Mussorgsky’s “Where are you, little star?”, with lyrics by Nikolai Grekov, saw two iterations. The first was simplistic, even referred to by the composer as sel’skaya pesnya (a rustic or peasant song). The mid-1860s revision, which Mussorgsky backdated to the year of the original composition, has stood the test of time as a beloved romance^[1] with a grounding in the Russian folk tradition of protyazhnaya pesnya, or melismatic song. The melismas—single syllables sung over several notes—decorate Mussorgky’s solemn melody as it narrates the death of a young woman from the perspective of her beloved. In the protyazhnaya style, phrases can end on notes that are, to those accustomed to Western art music, unexpected. Here, the last word of the second stanza, “beloved,” falls on a lowered seventh scale degree, lending a poignant warmth to the moment in which the listener realizes what is at stake in this tragic story. The postlude climbs up through the piano register, as if trying to find the little star.

^[1] In this context, romance is a broad term to describe Russian art song, akin to the German Lied. Though the genre began in the 19th century, a given romance is not necessarily informed by—or an example of—the intellectual, literary, and artistic movement known as Romanticism.

Program Notes by Jack Slavin.
Slavin is a pianist, music educator, and arts professional based in New York City.