The idea of composing a collection of children’s songs came to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1881. Earlier, he had written and almost immediately published a children’s song “My Lizzie” based on the poems of Konstantin Sergeyevich Aksakov. The composition was published by Peter Jurgenson.
Perhaps Tchaikovsky was inspired by a gift: in 1881, he received a book of poems from the author Aleksey Pleshcheyev with an inscription “To Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as a sign of respect and gratitude for his wonderful music for my bad poems.”
A number of memoirists note that the composer had many childish traits, for instance, his spontaneity, love of games, playfulness, and sincere enthusiasm. Tchaikovsky’s natural traits were especially evident when he was around children. He tended at times to “act frivolously”, for example, he would swing or fly a kite. He loved various types of entertainment, like cycling and billiard, as well as some unusual activities in everyday life: sewing, washing, gardening, and taking care of his land.
During his lifetime, he was surrounded by a limited number of children. He played with his sister Alexandra’s kids: Tatiana, Vera, Anna, Natalia, Dmitry, Vladimir and Yury; the daughter of his brother Anatoly — Tatiana; the son of his niece Tatiana Davydova, adopted by his brother Nikolay, whose name was Georges-Leon (Georgy); the deaf-mute fosterling of his brother Modest — Kolya Konradi — and some village boys and girls in Klin, where the composer lived in his last years. Group games, home performances and playing music in Kamenka, where his sister’s family lived, were mandatory features of Tchaikovsky’s leisure time. It all brought him a lot of joy and a sense of fullness of life.
Unlike the “Children’s Album”, the “Children’s Songs” were not intended for performing, but for listening by children. Perhaps this explains the “mentoring elements” and edification, present in the texts chosen by Tchaikovsky. For instance, in the “Lullaby in a Storm”, through the image of a flower that grew outside the prison window, the poet presents his philosophy, full of love and compassion for people.
