Text & Translation
Voron, 'The Raven'
Russian source:
Alexander Pushkin
Voron k voronu krichit:
,,Voron, gde b nam otobedat?
Kak by' nam o tom provedat?”
Voron voronu v otvet:
,,Znayu, budet nam obed;
V chistom pole pod rakitoj
Bogaty'r` lezhit ubity'j.
Kem ubit i otchego,
Znaet sokol lish` ego,
Da koby'lka voronaya,
Da xozyajka molodaya.
Sokol v roshhu uletel,
Na koby'lku nedrug sel,
A xozyajka zhdyot milogo,
Ne ubitogo, zhivogo.”
One raven to another flies
English translation ©
Philip Ross Bullock
One raven to another cries:
‘Raven! Where should we dine out?
How are we to make that choice?’
The other raven replies in turn:
‘I know where dinner can be had;
In the open fields, beneath a willow,
There lies the body of a knight.
Who killed him and why
Only his falcon knows,
And his jet-black mare,
And his maiden fair.
The falcon flew off into the grove,
His enemy sat astride his mare,
And his maiden awaits her sweetheart,
Thinking him still alive, not dead.’
Voron, 'The Raven'
Russian source:
Alexander Pushkin
One raven to another flies
English source:
Philip Ross Bullock
Voron k voronu letit,
One raven to another flies,
Voron k voronu krichit:
One raven to another cries:
,,Voron, gde b nam otobedat?
‘Raven! Where should we dine out?
Kak by' nam o tom provedat?”
How are we to make that choice?’
Voron voronu v otvet:
The other raven replies in turn:
,,Znayu, budet nam obed;
‘I know where dinner can be had;
V chistom pole pod rakitoj
In the open fields, beneath a willow,
Bogaty'r` lezhit ubity'j.
There lies the body of a knight.
Kem ubit i otchego,
Who killed him and why
Znaet sokol lish` ego,
Only his falcon knows,
Da koby'lka voronaya,
And his jet-black mare,
Da xozyajka molodaya.
And his maiden fair.
Sokol v roshhu uletel,
The falcon flew off into the grove,
Na koby'lku nedrug sel,
His enemy sat astride his mare,
A xozyajka zhdyot milogo,
And his maiden awaits her sweetheart,
Ne ubitogo, zhivogo.”
Thinking him still alive, not dead.’
Composer
Nikolai Medtner
Nikolai Karlovich Medtner (5 January 1880 [O.S. 24 December 1879] – 13 November 1951) was a Russian composer and pianist. Although he fell into relative obscurity after his death, he now recognised as one of the most significant Russian composers…
Poet
Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (6 June 1799 – 10 February 1837) was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era who is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. Pushkin was born…