MUED 305, Tang 1

Russian Folk Song Handout

MUED 305 World Music

Zheng Tang

March 5, 2009

MUED 305, Tang 2

Russian Folk Song

Cultural Part

Russian history began with that of the Eastern Slavs. The Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe somewhere between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. shares land borders with the following countries, going from the northwest to the southeast: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, , Ukraine,

Georgia, , , , Mongolia and North Korea. At 17 million square kilometers, or 6.6 million sq miles, Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than an eighth of the Earth’s land area, but it only has 142 million people. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism are Russia’s traditional religions, and it has a free education system guaranteed to all citizens by their Constitution. Because it is such a large country that spans Europe and Asia, it has been influenced by both western and eastern cultures. There are many great musicians in Russian music history, two of the most famous being Tchaikovsky and Ostrovsky. Before the 18 th century,

Russian music focused mostly on sacred music, but after that, secular music became more and more popular. People started to collect and arrange folk songs. Those folk songs had a big influence on the development of music. MUED 305, Tang 3

Musical Context

This is a love song called “Katyusha.” Katyusha is a girl’s name. The song is a

Soviet Russian wartime song about a girl longing for her beloved, who is away in the military. The music was composed in 1938 by Matvei Blanter, and the lyrics were written by Mikhail Isakovsky. Even though this song was originally written in times of peace, and probably for the sentry squads at the far frontiers of the country, when Hitler attacked the in 1941 it suddenly got a new meaning, and soon everybody knew this song. The Soviet leaders had composers produce a lot of very heroic and patriotic battle hymns, but this simple little song about the blooming apple trees at home and the girl who sent her love song to her darling remained the favorite song of the young men at the front, making this song one of the most popular at that time. As the began pushing Germany back and occupying the countries in Eastern Europe, this song spread to some of those countries, too.

Soon the lively melody became well known also in the western world. Different versions of this song even became popular among German youth groups, and in the

1970s, a pop band used the melody to create a hit named "Kasatchok". MUED 305, Tang 4

Rastsvetali yabloni i grushi, Apple trees and pear trees were a-flower, poplýli tumani nad rekoi, mist was rising over the river, výkhadyila na byereg Katyusha, Katyusha went out to the banks, na výsoki byereg, na krutoi. to the high and steep river banks. Výkhadyila, pyesnyu zavodyila, While she walked she sang a song pro stepnovo, sizovo orla, about a grey eagle of the steppe, pro tavo, katorovo lubyila, about him whom she loved, pro tavo, tshi pyisma beregla. about him whose letters she held in her hand. Oi, tý pyesnya, pyesen'ka dyevitshya, Oh, you song, you little song of a girl, tý leti za yasným sontsem vsled follow the bright sun and fly i boitsu na dalnem pogranyitshi to the warrior in the far foreign country, ot Katyushi pyeredai privyet. and bring him greetings from Katyusha. Pust' on vspomnit dyevushku prastuyu, He shall remember his dear girl, pust' uslýshit, kak ana payot, he shall hear how she sings, pust' on zemlu byerezhot radnuyu - he shall defend their home, a lyubov Katyusha zbyerezhot. and Katyusha will preserve their love. Otsvetali yabloni i grushi, Apple and pear trees have lost their blossoms, uplýli tumani nad rekoi. the river mists have vanished.

Ukhadyila z byerega Katyusha, Katyusha left the river banks unasyila pyesen'ku damoi. and took her little song back home.

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Besides “Katyusha,” there are a lot of Russian folk songs that are very pretty.

Generally, Russian folk songs can be put into two different types. The first one has moderate tempo. Examples of this would be “Three Sets of Car” and “’s Night.”

The other kind has delightful rhythm. “Red Berry Blossom” is a good example of this second kind. Russian folk songs use a lot F# and Bb, and the melodies are rolling and mysterious. Most of their musical composition patterns have either an AB form, or an

ABA form.

Russian folk songs were an integral part of daily life in a village. People would be singing from morning until night, songs that reflected the four seasons, their work and difficulties, and significant events in their lives. Some of the lyrics, especially ones written during wars, praise idealism, patriotism, and heroism. Songs written in other times might encourage a positive and highly-motivated life attitude. People love nature and life, so there are songs about that, while others express love and friendship, and tell of people’s love and respect for each other.

Russian folk songs are just one of the many parts of Russian music. Russian people love music. They are good at singing and dancing. There are many ballet schools there, and they also have more than 40 symphony orchestras. Russian operas are very famous, too.

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Sources

Kracht, K. (2002). Russian folk songs: Katyusha/ Rastsvetali yabloni (Music and

Words). From http://www.kaikracht.de/balalaika/english/songs/katy_not.htm

Kustovskii, E. S. & Warner, E., (1992). Russian traditional folk song. Ethnomusicology.

University of Illinois Press. Form http://www.jstor.org/stable/851878?seq=3

YouTube (2009). Katyusha-Russian Choir. Retrieved January 27, 2007, from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDCUr1GuMGM

YouTube (2009). Катюша Katyusha. Retrieved July 25, 2007, from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3bksG5iXOk&feature=related

YouTube (2009). Moscow Nights. Retrieved March 21, 2007, from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In8DaeDs9KA&feature=PlayList&p=8E47BF

0A5E7C2EED&index=0&playnext=1

Wikipedia, (2009). Russia. Retrieved March 4, 2009, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia#Classical_music_and_ballet