NOTES ON THE TEXTS AND TRANSLITERATION MARGARITA MAZO, DINA LENTSNER & MILLAN SACHANIA
Russian text
and for this reason the present edition provides a transliteration that aims at facilitating the performance of the work by non-Russian speakers, without their embarking on an extensive study of Russian diction. The approach to the transliteration here is therefore pragmatic: it is based not on written or spoken words, but on the words’ aural qualities when sung. The difference may be demonstrated by the pronunciation of the Russian unstressed i, which is always longer in singing, and which is consequently transliterated here as ee. To this end, we have designed transliteration procedures that do not entirely conform to any specific existing model; though we have employed some elements of various known transliteration systems, we have combined and modified them to suit our purpose. As always, however, consultation with a specialist in Russian diction or a native speaker is highly desirable, since, despite our efforts, certain sounds can only be fully grasped aurally. The table below explains our transliteration of those vowels and consonants that are pronounced differently in English. They are listed in the order of the Roman alphabet with examples of sounds in English that convey the desired Russian equivalents as closely as possible.
Stravinsky’s final draft of the piano-vocal score, VS-2, serves as the source for the Russian text in this new edition, which presents the text in both Cyrillic and transliteration. Stravinsky’s text uses rural forms of Russian words, dialect vocabulary and speech idioms, all of which contribute to the remarkable sonority of Les Noces. Different spellings and pronunciations of the same word in VS-2 are thus retained in this edition: at [123], for instance, oolitse is first spelt OOlitsE, then YUlitsE, and finally, YUleetsÏ. We have also preserved the composer’s adjustments to punctuation and capitalisation according to his musical phrasing. The Russian orthography and punctuation in VS-2 have been altered so that they conform to current standards. Obvious errors in the Russian text have been tacitly corrected; such corrections have been made in consultation with Stravinsky’s sources of folk songs. The transliteration of Russian text is always a demanding task, since no single existing system can fit different purposes satisfactorily. Stravinsky clearly stated that he preferred Russian as the language for the performance of Les Noces,
Transliteration
Similar sounds in English pronunciation
Russian
a
As a in fAther.
ch
As ch in peaCH.
e
As e in sEt. (For use after soft consonants indicated by an apostrophe, see Nota bene in Additional symbols.)
ee
As ee in indEEd.
g
As g in Go.
ï
No exact English equivalent; a thick back-throat sound, somewhat close to i in Ill or dIll.
kh
As ch in BaCH in German, or j in José in Spanish.
o
As o in pOrt.
oo
As oo in kangarOO.
r
Always rolled.
shch
No exact equivalent. The sound is close to sh in SHeet or sh ch in freSH CHeese, if said as one word: freSHCHeese.
ts
As ts in caTS.
y
As y at the end of daY or boY.
ya
As ya in YArd. (For use after soft consonants indicated by an apostrophe, see Nota bene in Additional symbols.)
ye
As ye in YEllow. (For use after soft consonants indicated by an apostrophe, see Nota bene in Additional symbols.)
yo
As yo in YOga. (For use after soft consonants indicated by an apostrophe, see Nota bene in Additional symbols.)
yu
As YOU or eau in bEAUtiful. (For use after soft consonants indicated by an apostrophe, see Nota bene in Additional symbols.)
zh
As s in pleaSure.
liii