The Nursery

For other uses, see Nursery.
Musorgsky in 1870

The Nursery (Russian: Детская, Detskaya, literally Children's [Room]) is a song cycle by Modest Mussorgsky set to his own lyrics, composed between 1868 and 1872.

Song Data

Series Title Translation Date Dedication Pub. Date Publisher Notes
Series 1, No. 1 С няней With Nanny 1868-04-26 Aleksandr Dargomyzhsky 1872 Bessel
Series 1, No. 2 В углу In the Corner 1870-09-30 Viktor Gartman 1872 Bessel
Series 1, No. 3 Жук The Beetle 1870-10-18 Vladimir Stasov 1872 Bessel
Series 1, No. 4 С куклой With the Doll 1870-12-18 Tanyushka and Goga Musorgsky 1872 Bessel
Series 1, No. 5 На сон грядущий At Bedtime 1870-12-18 Sasha Cui 1872 Bessel
Series 2, No. 1 Поехал на палочке Ride on a Hobby Horse 1872-09-14 1882 Bessel
Series 2, No. 2 Кот Матрос The Cat 'Sailor' 1872-08-15 1882 Bessel
Series 2, No. 3 Сон Dream – – – – Projected or not written down
Series 2, No. 4 [Unknown] [Unknown] – – – – Projected or not written down

Synopses

Series 1: The Nursery

1. With Nanny (B-flat major)
A child begs the nurse to tell a story, first about the awful bogey-man who carries naughty children into the forest and devours them, and later about a fairy-tale Tsar and Tsaritsa who live in a rich palace by the sea.
2. In the Corner (F major)
The nurse berates Mishenka for spoiling her knitting and sends him to the corner.
3. The Beetle (F major)
A child relates to the nurse an encounter with a large beetle.
4. With the Doll (A-flat major)
A child sings a lullaby to her doll.
5. At Bedtime (A-flat major)
A child recites his prayers.

Series 2: At the Dacha

The two surviving songs of Series 2 (Russian: «На Даче», Na Dache, At the Dacha) along with new edition of the five songs of Series 1, were published by V. Bessel and Co. in 1908.

1. Ride on a Hobby Horse (D-flat major)
A child relating his imaginary journey to Yukki on a stick (hobby horse) falls, injures himself, and resumes his journey.
2. The Cat 'Sailor' (A major)
A child foils the attempt by Matros ("Sailor") the cat to catch the family canary.
3. Dream
A child's fantastic dream
4. [Unknown title]
A quarrel between two children

Notes

    An orchestral (no voice) version was arranged by Peter Breiner and recorded in 2012 by him with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra on Naxos.

    References

    External links

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