Seven Romances on Poems by Alexander Blok
Seven Romances on Poems by Alexander Blok (Op. 127) is a vocal-instrumental song cycle by Dmitri Shostakovich, based on verses by Alexander Blok.
It was written in 1967 for Galina Vishnevskaya. The composition is written for soprano, violoncello, violin, and piano. Vishnevskaya gave the first performance on October 25, 1967 at the Moscow Conservatoire Hall with Mstislav Rostropovich on cello, Mieczysław Weinberg on piano and David Oistrakh on violin.
Structure
The cycle consists of seven parts:
- 1) Song of Ophelia
- 2) Gamayun, the Bird of Prophecy
- 3) We Were Together
- 4) Gloom Enwraps the Sleeping City
- 5) The Storm
- 6) Secret Signs
- 7) Music
Recordings
ArteMiss Trio. (Alžběta Poláčková-soprano) ArcoDiva CD. UP 0069-2131
Galina Vishnevskaya (soprano), Mstislav Rostropovich (cello), Ulf Hoelscher (violin) and Vasso Devetzi (piano) for EMI[1]