This was the fifth of the seven song collections of Rachmaninov and the largest in number. Though he was only 33 at the time he wrote them, he was already a master in the vocal realm, having also worked on four operas by then.

"There are many sounds" (texts by Alexei Tolstoi), "All taken from me" (Fyodor Tyutchev), and "We shall rest" (Anton Chekhov, from Uncle Vanya) all deliver powerful music and words. The first is somber in mood, dealing with suppressed desires and feelings; the middle song is brief—dramatic at the outset and quite lyrical thereafter—dealing with the central character losing everything, including health, as punishment by God. The last of the three is a dark and effective setting of Chekhov's text.

The long fourth entry, "Two farewells" (Alexei Koltsov), requires a soprano and baritone to sing alternately, as a woman in dialogue with an inquisitive young man. The music is compelling, making this one of the strongest songs in the collection. In "Beloved, let us fly" (Arseny Golenischev-Kutuzov) a man implores his love to go with him to the country. The vocal line is calm and lyrical, the accompaniment restrained.

The sixth and eighth songs are on texts by Dmitri Merezhkovsky. "Christ is risen" and "For mercy I beg" are both powerful works. The former deals with Christ's return to earth and his repulsion at the evil he would observe, while the latter implores oncoming spring not to arouse feelings of pain and suffering. "To Children" (Alexei Kholmyakov) tells of children growing up and leaving home and the parent's resultant pain of loss. The music is simple, if serious, with a gentle, flowing vocal line.

The ninth and twelfth songs are on texts by Ivan Bunin. In "I am again alone," a young man aware his beloved is leaving him. The music is perhaps a bit overdramatic here and, therefore, less compelling. "Night is sorrowful" portrays the poet's hopeless longing for happiness via an attractively mournful melody and deft contrapuntal accompaniment. The tenth song, "At my window," is a Glafira Galina poem about a cherry tree that sings wordlessly of love near the poet's window. The melody and mirroring accompaniment are beautiful, making this among the best items in the set.

The eleventh song, "The fountain," (Tyutchev), describes a fountain whose waters rise to the heavens, and offers vivid imaging in the vocal writing, with a climactic octave leap, and arpeggios on piano to enact the surges of rising water. "Yesterday we met" (Yakov Polonsky) is a man's happenstance meeting with a former lover, and offers simple and direct but constantly changing music, featuring several effective pauses. "The Ring" (Koltsov) tells of a woman discarding her deceased beloved's ring. The music is less compelling here, the nervous accompaniment at the outset and close providing some interest, however.

The final song, "All things depart" (Daniil Rathaus) deals with man's mortality, and Rachmaninov's music has more than a vague religious tone and rises to a powerful climax.

© Robert Cummings, All Music Guide

13.When Yesterday We Met

There are 15 songs in Rachmaninov's Op. 26 set, making it his largest. When yesterday we met is one of the more widely performed among them, though Christ is risen (No. 6), Before my window (No. 10), and Night is mournful (No. 12) surpass it in popularity. It is a setting of a text by Russian poet Yakov Polonsky (1819—1898), whose works also attracted the attention of Tchaikovsky, Taneyev, Cui, and other Russian composers. The text tells of a man's chance encounter with a former lover, providing the kind of subject matter to the melancholy, Romantic muse of Rachmaninov that drew out the best in him. The song opens with a yearning, soaring theme that wallows in regret and a sense of loss. The piano accompaniment is mostly comprised of chords, whose tolling manner reinforce the dark feeling of tragedy. Toward the end, the singer seems to cry out in anguish, Rachmaninov sounding as emotional here as in any of his other compositions. And is there yet another allusion at the end to that ubiquitous theme in the composer's works, the Dies Irae? This is a powerful and masterful creation that will be appreciated by most vocal music enthusiasts. This song typically has a duration of just over three minutes.

© All Music Guide