Aleksandr Borodin wrote little enough -- an opera, a
couple of symphonies, a tone poem for orchestra, a
couple of string quartets, a string quintet for chamber
musicians, and a handful of songs for voice and piano
-- and next to nothing of any substance for the piano
alone. The largest of his piano works is the Petite
Suite, seven brief movements composed over a period of
five years, dedicated to the Countess Louise de Merci
d'Argenteau and published in 1885. Following Borodin's
death in 1887, G...(+)
Aleksandr Borodin wrote little enough -- an opera, a
couple of symphonies, a tone poem for orchestra, a
couple of string quartets, a string quintet for chamber
musicians, and a handful of songs for voice and piano
-- and next to nothing of any substance for the piano
alone. The largest of his piano works is the Petite
Suite, seven brief movements composed over a period of
five years, dedicated to the Countess Louise de Merci
d'Argenteau and published in 1885. Following Borodin's
death in 1887, Glazunov edited and orchestrated a
number of his works, including the Petite Suite. In
Borodin's autograph, the score bears the dedication
"Petit poeme d'amour d'une jeune fille" (Little poems
on the love of a young girl). Each movement of the work
also has a brief explanation following it. The
austerely liturgical first "Au couvent" (At the
Convent), "The Church's vows foster thoughts only of
God"; the shyly charming second Intermezzo, "Dreaming
of Society Life"; the grandly joyous "Mazurka I,"
"Thinking only of dancing"; the lyrically romantic
"Mazurka II," "Thinking both of the dance and the
dancer"; the voluptuously lyrical "Reverie" (Dreams),
"Thinking only of the dance"; the sensually chaste
Serenade, "Dreaming of love"; and the closing romantic
Nocturne, "Lulled by the happieness of being in love."
Clearly, Borodin had a specific program for the whole
work, a work that is part dance, part dream, and all
love.
Although written for Piano, I created this
Interpretation of the "Au Couvent" (To the Convent)
from the "Petite Suite" for String Quartet (2 Violins,
Viola & Cello).
PARTITION