Op. 47, no.6, composed in 1880; poem by Aleksey Apukhtin The opus is dedicated to Alexandra Panaeva, who was the first Tatiana ("Eugene Onegin"). Tchaikovsky and Panaeva got to know each other in 1879 when she sang the part of Tatiana in a recital.
In March of 1880 preparations were made for a concert of Tchaikovsky's compositions. He came to the final rehearsal and heard Alexandra Panaeva sing. After the rehearsal Tchaikovsky spoke to his friend Alexey Apukhtin and asked whether the poet never dedicated a poem to her. Apukhtin showed him a piece of paper where a few lines were pencilled. Tchaikovsky looked them through and then suddenly went home without saying goodbye.
In a day or two he came again and showed a draft of the song. In the summer of the same year he composed six songs more, adding "Whether it is bright day..." under number 6.
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