"I was driving home"
I was driving home, my soul was full
Unclear to myself, some new happiness.
It seemed to me that everything with such fate
They looked at me with such affection.
I was driving home... Two-horned moon
I looked out the windows of the boring carriage.
The distant bell of the morning bell
Sang in the air like a gentle string...
Spreading the pink veil,
The beautiful dawn lazily woke up,
And the swallow, rushing somewhere into the distance,
I swam in the clear air.
I was driving home, I was thinking about you,
My thoughts were anxiously confused and torn.
A sweet slumber touched my eyes.
Oh, if I never woke up again.
This beautiful romance was written by a man who deeply feels the beauty of the world around him. In his every word you feel tenderness, sensuality and the desire to meet your loved one. It was written by actress and romance singer Marie Poiret.
Who is she, Marie Poiret? And why is so little known about the history of this romance and its creator?
I came across an article by Olga Konodyuk, published on the pages of School of Life.ru
Let's get acquainted with the difficult life story of this woman, Marie Poiret. 
Maria Poiret Maroussia did not marry of her own free will. Relatives were in a hurry to marry the 16-year-old bride to her “successful” groom, engineer Mikhail Sveshnikov. He was almost 50 years old. His candidacy suited everyone. Especially Maria’s older sisters, Evgenia and Alexandra, who still could not find grooms.
Both were unattractive. Maria always annoyed them. A short, slender blonde with blue eyes. Gorgeous! Moreover, as it turned out, she was talented. She sings well, writes poetry... Maria Poiret was born in Moscow on January 4, 1863 (145 years ago). She was the 7th child in the family. Marusya dreamed of running away from home even in her childhood. Her mother, Yulia Andreevna Tarasenkova, the daughter of cloth manufacturers, died when Marusa was barely eight years old. Father, Jacob Poiret, a Frenchman who founded a school of gymnastics and fencing in Moscow, died in a duel several years ago.
Now no one could keep Maria here anymore. And the uncle who lived in their family insisted on his niece’s marriage. From the very beginning, he was against Maria’s entry into the conservatory, where she dreamed of studying singing. But the girl, fortunately, had an unyielding and stubborn character. In response to the arguments of her old husband, who supported his wife’s relatives in everything, Maria only frowned and demanded that they not ask the impossible from her. Her uncle and husband said that if Maria did not listen to them, they would deprive her of her position in society (which by that time she did not yet have), her dowry (they gave her 10 thousand rubles!) and even send her... to a madhouse. The young woman could not find a place for herself from indignation, she either cried or laughed. But the relatives were not joking. And very soon this young and inexperienced creature in everyday affairs found herself in a hospital room with her head shorn. Subsequently, her friend’s brother, a well-known entrepreneur in Moscow, Mikhail Valentinovich Lentovsky, helped her free herself from this hell. He affectionately called Maria “Lavrushka”, and she burst into tears out of shame for her “outfit”... At the Lentovsky Theater Maria Poiret ( stage name"Marusina") played for 10 years. She performed brilliantly in all operettas. She was lively and cheerful on stage, sang dashingly, driving her fans crazy. Could he then imagine that his “Lavrushka”, having become rich and famous, would support him financially for the rest of his life, sparing neither money nor his expensive jewelry. Soon her first poems were published on the pages of the newspaper “Novoe Vremya”. Maria rejoiced at this like a child. And in Tsarskoe Selo, Maria Poiret was enthusiastically received by the public as a performer of romances. Her romance “Swan Song” instantly becomes famous. By that time, Maria Yakovlevna was already playing on the stage of the Alexandria Theater. She is 35 years old, full of hopes and desires. It was the most wonderful time of her life. Maria is in love. Her admirer is Prince Pavel Dmitrievich Dolgorukov. They are both smart and beautiful. In 1898, Marie Poiret gave birth to a daughter, Tatiana. The only thing that darkened her life was the inability to marry the prince. Her ex-husband did not consent to the divorce. Maria herself goes to him, persuades him, but he is inexorable. Old man Sveshnikov, who settled in a monastery, not far from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, invites Maria Yakovlevna to register her daughter in her last name. Tatyana only inherited her middle name own father, which Poiret asked to be included in the girl’s birth certificate at baptism. 10 years later, Marie Poiret’s relationship with the prince becomes strained; there is no former love and warmth. Maria and her daughter move to Moscow. She dreams of creating her own theater. But Maria Yakovlevna did not have the necessary acumen for such a task, a faithful and active assistant like Lentovsky. She enters the Maly Theater and continues to participate in concerts. Marie Poiret sang romances, including own composition. Among them is the romance “I was driving home, I was thinking about you...” (1901).
The romance is picked up by other singers, and now it is already popular. She wants to do something, act. Maria feels the breath of a new time. She goes to charity concerts Far East where it goes Russo-Japanese War(1904-1905). Manages to write poetry and correspondence. In 1904, Maria returned to Moscow with a great desire to perform in front of the public with new poems. Very soon fate will send Maria Yakovlevna a new test. In Moscow, she met the count, a member of the State Duma, a wealthy landowner, Alexei Anatolyevich Orlov-Davydov. She thought she was in love. Or maybe the approaching loneliness worried her... Ex-husband Maria had died by that time. Orlov-Davydov left his wife, Baroness De Staal, leaving three children. Unfortunately, his son and future heir to the entire fortune was seriously ill. Maria promises to give him an heir. She is 50 years old, but the Count believes in her fantasies. And one day she announced to her husband that she was expecting a child... Little Alexey, named after his father, was born when the count arrived from a long business trip. Only a narrow circle of people knew that Marie Poiret took the child in one of the shelters. But the peace in their family was short-lived. The “kind” man found out Maria Yakovlevna’s secret and began to blackmail first the count and then the countess, demanding money in return for silence. Many researchers of the singer’s strange fate wrote that it was a certain extra Karl Laps. Allegedly, he subsequently persuaded the count to start a case in court against his wife. Long before the trial, Orlov-Davydov whispered to his wife: “Masha, don’t worry. Everything will be fine. I will not spare any money or connections for this.” And she, as always, naively believed. And then this ill-fated day came. As she approached the courthouse, she heard the words: “We love you! We are with you! But Marie Poiret only lowered her head low. But then a whistle was heard, and someone’s hoarse voice was heard very close by: “Swindler! Look, Countess Marusya! I coveted millions!” Having learned that the plaintiff in her case was Count Orlov-Davydov, Maria Poiret almost lost consciousness. She hardly heard what was said in the hall. Maria Yakovlevna could not believe that her husband called her in front of everyone “an adventurer, an upstart who wanted to get into high society! He immediately reminded her that her first husband sent her to an insane asylum for her obnoxious character. Maria did not turn around at his words, she seemed petrified. She just thought that she had never strived for wealth, she was not attracted to his titles. She wanted love, happiness... As a result of a long trial, the court acquitted Poiret, and the child was taken by his own mother, peasant Anna Andreeva. Who knows how much more people would have gossiped about this scandalous incident in the city if not for the events of 1917, which changed the lives of the participants in this drama. Former spouse Marie Poiret, Orlov-Davydov, fled abroad. In 1927, Pavel Dolgorukov was shot. The Bolsheviks turned Marie Poiret's St. Petersburg apartment into ruins. The former artist of the Imperial Theaters, and even Countess Orlova-Davydova, was denied a pension. After some time, at the request of V. Meyerhold, L. Sobinov and Yu. Yuryev, Maria Yakovlevna was nevertheless assigned a personal pension. She moved to Moscow. Maria Yakovlevna Poiret, at 70 years old, did not complain about life. Living in poverty, she sold miraculously preserved trinkets, some things to buy food and Poiret’s favorite coffee, which she always drank from a porcelain cup. The actress died in October 1933. Her name was quickly forgotten. But the romance of Marie Poiret, in which a woman’s heart loves and is sad, remains in the memory of many...
Words and music by M. Poiret
I was driving home, my soul was full
Unclear to myself, some new happiness.
It seemed to me that everything with such fate
They looked at me with such affection.
I was driving home... Two-horned moon
I looked out the windows of the boring carriage.
The distant bell of the morning bell
Sang in the air like a gentle string...
Spreading the pink veil,
The beautiful dawn lazily woke up,
And the swallow, rushing somewhere into the distance,
I swam in the clear air.
I was driving home, I was thinking about you,
My thoughts were anxiously confused and torn.
A sweet slumber touched my eyes.
Oh, if I never woke up again...
I REMEMBER THE WALTZ SOUND DELICIOUS sheet music
Words and lyrics by N. Listov
I remember the waltz's lovely sound
Late on a spring night,
An unknown voice sang it,
And a wonderful song flowed.
Yes, it was a lovely, languid waltz,
Yes, it was a wonderful waltz!
Now it's winter, and the same ones ate,
Covered in darkness, they stand
And there are snowstorms outside the window,
And the sounds of the waltz do not sound...
Where is this waltz, ancient, languid,
Where is this wonderful waltz?!
DON'T GO, STAY WITH ME sheet music
Words by M. Poigin
Music by N. Zubkov
Don't go, stay with me
It’s so pleasant here, so bright.
I'll cover you with kisses
Mouth and eyes and forehead.
I'll cover you with kisses
Mouth and eyes and forehead.
Don't go, stay with me
I've loved you for so long
I caress you with fire
I’ll burn you and tire you out.
I caress you with fire
I’ll burn you and tire you out.
Stay with me, stay with me.
Don't go, stay with me
Passion burns in my chest.
Don't go, don't go.
The delight of love awaits us with you,
Don't go, don't go.
Stay with me, stay with me.
THE NIGHT IS LIGHT sheet music
Words by M. Yazykov
Music by M. Shishkin
The night is bright, the moon is shining quietly over the river,
And the blue wave shines with silver.
Dark forest.. There in the silence of the emerald branches
The nightingale does not sing her sonorous songs.
Blue flowers bloomed under the moon,
They awaken dreams in my heart.
I fly to you in my dreams, I repeat your name,
This night I’m still sad about you, dear friend.
Dear friend, tender friend, I love you as before,
On this moonlit night I remember you.
On this night with the moon on a foreign side,
Dear friend, tender friend, remember me.
WEEPING WILLOWS ARE SLEEPING sheet music
Words by A. Timofeev
Music by B.B.
Dozing weeping willows
Leaning low over the stream,
The streams run hastily,
They whisper in the darkness of the night.
They whisper, everyone whispers, in the darkness of the night.
Thoughts about the distant past
They remind me
Heart sick, lonely
I yearn for those old days.
I yearn for those former bright days.
Where are you, dear dove,
Do you remember about me,
Just like I'm pining
You cry in the silence of the night.
Do you also cry in the silence of the night?
Weeping willows are dozing
Leaning low over the stream.
DARK CHERRY SHAWL sheet music
Words and music by unknown author
I don't dream about the past now,
And I no longer regret the past,
It will only remind you a lot and a lot
This dark cherry shawl.
I met him in this shawl,
And he called me his beloved,
I'm bashful covered her face,
And he kissed me tenderly.
Told me: "Goodbye, darling,
I'm sorry to part with you,
It suits you, do you hear, dear,
This dark cherry shawl."
I don't dream about the past now,
Only sadness squeezed my heart,
And I silently press to my chest
This dark cherry shawl.
ONLY ONCE sheet music
Words by P. Herman
Music by B. Fomin
Day and night the heart sheds affection
Day and night my head is spinning
Day and night an excited fairy tale
Your words resonate with me
I want to love so much
The ray of purple sunset fades
Bushes shrouded in blue
Where are you once desired?
Where are you who gave dreams?
There's only one meeting in a lifetime
Only once does the thread break with fate
Only once when it's cold winter evening
I want to love so much
FOGY MORNING sheet music
Words by I. Turgenev
Music by B. Abaza
Morning foggy morning gray-haired
Sad fields covered with snow
Reluctantly remember the past times
You will also remember faces long forgotten
Do you remember the abundant passionate speeches
Looks so greedily and tenderly caught
First meeting last meeting
Quiet voices, beloved sounds
Remember the separation with a strange smile
You will remember a lot from your distant home
Listening to the incessant chatter of wheels
Looking thoughtfully into the wide sky
DO YOU REMEMBER WE SITTED OVER THE SEA?.. sheet music
Words by G. Klechanov
Music by A. Kochetova
Do you remember, we sat above the sea,
The sunset burned like a crimson stripe
And the waves sang a song of love to us quietly
And foamed under our rock?
You whispered about possible happiness,
And the nightingale sang so tenderly, sweetly,
And the breeze breathes cautiously
The branches made such a mysterious noise.
ROMANCE OF THE TURBINES sheet music
Words by M. Matusovsky
Music by V. Basner
The nightingale whistled to us all night
The city was silent and the houses were silent
They drove us crazy all night long
The garden was all washed by spring showers
There was water in the dark ravines
God how naive we were
How young we were then
The years have flown by making us gray
Where is the purity of these living branches
Only winter and this white snowstorm
Reminds me of them today
At an hour when the wind is raging furiously
With new strength I feel
White acacia fragrant clusters
Irreversible like my youth
Nastenka's ROMANCE sheet music
Words by M. Tsvetaeva
Music by A. Petrov
You, whose wide greatcoats
Reminds me of sails
Whose spurs rang merrily
And voices.
And whose eyes are like diamonds
They left a mark on the heart, -
Charming dandies
Years gone by!
With one fierce will
You took the heart and the rock, -
Kings on every battlefield
And at the ball.
All heights were too small for you
And the staleest bread is soft,
Oh young generals
Their destinies.
Oh, how I think you could
With a hand full of rings,
And caress the curls of the maidens - and the manes
Your horses.
In one incredible leap
You have lived your short life...
And your curls, your sideburns
It was snowing.
UNDER THE CASES OF A PLUSH BLANKET sheet music
Words by M. Tsvetaeva
Music by A. Petrov
Under the caress of a plush blanket
I induce yesterday's dream.
What was it, whose victory,
Who is defeated, who is defeated?
I'm changing my mind again
I'm tormented by everyone again.
For what reason, I don’t know the words,
For what purpose, I don’t know the words.
Was there love?
Who was the hunter, who was the prey,
Everything is the devilish opposite.
What did I understand while purring for a long time?
Siberian cat, Siberian cat.
In that duel self-will
Who had only the ball in whose hand,
Whose heart? Is it yours, is it mine,
Did it fly at a gallop?
And yet, what was it?
What do you want so much and it’s a pity,
I still don’t know if I won,
I still don’t know if I won,
Is it defeated, is it defeated?
AND FINALLY I WILL SAY sheet music
Words by B. Akhmadulina
Music by A. Petrov
And finally I will say:
Goodbye love is not obligatory.
I'm going crazy. Or I rise
How you loved you sipped
Death. That's not the point.
How did you love? You ruined it.
But he ruined it so clumsily
Small temple work
Still doing it, but his hands have fallen,
And in a flock, diagonally
Smells and sounds go away.
And finally I will say:
Goodbye love is not obligatory.
I'm going crazy. Or I rise
TO high degree madness.
I'VE BEEN DREAMING ABOUT YOU FOR THREE YEARS sheet music
Words by A. Fatyanov
Music by N. Bogoslovsky
I would like to compare you
With the nightingale's song,
On a quiet morning, with a May garden,
With flexible rowan,
With cherries, bird cherry,
My foggy distance
The most distant
The most desirable one.
How did this all happen?
What evenings?
For three years I dreamed of you,
And I met yesterday.
Don't know more sleep I,
I keep my dream
You, my dear,
I can't compare with anyone.
I would like to compare you
With the first beauty
That with your cheerful look
Touches the heart
What a light gait
Came up unexpectedly
The farthest
The most desirable.
The fate of the author of the ancient Russian romance “I was on my way home” The lyrics and music of this wonderful work belong to the artist and singer of the early twentieth century, Marie Poiret. Her life was like a kaleidoscope. Wealth and poverty. Stage success and love whirlwinds. A titled lady and a prisoner of a St. Petersburg prison. Her name was quickly forgotten. But the romance of Marie Poiret, in which a woman’s heart loves and is sad, remains in the memory of many... *** Very early on, Maria showed an affinity for theatre, music and literature. But there were seven children in the family, and their parents died early. To make their fate easier, the older sisters married Maria, as soon as she turned 16, to the engineer Sveshnikov, who was 30 years older. He categorically forbade her to engage in art. Having learned that she had disobeyed him, the engineer locked his young wife in a psychiatric hospital. With the help of a friend, she managed to free herself and she left her husband and began playing at the Lentovsky Theater. For ten years she performed on the stage of the Lentovsky Theater. Maria was not only a versatile actress, she played the piano beautifully and composed music and poetry. Having heard her compositions, Tchaikovsky and Rubinstein suggested that the girl enter the conservatory. But she remained faithful to the theater. Then she was invited to Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, then she moved to Moscow, where she played at the Maly Theater for several years. Her concert performances, in which she sang Russian and Gypsy songs and romances, were a success. The singer often included works of her own composition in her programs. And she noted with pleasure that they were a success with listeners. *** Love appeared in Maria’s life - Prince Pavel Dolgoruky, he was a subtle connoisseur of art, highly educated and rich. Their happiness lasted ten years. Love gave birth to inspiration and creativity. During these years Maria wrote a whole series poems published in newspapers and magazines. Among them are poems dedicated to the great actresses Ermolova and Komissarzhevskaya. She traveled around Europe and wrote a book about Sicily. When the Russo-Japanese War began, Marie Poiret agreed with the publisher of the newspaper “Novoe Vremya” A. Suvorin about a trip to the Far East as her own correspondent. She not only wrote poems, essays and reports for her newspaper, but often gave concerts to soldiers, raising their morale. The inglorious Russian-Japanese war is over. Overwhelmed with impressions, Maria returns home. She stands for a long time at the window of the carriage, admiring the endless Russian landscapes. And lines of new poems appear in my head along with a passionate lyrical melody: I was driving home, my soul was full of some kind of new happiness that was unclear to myself. It seemed to me that everyone looked at me with such compassion. I was driving home... The two-horned moon looked out the windows of a boring carriage. The distant bell of the morning bell sang in the air like a gentle string. I was driving home... Through the pink veil, the beautiful dawn lazily woke up, And the swallow, rushing somewhere into the distance, swam in the transparent air. I was driving home, I was thinking about you, My thoughts were anxious and confused and torn. A sweet slumber touched my eyes, Oh, if only I never woke up again. *** This is how a new romance developed, which was a huge success with the public. And in life everything happened as predicted in the romance. She broke up with Dolgorukov, despite the fact that they had a daughter, Tatyana. Some time has passed and new love took possession of her. Her chosen one was Dolgorukov's cousin, a member State Duma Count Alexey Orlov-Davydov. He was eight years younger than his beloved. For her sake, he divorced his former wife. But also with new family life didn't work out. This story at one time excited all of Moscow. Count Orlov-Davydov dreamed of a son. Maria was already 50 years old, but she told her husband that she was expecting a child. Taking advantage of her husband’s departure, she took the newborn child from the orphanage and passed it off as her own. But there was a man who, having learned about everything, reported to the count. A scandalous trial took place, which was followed with the same interest as reports from the battlefields of the First World War. The actress, who became a countess, won the case, but after that she left the stage and retired to her estate near Moscow. She was an exceptionally kind and grateful person. After leaving the theater, Maria Poiret took up charity work and helped elderly actors. By that time, the affairs of her great friend, theater figure Mikhail Lentovsky, were upset. She managed to help him, saved him from complete ruin, and contributed to his treatment. *** After the revolution, her estate was confiscated, her Moscow apartment was destroyed, she was left without housing and means of subsistence. She was not entitled to a state pension because she was a former countess. She survived by selling trinkets, the same porcelain, wax, celluloid swans that fans once gave her. Only thanks to the strengthened petition to the Soviet government of Vsevolod Meyerhold and Leonid Sobinov, who described in detail her merits in theater arts, Marie Poiret was given a small pension. The fate of her lovers was tragic after the revolution. Both of them managed to travel abroad. In exile, Count Orlov-Davydov at one time served as a driver for Kerensky. He died abroad without even trying to return home. But Prince Dolgorukov made such an attempt. He crossed the border illegally, but was caught and shot. Marie Poiret herself died in 1933 at the age of 69. Few people know about her now, except big fans of romances. But although her name is practically forgotten, this, fortunately, cannot be said about her beautiful romances. Perhaps you will not meet a performer of romances whose repertoire does not include the works of Marie Poiret.
I WAS DRIVING HOME, MY SOUL WAS FULL...
Words and music by Marie Poiret
I was driving home... Two-horned moon
Spreading your pink veil across the sky,
And the swallow, rushing somewhere into the distance,
Oh, if I never woke up again...
The romance was first performed by the author in a play based on A. N. Pleshcheev’s play “In My Role.” Part of the repertoire of Kato Japaridze. The romances of Marie Poiret based on her own words “Swan Song”, “I Don’t Want to Die”, as well as to the music of other composers are known: “No, don’t say the decisive word” (B.V. Grodzky, G.K. Kozachenko), “Lush blossomed May, the roses shone with beauty" (A. N. Alferaki, G. A. Kozachenko).
Anthology of Russian romance. Silver Age. / Comp., preface. and comment. V. Kalugina. - M.: Eksmo Publishing House, 2005
The same version is in the repertoire of Keto Dzhaparidze (1901-1968) (Black Eyes: An Ancient Russian Romance. - M.: Eksmo Publishing House, 2004.). On the Pelageya disc (FeeLee Records, 2003) and in a number of other sources art. 9.: "Spreading the pink veil."
Maria Yakovlevna Poiret(1864 - after 1918)
Shadows of the past: Vintage romances. For voice and guitar / Comp. A. P. Pavlinov, T. P. Orlova. - St. Petersburg: Composer St. Petersburg, 2007.
OPTIONS (2)
1. I was driving home
Words and music by M. Poiret
I was driving home, my soul was full
Unclear to myself, some new happiness.
It seemed to me that everything with such fate
They looked at me with such affection.
I was driving home... Two-horned moon
I looked out the windows of the boring carriage.
The distant bell of the morning bell
Sang in the air like a gentle string.
I drove home through a pink veil.
The beautiful dawn lazily woke up,
And the swallows, rushing somewhere into the distance,
We swam in the clear air.
I was driving home, I was thinking about you,
My thoughts were anxious and confused and torn.
A sweet slumber touched my eyes.
Oh, if I never woke up again...
Take my heart into the ringing distance...: Russian romances and songs with notes / Comp. A. Kolesnikova. – M.: Sunday; Eurasia +, Polar Star +, 1996.
2. I was driving home
I was driving home... My soul was full
Some new happiness that was unclear to me.
It seemed to me that everything with such fate
They looked at me with such affection.
I was driving home... Dear moon
I looked out the windows of the boring carriage.
The distant bell of the morning bell
Sang in the air like a gentle string.
Spreading her pink veil, the beautiful dawn
I woke up lazily
And like a swallow, rushing somewhere into the distance,
I swam in the clear air.
I was driving home... I was thinking about you!
My thoughts were anxiously confused and torn.
A sweet slumber touched my eyes.
Oh, if I never woke up again!
Masterpieces of Russian romance / Ed.-comp. N.V. Abelmas. - M.: LLC “AST Publishing House”; Donetsk: “Stalker”, 2004. – (Songs for the Soul)., signature: music by an unknown author, words by M. Poiret.
NOTES FOR PIANO (6 sheets):
Kulev V.V., Takun F.I. Golden collection of Russian romance. Arranged for voice accompanied by piano (guitar). M.: Modern music, 2003.