Glazunov - Chant du ménestrel, Op. 71 (Urtext Edition)

Alexander Glazunov composed five original works for cello, in addition to his two famous arrangements of Chopin études. These original works are the Elegy in memory of Franz Liszt, Mélodie, Sérénade espagnole, Chant du ménestrel, and the Concerto-ballata, which was dedicated to Pablo Casals but premiered by Casals’s student Maurice Eisenberg.

Glazunov’s Chant du ménestrel has become a favorite work from the Russian Romantic-era cello repertoire. Although the work is in F-sharp minor, it is highly idiomatic for the soloist. It was dedicated to the cellist Alexander Wierzbilowicz, who was also the dedicatee of Glazunov’s Op. 20 pieces and the first two Spanish Dances by David Popper.

Chant du ménestrel is also known as Song of the Troubadour, a translation of the original Russian title Песнь трубадура. The work evokes the Middle Ages through its open harmonies and gentle strumming effects. It was originally written for cello and piano. The manuscript of an early version, consisting of a score and separate cello part, is housed at the Russian National Library in Saint Petersburg. This early version is note-for-note identical to the first printed piano version, though it contains fewer dynamic details. The middle section is marked Animato poco instead of the revised Poco più mosso, and the separate cello part is notated in 2/2 rather than 4/4, as in all other sources.

The manuscripts of the final piano version and the orchestrated version are also housed at the Russian National Library. The primary source for our new edition is the manuscript of the final piano version, although other manuscripts and the first editions, published by Belaieff in versions with piano and with orchestra, were also consulted.

This edition includes an unmarked solo cello part as well as a second part with bowings and fingerings by the editor.

We would like to thank the Russian National Library for furnishing the sources for this new edition.

ASTA level: 4