Dokovska: Russian Songs / Svetlov, tenor

• Audio Samples
• Album Summary
• Notes & Reviews
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• Works Details

Audio Samples

Album Summary

Performers

• Pavlina Dokovska (Piano)
• Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor)

Composers

• Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844 - 1908)
• Modest Mussorgsky (1839 - 1881)
• Mily Balakirev (1837 - 1910)
• César Cui (1835 - 1918)
• Alexander Borodin (1833 - 1887)

Notes & Reviews:

When the Russian art historian and critic Vladimir Stasov declared in 1867 "how much poetry, feeling, talent, and intelligence are possessed by the small but already mighty handful of Russian musicians," the five nationalist composers to whom he referred adopted the nickname with pride. Though each developed his own personal style, they remained committed to forging a truly Russian musical tradition. Russian bass Mikhail Svetlov is a winner of the Viotti International Competition and has been principal soloist of the Bolshoy Theatre of Moscow for over a decade.

MusicWeb International
... She is sensitive to the lyrics, and supportive to the soloist. In the Songs and Dances of Death, her playing is really impressive.

Fanfare
This disc brings together a selection of songs by the five members of the Mighty Handful, and serves as a useful and economical introduction to their contributions in this genre, although with more than 23 minutes of unused space on the disc, more songs could have been included. Bass Mikhail Svetlov was originally known as Mikhail Krutikov. Under that name he was a member of the Bolshoi Theater company for more than a decade and participated in Bolshoi recordings of Rachmaninov's The Miserly Knight, Alexander Serov's Judith (both on Harmonia Mundi), and Prokofiev's Betrothal in a Monastery (BMG). He also appears in recordings of Rimsky-Korsakov's May Night and Shostakovich's unfinished opera The Gamblers (both on Capriccio), as well as a recording of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis conducted by Antal Doráti (BIS). He has performed with major opera companies throughout the world. I have not been able to discover the reason for his name change, but it appears that at a certain point he emigrated to the U.S.

You would learn little of this history from the Naxos notes. His performances on this disc are for the most part very good. He has a sonorous, well-rounded voice, evenly produced and pleasing in timbre, and he is able to scale it up or down as the material requires. He shows no strain or discomfort at either end of his range, although his tone sometimes betrays a slight unsteadiness in held notes. He tends to adopt rather brisk tempi by comparison with other interpreters, but nothing sounds hurried. He characterizes each song convincingly, dramatizing where the opportunity offers itself but not to excess. Pavlina Dokovska's accompaniments are discreetly proficient, properly proportioned in relation to the voice. The recorded sound is for the most part clear and spacious, although there can sometimes be a reverberant halo on the voice in peaks, and I hear one instance of actual distortion. Texts are available via download (Russian transliteration and English translation only, no Cyrillic). I must also report that these texts occasionally deviate from the words actually sung, and I believe it is the singer who is accurate.

American Record Guide
Svetlov lives this repertoire as he easily, dramatically moves his way from song to song. Dokovska is the excellent accompanist... excellent notes.

Notes & Reviews:

Recording information: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009).

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Also Purchased

Works Details

Mussorgsky, Modest : Mephistopheles' song of the flea

• Performers: Pavlina Dokovska (Piano); Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 3 min. 7 sec.
• Period Time: Romantic
• Written: 1879

Mussorgsky, Modest : A Society Tale :: The Goat (Svetskaya skazochka

• Performers: Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor); Pavlina Dokovska (Piano)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 2 min. 20 sec.
• Period Time: Romantic
• Written: 1867

Mussorgsky, Modest : The Street Urchin (Ozornik; The Ragamuffin), song for voice & piano

• Performers: Pavlina Dokovska (Piano); Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 2 min. 2 sec.
• Period Time: Romantic
• Written: 1867

Mussorgsky, Modest : The Seminarist, song for voice & piano

• Performers: Pavlina Dokovska (Piano); Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 4 min. 8 sec.
• Period Time: Romantic
• Written: 1866

Mussorgsky, Modest : Songs and dances of death

• Performers: Pavlina Dokovska (Piano); Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 17 min. 34 sec.
• Period Time: Romantic

César Cui (1835 - 1918) : Poems (25) by Pushkin, Op. 57

• Performers: Pavlina Dokovska (Piano); Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 1 min. 4 sec.
• Period Time: Post Romantic

César Cui (1835 - 1918) : Tï i vï ("You" and "thou"), Op. 57/11

• Performers: Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor); Pavlina Dokovska (Piano)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 1 min. 8 sec.
• Period Time: Post Romantic

Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai : The Prophet (Prorok) (i), song for voice & piano, Op. 49/2

• Performers: Pavlina Dokovska (Piano); Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 4 min. 13 sec.
• Period Time: Post Romantic
• Written: 1897

Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai : Songs (4), Op. 40

• Performers: Pavlina Dokovska (Piano); Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 1 min. 43 sec.
• Period Time: Post Romantic
• Written: 1897

Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai : Na kholmakh Gruzii (The hills of Georgia), Op. 3/4

• Performers: Pavlina Dokovska (Piano); Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 2 min. 13 sec.
• Period Time: Post Romantic
• Written: 1866

Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai : The rainy day has waned (Nenastnïy den' potukh), song for voice & piano, Op. 51/5

• Performers: Pavlina Dokovska (Piano); Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 4 min. 37 sec.
• Period Time: Post Romantic
• Written: 1897

Balakirev, Mily : Barcarole

• Performers: Pavlina Dokovska (Piano); Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 1 min. 35 sec.
• Period Time: Post Romantic
• Written: 1858

Balakirev, Mily : Whene'er I Hear Thy Voice

• Performers: Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor); Pavlina Dokovska (Piano)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 1 min. 18 sec.
• Period Time: Post Romantic
• Written: 1863

Balakirev, Mily : The Putting-Right (Kak naladili :: durak), song for voice & piano (10 Songs 1895-96, no 8)

• Performers: Pavlina Dokovska (Piano); Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 1 min. 22 sec.
• Period Time: Post Romantic
• Written: 1895-1896

Balakirev, Mily : Hebrew Melody

• Performers: Pavlina Dokovska (Piano); Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 2 min. 9 sec.
• Period Time: Post Romantic
• Written: 1859

Borodin, Alexander : Septain

• Performers: Pavlina Dokovska (Piano); Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 2 min. 8 sec.
• Period Time: Romantic
• Written: 1885

Borodin, Alexander : The False Note (Fal'shivaya nota), song for voice & piano

• Performers: Pavlina Dokovska (Piano); Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Period Time: Romantic
• Written: 1868

Borodin, Alexander : From my tears

• Performers: Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor); Pavlina Dokovska (Piano)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Period Time: Romantic
• Written: 1870-1871

Borodin, Alexander : Song of the dark forest

• Performers: Pavlina Dokovska (Piano); Mikhail Svetlov (Tenor)
• Notes: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, USA (03/15/2009-03/17/2009)
• Running Time: 2 min. 9 sec.
• Period Time: Romantic
• Written: 1867-1868