musical performances, evening dances, took part in games, and enjoyed the spontaneity of children.

Tchaikovsky often listened to the children playing music, especially 7-year-old Volodya Davydov. He wrote with great warmth about his nephew to N.F. von Meck: “For his inimitably charming figure, when he plays, looks at the notes and counts, entire symphonies can be dedicated.”

It was to this Volodya Davydov that P.I. Tchaikovsky dedicated his “Children’s Album,” which enriched children’s musical literature. The cycle of piano pieces “Children’s Album,” op. 89 was written by P.I. Tchaikovsky in May 1878 and published by P. Jurgenson in October of the same year. On the title page of the first edition the full title of the cycle is: “Children's Album. A collection of light plays for children (imitation of Schumann). Composition by P. Tchaikovsky.”

Indeed, one can trace the connection between the “Children’s Album”

P.I. Tchaikovsky with a similar composition by R. Schumann “Album for Youth”. This is expressed not only in the choice of subjects (“March of the Soldiers” - and “March of the Wooden Soldiers”, “First Loss” - “Funeral of a Doll”, “Folk Song” - “Russian Song”, etc.), but also in the choice of means of musical incarnations. Both composers speak to children surprisingly clearly and simply and at the same time seriously, without any “adjustment”. The collections captivate with their lyricism. Like Schumann, Tchaikovsky in most of his plays enriches the musical fabric with elements of polyphony. But even in these works for children, the composers do not deviate from the basic principles of their piano style. Therefore, Tchaikovsky’s “Children’s Album” is perceived as Russian music, as a series of pictures dedicated to the everyday life of Russian children. Pyotr Ilyich strove to ensure that his music was lively and exciting, so he even showed interest in the external design of the publication of plays - in pictures, in the format of the collection.

Schumann's influence on Tchaikovsky's piano style can be seen in the similarities in texture, rhythm and dynamics. In “Album for Youth” and “Children’s Album” the plays are intonationally memorable, accessible to a child, contrasting in character, but united by one idea. Each play is a small story from the lives of children. When lined up together, they reflect the whole world. The programmatic nature of the collections makes them understandable and interesting for beginning pianists. With extraordinary sensitivity and a subtle understanding of child psychology, the composer reflected in the “Children's Album” the life and everyday life of the children of the environment that surrounded him every day.

In the “Children's Album” by P.I. Tchaikovsky there are 24 plays that are not connected by a single theme. Each play contains a specific plot, living poetic content. The collection captures a wide range of images. These are pictures of nature - “Winter Morning”, “Song of the Lark”, children’s games - “Game of Horses”, “Doll Illness”, “Funeral of a Doll”, “New Doll”, “March of the Tin Soldiers”, characters from Russian folk tales are depicted - “Nanny’s Tale”, “Baba Yaga”, Russian folk art - “Russian Song”, “A Man Plays the Harmonica”, “Kamarinskaya”, songs of other peoples - “Ancient French song", "Italian song", "German song", "Neapolitan song", European dances - "Waltz", "Mazurka", "Polka".

The works in the collection are written for children, so texture, fingering, harmony, articulation, dynamics and pedaling take into account the child’s performing abilities. Tchaikovsky wrote 19 of 24 plays in major keys, chords are intended for children's hands, dynamics from pp to f. Most plays are written in a simple two-part or three-part form.

Purpose of writing the work:

To analyze the program works of Russian composers for children using the example of “Children's Album” by P.I. Tchaikovsky.

Job objectives:

analyze the relevance of the collection;

reveal the figurative characteristics of the album's plays;

II. Main part

"Morning Reflection"

In the first edition, the play was called “Morning Prayer”, it resembles a saraband - strict four-voice, rhythmic figure - a quarter note with a dot - an eighth.

The bright and serious mood seems to warn that the story about children will take a serious tone. The piece is written in the key of G major. The character is calm, thoughtful, the texture with elements of polyphony, the form of an extended period with a large addition at the tonic organ point.

Articulation and dynamics should emphasize the expressiveness of the piece. It is important to achieve a soft, melodious legato sound in all voices.

You should especially work on the tonic organ point.

"Winter morning"

The play captures the picture of a snowy, frosty winter morning and at the same time conveys the psychological mood of the child. The piece begins with a joyful D major, which soon modulates into a parallel minor, as if the joy is overshadowed by cloudy weather.

The play is written in a simple 3-part form. The agitated, assertive extreme parts are contrasted by the middle, where pleading, plaintive intonations appear.

At the beginning of the piece, a sequence of falling seconds in fast pace creates a feeling of liveliness and bustle of the day that has just begun. And in the middle, a rhythmic regrouping, the sound of an interval of an increased second and a change in the ascending direction of movement to a descending one create the impression of a child’s plaintive intonation. In the reprise, active and pleading intonations seem to be combined.

The texture of the piece is chordal. The pedal in the first part of the piece is straight, short: it is taken on the first beat, and in the middle - on the first beat of every second measure.

"Mother"

The title itself contains the meaning of the work, which is emphasized by the author’s remark - “With great feeling and tenderness.” An affectionate, gentle, bright melody sings, and the whole texture sings with a “melodized” lower voice. When working on a melody, you need to achieve a beautiful, deep, cantilena sound (it is better to extract it with the pad of a slightly outstretched finger with a light unifying movement of the hand every three notes).

In the middle of the play, a “shadow cloud” appears and melodic echoes appear. It is important to hear the melodic line of the bass well. It must be taught separately and legato.

"Horse Game"

This lively, figurative, sunny scherzo is playfully boyish, with a stubborn ostinato rhythm. This is the tempo of a small toccata, which is characterized by a fast theme and ease of execution. The student can imagine himself as an actor, riding a stick or a toy horse. The whole piece should sound very clear and sharp.

The play is written in a simple three-part form in the form of a toccata with the same rhythmic pulse, imitating the clatter of the hooves of a galloping horse. The play is consonant with the miniature by R. Schumann “The Brave Rider”.

From beginning to end, the piece is written in a four-voice quartet chord structure. The student needs to be helped to achieve the sound harmony of the chords. Therefore, it is necessary to work on staccato at a slow tempo: staccato is performed with the smallest movements of the hand with tucked fingertips. The teacher must make sure that the student does not make any unnecessary movements, and when repeating notes, he uses a double piano rehearsal.

It is useful to learn the melody and accompaniment separately; you can also work out the right hand part at a slow tempo, playing it with both hands.

As the sonority increases, the hand and then the forearm are “connected” to the fingers. When moving to a fast tempo, you need to maintain pianistic techniques.

In the middle part of the piece (from the 25th bar), a change in mode is clearly felt (first in B minor, and then everything is repeated in E minor). Subvoices appear in the chord texture. After the passing shadow, D major sounds especially light and energetic in the reprise.

"March of the Wooden Soldiers"

This piece is a funny march, to the sounds of a “toy” orchestra with flutes and drums, as if a toy army of wooden soldiers is stamping out a step. Therefore, the main difficulties in this piece are rhythmic. The entire piece must be played extremely clearly, evenly, strictly, at a moderate tempo. First, it is important to learn the piece at a slow tempo with strong fingers. It is important to get the student to simultaneously remove his hands during pauses, accurately perform the rhythmic pattern, and pay attention to the fingering.

The play is written in a simple three-part form. The middle of the piece sounds secretive and even a little threatening, thanks to the change of mode (A minor) and the use of Neapolitan harmony.

"Doll Disease"

Tchaikovsky wrote a cycle about dolls, which included: “The Doll’s Illness,” “The Doll’s Funeral,” and “The New Doll.”

P.I. Tchaikovsky has so much keen observation, apt sketches of the capricious childish psyche with characteristic transitions from sadness to joy, from tears to laughter and fun.

“The Doll’s Illness” is a sad play: the doll is sick, suffering, moaning, complaining. You need to work with the student on a melodious melody, expressive bass and harmonies following one after another. You can learn the melody separately, without pauses, at a more agile pace, in order to better feel its development. Vertical harmonies need to be assembled into a chord to make them easier to hear.

This piece is good for teaching a child about the delayed pedal. Take it on a quarter note with a dot in the left hand part and listen to it along with the melodic note until the end of the measure, and then smoothly remove it. And so on in every next measure.

In the music you can hear sighs, tears, and gusty breathing.

7. "Doll's funeral"

The first losses of a little person, serious experiences, and a meeting with death are consonant with R. Schumann’s play “The First Loss.”

In a solemn funeral procession, a funeral march sounds in gloomy C minor. Using dynamics, the composer depicts either the approach of the funeral procession or its departure. The rhythmic figure: a half note, an eighth note with a dot, a sixteenth note and again a half note – is characteristic of a funeral march.

The gloomy nature of the music is emphasized by the heavy chords and intervals in the accompaniment.

You need to explain to the child that in this play the funeral is a puppet funeral and you need to treat it with respect. like a game.

"Waltz"

Waltz is a pair dance, it is based on smooth twirling. Waltz is one of P.I. Tchaikovsky’s favorite genres. This waltz has features of both a ballroom and lyrical mood in the first part, and becomes characteristic and brilliant in the second part. Or you can imagine part I as a “child’s smile,” and part II as a “sob.” After all, only children know how to smile and sob at the same time.

This play is written in a complex three-part form. Along with the waltz itself, it contains sections with elements character dance(in the middle part). To reveal the features of the work, you need to come up with figurative comparisons. For example, imagine the New Year holiday and children dancing near the Christmas tree. One merry dance follows another. The smooth, graceful waltz is replaced by the dance of a little ballerina performing intricate steps (bars 18-38), which is replaced by the clumsy and funny dance of the mummers (bars 38-52).

It is better to start working on a waltz with an accompaniment - legato, with slightly noticeable support from the bass.

When working on a melody, you need to achieve melodiousness and plasticity, pay attention to syncopations in 2 - 4 bars.

In the middle part, it is necessary to help the student feel polymetry - a combination of a three-beat waltz accompaniment with a two-part right hand part, to feel two-part.

Pedaling will help identify danceability: connecting the bass with chords with a delayed pedal.

"New Doll"

This is a subtle psychological sketch - a girl’s joy over a wonderful gift - a new doll.

The play is based on the waltz genre. The lightness of the flexible, intermittent movement of the melody creates an atmosphere of childish happiness.

The feeling of a “soaring” melody to the “G” note of the sixth bar makes it possible to play the entire first formation “in one breath.”

The student should be explained that the lines in the middle part are not phrasing, but strokes; they reflect excitement and impatience.

Take the pedal short, counting “one”.

"Mazurka"

The name of the Polish folk dance "Mazurka" comes from "Masur" - the name of the inhabitants of Mazovia. The mazurka is characterized by a three-beat meter and rhythm with frequent shifts of emphasis to the second and third beats of the measures.

A distinct, precise touch of the fingertips to the piano keyboard, a slow tempo, a clear hearing of harmony, comfortable fingering, pedaling that helps to mark either a downbeat or syncopation - this is what will help the student learn the mazurka in the desired character.

"Russian song"

“Russian Song” is built on a genuine folk melody “Are you a head, my little head”, included by the composer in his collection - “50 Russian folk songs for piano 4 hands”. This is an example of Russian folk subvocal polyphony, in which four-voice alternates with two- and three-voice .

With a constant melody, the music varies due to the moving bass and echoes.

When working on a play, you need to ensure that the student hears a combination of voices. For this purpose, two-voices in one hand must be taught with both hands.

"A man plays a harmonica"

The play is extremely figurative. The image of a man on a slope trying to learn to play the harmonica. It’s as if the man is reluctantly, leisurely, and lazily plucking the bellows of the harmonica - he obviously knows how to play only this one motive and repeats it endlessly. There is no development here.

In form it is a theme with variations. The miniature ends with multiple repetitions of its main harmony - the dominant seventh chord, which acts as a tonal foundation. Despite its simplicity, the piece sounds fresh and picturesque.

13. "Kamarinskaya"

This play gained the greatest popularity. In it, Tchaikovsky uses the natural, everyday intonation of the dance.

“Kamarinskaya is written in D major, this is the tonality of the hero of the cycle, the result of the hero’s development, his formation as a Russian person.

In "Kamarinskaya" you can hear a folk song - a dance with a daring, perky character.

“Kamarinskaya” imitates folk techniques of variation. In the theme (12 bars) in the left hand part, the buzzing bass sound “D” and the upper voice are reminiscent of the sound of the folk instrument bagpipes, on which you can play both the melody and the drawn-out bass. The upper voice sounds like a balalaika. Staccato should be played very short, with a pinch.

The climax of the play is in the second variation. Massive chords, set out in two octaves, sound thick and rich. To achieve the required sonority, they must be extracted with the whole hand, in a movement “away from the key.” This variation in sonority is reminiscent of a harmonica.

The pedal is straight, short, for every chord.

14. "Polka"

Polka is an elegant and cheerful dance with playful humor in the extreme parts and a touch of comic angularity and clumsiness in the middle. In polka you need to achieve a light, elegant sound. It is necessary to work on the accompaniment, achieving a light staccato with small “pricks” of the bass notes; staccato is best performed with a small push “from the key”.

15. “Italian song”

Written in the key of D major. It was created as an everyday sketch during a trip abroad. In a letter from Florence, the composer wrote that one day he and his brother heard a ten-year-old boy singing a tragic song with a guitar. He sang in a beautiful, thick voice with such warmth that he touched Pyotr Ilyich’s heart. And this song was included in the collection called “Italian Song”.

The play is written in a simple two-part form. The bright melody flows calmly and leisurely.

When learning this piece with a student, you need to focus on the waltzing nature of the musical image. It is necessary to work separately on the melody (movable and graceful in the first part, and cantilena in the second) and the accompaniment (light, waltz-like, with barely noticeable support from the bass).

In the second part, the texture becomes more complex. The melody and accompaniment are transferred to the right hand, and in the left hand, on a sustained bass, a monotonous “mechanized” movement of quarter notes appears.

Care must be taken to ensure that the accompaniment in the right hand sounds very quietly and does not drown out the melody.

16. “Old French Song”

This is a melancholic, soulful song, like a memory of a distant past.

The play is written in three-part form, in G minor. The melody in the first part should sound deep and drawn-out. There are two voices in the left hand.

The middle part begins secretly, with a “cello” staccato accompaniment, and then quickly comes to a climax. In the melody, despite the short leagues, it is necessary to try to avoid fragmentation. It is better to perform the accompaniment with light movements of the hand, but with strong fingers. Before the climax, it is appropriate to make a small ritenuto and caesura, so that after it the wonderful melody of the reprise can sound even more soulfully.

17. “German Song”

“German song” is cheerful, with a “bouncing melody”. It is based on the intonations of a Tyrolean song, and the rhythm is reminiscent of the ancient Ländler dance, popular in Germany and Austria.

It’s useful to teach the accompaniment separately with your students: take the bass deeper and make the second and third beats easier. Play the delayed pedal on the “one” count. “The German Song” is written in three-part form.

18. “Neapolitan Song”

“The Neapolitan Song” is full of the bustling animation of Italian squares. It should be executed easily, accurately observing all the strokes.

The temperamental, graceful play is reminiscent of the national italian dance tarantella - full of energy, flaring up with fun towards the end. The melody and rhythm of the play convey the characteristic turns of the Italian folk music– repeating rhythms and intonations, accents after pauses, imitation of the sounds of folk musical instruments.

A common flaw in performance is the unclear sound of the rhythmic figure typical of castanets or guitar - two sixteenth and two eighth notes, in which the second sixteenth does not always sound clear.

Another drawback is the heaviness of the accompaniment, which significantly reduces the expressiveness of the performance of the piece. To overcome these technical difficulties, it is useful to teach the left hand part with an upward wrist movement on the accented second beat of the bar. When performing a melody, it is necessary to perform all the strokes indicated by the composer: lines, pauses, accents.

The play is written in three-part form. It consists of three periods, each of which consists of two sentences. The second period (bars 20 and 36) develops the first, but sounds more lyrical and soft. The third, on the contrary, is more temperamental and bright: the tempo, dynamics, texture changes. The execution of the accompaniment of this part causes some difficulties due to its scattered nature. It is necessary to combine the bass and chord (constantly alternating) in one movement. This allows you to avoid fussiness and heaviness, and gives the game accuracy and confidence.

The repeating sounds of the melody after the leagues should sound light but clear. When performing a piece, it is necessary to avoid thick pedal sonority.

19. "Nanny's Tale"

Among the vivid impressions of childhood captured by Tchaikovsky, one can note the images of folk tales. It happens late in the evening. It's time to put the child to bed and "suffer". This is where the original plays are heard: “Nanny’s Tale” and “Baba Yaga” - a very rare and expressive example of Tchaikovsky’s fantasy.

In this play, you can imagine an old nanny, who immediately in our imagination transforms into the image of a fantastic witch

(for example, Pushkin's Naina). Some angularity, “prickly” presentation, rhythmic whimsicality, intricate placement of accents help create a fairy-tale atmosphere, the bass line is reminiscent of childhood fears.

The original image of nanny's fairy tales reveals new page in “children’s” romance, completely different from Mussorgsky’s, both in expression and form. In “Nanny's Tale” there are unusual harmonies, something bizarre and fantastic can be heard in the music.

The play is written in three-part form.

“Nanny’s Tale” and “Baba Yaga” are two symphonic fleeting moments among the visual pictures of the children’s world and the lyrical images of the “Children’s Album”.

20. "Baba Yaga"

Baba Yaga is a fabulous, fantastic image. Dry staccato creates the impression of hardness and prickliness, inextricably linked in our imagination with the image of a ferocious witch. In the music you can hear “Baba Yaga” rushing in pursuit of someone. And, it seems, you believe how she flies over the forests and valleys in her mortar, “drives with her sixth, covers her trail with a broom.”

The furious attacks of eighth notes, as if breaking against sforzando chords, give this image a touch of dullness (a similar impression is created in Mussorgsky’s “The Hut on Chicken Legs” by the steady return to the sound “g”).

Teach staccato with a student in legato, and then portamento at a slow tempo.

The harmonic language of the play plays a significant expressive role. P.I. Tchaikovsky, like Mussorgsky, used the tritone to characterize Baba Yaga.

The play is written in a simple three-part form. The angular sound of the beginning of the work is similar to the limping gait of a fairy-tale character. In the movement of the eighth notes in the middle part one can imagine a fantastic flight, accompanied by the “whistle of the wind”; the “staccato” touch gives the characteristics of the music an ominous whimsicality.

21. “Sweet Dream”

This play is written in the genre of romance lyrics. Every child wants his mother to tell or sing something very pleasant in the evening, then he will have pleasant dreams. “Sweet Dream” is written in three-part form.

To prevent a child’s play from being static and monotonous, you need to teach him to understand the construction of a melodic line, to feel the mutual attraction of sounds within phrases. When working with a student on the melody of the 1st movement, you need to explain to him the nature of the main intonation of the piece (the first two-beat), expressing tender spiritual aspiration. Show the aspiration of the melody towards the sound “E”, and then a slight decline to the half note “A”. Continue to work on developing the melodic line. Tchaikovsky arranged all the dynamic shades himself: the sound gradually increases towards the 6th measure of each of the two sentences, and the main culmination of the entire period is in the second sentence (14th measure). The climax needs to be played not only with a brighter sound, but also wider, as if slightly spacing out the sounds. The meaning of some phrases needs to be explained to the student so that he can catch the changes in the main intonation, which sometimes becomes persistent and energetic, sometimes somewhat sad.

The main climax of “Sweet Dream” is found in the second construction of the middle part. In the middle part of the piece, the melody goes into the lower “cello” register, and therefore should sound especially rich. Then (in measures 22 - 24, 31 - 32) the melody is carried out by two voices: the upper “violin” and the lower “cello”. The main culmination of the middle part contributes to greater relief of the sound of the reprise.

The accompaniment in the play takes place in the middle voice. It should sound very soft and smooth. To do this, it is necessary to teach the left hand part in the extreme parts with both hands: the left legato leads the lower voice, and the right one plays eighth notes with a small touch on the instrument.

The pedal must be taken for each note of the melody; it serves as a means of coloring.

“Sweet Dream” is an excellent material for mastering legato.

22. "The Lark's Song"

“Song of the Lark” - light, clear music, as if ringing in the azure, conveys the feeling of awakening spring nature. For children, a lark is a bird over a field, but for a composer it is a symbol of the flight of his imagination and inspiration. This is the enlightenment of the Hero in the "Children's Album". A return in memory to the morning of life, because the lark sings early in the morning. This is a counterbalance to "Winter Morning". This play is the culmination of the entire cycle. “The Lark's Song” seems to be permeated with “bird singing.” This is a picturesque sketch with a bright and joyful mood, and only in the second part is a touch of sadness heard in the grace of the waltz.

And so, Lark is the composer, singer and creator himself.

The piece is written in a simple three-part form, the accompaniment is chordal, with a supporting voice in the upper voice. The texture of the piece is based on small figures in triplets and grace notes, which are located in the upper register. A continuous chain of grace notes evokes associations with the cheerful chirping of birds.

When working with a student on a positional figure, you need to explain to the student that three sixteenth notes should be directed towards the eighth note, be rhythmically accurate and sound clear, crumbly, and not crumpled.

Grace notes must be taught separately so that they sound very clear and loud.

When working on the left hand part, it is useful to play it legato and then as catchy short chords.

23. “The Organ Grinder Sings”

P.I. Tchaikovsky, remembering his favorite Italy with its organ grinders and street singers, wrote the play “The Organ Grinder Sings,” which was included in the “Children’s Album.” This play is written to the melody of one of the songs sung by a little Italian girl.

“The Organ Grinder Sings” is a musical picture where a traveling musician with an organ grinder and a monkey sings his songs while traveling around the world, and for the composer it is himself, traveling in his creations around the world.

The play is written in a simple two-part form in a waltz rhythm, like the “Italian Song”. The melody is light, flows calmly, unhurriedly. In order for the student to play the initial melodic line without breaking and pushing, he needs to show the rise sound wave to the note "E".

In the second part the texture becomes more complex. The melody and accompaniment are transferred to the right hand, and in the left hand, on a sustained bass, a monotonous movement of quarter notes appears (this resembles the uniform movement of an organ grinder’s hand). The student needs to work more on the expressiveness of the melody and the quiet sound of the accompaniment, which does not drown out the melody.

24. "Chorus"

Tchaikovsky's "Children's Album" begins with "Morning Reflection" and ends with the play "Chorale" (in the first edition, both plays had different names - "Morning Prayer" and "In Church"). The music of “Morning Reflection” is filled with a light and serious mood, as if warning that the story about children will take a serious tone. “Chorale” sounds more concentrated, stern, and sad.

Both pieces have much in common: a calm, thoughtful character, a texture with elements of polyphony, an extended period form with a large addition at the tonic organ point. They are also brought together by the similarity of tonalities (G major and E minor). In "Chorale" Tchaikovsky turns to the canon of evening worship. This play sounds like a call to look for “the road to the temple.” Tchaikovsky addresses children with the hope that any difficulties in life can be overcome. You can get out of life's conflicts with the help of close people - the play "Mama", turning to art - "Waltz", in unity with the people - "Kamarinskaya", and, finally, in your own work - "The Lark's Song".

The play is written in two-part form. The character of the first part is focused and deep on the earth. Chord texture. You need to work with the student on the harmony of the chords, and to do this, explain to the child that it is necessary to highlight the upper voice and bass in the chords.

In the second part, the chords are written in a high register, and the bass on the tonic organ point (the “G” sound) sounds more intense (symbolizing the inexorably passing time).

The music of this piece is reminiscent of church canon“Lord, have mercy...” The pedal is delayed (it is advisable to take it not to the bottom).

III. Conclusion.

The subtle semantic connections that exist between the extreme plays of the collection “Morning Prayer” and “In Church” (the titles in the first edition) contribute to the compositional harmony and completeness of the “Children’s Album”. His 24 plays are like a sketch of the colorful impressions of the day.

“Children’s Album” is aimed both at shaping the performer and at nurturing the child’s personality. Works that are understandable for children are guides to “adult” music.

“Children's Album” by P.I. Tchaikovsky is the first Russian piano collection written specifically for children.

"Children's Album" is included in the gold fund of the world musical literature for children.

In one of his letters, P.I. Tchaikovsky wrote: “Art is equally capable of touching the soul of both a child and an adult, therefore the path to art and creativity becomes the theme of the “Children's Album.” Through the "Children's Album" we received brilliant examples of plays - both as musical and educational material for children, but also as wise life lessons for all of us.

IV. Literature

1. B. Asafiev Russian music about children and for children // Selected works, vol. IV. M.: Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1955.

2. P.I. Tchaikovsky Letters to loved ones. Favorites. M,: Muzgiz, 1955.

3. A.D. Alekseev History of piano art M.: Music 1988

4. A. Alshvang P. I. Tchaikovsky - M,: Muzgiz, 1959.

5. G. G. Neuhaus “Notes of a teacher.” M., 1961; 1982.

6. G. Dombaev Creativity P.I. Tchaikovsky. In materials and documents. M.: Muzgiz, 1958.

7. P.I. Tchaikovsky “Children’s Album” - a piano cycle of 24 pieces. Moscow “Music” 1981

Dear readers, today I invite you to relax a little, fill up wonderful music along with your children and grandchildren. We will talk to you about the music of P.I. Tchaikovsky, about his “Children's Album”. I remember the time when I myself played many pieces from this amazing album. I also remember how, while working at a music school, I gave many works to children, and I remember their response to these works. The music from this album is close, understandable and interesting to children. It’s as if they live their lives in music, recognize themselves, empathize with the characters, learn to think, and get to know the world.

On the pages of my blog I often appeal to you: introduce children to beauty from childhood. Listen to good music, go with them to the Philharmonic, to concerts that will be close and understandable to them. This is a very important moment in nurturing a sense of beauty in our children. And this is always important for the family. Discuss what you heard with your children, develop their horizons.

I hope that our small conversations on the blog will help you. Today, together with Lilia Shadkovsky, a reader of my blog, a music teacher with extensive experience working with children, we have prepared material in our section. I give the floor to Lilia and I’ll add a little to her article.

Good afternoon to all readers of Irina’s blog! Today we once again invite you, together with your children and grandchildren, to take a journey into the fascinating world of music of the great Russian composer P.I. Tchaikovsky, whose wonderful and poetic music is loved not only by adults, but it is understandable and interesting to children.

Flowers, music and children are the best decoration of life

P.I. Tchaikovsky loved children very much, subtly and sensitively understood their souls, felt their mood. He often said: “Flowers, music and children constitute the best decoration of life.”

Indeed, a children's theme runs through all of his work, and “Children's Album” became the first collection of plays for children in Russia, included in the golden fund of world musical literature for children. It fit a whole children's country, Big world child, told in sounds.

The history of the creation of the “Children’s Album by P.I. Tchaikovsky”

One of the factors that determined the composer’s desire to write music for children was the example of Robert Schumann, whose fascinating pieces from “Album for Youth” were very much loved by both children and teachers.

Another very important factor in the creation of the “Children’s Album” was the unusually warm relationship with her sister’s children. He walked with them for a long time, played a lot, told them about his travels and incredible stories about the countries he had visited. And he always listened with great interest to children's stories about various events in their lives. An unusually tender and warm relationship with his nephews gave impetus to writing a children's album.

In March 1878, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky arrived at the estate of his sister Alexandra Ilyinichna Davydova. He fell into Kamenka unexpectedly, out of the blue, and created a joyful commotion. Alexandra Ilyinichna’s children gave him such a concert that he had to cover his ears. Again the house was filled with “sweet, heavenly” sounds. Pyotr Ilyich settled comfortably in his room and was already scribbling something at his desk. A few days later he let slip:

“Here, these birds,” he pointed to the children, “certainly want me to write “every last bit” in their album. I'll write, don't be afraid. I’ll write and we’ll play everything!

And he wrote for the “Children's Album” and played them with children. And Pyotr Ilyich also loved to listen to children play music. Listening to the play of little musicians, he often thought that there were not so many compositions intended for children.

To whom did Tchaikovsky dedicated his “Children’s Album”?

After the “Children's Album” was completed, Pyotr Ilyich decides to dedicate it to his beloved nephew.

“I dedicated this album to my nephew Volodya, who passionately loves music and promises to be a musician,” wrote Tchaikovsky in a letter to N.F. von Meck. And indeed, on the title page of the first edition it was written: “Dedicated to Volodya Davydov.”

We turn the pages music collection and one after another we see pictures from the lives of children. So many events, interesting stories and incidents!

There are fun games and upsets, entertaining fairy tales and pictures of Russian life, as well as sketches of Russian nature. I think that you will also be interested in experiencing the special spirit of that time through Tchaikovsky’s music, finding out how children lived then, what surrounded them, how they spent their time?

Look at the contents of the album. The titles of the plays will immediately tell you a lot.

"Children's Album" by Tchaikovsky. Content

The “Children's Album” includes the following plays:

1. Morning prayer
2. Winter morning
3. Horse game
4. March of the Wooden Soldiers
5. Doll disease
6. Doll funeral
7. Waltz
8. New doll
9. Mazurka
10. Russian song
11. A man plays the harmonica
12. Kamarinskaya
13. Polka
14. Italian song
15. An old French song
16. German song
17. Neapolitan song
18. Nanny's fairy tale
19. Baba Yaga
20. Sweet dream
21. The lark's song
22. The organ grinder sings
23. In the church

Let's walk through the pages of the "Children's Album" and listen to musical sketches and plays, some of which are probably already familiar to you. The collection contains 24 plays, where several plot lines are visible. We will listen to some of them.

Morning prayer

The first storyline involves the child waking up and starting the day. The day in the family began and ended with prayer. We invite you to listen to “Morning Prayer,” whose bright and lyrical intonations are full of sublime peace and contemplation. This is a kind of reflection about God, about the soul. Surely the children were motivated to do good deeds and deeds by reciting the texts of the prayers. Let's listen to it with the children.

Winter morning

With his special compositional techniques, P.I. Tchaikovsky conveyed the poetic atmosphere of a winter morning. Swift and prickly, alarming and unfriendly. On such a morning, you want to sit at home in the warmth, read a book or just cuddle up to your mother, bury yourself in her warm palms...Remember the lines of F. Tyutchev with your children.

Enchantress in Winter
Bewitched, the forest stands -
And under the snow fringe,
motionless, mute,
He shines with a wonderful life.

And he stands, bewitched, -
Not dead and not alive -
Enchanted by a magical dream,
All entangled, all shackled
Light chain down...

Is the winter sun shining
On him your ray with a scythe -
Nothing will tremble in him,
It will all flare up and sparkle
Dazzling beauty.

F. Tyutchev conveys the peaceful state of winter nature, plunged into a magical sleep with the help of figurative metaphors. In the rays of the morning sun, it really looks like a real fairy-tale kingdom! And here is the music itself. Listening to “Winter Morning” from Tchaikovsky’s “Children’s Album”.

Mother

Extraordinarily touching sounds of peace and tranquility. Immediately before us stands the bright image of the mother and everything connected with the eternal symbol of motherhood. We feel her gentle hands, hear her gentle voice, feel protection and friendly support, seeing her calm gaze.

These were probably Pyotr Ilyich’s memories of his mother, whom he loved immensely. No wonder all his life he remembered her extraordinary eyes. Let's listen to the play "Mama" from the children's album of P.I. Tchaikovsky.

Horse game

But now the emotional experiences are replaced by mischievous, cheerful melodies of the second storyline. We are immersed in unbridled fun, laughter and joy. Children did not have cars or airplanes in the time of Tchaikovsky, so for any boy of that time, tin soldiers, a drum or a toy horse were a source of special pride. Listen to how unusual the music of the play “The Horse Game” sounds.

March of the Wooden Soldiers

But “March of the Wooden Soldiers” sounds cheerfully and solemnly - one of the most popular children's plays. You listen and imagine how a whole army of wooden soldiers are marching to this music. I think that your kids also wanted to pick up a drum and proudly walk like a real one. good soldier, chasing every step.

Doll disease. Funeral of a doll. New doll

And then (especially for girls) topics with a doll will be interesting. Three plays are associated with it. The doll gets sick. The girl is very sorry for her doll. Doctors are called to see her, but nothing helps. The doll is dead. Everyone came to the funeral, all the toys. After all, they loved the doll so much! A small toy orchestra escorts a doll: The monkey plays the trumpet. Bunny is on the drum, and Mishka hits the timpani. Poor old teddy bear, he was completely wet from tears.

The doll was buried in the garden, next to a rose bush, and the entire grave was decorated with flowers. And then one day, my father’s friend came to visit. He had some kind of box in his hands.

- This is for you, Sasha! - he said.

“What is it?” Sashenka thought, burning with curiosity.

The friend untied the ribbon, opened the lid and handed the box to the girl. There lay a beautiful doll. She had big ones blue eyes. When the doll was rocked, the eyes opened and closed. The pretty little mouth smiled at the girl. Blonde curly hair fell on her shoulders. And from under the velvet dress white stockings and black patent leather shoes were visible. A real beauty! Sashenka looked at the doll and couldn’t get enough of it.

- Well. What are you doing? Take it, it’s yours,” said dad’s friend.

The girl reached over and took the doll out of the box. A feeling of joy and happiness overwhelmed her. The girl impulsively pressed the doll to her chest and spun around the room with it, as if in a waltz.

- What a joy to receive such a gift! – thought Sasha. Let's listen to the play "New Doll" from the "Children's Album".

Sweet dream

One of my favorite pieces from the Children's Album is “Sweet Dream”. A daydream is a dream, a tremulous state of mind, the contemplation of something unusual and sublime. I think that there are no people who would not dream of something secret. Talk to the children, ask what they dream about.

Nanny's fairy tale

As in those distant times, a day full of different impressions ends with a good fairy tale. With bated breath, kids listen to their favorite fairy tales, sincerely worrying about their favorite characters.

“Nanny's Tale” has an intricate rhythmic pattern that creates an atmosphere of fairy-tale and anxiety. And what kind of stories do children suggest when listening to the play “Nanny’s Tales”? That’s where there is room for children’s fantasies to fly! Let's listen to this music too.

Songs of distant lands

The following storyline is represented by “Old French Song”, “German Song”, “Italian Song”. Each of the plays reflects the characteristics of folk music of these countries. It is known that Pyotr Ilyich traveled a lot, and he embodied his impressions in music. So you and I will take a fascinating musical journey and try to understand the characteristics of folk music and the flavor of these countries.

German song

The "German Song" from the "Children's Album" is reminiscent of the sound of a barrel organ and is very similar to the old German Lander dance, which was danced by peasants, with whirling and stomping in their wooden shoes

Neapolitan song

“The Neapolitan Song” is one of the most popular and brightest pieces of the “Children's Album”, reflecting the cheerful Italian carnival. Peter Ilyich based on this play created “Neapolitan dance for the ballet” Swan Lake».

Tchaikovsky's music, like Pushkin's poetry, comes to us in childhood and remains with us for life. Peter Ilyich left us a wonderful musical heritage - this is our culture, this is our art, without which there cannot be a worthy future.

Did you know that:

1. "Children's Album" was written in May 1878. The history of its creation is inextricably linked with Kamenka, a small Ukrainian village near Kyiv. Kamenka is the birthplace of the large Davydov family. Lev Vasilievich Davydov himself was great friend Tchaikovsky and the husband of his beloved sister Alexandra Ilyinichna. Kamenka was the composer’s favorite place, where he worked and rested with inspiration. Tchaikovsky called this unusually picturesque place a “radiant land.” Here he spent his free time among the children, watching their games, listening to their children's stories. It was the unusually tender and warm relationship with his nephews that gave impetus to the writing of “Children’s Album.”
2. The creation of the “Children's Album” was preceded by a long communication with Kolya Conradi, a deaf-mute student of P. I. Tchaikovsky. It was with him and with their brother that they spent part of the time from 1877-1978.
3. 3. The idea of ​​dedicating the “Children’s Album” to Volodya Davydov obviously arose after finishing the composition. Tchaikovsky spent quite a lot of time with his nephew in the summer of 1878 in Kamenka.
4. Even later, in 1878, from Florence he wrote to L.V. Davydov, his sister’s husband: “Tell Bobik that the notes with pictures were printed, that the notes were composed by Uncle Petya, and what is written on them: dedicated to Volodya Davydov. He's stupid and won't understand what it means to be dedicated! And I’ll write to Jurgenson to send a copy to Kamenka.

This is the journey we took with you today, dear readers. I hope it was interesting to you and your children.

Sharko's shower

It sounds on all continents and finds ardent fans everywhere. The musical language of the great lyricist is so bright that it is recognizable in any of his works, be it a complex symphony or a simple children's play. You will be able to truly understand and appreciate his major works when you become adults. We will turn to the “Children's Album”.

Tchaikovsky was the first Russian composer to create an album of piano pieces for children. It was easy for him to do this because he understood and loved children.

For many years he lived in the large and friendly family of his sister, Alexandra Ilyinichna Davydova, in Ukraine, in the village of Kamenka. There, Pyotr Ilyich always felt at home and at home.

We learn about his sympathy for children from a letter to Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck, an admirer and friend of the composer: “...My nephews and nieces are such rare and sweet children that it is a great happiness for me to be among them. Volodya (the one to whom I dedicated the children's plays) is making progress in music and displays remarkable drawing abilities. In general, this is a little poet... This is my favorite. No matter how delightful his younger brother is, Volodya still occupies the warmest corner of my heart.”.

Fifteen years will pass, and Tchaikovsky will dedicate the brilliant Sixth Symphony, his last work, to Vladimir Lvovich Davydov.

Pondering the idea of ​​the "Children's Album", composed in the summer months of 1878, Tchaikovsky wrote: “I want to make a whole series of small passages of unconditional ease with titles that are entertaining for children, like Schumann’s”. Referring to a similar work by Schumann (“Album for Youth” by a German composer), he had in mind only the general task - to create a cycle of small and technically simple plays from children's lives, which would be accessible for performance by the children themselves.

The result is a kind of piano suite, where in small pieces of a folk character, the young pianist is successively given various artistic and performance tasks. Melodic expressiveness, simplicity of harmonic language, and absence of textural complexities make these works accessible to young performers.

The figurative structure of Tchaikovsky’s “Children’s Album” is completely independent and typical for a Russian child from the environment in which the composer himself grew up. “A small suite from Russian life,” Asafiev calls this series of twenty-four miniatures, outlining the world of carefree childhood with its games and amusements, brief moments of grief and sudden joys, perceived in their own way by the impressions of the surrounding life. A number of lively characteristic scenes are replaced by a motley sequence without a strict plot sequence.

There are fun, playful games, obligatory dances (waltz, mazurka, polka), an entertaining nanny's fairy tale with a good ending, and suddenly a creepy image of Baba Yaga that appears in the imagination. Behind the walls of a cozy nursery, another is boiling, street life, noisy and riotous (“Russian song”, “A man plays the harmonica”, “Kamarinskaya”).

A kind of “suite within a suite” is represented by four foreign songs: Italian, old French, German, Neapolitan. The prologue and epilogue to this entire series of diverse musical pictures are the opening of the cycle, “Morning Prayer,” and the final play, “In the Church,” with which the composer “seems to close the day with its motley impressions.”

The very first edition was made taking into account the capabilities of little Volodya, but later Pyotr Ilyich returned to his composition and refined it, taking into account the general characteristic features of the playing of young musicians. The dedication to Volodya Davydov, who “suggested” the idea of ​​the “Children’s Album” to the composer, remains the same.

Later, collections of piano pieces for children with similar tasks and methods for solving them were created by A. S. Arensky, S. M. Maykapar, V. I. Rebikov, and before Tchaikovsky, “The great German composer Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856) wrote an album for youth , whose name we met on the title page of the first edition of the “Children's Album”.

Morning prayer

Previously, every person’s day began and ended with an appeal to God. By praying, he tuned in to good thoughts and actions. In the morning prayer, the man thanked God that a new day had come and asked that this day go well.

Lord God!
Save sinners:
Make it better
Lived in Rus'.

Make it happen
Warm and light
And so that spring
The sun rose.

People, and birds, and animals,
Please, warm me up.
Please, my God!

The light key of G major, simple harmony, uniform rhythmic movement and strict four-voice texture (as if a choir is singing) - all this conveys a mood of concentration and peace. After carefully listening to the entire piece, you will understand that it develops one musical idea. Therefore, the composer used the simplest of musical forms - the period. About the meaning of musical form, instrumental “outfit” of the theme, harmony of accompaniment, etc. Tchaikovsky wrote to N. F. von Meck: “I never compose abstractly, that is, a musical thought never comes to me except in its corresponding external form.”.

The period here consists of two sentences. In the first sentence, the musical idea remains unsaid, ending with an unstable cadence on the dominant. In the second sentence, the musical thought, developing, comes to a climax, emphasized by a bright chord of a distant key. Unlike the first, the second sentence ends with a cadence on the tonic and therefore sounds stable.

The sentences are the same in size: each contains 8 bars. The “interrogative” cadence of the first sentence corresponds to the “affirmative” cadence of the second. Thus a balanced form was formed - the classical period of re-building. But the play didn't end here.

The period is supplemented by a large coda. There comes complete calmness, which is achieved by the long and measured sound of the tonic in the bass, the repetition of the “farewell” cadence. And only when the last transparent-light sounds of the coda fade into silence do we feel that the work is finished - the form is complete.

Code(translated from Italian as “tail”, “end”) is a structure that completes a musical work and gives it completeness and completeness.

Winter morning

A picture of a stormy winter morning - dark, snowy, cold, inhospitable. The music sounds either alarmed, confused, or pitiful.

The blizzard moans, the clouds drive away
To the lake close
In the low sky.

The paths are hidden, whitewashed
Delicate lace,
Light, snowy.

And the sparrow, little bird,
A small, unreasonable bird,
He wants to hide from the snowstorm,
He wants to hide, but doesn’t know how.

And the wind whirls it across the sky,
And carries him to a pure little pole,
From the slope, into the darkness of the forest...
Goryushko bitter,
Poor little bird!

The blizzard moans, the clouds drive away -
Hid all the ways
To get through.

Everything around is covered with white snow,
Snow covered everything around...

Transparently enlightened music depicts a foggy frosty morning. The light texture, slightly pointed rhythmic pattern of intermittent intonations create the impression of changeability, unsteadiness, reminiscent of running glares of light.

Music, as always with Tchaikovsky, develops very naturally, so it is easily perceived and remembered. Naturally, in particular, there is a slight increase in sonority in phrases that rise upward, and attenuation in motives that go down, and since each ascending motive is followed by a descending one, such development is perceived as naturally as inhalation and exhalation. This is not always realized, but it is always felt. The repetition of the same intonation in different voices forces the pianist to worry about conveying this dialogue, so that the conversation between the voices is witty and interesting.

In the middle part there is a hint of some sadness. It can be emphasized by a warmer emotional tone of the sound of a descending melodic progression. It is worth paying attention to how the middle part is constructed: in it, each voice acquires independence. The lower voice, filled with chromatics and creating more complex harmonies, takes on a darker timbre. This sets off the onset of the reprise, that is, the middle part, in which everything that happened in the first is repeated, and the bright, animated character of the music is restored.

One compositional feature of this play is worth noting. The main key of the piece is B minor. The play ends in this key. It usually happens that the piece begins in the same key. Less often, the tonality of the beginning and end is different. When this happens, it happens in works of large scale, in which such a “mismatch” of the tonalities of the beginning and end is justified by the complex dramaturgy of the work. In plays of small form, in which such dramatic development does not happen, such discrepancies are hardly justified. This play is a rare exception in this sense: it is both small in size and deviates from the traditional construction of its tonal plan. At the same time, it sounds very harmonious and natural - you don’t even immediately realize this originality.

Horse game

Many of you, especially boys, have more than once imagined yourself as racing horsemen, playing with horses. Various adventures, fairy-tale pictures, and obstacles that must be overcome arise in the imagination. It’s okay that under you is not a real horse, but a toy or even a stick! Everything is happening as if for real. How many experiences a child has when he rides his toy horse! The music talks about this.

I'm on my golden-maned horse
He sat down and rushed across the green meadow,
By dandelions, by bells,
For burdocks, daisies and buttercups.
Past dragonflies and frogs and lizards,
Past beetles, moths and grasshoppers.

I'm on my golden-maned horse
He sat down and rushed through the overgrown garden
Past the raspberries and past the currants,
Past rowan, and cherry, and apple trees.

I'm on my golden-maned horse
He sat down and rushed around the house, through the rooms
Past the table, whatnot and bedside table,
Past the cat lying on the sofa,
Past the grandmother sitting knitting,
Past a ball and a box of toys.

I'm on my golden-maned horse
He sat down and rushed forward and forward.

The piece is written in the form of a toccata with the same type of rhythmic pulse, imitating the clatter of the hooves of a galloping horse. Tchaikovsky very subtly conveys the toy quality of horse racing: in contrast to the traditional way of conveying all kinds of jumping and marching by musical means using an even meter, here he uses an odd - three-beat (three eighths) size that sounds light, lively (the composer's tempo is Presto, which means "very fast"), but not aggressively.

Uniformity, if not monotony, is more than compensated by the variety of harmony: almost every change of harmony sounds like a kind of surprise - unexpected and fresh. This adds great interest to the play and forces you to closely follow the course of events throughout its entirety.

Mother

The play has a very touching title that speaks volumes to every heart. The sincerity of feeling and the warmth of intonation give it a special charm.

I love you so much!
I need you
And at any hour and on any day
She was always with me.

I love you so much!
What can’t be said!
But I don't like it when
Your eyes are in tears.

I love you so much!
At least go around the whole world,
There is no one more beautiful than you
There is no one more tender than you.

There is no one kinder than you.
There is no one more beloved than you
Nobody, nowhere
My mother, my mother,
My mother!

Simple, unpretentious music turns out to be very capacious psychological saturation the finest nuances emotional experiences, expressed in flexible intonation, subtle harmonization, and flexible vocal performance.

This character is also revealed by the author’s remarks, traditionally made in Italian: Moderato (moderately), piano (quiet), molto espressivo e dolce (with great feeling and tenderness), legatissimo (very related).

The size of the piece is three-beat (three quarters)– was also not chosen by chance: a three-beat measure always sounds softer and more rounded than a two-beat measure: to verify this, it is enough to mentally compare the waltz and march.

The piece is presented in the form of a duet: the lower voice sets off the light, clear sound of the upper voice with a warmer timbre. The voices move parallel to each other at a distance of decima, and this creates beautiful sounds not only in the sense musical harmony, but also conveys a very harmonious feeling.

March of the Wooden Soldiers

Boys love to play soldiers. Here is a toy army taking a step in a funny march. What does the word “march” mean? The word march means procession. It's more comfortable to walk to music.

Along the wattle fences, fences and fences,
At-two, left-right, at-two, left-right,
Our brave squad is marching.

At-two, left-right, at-two, left-right,
We walk easily and cheerfully.
At-two, left-right, at-two, left-right,
We sing a wooden song.

At-two, left-right, at-two, left-right,
Our brave squad is marching.
At-two, left-right, at-two, left-right,
The commander leads us to the parade.

Tchaikovsky draws in this play musical image very precise and economical means: the feeling of puppetry and woodiness is conveyed by the clarity of the rhythmic pattern, definiteness, and precision of the stroke. Imaginary instrumentation (perhaps woodwind instruments and a snare drum), close arrangement of chords, consistency of rhythm and strokes figuratively convey the coordinated movements of soldiers marching in close formation to the dry beat of the drummer.

Pieces No. 6, 7, 8 and 9 form a small suite. Of course, these are plays not only about dolls, but also about a girl who experiences the doll’s illness, its funeral, and after some time enjoys a new doll. These are short musical stories about the complex and serious mental life of a child who feels everything just as strongly and acutely as an adult.

Doll disease

Sad music about the very sincere experiences of a girl who takes her game seriously. Or maybe your favorite doll is really hopelessly broken (sick).

- Doll Masha got sick.
- The doctor said it was bad.
- Masha is in pain, Masha is in pain!
- You can't help her, poor thing.
- Masha will leave us soon.

This is woe, this is woe, woe, woe, woe...

The girl's doll fell ill. How does the music talk about this? What is unusual about the musical language of this piece? Listening to music, you will immediately notice that there is no continuous melodic line in it. It seems to be “broken” by pauses, each sound of the melody resembles a sigh: “Oh... ah...”

The form of the play can be defined as one-part, consisting of two periods with a coda. The doll’s “sighs” sound pitiful in the first sentence, then turning into muffled groans when they are transferred to a low register. The doll's "suffering" reaches its peak in the second period, which contains a tense climax. The period ends with a cadence on the tonic chord. The play has a long “fading” coda. The doll fell asleep...

Doll funeral

In music written for children, one feels careful attitude to the child’s experiences, understanding their depth and significance. Listening to this piece, you pay attention to the seriousness and genuineness of the little hero’s feelings, to the respect with which the composer treats the child’s personality.

Doll, dear, goodbye forever.
More, my beloved friend,
I can't play with you.

You were the best doll.
How come I didn’t save you?
How did this happen to you?
Where and why did you leave me?

Snow on the ground and snow on the heart.
Masha, dear, farewell forever.
More, my beloved friend,
I can't play with you.

It was no coincidence that Tchaikovsky gave the subtitle to his cycle – “In Imitation of Schumann.” This piece involuntarily recalls “The First Loss” from R. Schumann’s “Album for Youth.”

The play is permeated by the characteristic rhythm of a typical funeral march, but this feature does not make the play a truly funeral march. Sometimes in literature you can find a statement that here Tchaikovsky reproduced the sound of a choir. It seems to us that this music can be more easily imagined in an orchestral rather than a choral version. But be that as it may, both when performing and listening to this piece, you should not take everything too seriously. Still, the composer uses sounds to create the impression of a doll’s funeral: the element of play here should not completely disappear.

Waltz

The piece, sounding in one impulse, expresses the girl’s unbridled joy.

In my song you can hear the silvery sound of a stream.
The sweet-sounding voice of a nightingale is heard in it.
In my song you can hear the quiet rustling of reeds.

There is a surprised whisper of the breeze, a whisper of the breeze,
Whisper of the breeze, whisper of the breeze.

In the heart, bright songs began to sound again, began to sound.
And again I can dance without sadness, without sadness.

I spin and sing about the green elm, about myself and you.
I am ready to sing this song of mine every day and hour.

The play “Funeral of a Doll” is replaced by... a waltz. Why? Because it takes time for grief to be forgotten. But why does the waltz sound here? But because he was the most beloved dance XIX centuries, sounded both at modest home parties and in luxurious ballrooms. And the ability to dance and move beautifully was considered necessary for any well-mannered person.

“Waltz” from “Children’s Album” recreates the atmosphere of a home holiday. Pyotr Ilyich loved to participate in home evenings of the Davydov family; here he felt free and at ease.

In letters written a few days before the start of composing the “children’s album,” the composer describes Sasha’s sister’s name day: “There are a lot of guests, and I will have to tap in the evening for the sake of my dear nieces, who really love to dance.”. And after the holiday, interesting details for us: “Sasha’s name day was quite fun. In the evening there was a real ball with an orchestra... I started dancing rather timidly, but then, as always happens in Kamenka, I got carried away and danced passionately, tirelessly, with various demons and schoolboyishness.”.

Ballroom pianist- musician who plays at dance parties.

The waltz is written in the traditions of home music playing - with a simple melodious melody and a characteristic waltz accompaniment: a bass and two light chords. Melodic phrases are small, smooth, they are sung as if by chance (pay attention to the pauses in the melody).

Starting in a bright E-flat major, the melody gradually goes into the “shadow”, modulating into G minor. This is how we first encountered a form with a modulating period. This is followed by the second period, where the key of E-flat major returns. Mischievous, sweeping leaps appear in the melody, the music sounds cheerful, “with various obsessions and schoolboyism.”

Thus, a simple two-part form was formed from the two periods.

But then the character of the music changes - a C minor episode begins - the middle part of a complex three-part form. “Persistent” fifths of the bass and a sharply broken melodic line in a bipartite measure destroy the soft three-beat movement of the dance. It was as if an unfamiliar, bizarre mask had appeared among the dancers.

But the episode flashed by, and the waltz began again.

New doll

The girl is so happy new toy! Together with her doll, she spins, dances and probably feels very happy. The music is filled with a feeling of delight, trembling joy, happiness. The rhythmic pulse that the accompaniment provides throughout the piece is reminiscent of an excited heartbeat.

Oh, mom, mom, really?
Will the doll be delivered soon?
Oh, mom, mom, really
Will the doll be here soon?

Oh, where is my doll?
I want to see her.
Oh, what? Already? Then I pray -
Well, give me my doll.

Oh, how beautiful she is, mom!
I'm so glad, my God!
Oh, doll, doll! We never
We won't part with you,
Now with you, now with you
With you, with you, with you, with you.

“New Doll” completes the small suite. This miniature play appears as a light breeze of joy. It sounds for less than a minute. It brings together different shades of feeling: amazement, delight, covering the child at the sight of beautiful toy, which he had long dreamed of. It’s like a girl with a doll is spinning around a room flooded with sunlight...

The piece sounds like a fast waltz. The usual waltz time signature of 3/4 is doubled in time - 3/8. Therefore, the melody seems to be “suffocating.” It is not even divided into phrases, but consists of small motifs merging into one “wave”. The accompaniment is “lightened” by pauses on the weak beats.

The form of the play is simple three-part. The extreme parts, being eight-bar periods of a single structure, are repeated. The middle of the piece is harmonically unstable. Short motives seem to “flutter” from octave to octave. The main development technique in this section is the sequence. In a reprise, the melody “dissipates” and disappears.

Mazurka

Dance miniature in the mazurka genre.

The moon is outside the window. I'm dancing alone.
Why aren't you coming, dear?
Why can't you find me?

The moon is pouring sleepy light,
And you are not here and there.
But still, my unknown,
I believe that you will be with me,
You are with me, you are always with me.

In the grove, where the sound of the stream is heard,
Where is the sound of the stream, the gentle sound of the stream,
I will only wander with you,
I am with you, only with you alone, my friend.

In the field, when it's dark around,
It's dark around, and there's no one around.
We will wander with you, my friend,
With you, my friend, only with you alone...

For now I'm dancing alone.
The moon is outside the window.
Why aren't you coming, dear?
Why can't you find me?

The moon is pouring sleepy light,
And you are not here and there.
But still, my unknown,
I believe that you will be with me,
You are with me, you are always with me.

Mazurka is a Polish folk dance. As a folk dance, this is a fast dance, always in three-beat time. The rhythm of the mazurka is unique: the accents are sometimes sharp, often shifting to the second and sometimes to the third beat of the bar. Sometimes it happens that two beats of a bar, or even all three, are emphasized. The emotional richness of the mazurka, its combination of daring, swiftness, sincerity - all this has long attracted the attention of composers, both Polish (Elsner, and then his brilliant student - F. Chopin), and foreign. On Russian soil, Tchaikovsky, the author of the mazurka, had predecessors - the most famous mazurka sounds in the Polish act “Life for the Tsar” ("Ivan Susanin") M. I. Glinka.

The mazurka from “Children's Album” naturally belongs to the mazurkas of a chamber, intimate nature. The first theme is thoughtful, elegiac in nature. Something personal and intimate can be heard in the music: hence the tinge of sadness in the sound of the first intonations.

This play, like the rest of the plays in the cycle, is three-part. The middle part in it, however, does not contrast, but rather develops the musical idea of ​​the first part, except that it can be stated that it has a more emphasized dance character.

“...I grew up in the wilderness, from my earliest childhood, I was imbued with the inexplicable beauty of the characteristic features of Russian folk music...”- Tchaikovsky wrote to N. F. von Meck. The composer's childhood impressions, his love for folk songs and dances were reflected in three plays from the "Children's Album": "Russian Song", "A Man Playing the Harmonica" and "Kamarinskaya". They make up another small suite.

In the “Russian Suite” from the “Children's Album” (No. 11, 12 and 13), a bright national color attracts attention. The plays use the same method of development - variation. (change) characteristic of folk performance. This technique, however, manifests itself differently in all three plays.

Russian song

“Russian Song” is a masterful arrangement of the folk song “Your head, my little head.” She recreates the powerful four-voice sound of a male choir, full of youthful strength and prowess.

- Let’s go to the woods with you, to the woods.
My daughter!
- Shall we go to the woods, to the woods?
My mother?
- We’ll go mushroom hunting with you, let’s go mushroom hunting.
My daughter!
- Well, let's go mushroom hunting, let's go mushroom hunting,
My mother.
Let's go mushroom picking, let's go mushroom picking!

The melody is laconic (6 bars). The phrases end either in minor or major. This is modal variability, which Tchaikovsky noted as a characteristic feature of Russian folk song. The author gives three options for processing the topic. At the same time, the bass line develops independently and becomes as expressive as the melody of the upper voice. In other voices, small independent motives and phrases sometimes appear - they are called sub-voices.

The number of votes changes freely: there are four, then three, then two, then four again. Similar free use voices is typical of Russian choral song. This style of presentation of musical material is called subvocal polyphony. In the “Russian Song,” the treatment of the theme can be likened to a tree, where the constant theme is the trunk, and the variations are the branches of this tree.

A man plays the harmonica

In a colorful figurative scene from folk life, the composer wittily imitates playing the harmonica. Listening to the play “A Man Plays the Harmonica,” you can clearly imagine how the accordion player stretches and again compresses the bellows of the harmonica.

I'll stretch Talyankin's furs.
The song will come out very well.

Eh, accordion, you, accordion,
My friend.
Touch you, just touch you -
And I’m immediately cheerful.

With my dear little girl
I will live - not to bother
I have many, many days
With my little girl, my, my...

A funny sketch “from life”, a kind of small scene. The sound of the piano is reminiscent of playing a harmonica: the piece plays on a dominant seventh chord - it is repeated 30 times! Multiple varied repetitions of this phrase create a comical impression: the hero seems puzzled by the unusual sound of his harmonica and is clearly unable to play anything else. The phrase, not completed, fades away in mid-sentence.

The scale of the melody is noteworthy - B-flat major, sounding based on the dominant rather than the tonic. Why did Tchaikovsky use this particular scale? It turns out that in the 70s (that is, around the time when the “Children’s Album” was written), craftsmen from the city of Livny, Oryol province, designed a new harmonica, called the “Livenskaya” (or “livenki”). It has exactly the same scale as in Tchaikovsky's play. The composer's sensitive ear noted the peculiar sound of the new instrument and, not without humor, recorded it in this piece.

Kamarinskaya

Kamarinskaya is the name of a Russian folk dance song, as well as a dance to the tune of this song.

How much fun we have today -
Everyone started dancing to Kamarinskaya.

Mom dances, dad dances, I dance,
My sisters are dancing, my whole family is dancing.
Grandma is dancing, grandfather is dancing,
My brother and neighbor are dancing.

The cat is dancing, the cat is dancing,
The bug is dancing at the gate,
And the tub, and the tub, and the rake and the grip,
And a broom, and a broom, and legs at the table.

The teapots are dancing, the spoons and pots are dancing,
Frying pans, ladle, kettles.
Bowls are dancing, buckets are dancing, basins are dancing...
What fun we have today!

This famous tune of Russian dance was used by Glinka in his brilliant orchestral fantasy back in 1848. Here, in the “Children’s Album,” the dance song appeared as a modest piano miniature.

Developing the traditions of Glinka, Tchaikovsky gives in it a vivid example of instrumental variations. The art of variation—patterned coloring of a theme—comes to the fore. Remember folk art paintings of Khokhloma, Palekh, its ringing and bright colors.

The composer varies the texture, changes the melody itself (unlike the “Russian Song”). 3A playful, scherzo theme is followed by three variations. The first and third variations, light and moving, seem to colorize the theme, preserving its staccato touch. In the second variation, a dashing, brave dance sounds. The theme is presented in “dense” chords, but even at the same time a familiar dance tune can be heard in the upper voice.

The folk character of the music, so obvious in P. Tchaikovsky, is also emphasized by the fact that at the beginning - throughout the theme (the first 12 bars) there is a “droning” bass sound of D (tonic). Together with the upper voice in the left hand part, it resembles the sound of bagpipes - a folk instrument on which you can play both a melody and such an invariably drawn out bass.

In addition to the imaginary sound of bagpipes, in the melody of the theme you can hear the timbres and strokes of the violin, and the intonations in the left hand part of the third variation resemble the sound of the so-called empty strings (that is, not pressed by the fingers of the violinist’s left hand and therefore sounding natural, as if primitive, not cultivated, “folk style”). The chord movement of the second variation can be mistaken for the “plucking” of the harmonic.

Polka

Polka is a Czech folk dance, cheerful, lively, playful, mischievous. It is danced with hops - small, light jumps. The name of this dance comes from the Czech word pulka - “half step”. Polka was also popular as a ballroom dance.

The polka starts gracefully and easily. You can imagine that a little girl in an airy dress and beautiful shoes that barely touch the floor is dancing it, she moves so skillfully and gracefully.

Over dusty paths,
Above the blades of grass, above the green ones,
And over the lake and over the puddle
The midges are spinning, the midges are spinning.

And under the maples, under the aspens.
Under the birches, under the rowan trees
Near the lake, near the puddle
Couples are spinning, couples are spinning.

Here is a squirrel circling with a pine cone,
A wolf with a fox, a hare with a bear.
The bear and the bunny deftly stomp
And they clap their hands loudly,
They clap loudly, they clap loudly.

Fast, dexterous, nimble, lively,
Nimble, light, quick, persistent -
In a clearing among a spruce forest,
Where a blackened stump stands in the moss.
Where do the juniper bushes grow?
Couples circle all day long.

This is one of the most popular plays in the cycle. A cheerful dance full of grace; Only in the middle part does the theme, which has moved to the lower register, appear in a deliberately rude manner, with perky humor. The sound of the melody is complemented by continuous harmonic development; the right and left hand parts are perceived not as a melody and accompaniment, but as a single whole.

The play, like most of the plays in the “Children's Album,” is very easy to understand literally the first time, and after just one listen, parting with it, you carry its charming, graceful motif into your heart.

The next suite, which we would call “About Foreign Countries and People,” is formed by “songs” (No. 15 - 18, adjoined by No. 23). In them we feel the rhythmic liveliness of Italian melodies, the wise sadness of an ancient French tune, and the sedate regularity of German dance.

And yet Tchaikovsky gives preference to Italian “songs”. There are three of them in the “Children's Album”. This is no coincidence. The plays reflected the composer's fresh musical impressions received in Italy.

Tchaikovsky spent the autumn and winter of 1877-1878 abroad. He visited Italy, France, Switzerland.

In a letter from Milan to N.F. von Meck, Tchaikovsky writes: “My brother and I heard singing on the street in the evening and saw a crowd into which we made our way. It turned out that a boy of about 10 or 11 years old was singing to the accompaniment of a guitar. He sang in a wonderful, thick voice with such completeness, with such warmth, which are rarely found in real artists.”. Here the composer gives a fragment of a street song.

And she also quotes a song behind her. Pyotr Ilyich writes about her: “In Venice, in the evenings, a street singer with a little daughter sometimes came up to our hotel, and I really like one of their songs.”.

“Italian”, “German”, “The Organ Grinder Sings” and partly “An Old French Song” are reminiscent of the sound of an organ grinder. Tchaikovsky had vivid childhood memories associated with the mechanical sound of this instrument.

To the city of Votkinsk, where the future composer was born and spent his childhood in 1840, his father brought an orchestra - a mechanical organ - from St. Petersburg. The orchestra's rollers recorded music by Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti. Excerpts from their works, performed by an orchestra, were for the “glass boy” (that was Tchaikovsky’s name in childhood) incomprehensible magic. From these childhood impressions a love for Mozart and Italian melodies was born. Therefore, the “songs” sound not only like music “about foreign countries and people,” but also like the composer’s memories of his childhood.

Italian song

The Italian song is very graceful, sweet, gentle, playful. Does it look like some kind of dance? Yes, it looks like a waltz. The play feels like a waltz, but this waltz is not smooth, but playful, lively.

At this tender morning hour
The sun looks tenderly at us.
We walk on dewy grasses
And we all sing together:

- The skies are beautiful here!
Beautiful bird voices!
The sun is pouring down from above
A soft light falls on this earth.
There is no better place than our Italy!

Our fields are beautiful!
Our land is beautiful!
Every home is beautiful
And every dome is golden
Under the dawn star!

There are many accents in the music that give it an energetic character and distinctness. In the accompaniment one can hear an imitation of those common in Italy. musical instruments- mandolin and guitar.

“The Italian Song” is one of the striking examples, firstly, of P. Tchaikovsky’s borrowing of musical ideas from the external musical world and, secondly, of the compositional techniques that he used, turning other people’s melodies into his own musical creations.

An old French song

In “An Old French Song” a sad, sincere, simple folk tune comes to life. It is like a song - soulful, thoughtful, dreamy, sad.

Tell me, my beloved,
Why aren't you with me?
I carry it in my soul
Your beautiful image!

I just don't understand -
Tell me why
You can't obey
Are you my heart?

Oh Lancelot, come back to me.
Otherwise I will burn in the fire of love.

Oh, you won't come back
My knight Lancelot.
Don't you want to know, knight?
What is Elaina waiting for you?

The princess sits alone by the window all day,
Shakes his head and looks into the distance with longing.
The forest turns blue before her, and it is full of miracles,
AND evil fairy lives in it, guards the princess.

"Where are you, knight on a white horse,
When can you come to me?
You will rescue me, put me on a horse,
And you’ll take it with you from here forever.”

The composer used here an authentic tune of the 16th century - “Where have you gone, the hobbies of my youth...”. Having slightly changed the melody of his play, he included it in the opera “The Maid of Orleans”, where it is called “The Song of the Minstrels” and recreates the flavor of medieval France.

Minstrels- musicians and poets who served at the court of a wealthy feudal lord or knight.

The simple and leisurely tune is akin to an old ballad. The spare harmonies and restrained minor tone of the narrative are reminiscent of the paintings of the old masters with their muted dark palette of colors. From the deep shadows of these paintings emerge the faces and figures of people in ancient clothes who lived in ancient times...

The play is written in a simple two-part reprise form. At the beginning and end of the play, a three-voice polyphonic presentation is maintained: the melody sounds against the background of a sustained tonic bass, the middle voice echoes the melody, forming consonances with it. This was exactly the texture of French ballads and songs of the 14th -16th centuries.

At the beginning of the second part, the melody is enlivened, the texture changes: instead of polyphonic it becomes homophonic. In the reprise, the same narrative melody is heard again. Restrained and noble simplicity, the aroma of antiquity made this play a masterpiece of the “Children's Album”.

German song

It is similar to the old German rural dance Ländler - the predecessor of the waltz. It was danced by peasants in wooden shoes, slowly, with dignity, a little primly, with gallant bows, stamps and twirls.

Among the forested mountains, by the blue lakes,
Where in the thicket a discordant chorus of birds is heard,
Under the bright blue, under the centuries-old spruce
Today we will dance with you.

Today music will throw us into a merry dance,
A merry dance, a daring dance.
The music will throw us into a merry dance
At this sunny hour.

Now the two of us are in fast dance we'll walk side by side
Let's go side by side, together we'll go,
We're in a fast dance, my friend, let's go
Just the two of you.

Where the mountain meadow is hidden, where there is no one around,
Where the distant horn of the trapper is heard.
Among the forest flowers, in painted clothes
Let's go dance today, my friend.

“The German Song” is cheerful and simple-minded, but there is a mystery in it. The leisurely three-beat movement is consistent with the character of the Landler peasant dance. In the harmony, the monotony of which resembles the sound of a barrel organ, only the tonic triad and dominant seventh chord are used. The melody also moves along these same chord sounds. Sing the chorus. Its melodic pattern is sharp and broken.” The narrow intervals of the first phrase - thirds, seconds, like an echo in the mountains, are reflected by the inversions of these intervals - sixths and sevenths (sing the second phrase). Such sharp jumps in melody are not unique to this song. They often sound in melodies common among the inhabitants of the Alps. Such melodies and the leaps in them are called yodels. It was in them that the mystery of the “German Song” lay hidden.

Neapolitan song

Naples is a city in Italy. In his play, P. Tchaikovsky very expressively conveyed the features of Italian folk music and the sound of folk instruments.

This sea is in front of me, this sky is blue,
These solar networks - how can we live without them?
These groves by the bay, these flexible olives,
I have loved this evergreen land forever!

My Naples!
Here under the hot southern sun,
Here under the pearl cloud
Trouble will not come to me.

My Naples!
A place dear to my heart,
I won't part with you,
My Naples, never!

Everything around here is mine:
And the distances are endless, and the buildings are elegant,
And the streets are short, and the squares are ancient,
And boats on the sand, and Vesuvius itself in the distance.

In my Naples there is nothing to do without songs.
Boys and girls sing here from morning to evening.
And grandparents, and every yard and house.
Everyone is singing around here, in their native Naples.

“The Neapolitan Song” is one of the most striking plays in the “Children’s Album”. She came to Tchaikovsky's music from the streets of Naples. This little secret was revealed to us by a letter to Tchaikovsky from Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck: “Do they give you serenades under your windows? They gave it to us every day in Naples and Venice, and with what special pleasure I listened in Naples to the song that you took for the dance in “Swan Lake.”

The composer calls it a dance in the ballet and a song in the “Children's Album” - and there is no contradiction in this. It combined both song and dance.

The play is reminiscent of the Italian folk dance - tarantella (from the name of the city in southern Italy - Taranto). This is a fast, lively, cheerful dance with a clear rhythm, very graceful, elegant, and perky. The dance is often accompanied by singing. It is no coincidence that the play is called “The Neapolitan Song.” It is played by folk instruments. Spanish is spoken in Italy folk instrument- castanets. They are two pairs of plates, hollowed out of wood in the shape of a shell and connected with a cord (show the children castanets). Castanets sound very loud, clearly emphasize the rhythm of the music, giving it an energetic, proud character! One record hits the other with your fingers and a clicking, bright sound is heard, a bit like the sound of wooden spoons.

Folk dances with a clear, repeating rhythm, including the Italian tarantella, are performed accompanied not only by castanets, but also by other instruments. For example, the accompaniment in P. Tchaikovsky’s play resembles the sound of castanets and the chime of a guitar.

As in the “Italian”, the “Neapolitan Song” has two parts - the chorus and the chorus. The chorus has a simple two-part form. If in the chorus we hear a song and can sing it, then the melody of the chorus is more difficult to sing. The element of rapid dance reigns here. A picture of a cheerful Italian carnival arises in the imagination - Tchaikovsky observed it more than once while in Italy. The form of the entire play is complex, two-part.

Do you like to listen scary tales? There are two of them in the Album.

Nanny's fairy tale

You can imagine the content of this play in different ways: either as the actual story, which is told by an old nanny, who herself remains, as it were, “behind the scenes.” Or, as the famous pianist I. Malinina suggests, we imagine an old nanny, “who immediately in our imagination transforms into the image of a fantastic witch...

Once upon a time there lived Tsar Ivan
In the thirtieth state.
He wanted to be his wife
Take the beautiful Elena.

Only suddenly the evil Kashchei
It comes like a whirlwind
And now he is carrying the maiden across the seas.

Immediately the king gathered
And he rushed off on horseback and on a dun
Through ravines, through thickets,
Through rivers, through mountains.

It took him a whole year to get there
Before the villain, before Kashchei,
And one day I entered the castle
And suddenly I saw Elena there.

Here from heaven to him
Kashchei the Immortal rushed.
But he cut it off with a sword
Tsar Ivan Kashchei's head.

And then he planted
Ahead of yourself is Elena,
And in an instant he rushed them home
Winged royal horse.

With careful, caustic sonority (a staccato touch) and sharp harmony, the composer creates a fairy-tale image. If you play this piece slowly, you will hear what “spiky” tritones are hidden in the chords. In the quiet tunes one can hear the mysterious “knock-knock-knock... knock-knock-knock.” Music filled with sensitive pauses and unexpected accents sounds wary. The development technique used here - a sequence - enhances the mood of anxiety, leading to “screams” (a jump to a diminished seventh). In the middle of the simple three-part form, the music is truly scary. Listen...

The upper voice “freezes with fear” at one sound, and from the gloomy low register a chromatic sequence “crawls out” like a ghost. The motives from which this “terrible” sequence is woven are the same as in the extreme parts (“knock-knock-knock”). The reprise exactly repeats the music of the first movement. And only the light key of C major seems to remind us that this fairy tale is a musical joke.

The play “Baba Yaga,” which represents a popular image of a Russian folk tale, fits well with the previous play, “Nanny’s Tale,” and together with the next one, “Sweet Dream,” forms another mini-cycle within the “Children’s Album.” It can be conventionally described as the fairy-tale-dreamy world of a child. And since this play is the play that defines the national “inclination” of this mini-cycle, we can safely talk about its Russian character.

If we consider the entire “Children's Album” as a kind of musical diary of P. Tchaikovsky, then these plays convey the mood of the composer, who has now returned from distant travels to Russia. And how can one not remember the words of P. Tchaikovsky himself about the experiences and feelings that overcome him when returning to his homeland. In one of his letters to N. von Meck (dated March 10, 1878), P. Tchaikovsky wrote: “I think about Russia with the greatest pleasure, that is, despite the fact that I feel so good here (in Switzerland), I will still be glad to find myself in my native land.”.

Baba Yaga

The play evokes a fantastic flight, accompanied by the “whistle of the wind.”

Who's there? Who's flying high there?
Who is there in the dark depths of the night?
Who is howling there, who is moaning there,
Who drives away the clouds with a broom?

Who is circling over the black thicket,
Who is there whistling over the sleeping village?
Who's hooting outside the windows?
Who's thumping across the rooftops with their knives?

Who's there all night long
Scaring the birds, scaring the kids?
Who's there? Who's flying above the ground?
Whose laughter and howling can you hear there?

This is Baba Yaga, bone leg
It circles above the earth, the dark forest guards.
This is Baba Yaga, the bone leg.

It’s very sad for her to circle under the moon alone.
Because she hasn't slept all night
He sings mournfully and calls us all from home.

In the works of composers, fairy-tale images found an unusually vivid embodiment. As for the image of the evil witch, a popular character in Russian fairy tales, a witch who scares little children, four years before the creation of this play by P. Tchaikovsky, M. Mussorgsky brilliantly captured his sounds in his “Pictures at an Exhibition” cycle. But if Mussorgsky created his work for adults, then Tchaikovsky was guided by children's perception and child psychology. As a result, his Baba Yaga is not so fierce.

“Baba Yaga” - a picture of a fabulous flight. Comparing the two tales, you will notice a lot in common in their musical language: the same sharp staccato touch, the same abundance of dissonances. There are also many differences. If “Nanny’s Tale” sounded leisurely, narratively “telling”, then “Baba Yaga” depicts a rapid “flight” at a Presto tempo.

This play, like “Nanny’s Tale,” is written in a three-part form, but the contrast of the middle is almost invisible here due to the continuous movement. The culmination of the piece is the beginning of the reprise, sounding an octave higher than the first part. The “screams” of Baba Yaga sound sharper, as if flying overhead and rapidly moving away. The impression of “removal” is created due to the gradual transition to the low register and attenuation of the dynamics. Flew away...

Sweet dream

The play conveys a dreamy, trembling state of mind.

I can’t play with my beloved doll -
Something unclear, elusive in the heart.
Something unclear, something beautiful...
And suddenly appeared before me
The prince is young and alive.

We are floating along the river,
We feel good together.
At this hour everything is for us:
The light of the moon, the sigh of a wave.

His words are tender...
My head is spinning...
This dream, a bright dream -
Is he a dream? Is he real?

But then the prince melted.
There's no one around.
I'm sitting alone again.
Maybe call your friends?

I just don’t want to call.
My heart is pounding in my chest.
What happened to me?
Oh, prince, don't go...

While falling asleep, the child dreams. His dream is embodied by the beautiful melody of the play. Its origins are in vocal music of wide breathing - operatic aria, romance. Here the melody, developing in small phrases - “waves”, gradually “blooms”. It has the form of the classical period, consisting of two sentences.

The middle of a simple three-part form begins. The updated melody has been moved to a low register, and new, decisive intonations can be heard in it. In the reprise, the lyrical, dreamy mood returns.

You probably noticed the softness and consonance of the sound of the play (this is especially noticeable after the tension and dissonance of fairy-tale plays). The balance of sound is combined with a harmonious form (a simple three-part, consisting of three equal periods of sixteen bars).

The lark's song

“The Lark's Song” from the “Children's Album” is a subtle picturesque sketch, painted with a light, joyful mood; Only in the middle part of the play does a touch of sadness appear.

Here on earth, my home,
This is my life, this is where I am happy,
And that's why I sing.

I fly, I flutter.
The expanse of heaven caresses the eye,
And my song flows.

My trill, drip,
Like drops, drops,
To the meadow, to the forest from heaven,
Drip, drip, drip.
On the bushes, drip,
On sheets, drip,
On the pond, aground,
On the spruce, drip, drip,
Drip, drip, drip, drip,
Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip.

Here, in the heights, it’s pleasant for me,
Until the dawn and the light is soft,
Fly and sing, rejoicing.

I pour out my song from my heart.
Well, which of you at least once
Have you heard me sing?

Ew, eew, eew,
Ew, eew, eew, eew,
Ew, eew, eew, eew, eew,
“Siegfried”... Examples can be given endlessly.

The absence of rhythmic supports in the melody of this piece from “Children’s Album” gives it lightness. This is also facilitated by the fact that motives begin and end for the most part on the weak beats of the bar. What gives the piece some instability and uncertainty is that the melody consists of motives, each of which covers two quarters, while they are superimposed on an accompaniment built according to the beat, that is, in three beats. This combination of seemingly incompatible rhythmic structures testifies to the great ingenuity of the composer.

The play is written in three-part form. In the third part, which generally repeats the first, the ending is changed in order to confirm the main tonality.

In the middle part, nothing opposes the three-beat pattern: here the melody does not fight with the accompaniment, but completely merges with it. With such dominance of the three-beat meter, Tchaikovsky’s most favorite variety, the waltz, begins to “shine through.”

The organ grinder sings

This play is a genre-characteristic sketch, the sounds of which depict an old man. He turns the handle of the organ and beautiful drawn-out sounds pour out of it. A simple, but wisely calm theme dispels the child’s gloomy thoughts.

There are seven mountains away.
Beyond the seven seas
A city where there are no unfortunates -
Happiness is given for free there.

So give me a penny
Don't be sorry -
Throw it here, passerby.

Perhaps with her
I'll be able to soon
Get to this city.

In a letter to N. von Meck from Milan dated December 16/28, 1877, P. Tchaikovsky wrote: “In Venice, in the evenings, a street singer with a small pipe would sometimes come up to our hotel, and I really like one of their songs. The truth is that this street performer has a very beautiful voice and a rhythm that is innate to all Italians. This last property of the Italian interests me very much, as something completely opposite to the structure of our folk songs and their folk performance.”.

The melody of this song, so beloved by P. Tchaikovsky, was used by him twice - in the play “The Organ Grinder Sings” and in the play “Interrupted Dreams,” op. 40, No. 12. How can one not recall the words of M. Glinka (recorded by A. Serov): “We don’t create music; creates a people; we (composers) only record and arrange”! Cases where a folk version and a composer's arrangement are known are extremely interesting. But what can we say when – as in this case – the folk version was recorded by P. Tchaikovsky himself.

Sometimes you can come across the statement that this play is written in a waltz rhythm. This is an erroneous interpretation of the three-beat rhythm, which under other circumstances actually turns out to be a characteristic feature of the waltz. But if a waltz is always a piece in 3/4, then it does not follow that a piece in 3/4 is always a waltz. In this case, two circumstances prevent this play from “fitting” into the waltz genre: firstly, the title of the play. It makes us imagine a poor (or even beggarly) wandering musician, slowly (author's note: Andante – Italian at a calm pace) twisting the handle of his old organ-organ, making a quiet sound (author's note: piano – Italian quiet). As for the waltz, it is very typical for it that only the first beat in a bar is “one”, and it is always emphasized, while “two” and “three” should sound weaker. On a barrel organ, the beats sound the same - hence its sometimes mournful sound, and it does not resemble the rhythm of a waltz. Secondly, the waltz is opposed by a long and persistent organ point on the bass note G (tonic), clearly indicating a “primitive” folk instrument (the waltz is by no means a folk dance).

This detailed analysis of the play’s expressive means was needed in order to find the right performance solution on the piano (not on a real organ-organ). Thus, it is one thing to set the goal of performing a waltz (which would be an artistic miscalculation), and another thing to use sounds to paint a genre scene “an organ grinder sings.”

This play, according to researchers of Tchaikovsky’s work, expresses the idea of ​​​​the indissolubility of life and death, the meaning of which lies in the very name of the play. The circular repetition of the melody of the organ, the circular movement of its handle is a symbol of the infinity of the movement of life itself, that is, life goes in a circle, one generation gives way to another.

In the church

In the evening, each person thanked God for the day he had lived and asked for a good sleep, asking for forgiveness for his misdeeds (for example, a child did not obey his parents or was capricious, greedy, or got into a fight).

My God, my God!
I lift up my soul to You.
Holy One, teach me
Let me understand what Love is.

My God, my God!
Teach me to love.
I trust in You.
Don't leave me, Lord!

Do not leave me!
Do not leave me!
Lord, save and have mercy on me!
Grant, Lord, Faith and Love!

This is how this play was named by P. Tchaikovsky. People of the older generation, however, who are familiar with the "Children's Album", know it under the name "Choir". In Soviet-era publications, in no case could any association with the church and religious imagery be allowed.

Even if you don’t know how P. Tchaikovsky felt about religion and the church, the very fact of completing a large cyclic musical work with a piece inspired by images church service, should convince us of the composer’s reverent attitude towards Orthodox church rituals.

The sound of this piece, placed at the end of the album, like “Morning Prayer,” is reminiscent of the singing of a church choir. The “evening” E minor of the piece sounds like a response to the “morning” G major of the first.

It is interesting that P. Tchaikovsky used for this piece the melody of a real prayer, which is sung in church. Therefore, the music sounds serious and strict, not at all childish. P. Tchaikovsky did not simplify the music he composed for children, but wrote it with the same depth of feeling as “adults”.

If you listen carefully, you will notice that at the end of both pieces there are repeated sounds in the bass. But in “Morning Prayer” they sound strictly and calmly, against the backdrop of a light melody, and in the evening prayer they sound more gloomy, concentrated, tired. The day has faded, the darkness of the night is falling, everything is quiet, calms down, freezes...

In its form, the play “In the Church” is a period of 12 bars, ending with a cadence on the tonic. But this period is not divided into sentences, but only into phrases that continue one another. This period is called the period of a single structure. The repetition of this period does not develop, but only confirms the expressed idea. It has a complement and an extended coda, almost equal in size to the repeated period. Its great length is explained by the fact that it completes not only this play, but also (in the generally accepted version) the entire collection. It contains the “farewell word” of the “Children’s Album”.

Questions and tasks:

1. What goal did Tchaikovsky set for himself when creating the “Children's Album”?
2. How many plays are in the “Children's Album”, what topics do they touch on?
3. Tell us about the plays united by common themes and about the peculiarities of the musical language in each of them.
4. Name plays written in period, two-part and three-part forms. Which one is used most often by the composer? Why?
5. In which plays and how is the variation form used?
6. What genre is the verse form associated with? Give examples from the “Children's Album”.

Presentation

Included:
1. Presentation - 33 (piano / symphonic performance) / 57(song performance) slides, ppsx;
2. Sounds of music:
Chaikovsky. Children's album:
Morning prayer, mp3;
Winter morning, mp3;
Horse Game, mp3;
Mom, mp3;
March of the Wooden Soldiers, mp3;
Disease of the doll, mp3;
Funeral of a doll, mp3;
Waltz, mp3;
New doll, mp3;
Mazurka, mp3;
Russian song, mp3;
A man plays a harmonica, mp3;
Kamarinskaya, mp3;
Polka, mp3;
Italian song, mp3;
Old French song, mp3;
German song, mp3;
Neapolitan song, mp3;
Nanny's tale, mp3;
Baba Yaga, mp3;
Sweet Dream, mp3;
Song of the Lark, mp3;
The organ grinder sings, mp3;
In the Church, mp3;
3. Accompanying article, docx.

All works of the “Children’s Album” are given in three versions ( each archive has its own): piano (performed by Vera Gornostaeva), symphony (performed by the State Chamber Orchestra Vladimir Spivakov“Moscow Virtuosi”), and song (vocal performance by Irina Vasilyeva, accompanied by piano). Also, in presentations with song accompaniment, slides with poems by Viktor Lunin are additionally inserted - the words of the songs performed; in presentations with piano and symphonic versions of musical accompaniment, there are no slides with poems.

Illustrations by Vera Pavlova were used in the design of the work.

Tchaikovsky P.I. "Children's album

(methodological and performance analysis)

Teacher of children's music school No. 1 Semenova Marina Alexandrovna
Cycle of piano pieces "Children's Album", Op. 89, written by P.I. Tchaikovsky in May 1878, dedicated to his beloved nephew Volodya Davydov and published by P. Jurgenson in October of the same year.
On the title page of the first edition the full title of the cycle is: “Children's Album. A collection of light plays for children (imitation of Schumann). Composition by P. Tchaikovsky.”
Tchaikovsky's love for children is widely known. He treated with great tenderness, for example, his nephews, or the deaf-mute boy Volodya Konradi, a pupil of the composer’s brother M.P. Tchaikovsky. It is also known how persistently the composer worked to open a school in Maidanovo. Tchaikovsky could spend hours playing with children, taking part in games, enjoying their spontaneity. The children paid the composer with sincere affection and love. The bright, joyful world of a child is reflected in the work of Tchaikovsky. Suffice it to recall the cycle of “Children’s Songs” (the full title is “16 songs for children based on the poems of A.M. Pleshcheev and other poets,” op. 543 or the ballet extravaganza “The Nutcracker,” op. 71).
With extraordinary sensitivity and a subtle understanding of child psychology, the composer reflected in the “Children's Album” the life and everyday life of the children of the environment that surrounded him every day.
The “Children's Album” contains 24 plays that are not connected by a single theme. All plays in the cycle are programmatic, each containing a specific plot and living poetic content.
The collection captures a wide range of images. These are pictures of nature - “Winter Morning”, “Song of the Lark”, children’s games - “Game of Horses”, “Doll Illness”, “Funeral of a Doll”, “New Doll”, “March of the Wooden Soldiers”. The characters of Russian folk tales are vividly depicted - “Nanny’s Tale”, “Baba Yaga”, Russian folk art - “Russian Song”, “A Man Plays the Harmonica”, “Kamarinskaya”, songs of other nations - “Italian Song”, “Old French song", "German song", "Neapolitan song". The cycle contains elements of figurativeness - “The Organ Grinder Sings” and onomatopoeia - “The Lark’s Song”. Tchaikovsky, without resorting to simplification, paints a rich inner world child in the plays “Morning Reflection”, “Sweet Dream” and “Chorus”.
The songs of various peoples are based on authentic folk melodies. “Russian Song” is built on the theme of the song “Are you a head, my little head?” Italian folk melodies are the “Neapolitan Song”, previously included in the ballet “Swan Lake” and “Italian Song”. Another Italian folk melody formed the basis of the play “The Organ Grinder Sings.” The theme of “An Old French Song” is also genuine, and was later used in the opera “The Maid of Orleans”.
. Robert Schumann's Album for Youth, which Tchaikovsky imitates, is widely known. He expressed his love for Schumann in some piano works, for example, in the play “Un poco di Schuman”, op. 72. or in one of the variations of op. 19.
Schumann's influence on Tchaikovsky's piano style is visible, for example, in the similarity of texture, rhythm and dynamics, but in the "Children's Album", paradoxically, it is expressed to a lesser extent; the genre themes of these collections are rather similar. The plays “The Brave Rider”, “The Cheerful Peasant”, “Soldier’s March”, “Winter”, “Sicilian Song” by Schumann correspond to works from Tchaikovsky’s cycle that are similar in theme: “The Game of Horses”, “A Man Plays a Harmonica”, “March of the Wooden soldiers", "Winter morning", "Italian song".
If we talk about continuity, we should note the similarity of the musical language of the “Children’s Album” with the melody and texture of M.I. Glinka’s piano style. His waltzes, nocturnes, polkas, mazurkas, plays “Feeling” and “Innocence” are the immediate predecessors of “Waltz”, “Mazurka”, “Polka” and other plays from the “Children's Album”.
The “Children’s Album” was published several times during the author’s lifetime. Nowadays there are a large number of domestic and foreign publications. The cycle is published in full and in parts; individual plays are also included in various collections. In some publications, for various reasons, individual plays were removed from the Children's Album. In Muzgiz's 1929 edition. The play “Funeral of a Doll” was not included under the pretext of its tragic nature, but from the same publication in 1935. the play “Chorus” (formerly “In the Church”) was withdrawn as generally unacceptable.
In the autograph of the “Children's Album,” the designations of tempo and character are given in Russian, but already in the first edition of Jurgenson, which the author reviewed and corrected, the terminology changed significantly. For example, the character of the play “Morning Reflection” is designated “Quiet” in the autograph, while Jurgenson’s edition prescribes the tempo designation Andante (Calmly). In the play “A Man Plays the Harmonica” - in the autograph “Quite Slowly”, and in the 1st edition - Adagio (Slowly).
The autograph of the play “The Organ Grinder Sings” does not contain the author’s tempo designation. In Jurgenson's edition - Andante. In a number of editions, this tempo is designated differently. Edited by E. Golubev - Andantino, published by Peters - Moderato. In the latter, the author's designations of tempo are generally distorted in many ways. In the plays “Morning Meditation” and “The Doll’s Disease” Lento is arbitrarily written, in “Russian Song”, “Kamarinskaya” and the first part of the “Neapolitan Song” - Commodo, “The Lark's Song” - Lentamente. The editor's complete lack of understanding of the nature of music is demonstrated in the designation of the Andante tempo in the play "Winter Morning".
In the autograph, the first period of the play “German Song” is maintained on the unchanged bass Es (in the first quarter of the bar), and the same is true in the reprise. However, already in Jurgenson's edition the unchanged organ item is missing. All subsequent editions are based on Jurgenson's edition. The version with a constant organ section is very attractive - it fits well with the nature of the music and can be considered as a kind of author’s version.
In the preface to the edition of the “Children's Album,” editor E. Golubev points out “the incorrect designation of the rhythmic figure in the “German Song” available in all editions of the album in the third bar from the end, two eighth notes with a dot, followed by a dotted line and two eighth notes, as elsewhere in similar places. The error arose as a result of a typo by the author himself.” We cannot agree with this argument. Why should the author act in a reprise exactly by analogy, because the reprise sounds more convincing with an even more emphasized dotted line.
All Russian and Soviet editions accurately reproduce the articulation and dynamics of the autograph and the first edition. However, in many foreign publications these designations are distorted. In the already mentioned Peters edition, editor V. Niman arbitrarily corrects the author's instructions. In this edition, translations of play titles into German, French and English languages. The play “The Game of Horses” is translated as “Little Cavalryman”, “March of the Wooden Soldiers” is “Soldier’s March”, “A Man Plays the Harmonica” is “The Peasant’s Song”, and “Mama” is translated as “My Mommy”. Incorrect translations also distort the nature of the music and do not give children a complete understanding of it. The element of play is lost in the plays “The Game of Horses” and “March of the Wooden Soldiers”, “Mother” is translated in a cloyingly sweet way, and no idea is given about the specificity of the work “A Man Plays a Harmonica”.
From all that has been said, it follows that it is better to turn to domestic editions of the “Children’s Album”, which accurately depict the author’s text.
Although the texture, melody, harmony, rhythm, articulation, dynamics, ornamentation, fingering and pedaling of the “Children's Album” are sometimes complex, they take into account the level of development of children and their performing capabilities.
Tchaikovsky did not use complex keys or tonal shifts. Of the 24 plays, 19 are written in major keys, and of the 5 minor keys, only the plays “The Doll’s Sickness” and “The Doll’s Funeral” (G minor and C minor) sound truly gloomy. The major keys are dominated by C major, D major, F major, B flat major, E flat major, which give the whole cycle a bright, joyful sound.
The ratio of tempos in the cycle is thought out and built on contrasts. Here is what A.A. Nikolaev, a researcher of Tchaikovsky’s piano work, wrote: “In the “Children’s Album” we recognize Tchaikovsky’s characteristic piano style, which retains its basic, typical features. Here, as if on a reduced scale, in a simplified presentation, almost all the technical formulas found in “The Seasons” and in other miniatures by Tchaikovsky are presented.”
It is interesting that Tchaikovsky, who never taught children and had little contact with the issues of teaching the piano, showed excellent knowledge of piano presentation, accessible to children's hands.
In the entire collection there is, for example, not a single octave or chord located wider than within a seventh. In not a single piece will we find a simultaneous combination of the extreme registers of the keyboard, requiring a wide distance between the hands. The lower register (counter and subcontra octaves) are not used at all, and sounds in the highest octaves are found only in the play “The Lark's Song.” The fabric of these works itself is much simpler in design. The usual multi-element presentation, imitations, echoes characteristic of Tchaikovsky are almost absent here.
Chord technique occupies a predominant place in the series of these pieces, but as we noted above, throughout the chords are used taking into account the physical capabilities of the child’s hand.
Chord accompaniment in the left hand part is typical for such pieces as “Waltz”, “Mazurka”, “Italian Song”, “German Song”, “Neapolitan Song”, “The Organ Grinder Sings”, i.e. for such musical pictures where the melodious character in the right hand part is supported by accompaniment that clearly reveals the harmonic basis.
Another type of piano presentation is an almost continuous harmonization of the melody, forming a movement with chords located in both hands. We see such a drawing in “Morning Prayer”, in modern transcription - “Morning Reflection”, the plays “Winter Morning”, “March of the Wooden Soldiers”, “Funeral of a Doll”, “Nanny’s Tale”, etc. A particularly dense chord structure is found in the piece “A Man Plays a Harmonica,” where the sound of a harmonica is imitated by the ingenious technique of using dominant seventh chords in a close arrangement, which sounds quite shrill and sharp in the middle register of the piano.
To all that has been said, it must be added that in the plays “Morning Reflection”, “Winter Morning”, “Game of Horses”, “Mother”, “Russian Song”, “Nanny’s Tale”, “Chorus” the quartet structure is clearly felt. The melody is extremely expressive. The composer generously draws it, as if from a cornucopia. The rhythm is also varied. The harmonic composition of the pieces is simple and accessible. The ornamentation is organically woven into the melodic line of the plays “Polka”, “Italian Song”, “Song of the Lark”.
Let us especially focus on articulation and dynamics. The composer finds precise intonations that sometimes convey even barely noticeable, subtle shades of expressiveness of human speech. Studying the "Children's Album" can be an excellent articulation school.
I. Braudo in his major work “Articulation” outlined a scale of connectedness and dismemberment in the following table:
"Connectedness"
1.Acoustic legato or legatissimo
2. Legato
3. Dry legato
"Dismemberment":
4.Deep non legato
5.Non legato
6.Metrically defined non legato
"Brevity":
7. Soft staccato
8. Staccato
9. Staccatissimo (maximum achievable brevity)
Of course, the given table is only a diagram, because the degrees of coherence, brevity and dissection are truly limitless, but all the given types of articulation are available in the “Children's Album” from legato and legatissimo in the plays “Mama”, “Old French Song”, “Sweet Dream” to staccatissimo in the works “Baba Yaga” and “The Game of Horses”. In many plays, a combination of precisely placed legato, non legato, staccato, leagues, and accents is necessary to create an image, which will be discussed in detail below.
The dynamics are also carefully indicated. The composer uses both its gradual development and sudden changes in subtle gradations of sonorities. But nowhere in the cycle is ff indicated - the author prescribes a dynamics scale ppp-f. In the works of the cycle, Tchaikovsky mainly used simple shapes, which are easy to analyze.
It should be recognized that the fingering of some publications is unsuccessful - it often does not agree with the meaning of the music, is inconvenient and difficult to remember. When analyzing individual pieces, fingering options for the author of the work will be suggested.
The pieces from Tchaikovsky's piano collection are invaluable pedagogical and art material. To create images, the performer will have to use the entire arsenal of musical means of expression.
Studying works will allow young pianists to show creative initiative and read each in their own way.
The “Children's Album” can be performed in its entirety, or individual pieces should be included in the repertoire of young performers. The following microcycles can be built on its material:
1. “Doll’s illness”, “Doll’s funeral”, “New doll”.
2. “Waltz”, “Mazurka”, “Polka”, “March of the Wooden Soldiers”.
3. “Russian song”, “A man plays a harmonica”, “Kamarinskaya”.
4. “Italian song”, “Old French song”, “German song”, “Neapolitan song”.
5. “Nanny’s Tale”, “Baba Yaga”.
Other solutions can be found when combining plays.
Author methodological manual does not provide musical examples, because the notes of "Children's Album" are ubiquitous. When reading the work you need to have them in front of you. We emphasize that the reader will inevitably encounter some repetitions, because... A number of plays pose similar artistic and pianistic goals.
Let's move on to the performing and pedagogical analysis of the plays in the cycle.

1. Morning reflection

The play introduces a child to the world of complex experiences. The work, reminiscent of a saraband, has strict four-voices (the student can imagine the sound of a quartet of string instruments). In the chorale, the author avoids harmonic complications and is content with simple cadence formulas. It is worth emphasizing the sharp sound of the seconds in bars 6,8, 10,21, the opening seventh chord on the tonic organ point (bars 17,19).
Carefully work with the student on voice leading, the melodiousness of each voice, but especially pay attention to the sound of the mobile soprano and bass.
Articulation and dynamics should emphasize the expressiveness of the piece. Although in bars 1,2,7-12 legato is not written out by the author - it is implied. It is important to achieve a soft, melodious legato sound in all voices. This will be ensured by appropriately selected fingering (when repeating chords, fingers should not be changed).
In one case, the expressiveness of speech intonations is emphasized by leagues - supports on the strong beats of measures, in the other - by syncopations on the second or third beat. The teacher will also draw the student's attention to the fact that an accented downbeat and soft syncopation sometimes follow one another (bars 17,19).
When working on dynamics, pay close attention to the instructions in the text - first, a small “fork” in 3-5 bars, then a partial culmination of mf in bar 8 and a bright climactic f in the twelfth. At the end of the piece, the music gradually fades away and dissolves on pp.
In the rhythmic figure characteristic of the saraband - a quarter note with a dot - an eighth, students often do not listen to the full stop. Rhythmically, you need to play the right hand part and the dotted eighth with a dot - the sixteenth, taking into account that in all cases the eighth is accented; this gives the rhythm additional elasticity.
You should especially work on the tonic organ point, use the rehearsal capabilities of the piano, and differentiate the bass and tenor parts. To do this, the support is removed from the fifth finger (it gently repeats the organ point) and transferred to the remaining fingers. In a singing tenor part, a strong first finger will be able to naturally fulfill the accents in bars 17 and 19 - supporting the expressiveness of the soprano, enhancing the sound of the chord. In this fragment, also feel the “talking” pauses in bars 16 and 18.
The piece may use a delay pedal to mark changes in harmonies. 17, 19 and the last three measures can be pronounced on one pedal. The organ point contributes to this.
When playing holistically, students tend to drag out the tempo; The desire to overcome the chord vertical and find a natural, leisurely, flowing movement in the rhythm of the saraband will help.
The relatively simple texture of the work does not mean that it is easy and accessible for the student to understand. Performing a piece requires a sufficient amount of attention from the child; he must clearly show the polyphony of the piece, take into account the harmonic, phrasing, articulation, dynamic, and rhythmic features of the work. Only work on conscious mastery of all components of interpretation will lead to its meaningfulness.
2. Winter morning

The play captures not only the picture of a snowy, frosty winter morning, but also the psychological mood of the child. The piece begins in joyful D major, which soon modulates into parallel minor, as if the joy is overshadowed by cloudy weather.
A potential mistake for a student is dividing the music into separate units by beat, so the teacher should pay attention to the fact that each eight-beat of the outer parts of the piece should be pronounced in one breath, as if under a common league. It is necessary to find appropriate pianistic movements so that each cell (measure) is an integral part of the overall movement. The collected hands are positionally transferred with soft, economical, synchronous movements. Along the way, springy spring supports with clear resolutions alternate within each bar, a general crescendo is carried out with climaxes in bars 5 and 13 and a subsequent diminuendo.
Monitor the accuracy of the dotted rhythm, emphasize the roll calls in the soprano and alto parts in bars 5-8 and soprano and tenor (bars 13-16). The same with minor changes in the reprise.
The contrasting middle part of the play is very expressive. Its metricality (in each two-beat the same rhythm is repeated) must be overcome by performing means in the same way as in the extreme parts of the play, combine two-beats, pronounce them in one breath with a melodious, soulful sound. Expressive accents should not delay movement. Don't smooth out dissonances. In bars 25-40, it is important to emphasize the bass line, which gives the fragment a special charm. You should work on the accuracy of the rhythmic figure - eighth with a dot - sixteenth, hear the roll calls of soprano and alto. Draw the student’s attention to the clear, melodious performance of the culminating dotted line of this figure in bars 28 and 32, which runs synchronously in all voices. Movement rushes towards it, as if summing up the previous constructions.
In bars 39-40, the mystery of p can be emphasized by a barely noticeable slowdown in tempo. You can also slow down a little at the end of the play.
In the extreme parts of the piece in each measure, the accentuation of strong beats can be supported by the pedal, and in the middle part and coda the pedal should help identify the melodic and harmonic features of the texture.
Difficulty of this work It also lies in the fact that it is designed for the student’s good reaction and ability to think at a fast pace.
3. Game of horses
The student must imagine himself as an actor, riding on a stick or toy horse. The bright, colorful little toccata is reminiscent of the Scherzo pizzicato from Tchaikovsky's IV Symphony.
When determining tempo and movement, it is important to assume that the metric unit here is a beat, not an eighth note. A musical idea fits into four measures.
From beginning to end, the piece is structured in a four-voice quartet chord structure. What comes naturally from a string quartet, with each voice played by a different person, is not at all easy to do on the piano. Natural sound can be achieved if the student feels the change of harmonies, the logic of voice guidance, and hears modulations. In chords you need to achieve sound alignment and harmony.
Staccato is performed with the smallest movements of the hand and tucked fingertips. The teacher will make sure that the student does not make any unnecessary movements on the keyboard, and when repeating notes, he uses a double piano rehearsal. Each subsequent note or chord is played before the keys are fully raised. You should choose the fingering well to avoid unnecessary hand movements.
When learning a piece, the student often touches extraneous keys. The chords sound dirty. Repeated repetitions do not improve the situation. Raise the fingers not involved in the game slightly; they should not touch the keys. Crescendo and diminuendo are achieved by increasing or decreasing the intensity of the touch on the keys. At the moment the sonority increases, the hand and then the forearm are “connected” to the fingers, and when the sound decreases, they are gradually “turned off”. These pianistic techniques should be preserved when moving to a fast tempo. If you use only uniform vertical movements, this will inevitably lead to rapid fatigue of your hands.
We emphasize that to master the piece, persistent work at a slow tempo is necessary. After thoroughly mastering a piece at a slow tempo, you should not immediately switch to a fast tempo. Often, some inexperienced young pianists make this transition all at once, and as a result the piece fails at a fast tempo. In a slow tempo, the pianist gets used to a certain slow type of movement. If you move directly to a fast pace, your hands begin to work hard and quickly get tired, the skills acquired at a slow pace are destroyed, and automation of movements cannot be achieved. At a fast tempo, the fingers expend less effort - the shoulder and forearm take on part of the work, the sound becomes lighter and more defined, and one should play closer to the keys. You should move from a slow to a fast pace gradually so that your hands gradually get used to the new type of movements. You need to find 5-7, and in some cases more intermediate gradations of tempo, from slow to the desired fast, achieving accuracy in the pronunciation of music in each. If there are rough edges in the next faster pace, you should return to the previous pace and continue polishing the failed fragment. The teacher must carefully monitor the complex process of gradual automation of movements and make his own adjustments.
The principle of transition from a slow tempo to a fast one applies not only to the play “The Game of Horses”, it is universal and can be widely applied in pedagogical practice.

The title itself contains the meaning of the work, which is emphasized by the author’s remark - “With great feeling and tenderness.” It is necessary to establish what the child sees in this image, how he can capture it in interpretation.
The play is written in a polyphonic, polyphonic style. The bass and soprano sing in decima almost throughout its entire length, but their articulatory tasks are different. The lower voice is marked legatissimo (the short lines in each measure should not be taken into account; according to a long tradition, they correspond to the movement of the bow of string instruments). The articulation of the right hand part conveys a variety of speech intonations. Tchaikovsky's enormous skill is manifested in the fact that until bar 31 there is no reliance on strong beats in the presentation, and incomplete cadences are used in harmony, which emphasizes the through movement of the music. Its achievement is the main performance difficulty.
So, from bars 1-8 and 17-24 in the right hand part, articulatory leagues begin on the weak beats and softly resolve on the strong beats of the following bars. From the second half of bars 8 to 12 and from bars 24 to 28, short leagues, combining two quarters, follow one after another, evoking an association with a pendulum. It should also not disrupt the end-to-end development of the music. Warn the student against possible error: The left hand often plays with the same articulation as the right out of solidarity. Elastic brush movements and well-chosen fingering will help achieve legatissimo in the left hand part.
Exactly written out dynamic plan leads to a soft climax in bar 30, after which the young pianist should be well aware of the expressive “talking” pause. In the last six bars of the piece, the reliance on the downbeats of every other bar contrasts with the previous presentation, emphasizing the completeness of the statement.

5. March of the Wooden Soldiers

To embody the image, the young pianist must achieve the lightness, sonority of staccato, the “toy” sonority of the “March of the Wooden Soldiers”, to the sounds of a “toy” orchestra with flutes and a drum.
It is necessary to work on the elasticity and accuracy of the rhythm. In one case (bars 2-4) in the first half of the bar the indicated dotted line is an eighth with a dot and a sixteenth is pronounced under the league, and in the second half the dot is replaced by a pause. In another case (bars 7, 15), pauses are placed in both the first and second half of the bars. These fine details must be followed precisely. Pianistic techniques require short, fast, precise movements of targeted, rounded fingertips. It is important to work on the precision of chords and dotted rhythm, and pay attention to the fingering; for example, it is better to perform rehearsals in bars 8, 16, 40 with different fingers (sometimes, to make it easier, they can be transferred to the right hand part).
The play never goes beyond the limits of r and pp. Accents should not disrupt the dynamics; they further emphasize the “toy-like” nature of the music.
A short pedal helps you better hear the precise sound of texture, strong beats of measures, and accentuation of chords.
It is necessary to warn the student against accelerating the tempo, strictly following the author’s instructions Moderato (Moderate).

6. Doll disease

The play is one of the easiest in the “Children's Album”, but it is also fraught with certain difficulties. Students usually convey her character well - the doll is sick, suffers, moans, complains.
A common mistake is hearing only the vertical. Meanwhile, the young pianist should feel three sound layers developing horizontally - melody, bass and harmony. Each of these elements of the composition has its own expressiveness. Merging together, they form harmony. Work on a singable melody, expressive bass and harmonies that follow one after another. When combining layers, you need to pay attention to the fact that each of them is independent, and, at the same time, to their subordination, help to find the sound ratio. Students, for example, usually “sit” on a melodic note and do not feel the need to continue the melodic line. You can learn the melody separately, without pauses, at a more agile tempo, in order to better feel its development. Collect the harmonies vertically into a chord: this will make them easier to hear. Fingers will help in working on the sound, as if fused with the keys, taking them “closely,” “warmly,” softly.
Let us note the greater gradualness of dynamic development, for example, the approach to the climax f in bars 21-24, followed by diminuendo, small dynamic influxes in bars 31-34 and, finally, the final “fork”, at the end of which the tempo can be slowed down.
An excessively slow tempo, at which all the elements of the piece will inevitably disintegrate, is unacceptable - it is necessary to find a smooth, fluid pulsation.
“Doll Disease” can be a good school for pedaling. In each measure, except 9-16, gently take the delay pedal on a quarter with a dot in the left hand part and listen to it along with the melody note until the end of the measure, and then smoothly remove it when a new bass arrives. The same thing happens in every next measure. In the second eight-bar, also take the quarter pedal with a dot in the right hand part and attach the harmony to the melodic note of the next bar.
The teacher must monitor the pedaling technique so that the pedal is taken smoothly, is not pressed to the bottom and does not cause a large number of overtones, which would be in conflict with the transparent nature of the music. You also need to pay attention to finger discipline. If they overexpose the bass or harmony, then the next harmony will contain overtones of the previous one.

7. Doll funeral

In a solemn funeral procession, a funeral march sounds in gloomy C minor. At first the funeral procession is far away, then it gets closer and closer, now it is already next to us, and then it begins to move away. In accordance with this, a dynamic plan is constructed (the play begins pp, gradually develops to mf, and returns to pp again). Its accuracy is very important for revealing the image. As with every funeral march, the young pianist's attention should be drawn to the rhythmic figure (half note, dotted eighth note, sixteenth note and half note again - students often turn a dotted eighth note and a sixteenth note into a triplet). In different performing situations, this game sounds differently - sometimes like a mannered step, sometimes at the climax - minted, ominous. The gloomy nature of the music is emphasized by heavy chords and intervals in the accompaniment, which should be well coordinated with the melodic line. It is especially necessary to emphasize the seventh code of the double dominant at the climax: it usually appears in Tchaikovsky in the most tense fragments.
The articulation is dominated by measured non legato gait. The expressive leagues in measures 17, 18, 21 and 22 must be listened to to the end, but not connected to the next sixteenth note. Legato (bars 31-33) should sound melodious, highlighting the dominant stroke.
The child must be aware that this is a doll funeral and treat it as a game.

Waltz is a pair dance based on smooth twirling, one of the most common dance genres. He took a worthy place in Tchaikovsky's work. It is necessary to introduce the young pianist to analogues - two or three samples from symphonies, operas, ballets or piano waltzes, for example, with the “Nata Waltz” or the play “December” from “The Four Seasons”. It is useful to show him waltz steps or even teach him how to dance (children rarely know how to dance the waltz these days). It is advisable to turn to a figurative comparison - the student should imagine that the waltz is being performed at a holiday at school or at home.
The play is written in a complex three-part form in a small-format version.
First of all, you need to take care of waltzing.
The left hand part is pronounced easily, with soft support from the bass. In the second period, the bass line acquires a certain independence, which should be emphasized.
When working on a melody, strive for melodiousness, clarity, plasticity, pay attention to syncopation in 2-4 bars. Light accents and pauses should not interrupt the movement. You should think about a through development, as if the bar line disappears under the influence of the elements of dance. The melodic line tends to intermediate “intonation points” in bars 5, 7, 9 (also in the second phrase), and then to a small climax in bar 17. Next, the action becomes dynamic, the author writes out mf from 18 and f from 26 bars, which should not lead to heavier syncopation, accents, or inhibition of movement. Short leagues and staccato give this fragment a special grace. It's the same in the reprise. When performing the first part of the piece and reprise with both hands, you need to make sure that the bass and chords in the left hand part are organically woven into the overall outline of the non-stop waltz movement, to find a good balance
melodic line of bass and harmony.
In the middle part, students sometimes do not feel polymetry - a combination of a three-beat waltz accompaniment with a two-beat right hand part, and do not feel two-voices. Sometimes the sonority is forced, which leads to a dull two-beat (the left one plays along with the right one out of “sympathy”). The second phrase of the middle part can be played a little quieter, and at the end the tempo can be slowed down a little.
Carefully selected fingerings can help the artistic performance of a piece. In the left hand part, in measures 1-16 and a similar fragment in the 5th reprise, the finger should only be placed on the bass.
Pedaling will help identify danceability: connecting the bass with chords with a delayed pedal.

9. New doll

This is a subtle psychological sketch - a girl’s joy over a wonderful gift - a new doll.
When working on a play, teachers and young musicians face pitfalls. Using performing means one must be able to overcome rhythmic and textural monotony: in the extreme parts of the piece there is repetition in the right hand part of a rhythmic figure - a quarter and an eighth, and in the middle - two eighths separated by pauses, which is further aggravated by the monotonous texture of the accompaniment throughout the entire piece. In the extreme parts, the development and variety of wonderful expressiveness, flight, and soft aspiration of the melody will be helped by the dynamics and subtle articulatory instructions set by the author. These parts should be performed as if “in one breath”, to achieve gradual dynamics, melodious legato in bars 1-5, 10-13. Expressive pronunciation of “talking” leagues (bars 6-9, 14-17) will help to identify lively speech intonations. It's the same in the reprise. In the middle part of the piece and the coda, the student must find a subtle, “breathing” melody, monitor the flexibility of intonation and the continuity of development of the music. In the dynamics, accurately presented by the author, the climax occurs at 24-25 bars.
The left hand part has its own difficulties - in each measure, in a group of repeated two eighths, soft support falls on the first, which should not interfere with the continuity in the development of the music.
When playing a piece with both hands, make sure that the melody and accompaniment are consistent. The left part always followed the right, like a thread following a needle, and the change of harmonies in each measure was heard.
For sound evenness and identification of articulation, it is advisable to play all thirds in the accompaniment only with 2 and 4 fingers, and the melody of the middle part with 2 and 3.
The pedal can be taken on strong beats and a little thicker (but not longer) at the climaxes with a soft touch of the foot to the pedal foot not to the bottom, so as not to cause the appearance of unnecessary overtones and promote the transparency of the music.

10. Mazurka

The name of the Polish folk dance “Mazurka” comes from “Masur”, the name of the inhabitants of Mazovia. The mazurka is characterized by a three-beat meter and rhythm with frequent shifts of emphasis to the second and third beats of the measures. These features must be taken into account by the performer. In the middle section of the dance, from bar 19, the accent is emphasized first, and then in bars 32 and 33 and sf on the third beat. The second beat is often noted - tenuto on the half (bars 1-4 and further in similar places), as well as a short league (bars 5, 13, 15). In some cases, both the second and third beats can be emphasized: for example, in measures 19 and 23, you need to softly show the second beat in the right hand part, and then the emphasis in the left on the third. At the same time, one should not forget about the strong beats, find their “balance” with syncopations.
Scrupulous work is required on the pronunciation of the short league and staccato in the 5th bar, staccato in the 7th bar, the dotted line in the 16-18 bars, the combination of staccato in the right hand part and tenuto in the left (the first beat of bars 1-4 and further in similar fragments).
The dynamics change due to changes in performance situations: it gradually intensifies in bars 21-23, 23-26, 28-31, and in bars 5, 19, 23, 27 and 31 it is associated with a sudden change in mf-p.
The combination of lively rhythm, clear articulation and dynamics can lead to an interesting interpretation of the mazurka, a graceful, graceful dance.
A distinct, precise touch of selected fingertips on the piano keyboard, a slow tempo, clear hearing of harmony, carefully selected fingering, as well as pedaling that helps to mark either the downbeat or syncopation will complete the work on an interesting piece.
11. Russian song

“Russian Song” is based on the original folk melody “You are my head, my little head.” This is an example of Russian folk subvocal polyphony, in which four-voice alternates with two- and three-voice.
With a constant melody, the music varies due to the moving bass and echoes.
The song is written in periodic alternating meter alternating 6/4, 4/4 and 2/4 (except for the last six bars). To make the meter understandable to children, the author put 2/4 everywhere, so you need to read 6/4 as 3 times

I have already referred to this wonderful work here:

Today all the pieces from this album will be performed by the Gnessin Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. Artistic director and conductor Mikhail Khokhlov. The videos were made using drawings by young artists of the IV Children's Arts Festival "January Evenings" (2010)

In March 1878, P.I. Tchaikovsky arrived at the estate of his sister Alexandra Ilyinichna Davydova.

AND Menie A . I. Davydova
Now the museum of P.I. Tchaikovsky and A.S. Pushkin

He fell into Kamenka unexpectedly, out of the blue, and created a joyful commotion. Alexandra Ilyinichna’s children gave him such a concert that he had to cover his ears. Again the house was filled with “sweet, heavenly” sounds. Pyotr Ilyich settled comfortably in his room and was already scribbling something at his desk. A few days later he let slip:

Now, these birds,” he pointed to the children, “certainly want me to write “every last bit” in their album. I'll write, don't be afraid. I’ll write and we’ll play everything!

And he wrote for the “Children's Album” and played them with children.

Various children's games, dances, and random impressions found their place in the album. Music is both happy and sad ...

Morning prayer

Lord God! Save, warm:
Make us better, make us kinder.
Lord God! Save, save!
Give us the power of your love.

Winter morning

Mother

Mom, very, very
I love you!
I love you so much that at night
I don't sleep in the dark.
I peer into the darkness
I'm hurrying Zorka.
I love you all the time
Mommy, I love you!
The dawn is shining.
It's already dawn.
No one in the world
There is no better mother!

Kostas Kubilinskas

Horse game

I'm flying on my horse like a whirlwind,
I really want to become a brave hussar.
Dear horse, riding on you,
I gallop across the meadow dashingly with the breeze.

Brand new, beautiful soldiers just attract you. They are just like the real thing, you can line them up and send them to the parade. So they know how to march like real people, and it’s so cool that you just feel like marching with them.

March of the Wooden Soldiers

We are wooden soldiers
We march left and right.
We are the guardians of the fairy gates,
We protect them all year round.
We march clearly, bravo.
We are not afraid of obstacles.
We protect the town
Where the music lives!

While playing, children invent the most incredible stories. Looking at them, Pyotr Ilyich came up with his own story and told it to the children, but not just told it. This story fit into three plays, which the children heard.

The first story told about a girl Sashenka, who loved to play with her doll. But suddenly the doll got sick. The doll lies in the crib, complaining. Asks for a drink.

Doll disease

The girl is very sorry for her doll. Doctors are called to see her, but nothing helps. The doll is dead.

The play "The Doll's Illness" is followed by "The Doll's Funeral".

Everyone came to the funeral, all the toys. After all, they loved the doll so much! A small toy orchestra escorts a doll: The monkey plays the trumpet. Bunny is on the drum, and Mishka hits the timpani. Poor old teddy bear, he was completely wet from tears.

Doll funeral

The doll was buried in the garden, next to a rose bush, and the entire grave was decorated with flowers. And then one day, my father’s friend came to visit.

He had some kind of box in his hands.

- This is for you, Sasha! - he said.
“What is it?” Sashenka thought, burning with curiosity.

An acquaintance untied the ribbon, opened the lid and handed the box to the girl...

There lay a beautiful doll. She had big blue eyes. When the doll was rocked, the eyes opened and closed. The pretty little mouth smiled at the girl. Blonde curly hair fell on her shoulders. And from under the velvet dress white stockings and black patent leather shoes were visible. A real beauty!

Sashenka looked at the doll and couldn’t get enough of it.

- Well. What are you doing? Take it, it’s yours,” said dad’s friend.

The girl reached over and took the doll out of the box. A feeling of joy and happiness overwhelmed her. The girl impulsively pressed the doll to her chest and spun around the room with it, as if in a waltz.

- What a joy to receive such a gift! - thought Sasha.

New doll

The petals have grown cold
Open lips, childishly moist, -
And the hall floats, floats in lingering
The melodies of happiness and melancholy.
The shine of chandeliers and the ripple of mirrors
Merged into one crystal mirage -
And the ballroom wind blows,
The warmth of the fragrant fans.

I. Bunin

Waltz

Mazurka

“I grew up in the wilderness, from my earliest childhood, I was imbued with the inexplicable beauty of the characteristic features of Russian folk music,” wrote Tchaikovsky. The composer's childhood impressions, his love for folk songs and dances were reflected in three plays from the "Children's Album": "Russian Song", "A Man Playing the Harmonica" and "Kamarinskaya".

Russian song Kamarinskaya

In Kamarinskaya the balalaika tune is imitated. And it was written in the form of variations, which is very characteristic of Russian music.