In 2010, the composer Elena Sokolovskaya wrote three romances based on the verses of Heinrich Heine for the 200th anniversary of the birth of Robert Schumann, which were performed in Moscow. In 2022, Elena Sokolovsky created the second edition of this work, changing its genre and calling it songs. When comparing the two editions, the composer's creative growth is very noticeable, a much deeper penetration into the meaning of the poet's poetry, the dramatic and technical mastery of the work. This growth prompted the author of the music to compose, in fact, a new work based on the same poems by Heinrich Heine. The new name of Elena Sokolovski's vocal work also testifies to the change in genre appearance: the genre and the musical variant-strophic form of the songs (Lied) are more in line with Schumann's creative style, to which the works are dedicated.

The first edition – three romances (2010) – is a cycle written for soprano, piano, violin, viola and cello. The second – three songs – does not form a cycle, each song can be performed separately. The songs are written for soprano and piano.

Trying to preserve the content and poetic atmosphere of Heine's originals as much as possible, Elena Sokolovsky does not rely on numerous poetic Russian translations: both editions were created by the composer in German.

Songs-dedications to Robert Schumann on the verses of Heinrich Heine by the composer Elena Sokolovskaya have an original feature. Each of them begins with a citation of one, somewhat modified fragment (rather, an allusion), which was chosen by the composer from various piano and vocal works by Schumann.

This choice serves several purposes: the most obvious of these is to demonstrate the modern author's appeal to the figurative sphere of Schumann himself. Moreover, each quote is already an allusion that takes place at the beginning and at the very end of each of the three songs, as if containing the quintessence of the artistic meaning of the work. And, finally, in any of the songs there is a radical transformation of the original quote and its allusion, since this change is dictated by the poetic text of Heinrich Heine. This transformation of music takes place under the influence of the meaning of the poet's verses. In the first and third songs, written to very bright and lyrical lyrics, this transformation seems to depict the other side of life with its sorrows and dramas. And in the second song, the tragedy is revealed in its entirety.

A profound figurative modification of the theme in many works is a typical musical and artistic phenomenon in the work of composers of the Romantic era. A modern composer, Elena Sokolovski, masterfully embodied this dramatic technique in her songs, dedicating them to the great romantic composer.

I."Herz, mein Herz"

The song "Herz, mein Herz" opens a small number of vocal works that are very interesting in terms of dramaturgy. Heine's poems at first glance can be perceived as bright, full of spring promises and hopes, dreams of love and joy. The poet in the poem mentally addresses his heart and asks him not to worry about fate and talks about how beautiful the world is. However, carefully reading the poem, you notice that it has, as it were, a second bottom. In the poetic lines there is a phrase about something that "winter took from you." These words are by no means joyful, on the contrary, the bright promises of spring are covered with a certain dramatic shade.

It was these words in Heine's poem that the author of the music drew attention to, deeply and subtly embodying the ambiguity of this image in his song. The song begins with a piano allusion to the joyful major introduction to Robert Schumann's famous vocal work "Dedication". But very quickly the nature of the music changes, the tempo steadily slows down to the fermata, and the lyrical falling phrase no longer contains that cheerful “major” with which the song began.

And it is here, at the moment of fracture, that the voice enters. From here begins the cultivation of a new theme that permeates the entire song: this is the Gregorian chant "Dies irae", a chant-symbol that many composers turned to in their works. This symbol is fraught with a sad allusion to the hidden drama of events.

The motif «Dies irae» appears in different versions as separate phrases, now in the voice, now at the piano or in their canon, and it sounds most fully in magnification in the vocal part before the extensive piano coda. Throughout the song, the composer managed to create a harmonious ensemble in which both participants – the vocal and piano parts – are completely equal, subtly complement and set off each other.

The ambiguity of Heine's poem is unusually solved by Elena Sokolovski. Almost everywhere the vocal part is below the piano counterpoint, which sounds so transparent and fragile in the second and third octaves – this creates the illusion of an enlightened sound of the fabric. However, thanks to the variantly developing thematism, filled with the mournful intonations of the Gregorian chant, the quiet moans of lamento, sudden agitato and stops, an internal “contradiction” arises between the unusual presentation of the fabric and its intonational content. And this contradiction is quite consistent with the versatility of Heine's poems.

The "duality" of the song is also emphasized by another technique mentioned above – the transformation of Schumann's allusion quote that sounds at the beginning and at the end of the song. Her cheerful protagonist, as noted above, tends to "freeze" already in the intro to the song, and at the end is fully realized. The song ends as if with a question: will the promises of spring come true to return joy, or is love and happiness impossible in life?…

II. "Im Mondenglanze ruht das Meer"

The romantic image of a calm sea illuminated by moonlight is probably one of the most wonderful, peaceful pictures that one can imagine. But this picture is deceptive, and the old legend, which awakens sadness in the poet's heart, tells of the tragedy of cities sunk in the abyss of the sea, deaf "bells" from the depths of the bottomless abyss, of the "groans" of dead people who will never return.

This dual image of beauty and death, created by Heinrich Heine, the composer translated in a peculiar way, finding an amazing and impressive effect for its embodiment. In each of the three variant stanzas of the song, the vocal part is divided into two types of presentation – singing with the words of poetry and vocalization without words. The contrast between the two ways of sounding evokes special associations: only living people can sing with words, while the fate of the drowned is wordless “groans” or complete silence … And the voice really falls silent during repeated piano solos. The expressive contrast contained in the vocal part runs against the backdrop of a rich piano part. Rising and falling figures resemble the movement of sea waves, emphatically menacing phrases in basses, polyphonic chords and long low organ points – all these quick changes in textured patterns, bizarre tonal-harmonic juxtapositions sound with multiple changes in tempo and time signature. In general, a very tense atmosphere of tragedy is skillfully created in Elena Sokolovski's song. It is precisely this atmosphere that is permeated by Heinrich Heine's poem, ending with the words: "he who is once buried will no longer be able to rise".

This conclusion forced the composer to strongly transform Schumann's quote-allusion, taken by the author of the song from the "Intermezzo" of the Vienna Carnival. Already in the introduction of the piano to the song, the allusion is devoid of the energetic and passionate character inherent in the theme of Robert Schumann. It sounds much slower, only the melody and the harmonic frame remain in it, and the texture presentation is extremely poor. The allusion sounds very restrained and breaks off before the introduction of the voice.

At the end of this song, the allusion is so transformed that only a melody remains of Schumann's theme, colored, like a shadow, by a minor sound and dissonant intervals.

III. "Sterne mit den goldnen Füßchen"

The wonderfully poetic image of the nature of the night in Heine's poem "Sterne mit den goldnen Füßchen" is full of unusual subtle comparisons and metaphors. These are the “golden feet of the stars” and the “green ears of the leaves”, the “embrace of the mountain” and the “silence of the forests” …

Such amazingly colorful imagery cannot but give rise to a desire to hear its embodiment in music, causing dreams and daydreams. That is why the composer Elena Sokolovski begins the third song with a quote-allusion of the famous play by Robert Schumann "Dreams".

The vocal phrase follows directly from the piano quotation, repeatedly sounding in the form of variants either in the voice or at the piano. A feeling of bright hope for happiness fills the first part of the song.

However, in the middle of the song, distant sounds are suddenly born, heard by “my heart,” the poet says, “what is this? Is this the voice of a loved one? No, this is not the sound of a beloved voice, but just the singing of a nightingale… And the mournful thought of a very desired, but not taken place, love date (and, apparently, this date will never take place, we read between the lines of the poem) is embodied in the song in a peculiar way. After the emotional culmination in the music, the feeling of bright hopes and dreams is lost. And the poetic quotation from Schumann's "Dreams" changes, it seems to fade away and gradually disappear. The dreams themselves crumble…

Three songs on verses by Heinrich Heine, dedicated to Robert Schumann, the composer Elena Sokolovski did not combine into a cycle. Meanwhile, a certain line runs through all three works, which speaks of their inner commonality, despite the different plots of Heinrich Heine's poems.

Indeed, all three songs reveal the duality of the psychological content of Heine's poems. The composer managed to reflect this versatility, giving the compositions of the song genre such shades that especially deeply reveal the artistic meaning of the poems.

So, the first number (song No. 1) is a sad confession song of a man who has lost hope for happiness, despite the promises of spring. The second composition (song No. 2) allows us to characterize it as a ballad song. Such a ballad reflects the poet's mournful reflections on the fate of the irretrievably departed people. Song No. 3 can be called a scene song: it has a plot that unfolds in front of the listeners, and the music vividly embodies these turns in the text.

All these different events deeply disturb and wound the sensitive heart of the poet Heinrich Heine. It is not for nothing that the word "Herz" (heart) sounds in all three poems: a romantic lyricist, Heine experiences and cannot but experience any event of the surrounding world…

Such a unity of feelings in poetic texts was reflected in the songs of the author of music, which conditionally allow the name "Sad Songs". And this musical unity, with all the differences between the songs, testifies to the most important factor in the work of Elena Sokolovski: it can be said with confidence that the composer has his own, creative individual style.

Leonardo Pailatti
Italy