On the Tsarskoïe Selo Museum official site :
http://eng.tzar.ru/info/info-events/title/?id=3246
As a follow-up to this link: in the last paragraph, it says that the Cantonal and University Library at Lausanne contains the"sheet music of Grand Duchess Olga's famous prayer closing with the words, 'give me the strength to pray for the enemies'". Where would sheet music enter this? Olga certainly wrote out the prayer, and it may have been spoken aloud sometime (at Ipatiev House?). But I don't know of its being sung nor of sheet music subsequently being created for it. Melody?
From the link to the museum, it seems there was such sheet music. Does anyone know anything about this?
Yes, the Prayer, composed by S. S. Bekhteev, sent to the Grand Duchesses in Tobolsk, was later put to music by Ceeste. The lyrics were printed in Russian, French and English. The English translation was by Miss Vera Margolies. The cover of the sheet music (no date given) features a photograph of G. D. Olga sitting at a table reading a book.
It is listed in the register of P. Gilliard's archives as: Ag. 1: "Priere, Poesie de la Grande Duchesse Olga Nicolaevna", pour chant avec accompaniment de piano compose par Ceeste. (My apologies to any Frenchmen reading this -- I have not yet discovered how to enter the appropriate accent marks in these replies.)
A photographic copy of the sheet music appears on pages 429-433 of E. E. Alferieff's "Letters of the Tsar's Family from Captivity."
http://www.alexanderpalace.org/palace/books.html?sku=95If anyone is interested in having the music, perhaps I could find someone to scan those pages.
Inok Nikolai
