Title:
Pushkin's "Reverie" [
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Text: untitled 8-verse poem by Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin, 1829 (may be sung in either English or Russian)
Musicians: Unaccompanied SATB chorus, B & S solos
Length: 6:30
Style: Romantic
Program notes: Pushkin describes how thoughts of the inevitability of death intrude into his daily life. By the end, he achieves acceptance, or at least resignation, by visualizing his tomb and himself at rest. This poem is doubly poignant: First, Pushkin actually died young, in a duel to defend the honor of his wife. Second, because Pushkin had difficult relationships with both the government and the Orthodox church, his funeral was private and hurried. Following 6 verses set to original melodies, I set the last two verses as solo descants against the traditional hymns "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "Eternal Memory." In Pushkin�s time, the singing of the former might have been permitted even for the heterodox. The latter hymn was clearly in his mind, as shown by the echo of "Вечная память" in his final words "вєчною сиять".
