I Met You, My Love – Old Russian Romances

I met you, my love collects nineteen of what are known as “Old Russian romances” (starinniye russkiye romansy), which are distinguished both from pure folk idioms and from the art songs written in the 19th and 20th centuries by such composers as Glinka and Medtner, also called “romances.” These songs are sung in Russia and throughout the former Soviet Union by people in every social class and age group. Though some of the lyrics were written by writers we would recognize in the West, like Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, Fyodor Tyutchev and Ivan Turgenev, most are of unknown or disputed authorship and seem to have been a part of the fabric of Russian culture for decades. They are well known and much loved by ordinary Russian people, and the Hvorostovsky household was no exception. Dmitri Hvorostovsky heard these songs around the house from the time he was a small child, as they were sung by his father Alexander, or performed on radio and recordings. The stylistic nuances of this repertoire are thus intimately familiar to him and of key importance: “This music is very refined and delicate,” Mr. Hvorostovsky explains. “However, it is often performed in a tasteless, even vulgar manner. To stay on the right track stylistically was the most important task for us.” Mr. Hvorostovsky was joined in the careful pursuit of true Russian style by Constantine Orbelian, the conductor of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and Mr. Hvorostovsky’s partner in two other recordings for Delos (Great Scenes from Queen of Spades, DE 3289; Passione di Napoli, DE 3290).