Russian Music of 1936

LINKS:

The Lermontov Mirage JSTOR

Lermontov

Lermontov’s “A Hero of Our Time”

The Poems of Mikhail Lermontov

 

The Lermontov commemorative poster depicts scenes from the poet’s stories and his life.  An example of his poetry is included below.

Translated from the Russian

By VLADIMIR NABOKOV

THE ANGEL

An angel was crossing the pale vault of night,

and his song was as soft as his flight,

and the moon and the stars and the clouds in a throng

stood enthralled by this holy song.

 

He sang of the bliss of the innocent shades

in the depths of celestial glades;

he sang of the Sovereign Being, and free

of guile was his eulogy.

 

He carried a soul in his arms,

a young life to the world of sorrow and strife,

and the young soul retained the throb of that song

-without words, but vivid and strong.

 

And tied to this planet long did it pine

full of yearnings dimly divine,

and our dull little ditties could never replace

songs belonging to infinite space.

 

 

1941 marked the centennial of the death of Mikhail  Yurevich Lermontov. He was an officer and military hero, but Lermontov’s  greatest contributions to the history of Russia were his poetry and paintings.  The writer's house-museum (pictured at left) was home to the young poet during his years as a student at Moscow University, when he became so absorbed with his writing that he failed to sit his exams. The house contains much of the original furniture, many sketches and watercolors by Lermontov himself, and an extensive library full of works by his favorite authors; from Lomonosov, Krillov and Pushkin to Rousseau, Goethe, Shakespeare and the English Romantic poet Lord Byron.

A 1941 article, also by Vladamir Nabakov, printed in  Russian Review outlines many details of Lermontov’s short life.

*Title:  Four Poems by Lermontov
Author(s):  Lermontov; Vladimir Nabokov
Source:  Russian Review, Vol. 5, No. 2  (Spring, 1946), pp. 50-51
Publisher(s): Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Editors and Board of Trustees of the Russian Review

 Examples of Lemontov’s paintings. The two scenes pictured are among those depicted in the poster.

UPPER LEFT: Tiflis

CENTER LEFT : Dagestan

LOWER LEFT: Lermontov’s home near the Arbat during his University years

Mikhail Lermontov, Poet, Writer, Artist, Military Officer and Hero

SEE IT ON YOU-TUBE

Lermontov’s “The Angel” put to music by Oleg Pogudin