Seven Poems, Op. 46 (Medtner)

Seven Poems
Song cycle by Nikolai Medtner
Native nameСемь стихотворений
Opus46
Year1924
TextPoems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Joseph von Eichendorff and Adelbert von Chamisso
Published1927
PublisherZimmermann
Duration17 minutes approximately
Movements7
ScoringVoice and piano

Seven Poems, Op. 46 (Russian: Семь стихотворений, translit. Sem' stikhotvoreniy), is a song cycle composed by Russian composer Nikolai Medtner. It was written in 1924.

Background

The Seven Songs were composed between 1922 and 1924, around the same time that Medtner was writing his Four Poems, Op. 45. It used texts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Nos. I and II), Joseph von Eichendorff (Nos. III, IV, and V), and Adelbert von Chamisso (Nos. VI and VII). The composition was first published by Wilhelm Zimmermann in 1927, even though it is currently out of print. A collected works edition published by Muzgiz in Moscow in 1961 also included the set. The different editions presented the texts in German with Russian translations. The translations were prepared by Dmitri Nedovich (No. I), N. Vesnina (Nos. II, III, VI, and VII), L. Chudova (No. IV), and S. Severtsev (No. V).[1] The work was never formally translated into English; however, Henry S. Drinker produced an English translation in 1946 that was never published with the score.[2]

Structure

The seven poems are scored for voice and piano accompaniment and have a total duration of 17 minutes approximately. The list of poems is as follows:

Structure of Seven Poems, Op. 46
Piece No. German title Russian title Title in English[a][2] Tempo marking
I Praeludium Прелюдия

Prelyudiya

Praeludium Largamente
II Geweihter Platz Священное место

Svyashchennoye mesto

The Hallowed Place Allegretto
III Serenade („Aussicht”) Серенада („Надежда”)

Serenada ("Nadezhda")

Serenade Allegretto con dolcezza
IV Im Walde В лесу

V lesu

In the Forest Allegro risoluto
V Winternacht Зимняя ночь

Zimnyaya noch'

Winter Night Lento
VI Die Quelle Ручей

Ruchey

The Spring Allegretto (andantino) commodo
VII Frisch gesungen Песня

Pesnya

Singing Allegretto con moto, ma poco risoluto

Recordings

Nikolai Medtner never recorded the complete set, and performers rarely record it in full. Medtner recorded the cycle partially on October 16, 1950, where he performed "Praeludium" (No. I), "Winter Night" (No. V), and "The Spring" (No. 6) with soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. This recording was originally released on 78 rpm by Columbia Records and has since been reissued on CD by EMI, Archiv, Historic Recordings, and St-Laurent Studio.[3] The following is a list of complete recordings of the cycle:

Recordings of Seven Poems, Op. 46
Soprano Piano Date of recording Place of recording Label
Sofia Fomina Alexander Karpeyev March 2018 Wyastone Hall, Wyastone Leys, Monmouth, Gwent, UK Chandos[4]
Ekaterina Levental Frank Peters 2020 Westvest90, Schiedam, The Netherlands Brilliant Classics[5]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Translation into English provided by Henry S. Drinker in 1946.

References

  1. ^ Medtner, Nikolai (1961). Собрание сочинений, Том VI: Сочинения для голоса и фортепиано [Sobranie Sochinenii, Tom VI: Sochineniia dlia golosa i fortepiano] (in Russian). Moscow: Muzgiz.
  2. ^ a b Medtner, Nikolay Karlovich (1946). English Texts for the Songs of Nicholas Medtner. Drinker.
  3. ^ "Seven Songs, Op 46". medtner.org.uk. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  4. ^ "Chandos Records Classical Music CDs". Chandos Records. Retrieved 2026-02-27.
  5. ^ "Medtner: Incantation, Complete Songs, Vol. 1 - Brilliant Classics". www.brilliantclassics.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-02-19.
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