The Nursery (song cycle)

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 Dargomïzhsky	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

• Calvocoressi, M.D., Abraham, G., Mussorgsky, 'Master Musicians' Series, London: J.M.Dent & Sons, Ltd., 1974
• Calvocoressi, M.D., Modest Mussorgsky: His Life and Works, London: Rockliff, 1956
• Orlova, A., Mussorgsky Remembered, translated by Zaytsev, V. and Morrison, F., Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991
• Unknown compiler, notes to Moussorgsky: Integrale des Melodies CD recording by Boris Christoff, EMI Records Ltd, 1989