Story about seasons
Feelings: A Story in Seasons by Manjit Thapp
emma
1,810 reviews44.6k followers
October 5, 2021The thing about depression is that it is very boring and aesthetically unappealing. Sleeping all day? Feeling either no emotions or an immense sadness? Never leaving your room or even turning the lights on? No thanks!
Usually any content created about depression is doomed to be similar, because the source material is...challenging.
But this book??? Is so pretty. Is so lovely and little and interesting.
Depression isn't, but this is!
Bottom line: I love arbitrarily picking up a book and then being rewarded for my adventurousness by really enjoying it!
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pre-review
sooooo this is the prettiest book i've ever read in my life.
review to come / 4ish stars
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tbr review
my library just added a bunch of graphic novels. relatedly, i think i know how to fix my reading slump now
- 4-stars authors-of-color diverse
December 14, 2022
This illustrated journal kinda book has all the Elizabeth Acevedo and Rupi Kaur vibes.
I can relate to it all as it deals accurately with anxiety and need to be alone.
Social media, workload, expectations and execution. Sometimes it becomes quite exhausting. But it's what we love and what I need to do.
Relax. Create. Rewind.
There's nothing wrong with this. We need it to recreate and rejuvenate.
The illustrations are really calming and they represent exactly what I feel.
A go-to book for an overwhelming day.
December 9, 2021
Because there were few dialogues, this graphic novel would have taken me less than 30 minutes to read. But it took me two days since I didn't want the art to stop because I was enjoying it so much. I intended to snap a screenshot of each page and use it as my wallpaper. It was simply breathtaking. Manjit Thapp is a genius when it comes to colour schemes and expressing thoughts without using words.
I'd like for everyone to read it. It's truly magnificent.
.
- graphic-books-comics non-fiction
jenny✨
563 reviews776 followers
November 24, 2020Simple, lush, and gorgeously illustrated: I pored over every page of this enchanting book.
Prior to Feelings, I had only known of Manjit Thapp through the artwork she provided for Vivek Shraya’s The Subtweet. It’s without a doubt one of the most beautiful (and memorable) covers I’ve ever seen:
So when I found out Thapp was releasing her own book—“a visual journey through one young woman's year of emotions”—I was so, so excited.
Feelings balances natural imagery and illustrations of technology; Instagram profiles interweave with riotous blossoms, while text message notifs appear alongside the pitter-patter of gloomy rainfall.
I was especially enamoured with the organization of elements on the page. One sequence of images, for instance, is structured to look like a game of Snakes & Ladders, which I thought so aptly captured the feeling of sliding backwards even as you hit a boon and surge forward (monsoon season).
And the way the panels bleed into each other is very visually appealing.
The book is organized into 6 seasons: high summer, late summer, monsoon, autumn, winter, and spring.
Thapp’s masterful use of colour and palettes shows within each season: from the gorgeous pastels of high summer to the mellow warmth of late summer; monsoon season’s muted blues, purples, pinks; the stress-laden red of autumn; winter’s dark teal and bitter, ashy grey; and finally cycling back to the tentative pastels of spring.
I can’t wait to read and re-read this book as I go through my own seasons.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this stunning ARC in exchange for an honest review.
- 2021 arc author-of-colour
ally
78 reviews3,749 followers
June 13, 2022beautifully mundane and perfectly poetic
November 12, 2022
So the illustrations were absolutely beautiful; but for me, the story was a bit depressing.
I understand it has to do with feelings, but I don’t believe it doesn’t truly reflects on many people’s perspective on different seasons. I personally don’t like the summer time, I love winter.
July 1, 2021
Lovely and muted graphic novel that allows the images to carry the focus. The idea is to track the emotions of an unnamed woman across the seasons, to show how feelings are tied to the weather sometimes. in part because I just read some women's punk comics I was initially not interested in this book, as it is abstract, has this obvious title, and is not really narrative or even really character-driven. It made me think of this song we made fun of decades ago, "Feelings," by Albert Morris.
But a second reading brought me to a bit more meditative state as I began to appreciate the contemplative approach to the art. I think the main character may struggle with depression. Or a rollercoaster of emotions. So when I categorize this as poetry comics I am not referring so much to Thapp's words so much as the deliberate, lyrical arrangement of images for emotional effects.
Right, it's lovely, reflective, but it's still abstract, a book about feelings, so I rate it 3 stars, because I like the art and the glimpse into the range of one woman's emotions.
- gn-psych gn-women poetry-comics
March 7, 2021
As I started the book, I read the dedication aloud to my daughter, "For those who feel all the feels," and ventured that I don't think I'm the intended audience for this book. She agreed, saying I have about 10 percent of the feels. Well, I think I can easily hit 12 or 13 percent on a good day. But this book did not catch me on a good day.
In big pictures that are flat and too often too on the nose and with short sentences that aren't quite poetic but close enough, the author walks us through the seasons (she throws in a couple extra to get us to six) and her emotional response to them. So for me, it's mostly a book of someone talking about the weather, which, I mean, who ever really enjoys those conversations, right?
https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=te7bb...
Steph
492 reviews252 followers
March 2, 2021wow. i loved this soft and soothing graphic memoir.
beautifully warm and emotive art, accompanied by gentle words, all reflecting the passage of time. feelings has a chapter for each season. as time passes, the growth or dormancy of plant life parallels thapp's own moods.
the geometric style of the panels reminds me of an artsy early-90s picture book that i think i read in my youth and can no longer recall. the art's warm simplicity is soothing, as are its rich colors.
if you can get your hands on a physical copy upon release, i'd definitely recommend it. i loved the ebook, but i think the best way to enjoy feelings would be to slowly pore over the paper pages.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
- bio-memoir comfort-reads ebook-laptop-phone
Deborah
731 reviews46 followers
September 9, 2021A woman who suffers from anxiety uses the six-season calendar based on some South Asian countries to illustrate her emotions.
In high Summer she thrives. Slowly her good cheer wanes as shadows loom bringing stress and worries and her energy dissipates. The Monsoon depicts days of raw and brutally honest emotions. In Autumn she reaches a nadir and struggles to climb out in her desire to blossom again. A visual insight in how the seasons can affect moods and her art. Gentle, poignant, and honest. 3.5 stars.
- great-britain-uk
December 25, 2020
“I realise everyone is huddled in their own cocoon. They’re either happy in the warm. Or waiting to thaw in better days. I’m not alone in feeling this way but I’m alone all the same.”
A one-sitting read that, for what it's worth, will speak to millennials caught in the throes of quarter-life crises. The association of changing seasons with one's emotions becomes a tad trite as the pages turn, though, as the speaker makes every imaginable metaphor that informs summer as a time for growth and prosperity and winter as sullen and uninspiring and the seasons in between the limbo through which her hope navigates in undulant patterns.
The storytelling, albeit rendered magnificently by Thapp's skillful, artistic hand, gives little to the root of her anxiety. She appears to have an ideal friend group to confide in but often retreats from for reasonable moments of isolation and sadness; a job that appears to get her by well enough with the added prospect of a solo art exhibit; and a promising dating life that is more or less interrupted by the currents of these mood swings — still, the motive underneath it all is never entirely unveiled in a way that could forge a connection with the reader. I would have liked for the speaker to have explored her anxiety, to give it depth.
Nevertheless, I think, on a vulnerable level, I understand what Thapp attempted to convey in this book through illustrations that lay bare her feelings. I am, too, of the cheesy ilk that links seasons with moods — albeit oppositely (summertime sadness is a real thing, y'all) — yet I believe Feelings will find its people, especially in the age of quarantine, when they least expect it.
3.5 stars overall. Thanks, Random House, for the gifted copy.
- 2021 arc authors-of-color
January 19, 2023
One of the most beautiful graphic novels I have ever read, Feelings: A Story in Seasons, provides a glimpse into the life of the author and her emotions over the course of a year.
The story is told through 6 seasons: high summer, late summer, monsoon, autumn, winter, and spring. With each season, the incredibly talented Manjit Thapp perfectly encapsulates the look and feel of the changing months and the emotions that often accompany them, from the vibrancy of creativity and light in high summer and the gray, isolation of winter.
Touching on topics of anxiety and depression, this graphic novel is gripping, honest, and poignant. -Jenny L.
- adult biography-or-memoir graphic-novel
Rebeca
201 reviews211 followers
October 7, 2020thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
what a simple, colorful book yet so impactful.
With so much emotion, I quickly ate it up and will happily come back to it again and again.
- 2020 arcs
Neeks
126 reviews934 followers
November 21, 2021Absolutely STUNNING illustrations and lots of beautiful details with each emotion and season. A really beautifully illustrated graphic novel about seasonal depression
- graphic-novels-manga
Wilmarie
111 reviews25 followers
January 1, 2021wow just wow 🧡 Review coming soon but right now my emotions are too much to process everything
June 28, 2021
This is a gentle and ruminative look at how much our mood/mental health can be affected by the changing seasons. The text itself is relatively simple, though it does have an air of prose poetry to it. So while it may not discuss any particularly unique experiences or offer up any groundbreaking insights, it is likely to resonate widely.
If you suffer from anxiety or bouts of depression (particularly SAD), you are sure to feel seen by Thapp's musings. Regardless, the real draw here is her stunning artwork. A dreamy colour palette and a playful use of structure and layout elevate this quasi-graphic-memoir considerably. I will certainly come back to this to soak up the visuals, and will be keeping an eye out for more of Thapp's work.
- graphic-novels mental-health non-fiction
Ashley
157 reviews3 followers
May 10, 2021Loved the depiction of seasons coinciding with feelings. Incredibly relatable.
March 6, 2021
100% loved this. It was perfect for me. Anyone who deals with seasonal affective disorder will really relate to this. It is poetic and compassionate. So gentle and vulnerable...authentic. The artwork is gorgeous. I mean really really gorgeous. The book itself is put together really well. The paper is fantastic. Whoever chose that needs a pat on the back.
Highly recommend this one!
Amy
259 reviews70 followers
April 15, 2021I have job interviews all week, and I'm stressed, and I'm sick, and this book made me feel slightly better
- 2021-releases
Sophie
53 reviews13 followers
December 20, 2020I thoroughly enjoyed reading “Feelings”, finding shards of my own personality in the plot, as winter sets in around me. The book does a great job of visually representing how anxiety and/or depression can affect one, especially throughout the changing of the seasons. I’ve been of fan of Thapp’s illustrations for a while and was delighted to see them expanded upon in narrative form here.
This is a great book for anyone looking for a beautiful, colorful, visual escape in book form, albeit an informative, emotional escape. Anyone who has struggled with mental illness, social or general anxiety would feel less alone after reading it.
My favorite parts were the summer season images and I especially appreciated the depiction and inclusion of social media in certain parts. Sometimes social media is what really puts you over the edge when you’re feeling alone. It also felt like a visual diary. which added to the intimacy and genuine feeling of the story. Though I read this on a screen, I can imagine this book being a great book that is also a piece of art to have around.
What sets “Feelings” apart from other books, specifically comic books written by artists, is the fact that the story feels close to home. The way the narrative is written feels like you’re seeing thoughts as they happen in real time, and I loved the simplicity of some of the pages. Nothing was too overcrowded or hard to process, each line was given it’s own space visually which led to a more meditative reading experience.
My only qualms with the story would be more of a resolution in the end. Though I understand the ending was likely written more open-ended, to leave readers with a hopeful feeling for the future, I’d have loved a more full-circle growth to show how one can truly rebound from periods of depression or anxiety.
Overall I really enjoyed this story and would recommend it to any of my friends. Thanks Netgalley!
August 3, 2022
This was my first ever graphic novel! I really want to get into them. If you have any recommendations for me, I'd really appreciate them! I own Persepolis but haven't read it yet.
The artwork in this is 10/10 gorgeous. This is about seasonal depression and seemed like a really cool topic to unpack but I just didn't find myself feeling much on it even though I have suffered from clinical depression (though not seasonal). But I would definitely get a print of this artwork!
March 13, 2021
The perfect Saturday morning read as spring slowly creeps in. This visual journey through the seasons and her emotions gave me all the feels. A book to help acknowledge the visiting feelings and help you see that we have shared experiences. Even though this story is a graphic novel, I’d say this book is geared more towards adults and teens.
May 23, 2022
Breathe out.
Hauntingly beautiful, Feelings: a Story in Seasons is an achingly relatable graphic novel about the emotional cycle many of us go through. I loved the double meaning behind everything, and how this author made me realize that the same beauty we find in nature can be found in ourselves.
-inspiring
-amazing art
- other-bipoc-and-minority-authors
May 30, 2021
This was so beautiful and so relatable.
April 29, 2022
incredible! i’m going to read through this book every time the season changes. it so wonderfully showcases the human experience & the art is truly phenomenal.
- 2022
January 10, 2022
Beautiful. Manjit Thapp really killed this artwork. The mood she set was so thick you could swim through it. Highly relatable. A slice of real life.
- 5-star comics favorites
May 7, 2021
There is poetry in the words, art, and even the way the book was created.
I love the way that the author connects their feelings to the six seasons (it is based off of the Asian seasons). I love how everything was carefully thought about and connected. The way the author describes her feelings is very poignant.
- asian-asian-american diversity graphic-novel
Hadia
256 reviews6 followers
September 21, 2022Loved how the author got her mojo back when spring arrived. Shows how much nature and surroundings affect our mood. Very realistic and empowering.
- graphic-novels
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Related to story of seasons
- harvest moon
P.
I. Tchaikovsky "The Seasons": history, video, listen, content P.I. Tchaikovsky "The Four Seasons"
"The Four Seasons" is not just a cycle of bright characteristic pieces that are familiar to almost everyone from childhood. This is a real personal diary of the composer, where he diligently wrote down all the memorable and dear episodes for him, amazing pictures of nature. City pictures of life, rural life, boundless expanses and feelings are closely intertwined here. This is what distinguishes the piano cycle of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky from other similar works.
The history of the creation of "The Seasons" by Tchaikovsky, the content of the work and many interesting facts, read on our page.
The history of creation
The emergence of the famous cycle by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is directly connected with the Nuvellist magazine, which began its activity in 1842.
This edition introduced readers to all the latest from the world of music, the works of domestic and foreign composers. Pyotr Ilyich has been successfully collaborating with the magazine since 1873, when he wrote several vocal works specially for the publication. This time, the magazine's publisher Nikolai Matveyevich Bernard in November 1875 turned to Tchaikovsky with a request to compose a cycle of plays and promised a very decent fee.
The publisher immediately offered the composer the titles of the pieces, thereby defining the program of the pieces. In December 1875, the same magazine published an announcement in which they promised to acquaint readers in the coming year with Tchaikovsky's original composition, listing the titles of the plays.
There is practically no information about the process of writing the cycle, it is only known that at that time Pyotr Ilyich was in the capital. In mid-December 1875, the maestro wrote in a letter to Bernard that he was very concerned that the plays might be long and boring.
However, Tchaikovsky's doubts were in vain, because Bernard liked the compositions and they were published right on time.
When the pieces were finished and published in the Nuvelliste, Bernard added poetic epigraphs to them to better reveal the composer's intentions.
The very name "Seasons" first appeared at the end of 1876, when the entire cycle was published. All subsequent editions have retained this title. However, Bernard still made his contribution by adding the explanation "12 characteristic pictures" to the title.
On December 13, Pyotr Ilyich sent the first two plays to the publisher, and preparations immediately began for their publication in the magazine, which was published every month. Thus, in each issue, the works of the composer were to be presented, which opened it, with the exception of the ninth issue. In this issue, the work of V. Glavacha, a permanent author of the publication, was the first to be placed. The same issue indicated that all subscribers would receive twelve pieces by Tchaikovsky in one edition at the end of the year as a nice bonus.
Thus, the entire cycle saw the light at the end of 1876.
Unfortunately, there is no information about how critics received Tchaikovsky's novelty and about where the pieces were first performed. However, public recognition was not long in coming. Soon this cycle became extremely popular among performers, both amateurs and real professionals.
Interesting facts
- The composer was given the titles of all twelve pieces in advance, but he still titled some of them himself. So, the miniature "Harvest" was designated as Scherzo, and "Christmas" - Waltz . Subsequently, these subtitles were removed by other publishers.
- Tchaikovsky is not the only composer who wrote the cycle "The Seasons". Previously, this topic was touched upon by Antonio Vivaldi , who composed 4 string concertos , which corresponded to different seasons. Astor Piazzolla wrote a cycle of four tango pieces. Composer Grigor Akhinyan created the dance cycle "Seasons".
In addition, there are a large number of ballets of the same name, as well as an oratorio Joseph Haydn .
- In painting there are also cycles "The Seasons" (Nicola Poussin, Giuseppe Arcimboldo). Francesco Sozzi created a cycle of frescoes corresponding to the seasons, and Marc Chagall created a mosaic.
- White Nights is an image that has always attracted the attention of creators. Russian artists and poets sang their romanticism in their works. F. Dostoevsky wrote the story "White Nights".
- In one of the plays Tchaikovsky shows a romantic image of Petersburg. He had a lot to do with this city. It was here that he experienced his triumph and gained public recognition.
- In the first half of the 19th century, barcaroles became very popular in Russian music. They firmly entered the Russian lyrics, and also penetrated into poetry and painting.
- Tchaikovsky's piano cycle was performed by many famous pianists, such as Svyatoslav Richter, Andrey Nikolsky, Mikhail Pletnev.
- The “Lace” festival, held in Vologda (2016), managed to captivate the audience, because it immediately presented six versions of the play “Autumn Song” from the cycle.
- P.I. Tchaikovsky "The Four Seasons" 12 characteristic paintings for piano.
The content of The Seasons
The collection The Seasons includes 12 small pieces that correspond to all months of the year. Very accurately, the composer conveyed not only nature in all its glory, but also the state of man, the world of his feelings associated with this season. Sometimes, words are not even needed to understand what exactly the author wanted to convey in this work. The music speaks for itself very clearly and clearly.
"At the Fireside" is the first piece in the collection that shows the month of January. Kamelkom was called a Russian fireplace, which was in almost every house and gathered around him the whole family on winter evenings.
If this is a peasant hut, then they would definitely sing songs, spin lace, if it was a noble hut, then they would mostly play music or read. Calm and peaceful music, as well as individual motives of the melody, seem to convey a leisurely speech. Listening to this play, one can easily imagine how people sitting near the fireplace look thoughtfully at the flames of fire and talk. The second part is somewhat different from the first and third, it is more excited and lively.
"At the Fireside" (listen)
In the second play "Shrovetide" , a picture of a folk festival unfolds before the audience. Shrove Tuesday invariably ends with a festivity dedicated to the welcome of spring. With the help of musical sounds, the composer conveyed the walking crowd, the dances of the mummers and the sound of the instruments. The miniature is very interestingly built, it consists of small pictures that quickly replace each other, but the first theme constantly returns.
Before the listeners, a picture of a national holiday with all the necessary attributes appears very clearly and vividly.
Shrovetide (listen)
Lark . What do people most often associate with the beginning of spring? Of course, with the singing of birds, it is the lark that has long been considered a spring bird, and its singing symbolizes the onset of the long-awaited heat in March. All nature is awakening from its winter hibernation. In this dreamy and sad piece, the composer very accurately conveyed the singing of birds with the help of sound representation. In the work, two different themes are closely bordered, which, meanwhile, are united by trills. One of them is lyrical, melodious, the other is wide, with big ups.
Lark (listen)
Snowdrop . The spring sun warms, the birds sing and the time has come for the first spring flowers to bloom. Snowdrops appear as soon as the cold recedes and the snow melts.
This play conveys all the excitement and awe that overwhelms a person from the contemplation of the landscape. Not surprising, because in the spring not only nature awakens, but also human feelings. Falling in love, hope for a brighter future - everything is fine at this time. In the music, performed in a waltz rhythm, these bright emotions are transmitted.
Snowdrop (listen)
White Nights May. Inspired and extraordinarily poetic white nights in St. Petersburg, when the air is shrouded in an incredible romantic mood, are conveyed in this play. The atmosphere in music is very changeable, in it sad thoughts are abruptly replaced by incredible delight. All this takes place against the backdrop of an unchanging romantic night landscape. The first section is more of a dream of happiness, it is built on short motifs that convey sighs. The second section is more passionate. The excitement in the soul grows strongly and turns into an enthusiastic joyful outburst.
The third section returns to calm dreams and a dreamy mood.
White Nights (listen)
Barcarolle . June. In Venice, Barcaroles were very common - these are songs that were performed by Italian boatmen. They were all smooth and melodious. The wide melody of the first part sounds very expressive. The accompaniment to it resembles guitar overflows, which were quite traditional for the barcarolle. In the middle part, the mood changes to a more joyful and excited one. At the end of the piece, the music stops, as if the boat with the singer is gradually moving away, hiding behind the horizon.
"Barcarolle" (listen)
"Song of the Mower" . July. Early in the morning, the mowers, armed with their tools, went to the field to mow the grass. At the same time, they often sang labor songs, which helped them in their work. In a short play, Tchaikovsky showed a vivid picture of village life.
The main melody itself accurately conveys the intonations of the folk song. The thumbnail has three sections. The first and third of them are the worker's song itself, which is filled with fun and energy. The middle section is somewhat different, similar to an instrumental break.
"Song of the mower" (listen)
"Harvest". August. At the end of summer, it is customary to harvest from the field, and in the life of a peasant - this was one of the most important periods. We worked a lot in the field, but there was time for songs. A folk scene from the life of a peasant unfolds before the audience. The music sounds lively and upbeat. The middle part of the play is a small lyrical digression, depicting a rural landscape with its plains and endless fields. It was for this miniature that Tchaikovsky introduced his subtitle "Scherzo".
"Harvest" (listen)
"Hunt" . Russian life of the XIX century is impossible to imagine without hunting, which was a kind of fun in the noble estates.
It was her that Tchaikovsky portrayed in this autumn play. Usually hunting was always noisy, cheerful, hunting horns and barking dogs were heard everywhere. Very skillfully Pyotr Ilyich used sound-representative techniques in this play.
"Hunt" (listen)
Autumn Song . Autumn in our country is always special, it was not in vain that many poets and painters admired it, singing in their works. This is a unique and incomparable beauty of Russian nature, sparkling with golden colors. Of course, autumn is also different, when a dull rain makes you feel a little sad for the passing summer, and nature seems to be dying. It was this mood that Pyotr Ilyich tried to convey in his work. The play occupies a central place in the entire cycle. It seems to show the end of the story. The intonations of a sigh, sadness and melancholy sound in the play. Only the middle part is like a glimmer of hope, and it sounds like a quivering upsurge, full of inspiration.
However, the third section again returns to the intonations of sadness and sadness. The last bars sound with fading, it seems that there is no longer any hope for a revival.
"Autumn Song" (listen)
"On the troika". Although November belongs to the autumn months, winter is already felt in full measure. Frosts are already standing, and the trees are covered with white frost. The scenery is amazing at this time of the year. The work begins with a beautiful melody of wide breathing, which draws Russian expanses in front of the listeners. Suddenly, the calm is broken by the distant sound of bells, which are gradually approaching. This is a trio of horses harnessed together. The merry chime of the bells temporarily pushes the lyrical mood into the background. But then the horses rushed past and the chime gradually subsides. The first melody sounds again, similar to the mournful song of the coachman.
“On the troika” (listen)
“Svyatki” .
What is customary to do at Christmas time? Girls tell fortunes about their betrothed, a festive atmosphere reigns everywhere. Mummers walk the streets, enter houses and entertain the owners with their jokes and songs. With his final piece in the cycle, Tchaikovsky defined "Waltz". Episodes of this dance really occur here and alternate with the main melody. The play ends with a solemn celebration to the sounds of a serene waltz, when the whole family, together with the guests, gathers around a chic Christmas tree.
"Svyatki" (listen)
New versions of "The Seasons"
The "Four Seasons" cycle turned out to be incredibly popular among performers, which is why it exists in various arrangements for different instruments and compositions. Many famous musicians in their time were involved in the orchestration of the score of the piano cycle. The most popular version is Alexander Gauk's (1942), which was timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the composer.
An interesting version was presented to the public by Sergey Rytsarev-Abir, which impresses the audience with its unusual orchestration. This is not just an ordinary arrangement for a symphony orchestra, this version has the style of Tchaikovsky, as if he himself thought it this way, having created it specifically for the orchestra. These small plays are shown in bright pictures before the listeners. Researchers note that it is in this version that there is something that only Mikhail Pletnev managed to embody - the logic of an orchestral scale. The author himself noted that he was guided by one rule during his work. He initially thought of the Tchaikovsky cycle only as a sketch, or, to be more precise, as a piano arrangement of an already existing (hypothetically) symphonic work. This allowed him to take a fresh look at the work and overcome his attachment to the piano. At some points, he even had to add a few introductory bars to the miniatures so as not to destroy the concept of the whole idea.
It is noteworthy that this piano cycle by Tchaikovsky has no time limits. He is known, appreciated and loved by listeners, performers from different countries of the world. For decades, young musicians have been brought up on these simple and so understandable pieces, which are real gems of Russian classical music. " Seasons " is an amazing work that has a special appeal that has not been lost over the entire period of existence, and this is its main advantage.
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Tchaikovsky's The Seasons
Tchaikovsky. The Four Seasons (Les Saisons, Op. 37b)
12 Characteristic Pictures for Piano
Tchaikovsky's The Four Seasons is a kind of musical diary of the composer, capturing episodes of life, meetings and pictures of nature dear to his heart.
As his brother M. I. Tchaikovsky later recalled: “Pyotr Ilyich, as rarely anyone, loved life<...> Every day had significance for him and he was sad to say goodbye to him at the thought that there would be no trace of everything experienced ".
This lyrical feeling of the composer, love for life and admiration for it fills the music of one of Tchaikovsky's musical masterpieces, the piano cycle "The Seasons". This cycle of 12 characteristic paintings for piano can be called an encyclopedia of Russian estate life of the 19th century, of the St. Petersburg city landscape. In his images Tchaikovsky captures the endless Russian expanses, and rural life, and paintings of St. Petersburg city landscapes, and scenes from the domestic musical life of Russian people of that time.
12 plays - 12 pictures from the Russian life of Tchaikovsky received epigraphs from the poems of Russian poets during the publication:
"At the fireside". January:
And a corner of peaceful bliss
Night dressed in dusk.
The fire goes out in the fireplace,
And the candle is burning.
A. S. Pushkin
Maslenitsa. February:
A lively carnival is coming soon
A wide feast will boil.
P. A. Vyazemsky.
"Song of the Lark". March:
The field is shaking with flowers,
Waves of light are pouring in the sky.
Spring larks singing
Blue abysses are full.
A. N. Maykov
"Snowdrop". April:
Pure blue
Snowdrop: a flower,
And beside it, transparent
The last snow.
Last tears
About the grief of the past
And the first dreams
About another happiness...
AN Maikov
"White Nights". May:
What a night! On everything what bliss!
Thank you, dear midnight land!
From the realm of ice, from the realm of blizzards and snow
How fresh and pure your May flies!
A.
A. Fet
Barcarolle. June:
Let's go ashore, there the waves
Our feet will kiss,
Stars with mysterious sadness
Will shine above us.
A. N. Pleshcheev
“Song of the mower”. July:
Raise your shoulder
Swing your arm!
You smell in the face,
Wind from noon!
A. V. Koltsov
Harvest. August:
People in families
Started to reap,
Mow down to the roots
High rye!
Frequently stacked
Stacked sheaves.
From wagons all night
Music hides.
A.V. Koltsov
"Hunting". September:
It's time, it's time! Horns trumpet:
Hounds in hunting gear
Why are they sitting on horseback;
Greyhounds jump on packs.
A. S. Pushkin
"Autumn Song". October:
Autumn, our whole poor garden is crumbling,
Yellow leaves are flying in the wind.
..
AK Tolstoy
"On the troika". November:
Don't look longingly at the road
And don't rush after the troika
And the sad anxiety in your heart
Hurry and put it out forever.
N. A. Nekrasov
Christmas time. December:
Once every Epiphany
The girls were guessing,
A slipper over the gate
Taking it off their feet they threw it.
VA Zhukovsky
The emergence of the cycle "The Seasons", op. 37-bis is directly related to the history of Tchaikovsky's relationship with the family of St. Petersburg music publishers Bernard and their magazine "Nuvellist", founded in 1842. The eldest of the family, Matvey Ivanovich Bernard (1794-1871), the founder of the music publishing company and the Nuvellist magazine, was also a pianist and composer. The successor of the business was his son Nikolai Matveevich (1844-1905), also a famous musician. The editor of the magazine was the brother of the founder of the company Alexander Ivanovich (1816-1901), a famous pianist and composer.
The Nuvellist introduced the public to new works by Russian composers, amateur musicians, as well as foreign authors. In addition to musical texts, it published information about the latest opera scenes, concerts in Russia, Western Europe and America.
Tchaikovsky collaborated with the Nuvelliste from 1873, composing several romances for the magazine. The reason for writing the cycle "The Seasons" was the order of the publisher of the magazine "Nuvellist" N. M. Bernard, received by Tchaikovsky in a letter (not preserved), apparently in November 1875. However, its content is easy to imagine based on the composer's answer of November 24, 1875: “Received your letter. I am very grateful to you for your kind willingness to pay me such a high fee. I will try not to lose face and please you. I will soon send you the first piece, or maybe two or three at once. If nothing interferes, then things will go on quickly: I am very disposed now to take up piano pies. Your Tchaikovsky. I keep all your titles.
Therefore, the names of the plays, that is, plots - pictures were offered to the composer by the publisher.
In the December issue of the Nuvellist magazine for 1875, an announcement has already appeared for subscribers about the publication next year of a new cycle of Tchaikovsky's plays and a list of the titles of the plays corresponding to each month of the year and coinciding with the titles set out later by the composer in the manuscript of the cycle.
Information about the course of composing the cycle is extremely scarce. It is known that at the time of the beginning of work on it at the end of November 1875, Tchaikovsky was in Moscow. On December 13, 1875, the composer wrote to N. M. Bernard: “This morning, and maybe even yesterday, the first two pieces were sent to you by mail. I forwarded them to you not without some fear: I am afraid that it will seem long and bad to you. I ask you to express your opinion frankly so that I can keep your comments in mind when composing the following pieces.
<...> If the second play seems unsuitable, then write to me about it <...> If you wish to recompose Shrovetide, then please do not stand on ceremony and be sure that by the deadline, that is, by January 15 I will write you another one. You are paying me such a terrible price that you have the absolute right to demand any changes, additions, reductions and rewritings.0102 (ibid., no. 426, p. 425). The plays, obviously, satisfied N. M. Bernard, as they were published exactly on time and in full accordance with the autograph.
When The Seasons was published in the Nuvelliste, each of the plays received poetic epigraphs. Two of them are inscribed in the autographs of plays No. 1 and No. 3 and, judging by the handwriting, belong to N. M. Bernard, who was a great connoisseur of Russian literature and poetry and even the author of literary works. Apparently, it was the publisher who initiated the inclusion of poems by Russian poets as epigraphs to Tchaikovsky's already written plays. Whether Tchaikovsky knew about this in advance, whether the poems were agreed with him during publication, is unknown.
But all lifetime publications included these poetic epigraphs, therefore, Tchaikovsky accepted and approved them one way or another.
Although the titles of the pieces were known to Tchaikovsky in advance, he made additions to the manuscript in two cases: play No. 8 "The Harvest" received the subtitle Scherzo, and No. 12 "Christmas Time" - Waltz. These subtitles were preserved in Bernard's editions, but were lost in the later editions of P. I. Jurgenson.
The title of the cycle "The Seasons" appears for the first time during the first edition of all the plays together, carried out at the end of 1876 by N. M. Bernard, after the completion of the magazine publication. It also passed into all subsequent editions, although with some differences in the subtitle. Bernard says: "12 characteristic pictures." In the lifetime editions of P. I. Yurgenson: "12 Characteristic Pictures", later - "12 Characteristic Pictures".
The preparation of the first edition of the plays in the Nuvelliste began on December 13, 1875, when Tchaikovsky sent the first two plays to St.
Petersburg, as evidenced by the composer's letter.
The magazine was published monthly, on the first day. Plays by Tchaikovsky opened every issue, with the exception of September. In this issue, the first piece was placed by the composer V. I. Glavach, the regular author of the Nuvellista, “Serbian Camping Song” (“Rado ide srbin u voinike”) arranged for piano, as a response to the current events of the war in the Balkans at that time, in which Russia took part. In magazine number 9an announcement appeared that subscribers would receive a separate edition of all 12 plays as a bonus at the end of the year. N. M. Bernard published at the end of 1876 the entire cycle of Tchaikovsky in a separate edition with the title "The Seasons". The cover was with 12 pictures - medallions and the title "Seasons".
Information about the first public performance of the entire cycle or individual pieces has not been preserved. There are also no press responses to the publication. However, very soon The Four Seasons became extremely popular among both amateur and professional musicians, and later became one of the most famous piano works of all Russian music.
"At the fireside". January
Kamelek is a specifically Russian name for a fireplace in a noble house or any hearth in a peasant dwelling. On long winter evenings, the whole family gathered at the hearth (fireplace). In peasant huts, lace was woven, spun and woven, while songs were sung, sad and lyrical. In noble families, they played music by the fireplace, read aloud, and talked.
The play "At the Fireside" draws a picture with an elegiac dreamy mood. The first section of it is built on an expressive theme, reminiscent of the intonations of the human voice. These are, as it were, short phrases uttered slowly, with an arrangement, in a state of deep thought. Such an emotional state can be found in Tchaikovsky's letters: “This is that melancholy feeling that is in the evening when you are sitting alone, tired of work, took a book, but it fell out of your hands. Memories were a whole swarm. And it's sad that so much has already happened, but it's gone, and it's nice to remember youth.
And it is a pity for the past, and there is no desire to start again. Life is tired. It's nice to relax and look around.<...> And it's sad and somehow sweet to plunge into the past. The middle section is more lively in character, but also builds on a short motif with overflowing passages reminiscent of the sound of a harp. After it follows the third section, repeating the first with an addition that concludes the whole piece with a peculiar fading of the melody and overflowing of the harp. The music seems to melt away and the picture disappears...
Maslenitsa. February
Maslenitsa or Maslenitsa week is a festive week before Great Lent. Maslenitsa is celebrated with merry festivities, daring games, horseback riding, and various fun. And in the houses they bake pancakes, a specific pagan dish that has firmly entered Russian life from time immemorial. This holiday combined the features of the pagan farewell to winter and the meeting of spring and the Christian rite before the start of Lent, preceding the great feast of Easter, the Resurrection of Christ.
“Shrovetide” is a picture of folk festivals, where picturesque moments are combined with onomatopoeia of the music of the walking crowd, mischievous sounds of folk instruments. The whole play consists, as it were, of a kaleidoscope of small pictures, replacing one another, with the constant return of the first theme. With the help of angular rhythmic figures, Tchaikovsky creates a picture with noisy and joyful exclamations of the crowd, the trampling of dancing mummers. Explosions of laughter and mysterious whispers merge into one bright and colorful picture of the festival.
"Song of the Lark". March
The lark is a field bird, which in Russia is revered as a spring songbird. Her singing is traditionally associated with the arrival of spring, the awakening of all nature from hibernation, the beginning of a new life. The picture of the spring Russian landscape is drawn with very simple, but expressive means. The whole music is based on two themes: a melodic lyrical melody with a modest chordal accompaniment, and a second, related to it, but with big ups and wide breathing.
In the organic interweaving of these two themes and various shades of mood - dreamy-sad and light - lies the captivating charm of the whole play. Both themes have elements that are reminiscent of the trills of the lark's spring song. The first theme creates a kind of frame for a more detailed second theme. The piece is concluded by the fading trills of the lark.
Snowdrop. April
Snowdrop - the so-called plants that appear immediately after the winter snow melts. Touching after the winter cold, dead, lifeless pores, small blue or white flowers appear immediately after the winter snow melts. Snowdrop is very loved in Russia. He is revered as a symbol of the new emerging life. Poems of many Russian poets are dedicated to him.
The play "Snowdrop" is built on a waltz-like rhythm, all imbued with an impulse, a surge of emotions. It penetratingly conveys the excitement that arises when contemplating spring nature, and the joyful, hidden in the depths of the soul, a sense of hope for the future and hidden expectation.
The play has three sections. The first and third repeat each other. But in the middle section there is no bright figurative contrast; rather, there is some change of moods, shades of the same feeling. The emotional outburst in the final section persists until the very end.
White Nights. May
White nights are the names of the nights in May in northern Russia, when the night is as bright as the day. White nights in St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia, have always been marked by romantic nightly festivities and singing. The image of the white nights of St. Petersburg is captured in the canvases of Russian artists and poems by Russian poets. That is exactly what - "White Nights" - is the name of the story of the great Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky.
The music of the play conveys the change of contradictory moods: sorrowful thoughts are replaced by sweet fading of the soul overflowing with delights against the backdrop of a romantic and completely extraordinary landscape of the White Nights period.
The play consists of two large sections, introduction and conclusion, which are unchanged and form the frame of the whole play. The introduction and conclusion are a musical landscape, an image of white nights. The first section is built on short melodies - sighs. They seem to remind of the silence of the white night on the streets of St. Petersburg, of loneliness, of dreams of happiness. The second section is impetuous and even passionate in mood. The excitement of the soul increases so much that it acquires an enthusiastic and joyful character. After it there is a gradual transition to the conclusion (framing) of the whole play. Everything calms down, and again before the listener is a picture of the northern, white, bright night in the majestic and strict in its unchanging beauty of St. Petersburg.
Tchaikovsky was attached to St. Petersburg. Here he spent his youth, here he became a composer, here he experienced the joy of recognition and artistic success, here he completed his life and was buried in St.
Petersburg.
Barcarolle. June
Barca is an Italian word meaning boat. Barcarolle in Italian folk music was called the songs of the boatman, rower. These songs were especially widespread in Venice, a city on the embankments of countless canals, along which they traveled in boats day and night and sang at the same time. These songs were, as a rule, melodious, and the rhythm and accompaniment imitated the smooth movement of the boat to the steady bursts of the oars. In Russian music of the first half of the 19th century, barcarolles became widespread. They have become an integral part of Russian lyrical vocal music, and are also reflected in Russian poetry and painting.
Barcarolle is another Petersburg musical landscape in Tchaikovsky's The Four Seasons cycle. Even with its title, the play refers to the pictures of water channels and numerous rivers, on the banks of which the northern capital of Russia is located. The broad song melody in the first part of the piece sounds warm and expressive.
It seems to “swing” on the waves of accompaniment, reminiscent of traditional barcarolle guitar, mandolin modulations. In the middle, the mood of the music changes and becomes more joyful and carefree, as if you can even hear fast and noisy bursts of waves. But then everything calms down and the dreamy melody, delightful in its beauty, flows again, now accompanied not only by accompaniment, but also by a second melodic voice. Sounds like a duet of two singers. The play ends with a gradual fading of all the music - as if the boat is moving away, and with it voices and splashes of waves are moving away and disappearing.
"Song of the mower". July
Mowers are mostly men who went out into the field to mow grass early in the morning. Uniform waves of hands and braids, as a rule, coincided with the rhythm of labor songs that were sung during work. These songs have existed in Rus' since ancient times. They sang while mowing the grass together, cheerfully. Mowing is also a very popular subject in Russian art.
It was sung by many Russian poets, Russian artists captured it in paints. And a great many songs were composed among the people.
“The Mower's Song” is a scene from folk village life. The main melody contains intonations reminiscent of folk songs. The play has three major sections. They are related to each other in character. Although the first and third parts are, in fact, the song of the mower, the peasant, who merrily and energetically mows the meadow and sings at the top of his voice a wide and, at the same time, rhythmically clear song. In the middle episode, in the faster movement of flickering accompaniment chords, one can hear similarities with the sounds of Russian folk instruments. At the end, on a wider sound of accompaniment, the song sounds again, as if after a short break the peasant set to work with renewed vigor. Tchaikovsky loved this summer time in the countryside and wrote in one of his letters: “Why is this? Why a simple Russian landscape, why a walk in the summer in Russia in the countryside through the fields, through the forest, in the evening through the steppe, used to lead me to such a state that I lay down on the ground in some kind of exhaustion from the influx of love for nature.
Harvest. August
Harvest is the gathering of ripe grain from the field. Harvest time in the life of the Russian peasant is the most important time. Families worked in the field, as they say, from dawn to dusk. And they sang a lot. Harvest is a large folk scene from peasant life. The composer subtitled the manuscript "Scherzo". And in fact, The Harvest is an extended piano scherzo that paints a vivid picture of the life of a Russian farmer. There is a revival, an upsurge in it, characteristic of the great joint work of the peasants. In the middle part, the picture of a bright folk scene changes to a lyrical rural landscape, characteristic of Central Russian nature, on which the harvest scene unfolds. In connection with this musical fragment, I recall the statement of Tchaikovsky: “I can’t depict how charming the Russian village, the Russian landscape is for me ...”
Hunting. September
Hunting - this word, as in all other languages, means the hunting of wild animals.
However, the word itself comes in Russian from the word "hunt", meaning desire, passion, striving for something. Hunting is a very characteristic detail of Russian life in the 19th century. Many pages of works of Russian literature are devoted to this plot. Descriptions of hunting about the novel by L. Tolstoy, short stories and short stories by I. Turgenev, paintings by Russian artists come to mind. Hunting in Russia has always been the lot of passionate, strong people and was very noisy, fun, accompanied by hunting horns, with many hunting dogs. Hunting in the noble estates in the 19th century, in the autumn months, was not so much a necessary trade as an amusement that required courage, strength, dexterity, temperament and excitement from its participants.
"Autumn song". October
Autumn in Russia has always been a time that many writers, poets, artists and musicians sang about. They also saw in it the unique beauties of Russian nature, which in autumn dresses in a golden dress, shimmering with its lush multicolor.
But there were other moments of autumn - this is a dull landscape, the autumn dying of nature and sadness for the passing summer as a symbol of life. Dying in nature on the eve of winter is one of the most tragic and sad pages of autumn life.
"Autumn Song" occupies a special place in the cycle. In terms of its tragic coloring, it is its content center, the result of the entire narrative about Russian life and the life of Russian nature. October, "Autumn Song" is the song of the dying of all living things. The melody is dominated by sad intonations - sighs. In the middle part, there is a certain rise, quivering inspiration, as if a flash of hope for life, an attempt to save oneself. But the third section, repeating the first, again returns to the initial sad "sighs", and already to a completely hopeless complete dying. The final phrases of the play with the author's note "morendo", which means "freezing", as it were, leave no hope for a revival, for the emergence of a new life.
The whole play is a lyric-psychological sketch. In it, the landscape and the mood of a person are merged into one. “Every day I go for a long walk, find somewhere a cozy corner in the forest and endlessly enjoy the autumn air, saturated with the smell of fallen leaves, the silence and charm of the autumn landscape with its characteristic color,” the composer wrote.
"On the troika". November
Troika is the name in Russia for horses harnessed together, under one arc. Bells were often hung from it, which, when driving fast, played loudly, shimmering with a silver sound. In Russia, they loved fast riding in troikas, a lot of folk songs have been composed about this. The appearance of this play in the Tchaikovsky cycle is perceived, although in a rather elegiac tone, but as a real hope for life. The road in the endless Russian expanses, the three horses - these are the symbols of continuing life. November in Russia is an autumn month, but winter is already appearing in its full guise.
“It is cold, but the sun is still warming a little. The trees are covered with a white veil, and this winter landscape is so beautiful that it is difficult to put into words,” wrote Tchaikovsky.
The play begins with a broad melody reminiscent of a free Russian folk song. Following her, echoes of sad, elegiac reflections begin to be heard. But then, closer and closer, the bells attached to the trio of horses begin to sound. A cheerful chime for a while drowns out a sad mood. But then the first melody returns again - the song of the coachman. She is accompanied by bells. At first they subside, and then completely melt away their quiet sounds.
Christmas time. December
Christmas time is the time from Christmas to Epiphany. A holiday in which elements of the Christian rite were combined with the ancient, pagan ones. Mummers went to Christmas time from house to house, the girls wondered about their future fate. Families were in a festive mood. The mummers, dressed not according to custom, but for the sake of a joke, went from house to house at Christmas time, sang Christmas songs, danced round dances.
In the houses they were treated, presented with gifts.
The final piece of the cycle, "Christmas Time", has the subtitle "Waltz" in the composer's manuscript. And this is no coincidence, the waltz was a popular dance in those days, a symbol of family holidays. The main melody of the play is in the style of everyday music, fragments of which alternate with waltz episodes. And the play ends, and, along with it, the whole cycle with a serene waltz, a home holiday around a beautiful Christmas tree.
P. E. Weidman
Twelve plays were published monthly in the Nuvellist magazine throughout 1876 (At the end of the same year, the entire cycle appeared as a separate publication under the general title The Seasons.) . They are conceived by the composer as a successive series of pictures of Russian nature and life, subject to the natural annual cycle of heat and cold, flourishing and withering. Deep poetry and penetrating lyrical warmth brought well-deserved popularity to most of the pieces of this cycle, which belong to the best piano compositions by Tchaikovsky.
Written without pretensions to virtuoso brilliance and showiness, they are distinguished by captivating melodic expressiveness and subtlety of piano writing. Each individual piece is a complete miniature, independent in character, the whole chain of which is perceived as a sincere story, coming from the depths of the heart, about something infinitely dear and close to the composer.
Intimate lyricism and vivid imagery of music are combined in such pieces as the melancholy " Song of the Lark " (March), with onomatopoeic fioriturs and grace notes (chirping of a spring bird) that colorize the melodious melodic line, or the delicate and fragile " Snowdrop " (April) in a flexible and free waltz rhythm without accentuation of the first beat of the measure, which gives the music a special lightness and grace. In the play " White Nights " (May) attention is drawn to subtle color touches that convey the feeling of the mysteriously transparent air of St.
Petersburg's white nights. In the broad melody of the Russian thoughtful " Barcarolles "(June) with its smoothly gradually ascending, and then gently ceding falling theme, one can feel both a feeling of passionate enthusiastic admiration of the world, and some kind of hidden hidden sadness; in the reprise of the three-part form, an expressive dialogue arises between the upper melodic voice and the "tenor" voice freely imitating it, reinforcing the expressive intensity of the sound. One of the most favorite pieces of the cycle, the elegiac " Autumn song "(October), the musical fabric of which continuously lives and breathes in the interweaving of independent singing voices.
Another group of plays is represented by genre scenes written in catchy and large strokes: the cheerful riotous " Maslenitsa " (February), the daring " Song of the Mower " (July), the lively sweeping " Harvest " (August), the noisy " Hunting " (September) with the call of horns and general joyful fuss.
