Dark Eyes
Dark Eyes (Russian: Очи чёрные) is a Russian Gypsy song whose melody is known all over the world. It has been used in numerous recordings, movies, and shows worldwide. Its history is discussed in the following excerpt from Alexander Zlatkovski's web-site Tales from the Keyboard.
"The lyrics were written by Ukranian poet Yevhen Hrebinka [1812 - 1848]. In 1843 he met his future wife, fell in love, and dedicated a short poem called Dark Eyes to her. Originally it was romantic and quite cheerful (they got happily married within a year). Half a century later, the famous Russian bass [opera singer] Feodor Chaliapin [1873 - 1938] rewrote the lyrics, dedicating it to his future wife. Now it became fervent and heart-rending – filled with “Gypsy passions”, as they say in Russia ... .
"So the text of the song has two well-known authors. It is a much more uncertain with the music: all that is known is the composer’s name, some F. Hermann. I first saw this name when browsing the sheet music of Old Russian waltzes. There were no comments, no biography – nothing. Curious, I searched further, and got some confounding results. One version said that the tune’s author was a French composer Florian Hermann, who lived at the beginning of 19th century. According to this version, he was an army bandleader, invading Russia with Napoleon’s army to the tune of his own military march. Napoleon was banished from Russia, but the music stayed. Later, with a slightly changed rhythm, it became the melody of Dark Eyes.
"The other version gives the composer a different first name – Feodor – and calls him a Russified German. It also speaks of a waltz rather than a march. Although less flamboyant, this version seems closer to the truth: the introduction to the waltz sounds very Russian indeed... The waltz itself, by the way, has a couple of other names: Recollection Waltz and Hommage Valse (I call it Dark Eyes Waltz in my programs to emphasize the connection with the famous song).
"Anyway, whatever the title and whoever the composer might be, the music is beautiful, exciting – and Gypsy."
