2014 Program Notes, Book 7 45
Friday, July 25 and Saturday, July 26, 2014
I plyvut, syerebryas’,
All silvery come sailing,
po toporu strugi, strugi,
along the ax, boats, boats,
budto chaiki poutru …
like sea gulls at dawn …
SOLOIST AND CHORUS
I skvoz’ ryla, ryashki,
And among those mugs, snouts,
khari tseloval’nikov,
muzzles of people kissing,
myenyal, slovno bliki sredi khmari,
there appeared lights as among shadows —
Sten’ka LITSA uvidal.
Stenka saw FACES.
Byli v LITSAKH dal’i vys’,
In the FACES were depth and height,
i v glazakh, ugryumo-vol’nykh,
and in their eyes, stern and free,
slovno v tainykh malykh Volgakh,
as if on secret little Volgas,
strugi Stenkiny nyeslis’.
boats were sailing toward Stenka.
Stoit vsyo sterpyet’ besslyozno,
It is worth bearing all without tears,
byt’ na dybye, kolyesye,
torture on the rack, the wheel,
yesli rano ili pozdno prorastayut LITSA
if sooner or later FACES blossom
grozno u bezlikikh na litse …
from the terrible dullness of faces …
I spokoino (nye zazrya on, vidno, zhil)
And quietly (not in vain, then, he lived)
Sten’ka golovu na plakhu polozhil,
Stenka laid his head on the block,
podborodok v krai izrublyenniy upyor
his chin resting on the jagged edge,
i zatylkom prikazal: “Davai, topor.”
and ordered, face down: “Give me the ax.”
CHORUS
Pokatilas’golova, v krovi gorya,
Off rolled the head, aflame with blood,
prokhripyela golova: “Nye zazrya …”
and the head muttered: “Not in vain …”
I uzhe po toporu nye strugi — struiki … Along the ax there are no boats — only gore
…
Nye zazrya! Nye zazrya!
Not in vain! Not in vain!
Shto, narod, stoish’, nye prazdnuya?
Hey, good people, why do you not celebrate?
Shapki v nyebo — i plyashi!
Caps in the air — and dancing!
No zastyla ploshchad’ Krasnaya,
But Red Square cringed,
chut’ kolysha byerdyshi.
the poleaxes hardly moved.
Stukhli dazhe skomorokhi.
Even the buffoons were silent.
Sryedi myortvoi tishiny pereskakivali blokhi
In the death-like silence the fleas jumped over
s armyakov na shushuny.
from the smocks of the poor to the furs
of the rich.
Ploshchad’ shto-to ponyala,
The square seemed to understand,
ploshchad’shapki snyala, i udarili tri raza,
the square removed its hats,
and three times struck
klokocha, kolokola.
the little chimes, and the great bells.
SOLOIST AND CHORUS
A ot krovi i chuba tyazhela,
But heavy with blood and hair,
golova yeshcho vorochalas’, zhila.
the head still turned, lived.
S myesta Lobnovo podmoklovo tuda,
From blood-soaked Execution Place to where
gdye golyt’ba, bzglyady pis’mami
the poor lived, the head sent glances
podmyotnymi shvyryala golova ...
like anonymous letters …
Suyetyas’, drozhashchii popik podlyetyet.
The little priest came hurrying.
Vyeki Stenkiny zakryt’on khotyel
He wanted to close Stenka’s eyelids.
No, napryzhivshis’, po-zvyer’i strashny,
But, with an effort, with supernatural force,
