Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) effectively founded Russian literature, elevating his mother tongue to match the wit and penetrating observation of the French, Spanish and English writers he admired. He was revered even through the Soviet years, the hundredth anniversary of his death being grandly commemorated in 1936 during Stalin's reign. It was for that occasion that the two sets of Pushkin songs by Russia's leading composers of that time - Prokofiev and Shostakovich - were originally composed. In later life, Shostakovich became friends with the English composer, Benjamin Britten, who also befriended the cellist and pianist Mstislav Rostropovich (a sometime pupil of Shostakovich's) and his wife the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. It was specifically for the latter two artists that Britten in 1965 composed The Poet's Echo.
1 Les Baricades Mistérieuses, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, II, 6E Ordre)
2 Le Tic-Toc-Choc, Ou Les Maillotins, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, III, 18E Ordre)
3 La Couperin, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, IV, 21E Ordre)
4 Las Calotines, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, III, 19E Ordre)
5 Les Ombres Errantes, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, IV, 25E Ordre)
6 Les Tricoteuses, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, IV, 23E Ordre)
7 Le Carillon de Cythére, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, III, 14E Ordre)
8 La Muséte de Taverni, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, III, 15E Ordre)
9 Les Rozeaux, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, III, 13E Ordre)
10 L'atalante, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, II, 12E Ordre)
11 La Passacaille, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, II, 8E Ordre)
12 La Muse-Plantine, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, III, 19E Ordre)
13 Les Tours de Passe-Passe, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, IV, 22E Ordre)
14 Bruit de Guerre, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, II, 10E Ordre, la Triomphante)
15 Le Dodo, Ou L'amour Au Berceau, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, III, 15E Ordre)
16 La Visionnaire, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, IV, 25E Ordre)
17 La Logiviére, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, I, 5E Ordre)
18 Les Juméles, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, II, 12E Ordre)
19 Les Chérubins Ou L'aimable Lazure, for Harpsichord (Pièces de Clavecin, IV, 20E Ordre)
20 La Pothoüin, Rondeau for Harpsichord (From Pièces de Clavicin, Book 4)
Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) effectively founded Russian literature, elevating his mother tongue to match the wit and penetrating observation of the French, Spanish and English writers he admired. He was revered even through the Soviet years, the hundredth anniversary of his death being grandly commemorated in 1936 during Stalin's reign. It was for that occasion that the two sets of Pushkin songs by Russia's leading composers of that time - Prokofiev and Shostakovich - were originally composed. In later life, Shostakovich became friends with the English composer, Benjamin Britten, who also befriended the cellist and pianist Mstislav Rostropovich (a sometime pupil of Shostakovich's) and his wife the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. It was specifically for the latter two artists that Britten in 1965 composed The Poet's Echo.
