Resignation

Since Nowakowsky composed several liturgical pieces which called for violin and cello (in addition to cantor, chorus and organ), it is only natural that he should also compose non-liturgical pieces for these instruments. In addition to a concerto for violin, piano and organ, and an unfinished sonata for violin and piano, he also left a few miscellaneous works for different combinations of instruments. Resignation, for violin and piano, is composed in the style of late nineteenth century Russian salon music as developed by Mikhail Glinka. These brief, incidental pieces, usually identified with vocal music, came to be known as “city romances.” In addition to Glinka and Nowakowsky, pieces of this type were composed by Tchaikowsky, Balakirev, Gurilov, Mussorgsky, and others. The manuscript of Resignation is incomplete. Nowakowsky wrote the title, using the Latin alphabet, as “Ressignation.” For this, the first published edition of the work, the music has been completed and edited by Gregory Cherninsky. Part of the David Nowakowsky Foundation Series.