After you have read the text

l. Answer the following questions about the text.

1. Whom do we call the father of Russian music?

2. Why do we compare M. Glinka with A. Pushkin?

3. Whose words about Glinka do we read at the beginning of the text?

4. When and where was M. I. Glinka born?

5. Which operas composed by M. Glinka are mentioned in the text?

6. What does I.Petrov call the dream of every Russian bass singer?

7. What did Glinka's music add to Pushkin's poetry in “Ruslan and Ludmila”?

8. What does I. Petrov singing the part of Ruslan think of him?

9. What is the opera “Ivan Susanin” based on?

10. With whom does the author compare Ivan Susanin?

11. Which features of the Russian character are incarnated in Ivan Susanin?

12. What do we owe Glinka in Petrov's opinion?

13. How does the audience usually listen to Glinka's music?

14. Why do we consider Glinka's work unique?

15. Which work by M. I. Glinka do you like best of all?

2. Choose the correct word.

1. The radiant genius of Glinka illuminated the (page, path, work) for our national musical development. 2. Glinka's work summed up the (immense, deliberate, common) experience of Russian folk art. 3. These words written 30 years ago (borrow, quote, remain) significant to this day. 4. The man (majestic, destined, magnificent) to become the Father of Russian music was born on the first of June 1804. 5. Glinka's works became the (pride, blend, carrier) both of national and world music. 6. The title role is written for a (eternal, bass, common) singer. 7. Matvei Kuzmin chose to die rather than (forget, leave, betray) his homeland. 8. I. Petrov presented Susanin as a carrier of eternal human (genius, wound, values). 9. We all owe M. Glinka a debt of (valour, gratitude, greatness). 10. Glinka's works laid the (foundation, importance, creativity) for Russian classical music.

3. Select the correct meaning of the words.

1) peril a) преднамеренный, обдуманный

2) genuinely b) искренне, неподдельно

3) tender spot c) уязвимое место

4) devastation d) обыкновенный, простой

5) exactly e) точно

6) connoisseur f) лучистый, лучезарный

7) deliberate g) художественный рассказ

8) radiant h) огромный, безмерный

9) feature story i) опустошение, разорение

10) ambush j) благодарность

к) знаток

l) воин, боец

m) вечный

n) опасность

о) засада

4. Give an oral annotation of text A.

5. Tell how you once learned some work by M. I. Glinka.

6. Read and translate text B.

Text в folk songs

Folk song may be defined as a song of some antiquity and of unknown authorship, which has been handed down orally for many generations and has become widely known throughout a nation or smaller community. Folk songs develop among the less sophistica­ted people, together with artless poems dealing with the various phases of everyday life: work, dancing, love, drinking, children, festivities, death etc. Folk songs of different nations have certain national traits which, although difficult to describe, are clearly felt to present the general character of the people. Many listeners would probably be able to identify their nationalities or at least to match them correctly with the countries they come from.

Although folk songs are obviously old, their age is usually exaggerated. In few fields of musical study have pure fancy and wishful thinking been given rein to such a degree as in the field of folk music, where melodies showing unmistakable traits of having originated in the l7th and 18th centuries, are said to date back to the pre-Christian eras. However, folk song, as a general phenomenon, existed long before the earliest development of art music. Therefore many representatives of music theory state folk song has been the root and foundation of art music. Indeed, the historical evolution of art music showes that it has received powerful impulses for its development from folk music. On the other hand, art music has probably exercised great influence on folk music.