Sergey Prokofiev’s album Children’s music widely known in the world was created by the composer by an example of Schumann’s Album für die Jugend or Tchaikovsky’s Children’s Album.. In his reminiscences about the period of writing this cycle Prokofiev wrote: In Summer of 1935 in parallel with Romeo and Juliet I composed easy pieces for children, where my old love for sonata form was revived and reached in the cycle the full ‘childrenness’.
In the focus of the cycle — the world through the eyes of a child, one day of little jig, full of new experiences, impressions and feelings. Those are lively episodes of children playing, kaleidoscope of incessant movement. Child’s moods, feelings comprise another field of music expression, from happy surprise to sincere remorse.
Everything in this cycle is addressed to the child and is natural to his\her apprehension: aquarelle-like transparency of texture, clear thre-part forms with its contrast and repetitions, but foremost — the feeling of eager involvement of composer himself into the process of eternal play.
Contents:
1. Morning (Music text example)
2. Promenade
3. A Short Tale
4. Tarantella
5. Repentance
6. Waltz
7. Grasshopper’s procession
8. Rain and rainbow
9. Tag (Music text example)
10. March
11. Evening
12. O'er the Meadows Walks the Crescent