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A Song for My Soul: Ljuba talks about Tchaikovsky's Complete Songs:
"After my 1994 New York debut recital at the Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse, I became very excited at the idea of singing all of Tchaikovsky's 103 songs in concert. Of course, Tchaikovsky is well-known and beloved as the composer of operas, ballets and symphonic works; but his songs are relatively unknown, and have even had the reputation of being "weak" or beneath the level of his more popular works. In order to reach the audience, the singer has to have the key to each and every song. For example, to correctly perform the song, "Amid the din of a Ball," (sound clip 107Kb, Real Audio) the singer must project the idea that the whole story of the song is dreamlike, and the borders between dream and reality are blurred. The singer must convey a sense of daydreaming, and at a point in the song where there is a "real" moment, the singer must accordingly change to clear vocal intonation and excellent diction. All the songs of Tchaikovsky must be analyzed very carefully to enable the singer to project exactly what the composer intended. Tchaikovsky's romances are like small poems, and their style is shaped by the natural and artistic independence of their rich accompaniment. The composer aimed to comprehend all types of song genres: lyricism is alternated with dramatic tension, solemn hymns are changed by folk songs and waltzes. Among melodies, he used Russian and Ukrainian songs, Italian street songs ("Pimpinella") and gypsy songs. Other important features of his songs are their inner symphonic nature, their exceptional melodic richness as well as their extreme dramatic tension and highly developed accompaniments. Tchaikovsky wrote songs throughout his creative life. They are the soul of his music, and they nourished all the other genres. I hope these few words have underscored and explained my own intentions, and answered the question why, as a Russian artist, this project is so dear and important to me." - Ljuba Kazarnovskaya
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