S.Rachmaninoff. "How Fair Is The Spot" (Op. 21 N7, 1902)

“After his marriage to Natasha Satina, Rachmaninoff spent the summers at their country home of Ivanovka, where he worked outdoors, amid the spacious and quiet fields. More than thirty of his songs were written at Ivanovka. These songs develop in poetic convoys of thought on the passage of time, loss and sorrow mellowed by peaceful images of nature.” (Challis. (1989). The Singer’s Rachmaninoff. New York: Pelion Press, p. 40).

“How Fair Is The Spot” is one of them.

In the literature it is often referred to as a lovely song about admiring the peaceful nature (Michelson. (2003). I. Music and Poetic Word: The Romances of Sergei Rachmaninoff). Also, Rachmaninoff got criticized for choosing this poem by G.Galina which seems to be too simple and far below the level of Rachmaninoff’s music. However, together with his music it discovers philosophical depth and a whole range of emotions for performers to interpret.

You can watch a FREE DICTION GUIDE for this song on the "RUSSIAN FOR SINGERS" YouTube channel

You can purchase the DICTION SCORES and audio diction guides at our web site:

DICTION SCORES:

Original key

https://www.russian4singers.com/product-page-2/s-rachmaninoff-how-fair-is-this-spot-op-21-no7-original-key-diction-score

Lower key

https://www.russian4singers.com/product-page-2/s-rachmaninoff-how-fair-is-this-spot-op-21-no7-low-key-diction-guide

FULL SONG PACK that includes Diction score, Diction audio guide, Music coaching audio guide (Voice line + piano line), Rehearsal backing track (Piano line only)

Original Key

https://www.russian4singers.com/product-page-2/s-rachmaninoff-how-fair-is-this-spot-op-21-no7-original-key-full-pack

Lower key
https://www.russian4singers.com/product-page-2/s-rachmaninoff-how-fair-is-this-spot-op-21-no7-low-key-full-pack

Here you can find recording of this song by:

Anna Netrebko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-pZk-nCOwE

Antonina Nezhdanova (Recorded in 1914)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpkaWSopyWU

Aida Garifullina (second piece on the recording at 2'13'')

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyXwuwp-LcE

Tamara Sinyavskaya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2C541k1de0