DAWN KRYSTAL WILLIAMS

COMPOSER AND MEZZO-CONTRALTO
PYAT' PESEN
PYAT' PESEN
Solo Voice
Solo Voice
TEXT
Russian
TEXT
Russian
TRANSLATION
English
TRANSLATION
English
Kogda volnuetsya zholteyuschaya niva
When the yellow-turning field is disturbed
I svezhii les shumit pri zvuke veterka,
And the fresh forest rustles with the sound of a breeze,
I pryachetsya v sadu malinovaya sliva
And a crimson plum is hidden in the garden
Pod ten’yu sladostnoi zelonogo listka;
Beneath the shadow of a sweet green leaf;
Kogda rosoi obryzgannyi dushistoi,
When, sprinkled with fragrant dew,
Rumyanym vecherom il’ utra v chas zlatoi,
In the rosy evening or the golden dawn,
Iz-pod kusta mne laidysh serebristyi
From under a bush a silvery lily
Privetlivo kivaet golovoi;
Nods genially at me;
Kogda studyonyi klyuch igraet po ovragu
When the icy cold stream frolics on the ravine
I, pogruzhaya mysl’ v kakoi-to smutnyi son,
And, immersing thought in a vague dream,
Lepechet mne tainstvennuyu sagu
Murmurs to me the mysterious saga
Pro mirnyi krai, otkuda mchitsya on,—
Of the peaceful lands whence it came,—
Togda smiryaetsya dushi moei trevoga,
Then anxiety is released from my soul,
Togda raskhodyatsya morschiny na chele,—
Then lines on my brow disappear,—
I schast’e ya mogu postignut’ na zemle,
And I can perceive happiness on earth,
I v nebesakh ya vizhu boga...
And in the heavens I see God...
– Poem by Mikhail Lermontov
– Transliteration and translation by Dawn K. Williams