Alexander Aleksandrovich Alyabyev (1787 – 1851), also
rendered as Alabiev or Alabieff, was a Russian composer
known as one of the fathers of the Russian art song. He
wrote seven operas, twenty musical comedies, a
symphony, three string quartets, more than 200 songs,
and many other pieces. Born to a wealthy family of
Governor Alexander Vasilievich Alyabyev in Tobolsk in
Siberia, Alyabyev learned music in his early years. He
joined the Russian Army in 1812, during the Napoleonic
War, and fought ...(+)
Alexander Aleksandrovich Alyabyev (1787 – 1851), also
rendered as Alabiev or Alabieff, was a Russian composer
known as one of the fathers of the Russian art song. He
wrote seven operas, twenty musical comedies, a
symphony, three string quartets, more than 200 songs,
and many other pieces. Born to a wealthy family of
Governor Alexander Vasilievich Alyabyev in Tobolsk in
Siberia, Alyabyev learned music in his early years. He
joined the Russian Army in 1812, during the Napoleonic
War, and fought as an officer until 1823. He
participated in the entry of the Russian forces into
Dresden and Paris, and he won two awards.
In February 1825 Alyabyev and three others took part in
an all-night card game which ended with retired colonel
T.M. Vremev being accused of cheating and struck first
by Alyabyev and then also by the two other players. The
colonel died a few days later, possibly from a ruptured
spleen, and Alyabyev was arrested on a charge of
murder. While the evidence was not conclusive, Tsar
Nicholas I expressly ordered him into exile to his
native town of Tobolsk. Freed in 1831, he spent some
years in the Caucasus before returning to Moscow, where
he died in 1851.
Alyabyev's most famous work is The Nightingale
(???????), a song based on a poem by Anton Delvig. It
was composed while Alyabyev was in prison, in 1825. It
has entered Russian consciousness as akin to a folk
song. The song became more widely known after having
been introduced into Rosina's singing lesson scene in
Gioachino Rossini's The Barber of Seville by Pauline
Viardot, followed by Adelina Patti and Marcella
Sembrich. Mikhail Glinka wrote piano variations based
on the song, as did Mily Balakirev. Franz Liszt also
wrote a transcription of it (S. 250/1).
It was one of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's favourite
songs from his earliest childhood, as his mother often
sang it to him.
Other songs by Alyabyev include "Ja vizhu obraz" (I See
Your Image), "Ja vas ljubil" (I Loved You), "Uvy,
zachem ona blistajet" (Alas, Why is She so Radiant) and
"Nishchaja" (The Beggar).
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Alyabyev).
Although originally written for Choir, I created this
Interpretation of the "Cherubic Hymn" (???????????
?????) for Double-Reed Quartet (2 Oboes, English Horn &
Bassoon).
SHEET MUSIC