Varlamov composer of romances. The meaning of Alexander Egorovich Varlamov in a brief biographical encyclopedia

Varlamov, Alexander Egorovich

A very talented author of numerous Russian romances and songs, many of which have gained extreme popularity due to their sincerity, melody, accessibility and often Russian folk style. V. was born in 1801, died in 1851. He was brought up in the court singing choir, under the direction of the famous Bortnyansky. At first he was preparing for a career as a singer, but due to his weakening voice, he had to abandon this idea. Having received a position as a psalm-reader in the Netherlands, he spent some time abroad, where he continued to study the art of music. Returning to Russia, from 1832 he was a bandmaster at Moscow theaters, and from 1835 he settled in St. Petersburg and taught singing in various educational institutions. The beginning of V.'s composing activity dates back to the late 30s. V.'s first nine romances were published in Moscow in 1839 by the music publisher Gresser. Of these, the following became especially popular: “Don’t sew me, mother, a red sundress” and “What a fog, clear dawn.” This series of romances also includes: “Understand me”, “Here come the dear regiments”, “Don’t make noise”, “Oh, it hurts”, “Young pullet”, “Oh, you youth”. Many romances were written by V. in the forties; they were published by various publishers in St. Petersburg and Moscow. The very famous “Song of Ophelia”, sung by V.V. Samoilova in the tragedy “Hamlet”, was published in 1842 by Gresser in Moscow; “Spanish Serenade” - in 1845 by Bernard, “Love Me Out” - in the same year by Miller, “The Sorceress” (1844, published by the Musical Echo store), “The Lonely Sail Whitens” - in 1848. from Gresser, etc. Later, all the romances, numbering 223, were published by Stellovsky in St. Petersburg, in 12 notebooks. V. also tried his hand at sacred music. He owns “Cherubimskaya” for eight and four voices (Gresser edition, 1844). But the author soon realized that the majestic church style, requiring strict endurance, did not suit the nature of his talent and his musical technology, not particularly developed; he again switched to his favorite forms of song and romance. V. declared himself as a teacher in his “Complete School of Singing,” in three parts, published by Gresser in Moscow in 1840. This school is our first and, for its time, a remarkable vocal guide. Now this edition by Gresser is a bibliographic rarity. Of the three parts, the first one is less processed, theoretical part, representing a reworking of "Nouvelle méthode de chant et de vocalisation" by the Parisian professor Andrade. But the second, practical one, was made completely independently, replete with many precious remarks that have not lost their significance even today and reveal the author to be a great connoisseur human voice. The third part contains ten exercises for the voice, with piano accompaniment, and two Russian songs: “Ah, there’s more than one little path in the field” and “Don’t wake me up young,” transcribed into three voices. Not a single composer has gone through as many editions in our country as V. In 1886, a new one began to appear in Moscow, from Gutheil. full meeting works by V., published by his heirs.

N. Soloviev.

(Brockhaus)

Varlamov, Alexander Egorovich

Composer, b. November 15, 1801 in Moscow, d. October 15, 1848 in St. Petersburg. The son of a nobleman (of Moldavian origin), V. at the age of 10 entered the Court Singing Chapel, where his talent attracted the special attention of Bortnyansky; his voice, however, began to weaken; in 1819 he left the chapel and went to Holland, where he was regent at the church of the Russian embassy and served (as a psalm-reader?) at the court of V.K. Anna Pavlovna, Princess of Orange. In 1823, V. returned to Russia and settled in Moscow, where he began giving music lessons (he was not only a singer, but also a violinist and guitarist). In January 1829, V. became a teacher of solo and choral singing in St. Petersburg. adv. singer chapel (1200 rubles per year); but already at the end of 1831 he left the service and soon moved again to Moscow, where he took the place of assistant bandmaster and “class composer” Imp. Moscow theaters (the last title died with V.), while studying pedagogical activity. Since 1833, V. was granted a pension of 1000 rubles by the Sovereign. (assignment) per year. At the same time, V.’s first 9 romances were published, in Moscow by Gresser (dedicated to Verstovsky, with whom V. became close in Moscow). After the death of his first wife, V. married again. 1842, two years later he left government service in Moscow and in 1845 moved again to St. Petersburg. His efforts to get a place in the chapel again. were not successful and he had to live exclusively on music lessons (private and in educational institutions) and his compositions. His songs and romances soon became very popular and were paid with the highest fees for that time (on a par with Glinka). There was even a legend, based on nothing, that “Askold’s Grave” was written by V., who then sold it to Verstovsky. V. died suddenly, from a broken heart; a few weeks later his grave (at the Smolensk cemetery) was washed away by a flood; its place is still unknown. The collection of V.'s romances (223) was published by Stellovsky in 12 volumes; After that, most of them were republished more than once. In my own way general character and technical in appearance they are close to Alyabyevsky; however, V. was more talented than his contemporary, he knew his strengths better and therefore used them better. In Russian "songs" there is undoubtedly V. folk features, but for the most part these features are captured only superficially and are never fully maintained. The most famous songs: “Red Sarafan”, “I’ll Saddle a Horse” (both served as themes for Wieniawski’s “Souvenir de Moscou”), “Travushka”, “Nightingale”, “What’s Foggy”; from romances: “Song of Ophelia”, “I feel sorry for you”, “No Doctor, no”, duets: “Swimmers”, “Don’t you sing”, etc. Many of them are still readily sung (mainly in amateur circles) . In addition, V. wrote several “cherubim” and the first Russian “School of Singing” (Moscow, 1840), the first part of which (theoretical) is a reworking of the Parisian school of Andrade, while the other two (practical) are independent and are replete with valuable instructions on the art of singing , which in many respects have not lost their significance to this day. V.'s sons: Georgy, b. 1825, served in military service, the author of many romances in the spirit of his father, and Konstantin (born after the death of his father) - a gifted dramatic artist in St. Petersburg. Imp. scenes. See Bulich's article about V. ("Russian Music. Gaz.", 1901, No. 45-49).

Varlamov, Alexander Egorovich

(1801-1851) - Russian composer, representative of the so-called era. amateurism of Russian music. V. is a nobleman by birth. Numerous songs and romances of V. (among them the most famous are: “Red Sarafan”, “The Flying Nightingale”, “I Will Saddle a Horse”, “Travushka”, “Nightingale”, etc.) are in most cases a fake of a folk song, which finds The explanation lies in the demand for sweetened folk songs that characterizes the musical life of Russia in the 1st half of the 19th century. V.'s works, distinguished by their ease and accessibility of form, great melody and sound characteristic, enjoyed great popularity even during his lifetime; Later, V.'s romances continued to be a favorite repertoire among the middle class and merchant classes. Failure music education V. put the stamp of primitivism on his work and did not allow him to reach the level of the then Western European musical creativity, although some of his romances reflected the influence of Schubert. V. enjoyed great fame as a teacher. He compiled a school of singing in 3 parts (Moscow, 1840), of which, however, only the last two are independent. A collection of V.'s romances was published by Stellovsky in 12 notebooks.

Lit.: Bulich S., A. B. Varlamov, "Russian Musical Newspaper", 1901, No. 45-49.

Varlamov, Alexander Egorovich

(b. 27.XI.1801 in Moscow, d. 27.X.1848 in St. Petersburg) - Russian. composer, singer, conductor, teacher. Music received his education in Court Singing Chapel; student of D. Bortnyansky. In 1819-23, a singing teacher under the Russian. embassy church in The Hague; in subsequent years he lived in Moscow (1823-29, 1832-45) and St. Petersburg (1829-32, 1845-48). Author of the first manual on vocal pedagogy in Russia. The main area of ​​creativity is vocal lyrics (song, romance), marked by proximity to urban everyday music, warmth, spontaneity, and genre diversity.

Works: ballets "Fun of the Sultan" (1834), "The Cunning Boy and the Cannibal" ("The Little Thumb", jointly with A. Guryanov, 1837); music for drama. spect. “Ermak”, “Bigamist”, “Hamlet”, etc.; OK. 200 romances and songs, including “Oh, time, little time,” “Red Sundress,” “A blizzard is blowing along the street,” “I’ll saddle up a horse,” “Don’t wake her up at dawn,” “The Robber’s Song” ( “Why is it clouded, the clear dawn”), “Why are you early, little grass,” “So the soul is torn,” “The lonely sail is white,” “Nightingale,” duet “Swimmers,” etc.; Complete School of Singing (1840).

Varlamov, Alexander Egorovich

Famous Russian amateur composer. Born in Moscow on November 15 (27), 1801, he came from Moldavian nobles. As a child, he passionately loved music and singing, especially church singing, and early began to play the violin by ear (Russian songs). At the age of ten, Varlamov became a singer in the court choir. In 1819, Varlamov was appointed regent of the Russian court church in The Hague, where the sister of Emperor Alexander I, Anna Pavlovna, who was married to the Crown Prince of the Netherlands, then lived. Above theory musical composition Varlamov, apparently, did not work and remained with the knowledge that he could have learned from the choir, which in those days did not at all care about the general musical development of its graduates. At that time there was an excellent French opera in The Hague and Brussels, whose artists Varlamov met. Perhaps this is where he learned his art of singing, which gave him the opportunity to later become a good teacher of vocal art.

In 1823 Varlamov returned to Russia. At the end of 1828 or the beginning of 1829, Varlamov began to bother about re-entry into the singing choir, and presented Emperor Nicholas I with two cherubic songs - the first of his compositions known to us. On January 24, 1829, he was assigned to the chapel as one of the “big singers,” and he was entrusted with the responsibility of teaching young singers and learning solo parts with them. In December 1831, he was dismissed from service in the chapel, in 1832 he took the place of assistant bandmaster of the imperial Moscow theaters, and in 1834 he received the title of composer of music at the same theaters. By the beginning of 1833, a collection of nine of his romances (including one duet and one trio) with piano accompaniment, dedicated to Verstovsky, appeared in print: " Music album for 1833." By the way, this collection contains famous romance“Don’t you sew to me, mother” (“Red Sarafan”), which glorified the name of Varlamov and became famous in the West as a “Russian national song”, as well as another very popular romance “What has become foggy, the clear dawn”. The advantages of Varlamov’s compositional talent: sincerity of mood, warmth and sincerity, obvious melodic talent, desire for characterization, expressed in quite diverse and sometimes complex accompaniments for that time with attempts at sound painting, national Russian flavor, more lively and vibrant than that of his contemporaries and predecessors Varlamova. For a correct assessment historical significance the first romances of Varlamov, we must remember that at that time we only had the romances of the Titov brothers, Alyabyev, Verstovsky, and only a little higher were the first romances of M.I. Glinka.

Varlamov’s first romances therefore occupied a prominent place in our vocal literature of that time and immediately became popular with all music lovers and fans of nationality in its more accessible form.

Varlamov retained the public's favor in his subsequent composing activities. Varlamov’s merit was in popularizing the national genre and in preparing the public to perceive more serious works of our national in the future. art music. Along with his service, he was also involved in teaching music, mainly singing, often in aristocratic houses. His lessons and compositions were paid well, but, given the absent-minded lifestyle of the composer (who loved card game, for which he sat whole nights), he often needed money. Usually in such cases he began to compose (always on the piano, which he played mediocrely, and especially poorly at sight reading) and immediately sent the barely finished manuscript to the publisher to turn it into hard cash. With such an attitude to business, he could not rise above the level of a gifted amateur. In 1845, Varlamov moved again to St. Petersburg, where he had to live solely on his talent as a composer, singing lessons and annual concerts. Under the influence of an incorrect lifestyle, sleepless nights playing cards, various griefs and hardships, his health deteriorated, and on October 15, 1848, he died suddenly at a card party of his friends.

Varlamov left more than 200 romances and three piano pieces(march and two waltzes). The most famous of these works: the romances Red Sarafan, I Will Saddle a Horse (both served as themes for Wieniawski’s violin fantasy “Souvenir de Moscou”), “The Grass”, “The Nightingale”, “What Got Foggy”, “Angel”, “The Song of Ophelia”, “I feel sorry for you”, “No, Doctor, no”, duets “Swimmers”, “You Don’t Sing”, etc. Varlamov also belongs to the first Russian “School of Singing” (Moscow, 1840), the first part of which (theoretical) is a reworking of the Parisian school of Andrade, while the other two (practical) are independent in nature and contain valuable instructions on vocal art, which have not lost their meaning even now.

Large biographical encyclopedia. 2009 .

See what “Varlamov, Alexander Egorovich” is in other dictionaries:

Russian composer. From the age of 10 he sang and studied at the St. Petersburg Court Singing Chapel. In 1819–23, teacher of choristers in the Russian embassy church in The Hague. In 1823 he returned to his homeland... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Varlamov, Alexander Egorovich, famous Russian amateur composer. Born in Moscow on November 15, 1801; came from Voloshsky, that is, Moldavian nobles. As a child, he passionately loved music and singing, especially church singing, and early began to play the... ... Biographical Dictionary

- (1801 48), Russian. composer and singer (tenor). One of the prominent Russian masters. vocal lyrics. Based on L.’s poems he created romances: “Cossack Lullaby"and the duet "From Goethe" ("Mountain Peaks") (M., 1842), "Angel" (M., 1843), "Prayer" ("I, Mother of God..." ... Lermontov Encyclopedia

- (1801 48) Russian composer, singer. Master of vocal lyricism. His music is based on the intonations of Russian folk songs and urban romance. OK. 200 romances and songs: A blizzard is blowing along the street, Red sundress, Don’t wake her up at dawn... Big encyclopedic Dictionary

Varlamov, Alexander Egorovich- VARLAMOV Alexander Egorovich (1801 48), composer, singer; about 200 romances and songs based on the intonations of Russian urban and peasant folklore (“A blizzard is blowing along the street,” “Red sundress,” “Don’t wake her up at dawn”). ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Wikipedia has articles about other people with this surname, see Varlamov. Alexander Egorovich Varlamov Date of birth November 15 (27), 1801 (1801 11 27) Place of birth Moscow Date of death ... Wikipedia

Russian composer, singer (tenor) and vocal teacher. Born in Moscow on November 15 (27), 1801 in the family of an official. At the age of nine he was sent to St. Petersburg, where he studied music at the Court Singing Chapel, was a choir singer, and later the author of a number of spiritual compositions. At the age of 18 he was sent to Holland as a teacher of choristers at the Russian Embassy Church in The Hague.

Russian composer, singer (tenor) and vocal teacher. Born in Moscow on November 15 (27), 1801 in the family of an official. At the age of nine he was sent to St. Petersburg, where he studied music at the Court Singing Chapel, was a choir singer, and later the author of a number of spiritual compositions. At the age of 18 he was sent to Holland as a teacher of choristers at the Russian Embassy Church in The Hague. From 1823 he lived in St. Petersburg, where he taught at a theater school and for some time served in the Chapel as a chorister and teacher. During this period, he became close to M.I. Glinka, took part in the performance of his works, and performed in public concerts as a conductor and singer.

The heyday of creativity occurred during the Moscow period of Varlamov’s life (1832–1844). Successful debut as a composer in A. A. Shakhovsky’s play Roslavlev (1832) and work in theatrical genres contributed to Varlamov’s obtaining the position of assistant bandmaster (1832), and then “composer of music” with the orchestra of the Imperial Moscow Theaters. Varlamov wrote music for Shakespeare's Hamlet upon request famous actor P.S.Mochalov (1837), staged his ballets “Fun of the Sultan” (1834) and “The Cunning Boy and the Cannibal” (1837), etc. in Moscow. In the early 1830s, Varlamov's first romances and songs appeared; In total, he created more than 100 works of this genre, and among them “Red Sundress”, “What is foggy, the clear dawn”, “Don’t make noise, violent winds” (published in 1835–1837). Varlamov successfully performed as a singer, was a popular vocal teacher (he taught at the Theater School, the Orphanage, and gave private lessons), and in 1849 he published his “Complete School of Singing”; in 1834–1835 he published the magazine “Eolian Harp”, which included romances and piano works, his own and other authors.

After 1845, the musician lived in St. Petersburg, where he moved in the hope of finding a job as a teacher in the Court Chapel, but for various reasons this plan did not come true. Was a member of the St. Petersburg literary and art clubs; became close friends with A. S. Dargomyzhsky and A. A. Grigoriev (two poems by this poet and critic are dedicated to Varlamov). Varlamov's romances were performed in salons, and the famous Pauline Viardot (1821–1910) sang them in her concerts.

Varlamov died in St. Petersburg on October 15 (27), 1848. Gurilev’s romance “Memory of Varlamov”, collective piano variations on the theme of his romance “The Nightingale the Flying Nightingale” (among the authors A. G. Rubinshtein, A. Genzelt) were dedicated to his memory, as well as published in 1851" Music collection in memory of A.E. Varlamov", which included, along with the works of the late composer, romances by the most prominent Russian composers. In total, Varlamov created about two hundred romances and songs based on texts by more than 40 poets, a collection of adaptations folk songs"Russian Singer" (1846), two ballets, music for at least two dozen performances (most of them lost).

Russian Civilization

Alexander Egorovich Varlamov

Varlamov was born in 1801 in Moscow. The composer's father was in the military, then in the civil service, and was an official with not too much income.

Alexander's musical abilities and extraordinary vocal abilities manifested themselves back in early childhood by defining it future fate: when the boy was nine years old, his parents sent him to St. Petersburg, where he was accepted as a “young singer” in the court choir. In that choir group Varlamov, under the guidance of the outstanding Russian composer D. S. Bortnyansky, received a musical education.

Alexander Egorovich Varlamov

After completing the course of study in the chapel, the young man was transferred to serve abroad as a teacher of choristers in the Russian embassy church in The Hague (Holland). Here he performs in concerts for the first time as a singer and guitarist.

In 1823, Varlamov returned to his homeland, St. Petersburg. To earn a living, he gives singing lessons, free time composes music and one day performs in a large public concert as conductor and singer. However, the lack of money forces the musician to look for opportunities to have a permanent income. He entered the singing choir and, from 1829, combined the work of a chorister and a teacher of solo singing for boy choristers.

Big influence Varlamov’s work was influenced by his acquaintance with M. I. Glinka. In the latter's house they held more than once musical evenings, in which the young musician also took an active part.

Service in the chapel required work primarily in the field of sacred music, while Varlamov was drawn to secular music. musical art, to the theater. Dissatisfied with his work, he left the chapel (at the end of 1831) and then moved to Moscow, where he took the position of assistant bandmaster in the imperial Moscow theaters. His duties included conducting the orchestra during the performance of vaudeville plays. At this time he did not leave his teaching work: he taught singing in theater school and gave private lessons.

In the capital of Russia, he met outstanding representatives of art (actors of the Maly Theater Mochalov, Shchepkin, composer Verstovsky, writer Zagoskin, etc.), communication with whom in one way or another influenced Varlamov. For example, he finally developed an ardent desire to write music “in Russian,” and his love for folk songs became more and more apparent.

During the period of life in Moscow there was also a heyday creative activity composer. Varlamov’s first romances were published, which immediately glorified the author’s name: “Red Sundress”, “What is clouded, the clear dawn”, “Don’t make noise, the winds are violent”, etc.

In addition, during the late 1830s and early 1840s, Varlamov created music for a number of performances staged on the stage of the Moscow Maly Theater, as well as in St. Petersburg. These were plays by various Russian and Western European authors, for example, “The Bigamist” by Shakhovsky, “Roslavlev” based on the novel by Zagoskin, “Hamlet” by Shakespeare, “Esmeralda” by Hugo, etc.

Varlamov's theatrical music consists mainly of songs performed with orchestral accompaniment, as well as small independent orchestral episodes. In addition, the composer also turned to ballet. Two of his ballets - “The Fun of the Sultan” and “Tom Thumb” - were performed on the stage of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater. During the same period, Varlamov paid a lot of attention to work in the field of romance and song. After the first publication of romances in 1833, 85 new vocal works by the composer were published in 10 years.

Varlamov’s activity as a performer was also of considerable importance. He managed to perform romances with extraordinary subtlety own composition and folk songs. He often performed in concerts and was always a welcome participant in musical and literary evenings.

Varlamov also gained popularity as a talented teacher. In 1840, his work “School of Singing” was published, which was a summary of his extensive pedagogical experience. This composition became the first major work in Russia on the methods of teaching vocal art.

Varlamov again spends the last three years of his life in St. Petersburg. Shortly before his death, he began publishing the music magazine “Russian Singer,” which published arrangements for voice and piano of Russian and Ukrainian folk songs. His life was cut short in 1848, when the composer was only 47 years old.

In extensive creative heritage Varlamov's most significant place is occupied by his romances and songs. The composer created more than 150 solo works, a number vocal ensembles and a significant number of folk treatments.

The composer's music is distinguished by sincerity, spontaneity and freshness of feelings. Civil, social theme I did not find such a direct reflection in him as in Alyabyev. But lyrical works Varlamov echoed the sentiments that prevailed in Russian society in the 1830s. This partly explains the enormous popularity of Varlamov’s songs and romances among his contemporaries. In addition, the democratic nature of his work helped Varlamov win the love of the general public, since he relied on widespread genres of everyday song art and, as a rule, composed in the same manner. At the same time, he could convey so truthfully folk character music, that some of his works were perceived as real folk songs, for example “Red Sarafan”. The melody of this romance is smooth, wide, melodious. It was sung, according to the famous composer N.A. Titov, “both in the living room of a nobleman and in a peasant’s smoking hut.”

Another popular romance - “Don't wake her up at dawn” (to the words of Fet) - is an elegiac, slow waltz with a simple “guitar” accompaniment, very modest in its harmonic means. Nevertheless, for all its simplicity, the music of the romance is distinguished by rare sincerity and warmth and is one of Varlamov’s best lyrical pages.

Excerpt from the romance “At dawn, don’t wake her up” by A. E. Varlamov

The composer also wrote unique vocal cycles, consisting of two contrasting songs: a slow lyrical one and a fast dance one. Such two-part cycles were very common in everyday music of the first half of the 19th century century. A cycle of two songs, “Oh, time, little time” and “Why should I live and grieve” is an example of this genre. In the first of these works, the continuity of melodic development attracts attention: the climax is prepared gradually. The features of the piano accompaniment are also interesting: subvocal polyphony, typical of folk song art, is reproduced here.

Varlamov also has works in which the influence of romanticism is clearly felt. Such, for example, is the ballad “I will saddle a horse” to the words of Timofeev. The content is conveyed in the form of a dialogue between a person dreaming of freedom and happiness, and the evil melancholy that takes it away mental strength. Varlamov goes to in this case from strict adherence to couplets and partly approaches the principle of end-to-end development. He builds the ballad form on the juxtaposition of two sharply contrasting sections. The melody of the first of them, impetuous, excited, embodies the image of youthful prowess and courage. In the final part, which tells about the death of the hero, the vocal melody is close to a recitative, and measured accompaniment chords create a feeling of numbness.

Varlamov (Alexander Egorovich) Varlamov (Alexander Egorovich) is a very talented author of numerous Russian romances and songs, many of which have gained extreme popularity, thanks to their sincerity, melody, accessibility and often Russian folk

Varlamov (Konstantin Alexandrovich) Varlamov (Konstantin Alexandrovich) - comedian, born in 1851, son of a famous composer. V. first appeared on stage in Kronstadt, in the troupe of A. M. Chitau. V. made his debut on the St. Petersburg stage in 1875. With the death of Vinogradov (1877) roles