A Collection of Translations of Russian Folk Songs: E. E. Lineva's Visit to America (1892-1896)

Abstract

When Evgeniia Eduardovna Paprits-Lineva (1854-1919) emigrated with her husband for political reasons, they first went to Et;tgland (1890 to 1892) and then to America where they lived in New York (1892-1896).(1) Although she was a trained opera singer who had performed as a contralto in Moscow, Vienna, Budapest, Paris, and London, she may have taken an interest in folk songs before leaving Russia.(2) While in New York she selected a group of Russians living there and organized them into a choir. Early on she must have met Henry E. Krehbiel who was music critic for the New York Tribune and at the time was giving public lectures about folk songs. Initially, this acqullintance led to joint lecture-concerts in Carnegie Hall at the end of November and beginning of December 1892.(3) Lineva's choir was invited to perform at the International Exposition in Chicago in 1893 as part of the contribution, which also included an exhibit of paintings by artists. The choir, which found the means to travel to Chicago only after an American philanthropist, Charles R. Crane, helped sponsor the trip, turned out to be one of the most popular programs at the exposition(4) and subsequently gave concerts in Milwaukee, Boston, and Philadelphia. In connection with her choir's performances, Lineva published a collection of translations . entitled Folk Songs as Sung by the Peo.ple and Peasant Wedding Ceremonies Custommy in Northern and Central Russia (Chicago, 1893). This volume, which is essentially a scholarly and not a popular publication, consists of A Note on Folk Music by H. E. Krehbiel (pp. 5-9); a .description of the peasant wedding (pp. 10-25); translations of twenty seven Russian, seven Ukrainian, and five sacred songs; and a concluding essay entitled Russian Folk-Songs (pp. 53-63). It should also be pointed out that most of the songs have explanatory notes, sometimes rather extensive ones, and that the English in the songs, notes, and final essay reads quite smoothly. Lineva's Chicago collection, bearing the French spelling of her name (Eugenie Linefi), has never caught the attention of folklorists and consequently supplements knowledge about her work as a collector and investigator of folk songs. After Lineva returned to Russia in 1896, she soon started recording folk songs with a phonograph and from that time published only songs that she herselfhad collected. When she tried to repay the money to Crane for the Chicago trip of her choir, he sent back double the amount to the Geographical Society with the stipulation that the