Text & Translation
Ya pomnyu chudnoe mgnovene ('I remember a wondrous moment')
Russian source:
Alexander Pushkin
Peredo mnoi yavilas ty,
Kak mimolyotnoe videne,
Kak genii chistoi krasoty.
V tomlene grusti beznadezhnoi,
V trevogakh shumnoi suyety,
Zvuchal mne dolgo golos nezhnyi,
I snilis milye cherty. Shli gody.
Bur poryv myatezhnyi
Rasseyal prezhnie mechty,
I ya zabyl tvoi golos nezhnyi,
Tvoi nebesnye cherty.
V glushi, vo mrake zatochenya
Tyanulis tikho dni moi
Bez bozhestva, bez vdokhnovenya,
Bez slyoz, bez zhizni, bez lyubvi.
Dushe nastalo probushdene:
I vot opyat yavilas ty,
Kak mimolyotnoe videne,
Kak genii chistoi krasoty.
I serdtse byotsa v upoyene,
I dlya nego voskresil vnov
I bozhestvo, i vdokhnovene,
I zhizn, i slyozy, i lyubov.
I remember a wondrous moment:
English translation ©
Philip Ross Bullock
You appeared before me,
Like some fleeing vision,
Like a genius of pure beauty.
Amidst the yearning of hopeless dejection,
And the agitation of strident vanity,
Your tender voice called out to me,
And I dreamt of your tender features.
Year passed by. The rebellious gust of storms
Scattered my former dreams,
And I forgot your tender voice,
And your heavenly features.
In solitude and gloomy isolation
My days quietly stretched out,
Deprived of divinity and inspiration,
Of tears and live and love itself.
But once again my soul awoke:
And once again you appeared,
Like some fleeing vision,
Like a genius of pure beauty.
And my heart beats in intoxication,
And divinity and inspiration,
And life and tears and love itself
Are once again returned to life.
Ya pomnyu chudnoe mgnovene ('I remember a wondrous moment')
Russian source:
Alexander Pushkin
I remember a wondrous moment:
English source:
Philip Ross Bullock
Ya pomnyu chudnoe mgnovene:
I remember a wondrous moment:
Peredo mnoi yavilas ty,
You appeared before me,
Kak mimolyotnoe videne,
Like some fleeing vision,
Kak genii chistoi krasoty.
Like a genius of pure beauty.
V tomlene grusti beznadezhnoi,
Amidst the yearning of hopeless dejection,
V trevogakh shumnoi suyety,
And the agitation of strident vanity,
Zvuchal mne dolgo golos nezhnyi,
Your tender voice called out to me,
I snilis milye cherty. Shli gody.
And I dreamt of your tender features.
Bur poryv myatezhnyi
Year passed by. The rebellious gust of storms
Rasseyal prezhnie mechty,
Scattered my former dreams,
I ya zabyl tvoi golos nezhnyi,
And I forgot your tender voice,
Tvoi nebesnye cherty.
And your heavenly features.
V glushi, vo mrake zatochenya
In solitude and gloomy isolation
Tyanulis tikho dni moi
My days quietly stretched out,
Bez bozhestva, bez vdokhnovenya,
Deprived of divinity and inspiration,
Bez slyoz, bez zhizni, bez lyubvi.
Of tears and live and love itself.
Dushe nastalo probushdene:
But once again my soul awoke:
I vot opyat yavilas ty,
And once again you appeared,
Kak mimolyotnoe videne,
Like some fleeing vision,
Kak genii chistoi krasoty.
Like a genius of pure beauty.
I serdtse byotsa v upoyene,
And my heart beats in intoxication,
I dlya nego voskresil vnov
And divinity and inspiration,
I bozhestvo, i vdokhnovene,
And life and tears and love itself
I zhizn, i slyozy, i lyubov.
Are once again returned to life.
Composer
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, and is often regarded as the fountainhead of Russian classical music.
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…