In working with primary sources, one must deal with materials that fall into the genre of ‘recollections of composers’. Such materials have their own particular features requiring specific analytical tools and new perspectives. This article concerns recollections about Alexander Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky. In particular, it offers an interpretative analysis comments made by the composer, theoretician, and music critic Yuri Karlovich Arnold (1811-1898) and the composer and amateur singer Vladimir Timofeyevich Sokolov. The article addresses a number of key questions, including: to what extent is the narrative of the memoir coloured by the author’s own sense of ‘self’? Does the author seek to define or re-define his own identity? Does he enter into polemical conflict with Dargomyzhsky’s personality? Does he attempt to excuse the composer’s ‘mistakes’ or take on the role of an advocate, rehabilitating the reputation of both the composer and his music? The answers to these questions reveal the ambiguity and dialogic nature of memoir texts.