The musical culture of Ancient Rus', starting from the Kievan period and throughout the Middle Ages, had a dual character.
buffoons
Two cultures of different origins simultaneously coexisted in it: folk and church. Mastering the Christian culture that came from Byzantium, Russian singers inevitably had to use the old reserves of pagan song. Despite the fact that they were in a state of antagonism due to the struggle of two incompatible ideologies - pagan and Christian - they had a lot in common. Their joint existence made them related and mutually enriched.
But the life of folk and church music had a different character. The assimilation of church music was bookish, it required special schools, while folk songs were not recorded until the 18th century. Ancient musical hook manuscripts, preserved from the turn of the 11th-13th centuries, vividly testify to the first stage of Russian professional music, and although they cannot be accurately deciphered, they largely reflect the ancient singing culture.
Monuments of literature and art - chronicles, frescoes, icons - tell about the music of Ancient Rus' (IX-XII centuries). The life of the Bishop of Novgorod Nifont (XIII century), the teachings of the monk George (XIII century) and a number of other documents contain information that musicians performed on the streets and squares of cities. Music was an obligatory part of the ritual holidays - Shrovetide (seeing off winter and welcoming spring), Ivan Kupala (summer solstice), etc. They usually took place with a large concourse of people and included games, dances, wrestling, equestrian competitions, performances of buffoons. Buffoons played the harp, trumpets, snots, tambourines, horns.
Music was played during solemn ceremonies at the court of princes. So, the change of dishes at feasts was accompanied by instrumental music or an epic. On a medieval miniature representing the scene of the conclusion of peace between the princes Yaropolk and Vsevolod, next to them is a musician playing the trumpet. In the war, with the help of pipes, horns, horns, drums, tambourines, they gave signals and created noise that was supposed to frighten the enemy
The most common instrument was the harp. Byzantine historian of the 7th century. Theophylact writes about the love of the northern Slavs (Venedi) for music, mentioning the cithars invented by them, that is, the harp. The harp as an indispensable accessory of buffoons is mentioned in old Russian songs and epics of the Vladimir cycle. It is no coincidence that Bayan, the epic narrator-gusliar, is sung in the Tale of Igor's Campaign (XII century). However, the attitude towards the harp was ambivalent. They were respected for their resemblance to the musical instrument of the biblical psalmist King David. But the same harp in the hands of amusing buffoons was condemned by the church. Buffoons and their household items, including musical instruments, disappeared in the 17th century.
Buffoons are Russian medieval actors, at the same time singers, dancers, trainers, witty musicians, performers of skits, acrobats and authors of most of the verbal, musical and dramatic works they performed.
The repertoire of buffoons consisted of comic songs, plays, social satires ("glum"), performed in masks and "buffoon dress" to the accompaniment of a beep, gusel, pity, domra, bagpipes, tambourine. Each character was assigned a certain character and mask, which did not change for years. Buffoons performed on the streets and squares, constantly communicated with the audience, involved them in their performance.
Performances of buffoons united different types of arts - both dramatic and circus. It is known that back in 1571 they recruited "merry people" for state fun, and at the beginning of the 17th century. the troupe was at the Amusement Chamber, built in Moscow by Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. At the same time, at the beginning of the 17th century, princes Ivan Shuisky, Dmitry Pozharsky, and others had buffoon troupes. Prince Pozharsky's buffoons often went around the villages "for their trade." As medieval jugglers were divided into feudal jugglers and folk jugglers, Russian buffoons were also differentiated. But the circle of "court" buffoons in Russia remained limited, in the end their functions were reduced to the role of household jesters.
buffoon
Around the middle of the XVII century. wandering gangs are gradually leaving the stage, and sedentary buffoons are more or less retraining as musicians and stage figures in a Western European way. From that time on, the buffoon becomes an obsolete figure, although certain types of his creative activity continued to live among the people for a very long time. So, the buffoon-singer, the performer of folk poetry, gives way to representatives of the emerging from the end of the 16th century. poetry; a living memory of him was preserved among the people - in the person of the storytellers of epics in the North, in the form of a singer or bandura player in the South. A buffoon-gudets (gooseman, domrachi, bagpiper, surnachi), a dance player turned into an instrumental musician. Among the people, his successors are folk musicians, without whom not a single folk festival can do.
In 1648 and 1657 Archbishop Nikon obtained decrees banning buffoonery.
One of the brightest pages of Russian spiritual and artistic culture is ancient Russian church music. The monumentality and grandeur of ancient Russian music are completely connected with modest means of expression - unison singing, laconic, strict colors of sound. P. A. Florensky in his “Discourse on Divine Services” speaks of a special property of the ancient Russian monody: “Ancient unison or octave singing ... it’s amazing how the touch of Eternity awakens. Eternity is perceived in a certain poverty of earthly treasures, and when there is a wealth of sounds, voices, vestments, etc., etc., the earthly comes, and Eternity leaves the soul somewhere, to the poor in spirit and poor riches.
Ancient Rus' perceived the Byzantine musical culture and new musical aesthetics together with baptism as a direct source from which a new stream of music developed, which opposed itself to the original folk genres. Church music appeared in Rus' after its conversion to Christianity (988). Along with baptism, the country also received musical culture from Byzantium. Among the most important provisions of the theory and aesthetics of Byzantine and ancient Russian musical art is the idea of its God-givenness, inspiration.
The creators of ancient Russian music avoided external effects, embellishments, so as not to disturb the depth of feelings and thoughts. The most important feature of medieval Russian art was its synthetic character. The same images were embodied by different means in different types of art, but the word served as the true core of the synthesis of ancient Russian church art. The word, its meaning formed the basis of chants, melodies contributed to their perception, clarification of the text, weaned it, sometimes illustrated it. Contemplation of icons, listening to chants close to them in content created such a unity that evoked lofty thoughts and feelings. The icon and the chant that sounded in front of it, the prayer constituted the pulse of the spiritual culture of Ancient Rus', therefore icon-painting and hymnographic creativity has always been at a high level.
The synthesis of arts, which composers of the 20th century aspired to in their work. in particular, A. Scriabin, in essence, was embodied in medieval art. Ancient Russian worship had the character of a mystery, during which a person could receive spiritual purification, free himself from the worries and fuss that burdened him, and morally rise.
A number of information about music has come down to us from the 16th century. In particular, chants, the author of which was Ivan the Terrible, have been preserved. According to the data contained in the sources, one can judge his musical talent.
The literary cliché of that time was the following expression: the tsar went to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery "to listen to prayer singing." The fact that this expression is not accidental is convinced by some “variation” in the mention of Ivan IV’s interest in the musical side of the service: “And the tsar and grand duke listened to that modem singing, until which time the baptism was performed.” This behavior of his is all the more curious because it was observed during the baptism of his newly betrothed wife Mary. Or another place from the source: “The sovereign was alone with his spiritual fathers Andrey the archpriests, and starting to arm himself, put yumshan on himself, and he hears many calls and says to his neighbors: “The bells are heard, as if the bells of Simon’s monastery” *. If we take into account that each monastery had its own bell ringing, then it should be recognized that Ivan IV had a good musical memory.
Together with Christianity, the Russians borrowed from Byzantium a very ramified and sophisticated system of temple singing - osmoglas and the system of its recording - banners, hooks. Since the oldest forms of this notation are not precisely deciphered, the question remains open: did Rus' adopt church singing from Byzantium directly or through the South Slavic countries, but it is obvious that by the XV-XVI centuries. Russian Znamenny chant was a completely original artistic phenomenon. Received from Byzantium and stable principles remained the strictly vocal nature of church creativity - the Orthodox canon excludes the use of any instruments whatsoever; the closest connection between word and sound; smooth melodic movement; the line structure of the whole (i.e., the musical form acted as a derivative of the speech, poetic). In general, these principles are to a large extent valid for the ancient epic folklore genres (calendar ritual - pagan song had its own laws).
In the XVI century. in Moscow, exemplary choirs were founded - sovereign and patriarchal choristers clerks. At the same time, variants of the main znamenny chant, travel and demestvenny chants appeared, each having its own recording system, as well as individual versions of individual chants that belonged to a given master, locality, monastery, etc. In the 16th century. there is also a completely original Russian church polyphony. Somewhat later, in the 17th century. Kievan, Greek, Bulgarian chant became widespread, partly associated with the singing of the southern and southwestern Orthodox churches, but acquiring independent forms in Rus'.
The first Russian teachers were Greek and Bulgarian singers.
16th century was the time of the spread of many new local chants. There were chants of Kyiv, Vladimir, Yaroslavl (by the names of cities), bast baskets, Christians (by the names of singers, their authors). Works of church singing art (troparia, canons, etc.) remained, as a rule, like icon painting, anonymous. But nevertheless, the names of outstanding masters of the 16th-17th centuries are known from written sources; among them - Vasily Shaidur, Novgorodians (according to other sources - Karelians) brothers Vasily (monastic Varlaam) and Savva Rogovs; Ivan (monastic Isaiah) Lukoshko and Stefan Golysh from the Urals; Ivan the Nose and Fedor Peasant (i.e. Christian), who worked at the court of Ivan the Terrible.
Another name belonging to a number of very significant in the history of Russian singing art: Archpriest, and later Metropolitan Andrei. Mentions of him in the annals depict him as a musically literate person.
In general, the XVI century. was to a certain extent a turning point for the history of ancient Russian music, and by no means only in the performing art of singing. It was from that time that one can speak of the emergence in Russia of "theoretical musicology", the first results of which were numerous singing alphabets. And the 17th century is a period of a kind of flourishing of domestic musicology. Suffice it to name here the names of such authors as Nikolai Diletsky, Alexander Mezenets, Tikhon Makarievsky. And the next era in the history of Russian music - the era of partes singing - is already associated with purely professional musical-theoretical monuments of Russian culture.
From the middle of the XVII century. there comes a turning point in Russian church singing art: a new style of choral polyphony is being established - the partes, distributed in Moscow by singers of Ukrainian, Belarusian and Polish origin and based on the norms of Western European harmonic writing. At the same time, the five-line notation begins to prevail, although the hook script has been preserved for quite a long time (the Old Believers use it to this day). The spiritual psalm (kant) becomes very popular, then secular choral chants appear - historical, military, love, comic.
There is no uniform periodization of the history of Russian music. Usually, three periods are distinguished for the Middle Ages: before the Mongol-Tatar invasion (XI-XIII centuries), the Moscow period (XIV - the beginning of the XVII centuries), the era of the turning point (from the accession of the Romanov dynasty in 1613 to the reign of Peter I, the beginning of the XVIII in.).
Next 18th century. often divided into two periods - post-Petrine, marked by the strongest foreign influence, and Catherine (the last third of the century), when signs of a national musical school begin to appear.
First quarter of the 19th century usually considered as an era of early romanticism, often this time is also called the "pre-Glinka" or "pre-classical" era. With the appearance of operas by M. I. Glinka (late 1830s - 1840s), the heyday of Russian music begins, reaching its peak in the 1860s-1880s. Since the mid 1890s. and until 1917 (it would be more correct to move the second date a little further, to the middle or even the second half of the 1920s), a new stage gradually unfolds, marked first by the development - against the background of classical traditions - of the Art Nouveau style, and then other new directions, which can be summarized by the terms "futurism", "constructivism", etc. In the history of Russian music of the Soviet period, the pre-war and post-war periods are distinguished, and in the second of them they designate the beginning of the 1960s as a milestone. Since the late 1980s a new, modern period of Russian musical art begins.
Here's what I can add. At one time, while still a student, I wrote an essay on the history of Russian folk instruments, in particular domra ... Here's what I learned: the article states that Archbishop Nikon in the middle of the 17th century obtained a decree banning buffoonery. And it was not just a ban. Skomorokhov was executed. All instruments, all kinds of recordings of music were taken away from people, thrown into large carts, taken to the river and burned. Keeping the instrument at home was like signing your own death warrant. Folk music was considered “demonic”, and the people performing it were considered “possessed by demonism.” By order of the church, the great cultural heritage of the Slavs and Old Russians was destroyed and replaced with Western church music. What has come down to us since that time is still a hundred liters of water in the ocean ...
The music of those times is known from various sources, and many of the data are reliable. Frescoes, various chronicles and even icons serve as sources of information to create a complete picture of the typical life of the times of ancient Rus'. The works of the Novgorod bishop and monk Georgy contain clear information that musicians performed on the streets and various squares of the cities. Naturally, music was an important part of all ritual holidays, especially such popular and revered ones as Shrovetide or, for example, Ivan Kupala.
All large gatherings of people, including various fairs, were often accompanied by musical numbers. During fun entertainment and celebration of rituals, games and dances accompanied typical ritual actions. Equestrian competitions, performances by buffoons and actors were just as popular as performances by musicians, so even then there were touring, that is, traveling groups.
Of course, the solemn events held at the court of princes and in the homes of wealthy residents were also accompanied by music. At the prince's, beautiful instrumental melodies sounded during the change of dishes, and when the guests gathered after the meal, concerts were often given in the garden.
music and military ranks did not bypass. To strengthen the fighting spirit and raise the mood, as well as to maintain the rhythm during long and tiring foot crossings, simple but pleasant music sounded. With the help of trumpets, horns and horns in the war they gave signs and signaled the collection. The tambourines and drums made a loud noise, which helped to intimidate the enemy and additionally showed serious intentions.
The music of ancient Rus' did not differ in variety, but at that time there were already many different instruments. Among the most common and gone down in history, as a landmark and original Russian instrument, were the gusli. The guslars played for entertainment and could tell various epics to the music. Ritual and authors were usually magi, but folk music was represented by buffoons. As the first personal performers in Rus', buffoons often used different instruments and, in addition to the gusli, played pipes, pipes and pipes.
The art of bell ringing, as a unique type of music and art inherent only in ancient Rus', actively developed after the capture by the Tatar-Mongols. The three types of ringing that still exist today originated precisely then. These uniform strikes on the bell are called blagovest, chime based on enumeration, and the ringing itself, which has become a real, unique bell playing.
Church music, which appeared after the conversion of the population to Christianity, developed gradually and was based on singing. As the most perfect musical instrument, the human voice was considered the most important, and therefore chanting began to be used during all worship services. It is generally accepted that the first teachers in this direction were Bulgarian and Greek singers. The works of most of the church singing art remained anonymous, so history has preserved only a few names of outstanding masters. It is known for certain that the chants were recorded, and with the help of musical notation. There were lists of the main banners (symbols) in the alphabet manuals, but the methods for their execution were not displayed. Taking into account that the oral tradition was lost in the process of development of other musical directions, it is not possible to restore the temple chants of those years. It is known, however, that typical chants were strict, monophonic and always reserved. To give a special sound, they used simple melodies and frequent repetition of certain sounds. Along with the described znamenny chants, there were parallel kondakar chants, complicated laudatory prayers. Samples of such singing are preserved in the most ancient singing books. Unfortunately, it is impossible to decipher the available data for the same reason, because the special recording system probably had its own oral deciphering laws.
As a unique and very interesting, unusual phenomenon, the music of ancient Rus' delighted everyone who heard it, as there are numerous records of eyewitnesses. At the same time, special, original genres that originated in this territory did not spread around the world, therefore they were famous far beyond the borders of Rus'. Epics, bell ringing, lyrical songs, playing the harp and nozzle, as well as military drumming, expanded and enriched the musical directions that existed before that time. By the way, it is generally accepted that church Slavonic music became the prototype of modern, professional academic music and became an important stage in the development of art on a global scale.
Considering the number of musical instruments known and widespread in those days, as well as the involvement of musicians at various events, we can conclude that music has always accompanied a person. Actually, and as an integral part of the cultural heritage of world history, the music of ancient Rus' is very important.
It developed primarily as vocal music. Its origins are in Russian folk song. The whole life of the people (work, life, faith, etc.) was reflected in the folk song. Of the most ancient songs, lullabies and calendar songs are known (pagan songs associated with the seasons - spring songs, etc.). They have a narrow range.
It developed primarily as vocal music. Its origins are in Russian folk song. The whole life of the people (work, life, faith, etc.) was reflected in the folk song. Of the most ancient songs, lullabies and calendar songs are known (pagan songs associated with the seasons - spring songs, etc.). They have a narrow range.9-12 centuries - the time of Kievan Rus. In 988 Rus' adopted Christianity. It came from Byzantium. 3 main centers of musical culture were formed:
1) Folk song. In the folk song there is a connection with paganism. Talented people stood out from the people - buffoons. They amused the people, performing not only musical numbers, but also circus ones. They were persecuted by the church. The Church did not approve of instrumental music. She recognized only vocal-spiritual music.
2) Prince's court. Here the central figure was the singer-storyteller, who composed and sang songs and epics about the military exploits of the prince and his squad. He accompanied himself on the harp. At court, other instruments were also used - domra, horns, beep (a string instrument with 3 strings and a bow).
3) Church. This is the most important focus. Developed writing, iconography. The “znamenny chant” appeared (11-17 centuries). These are prayer-chants, which were performed by the male choir in unison. By nature - harsh tunes with a smooth melody and a narrow range. These chants were recorded with banners (signs), some of which are hooks. They did not indicate the exact pitch, but only the direction of the melody (up or down). These chants were composed by chanting monks. The most famous of them are Fedor Krestyanin (one of the most famous works is “Stikhira”), Savva Rogov. The texts were first translated from Byzantine. In the 16th century, Ivan IV (the Terrible) himself wrote Znamenny chants. In the future, Znamenny chant became one of the sources of Russian musical classics (Rakhmaninov, Mussorgsky, and others).
In the 12th-15th centuries, the principality of Novgorod stood out. Here the art of music was somewhat different. The people lived well. Buffoonery flourished (here it was not persecuted by the church). Epics were composed, but they glorified not the exploits of the prince, but dexterity, ingenuity.
Late 14th - 16th centuries - the time of Muscovite Rus'. At this time, Ivan Kalita, Dmitry Donskoy, Ivan the Terrible (16th century), who united Rus' and took Kazan from the Tatars, ruled. Songs and epics were composed about the capture of Kazan. At the court of Ivan IV, music was greatly developed. From abroad, he brought an organ, clavichords, and created the "Choir of State Singers". This is the heyday of Znamenny singing. The worship services were pompous. At the same time, the first Russian polyphony appeared (znamenny chant - monophony). Line singing began to appear - the main voice and voices lower and higher from the main voice. Clerk Ivan Shaydurov introduced a new notation - "cinnabar marks", in which the pitch of the sound was already fixed. The recording has become more perfect.
Znamenny chant disappeared in the 17th century. 1613 - the beginning of the Romanov dynasty (Mikhail). The Russian nation is taking shape. There are popular riots. All this life was reflected in folk songs - freemen songs, satirical songs. A new genre arose - a lyrical folk song (lyrical lingering). These are, first of all, songs about a difficult female lot (slow, expressive, suffering). One of the brightest examples of this genre is the song “Luchinushka”.
Russian polyphony developed. This is largely due to the fact that Ukraine joined Russia, which was influenced by Polish Catholic music (choral singing). “Partes singing” developed - singing in parts. The highest genre of partes singing is a spiritual choral concert. This is a grandiose choral work for many voices (chord thinking). There must have been no tools. Partesnye concerts were written by Vasily Titov (he wrote a concerto in honor of the Poltava victory - 12 voices), Nikolai Bavykin.
In the 17th century, new secular genres arose - cantes and psalms (the only difference was in the text). In the cants there is a secular text, and in the psalms there is a spiritual text. These genres have their own characteristics - 3 voices, in which the 2 upper voices are parallel, and the bass is the harmonic basis. Cantes were very common in the 18th century - in the era of Peter I. Then panegyric cants (praise) appeared in honor of the victories of Peter I. They had fourth-quint intonations and were energetic. The form in them is couplet. The cants later influenced Russian music: Glinka - the final choir of Ivan Susanin ("Glory") - 3 voices, cant warehouse (has the features of an anthem and a march); this is also manifested in the finale of Glazunov's symphony.
Musical notation on five rulers in square notes came from Ukraine to Russia. The pinnacle of the development of the partes style is the spiritual choral concerts of Berezovsky and Bortnyansky. Berezovsky is a serf musician. He was very talented. For his great talent he was sent to Italy. There he studied with Padre Martini (Mozart's teacher). His life was tragic. When in Italy he was already at the height of his fame, his prince suddenly remembered that he had a serf in Italy and demanded that he be sent to Russia. Berezovsky could not bear such grief and committed suicide. Berezovsky's choral concertos are at a very high technical level, comparable to Mozart's. He had tremendous harmonic and polyphonic skill. His concerts consist of various contrasting parts (fugues come across among them). A particularly popular concert is “Do not open me in old age” (address to God).
Dmitry Bortnyansky lived until the first half of the 19th century. He wrote not only wind, but also instrumental music - sonatas, etc. He is a more lyrical composer than Berezovsky (Berezovsky has more drama).
18 century. Bright time. Century of Peter I and Catherine II. Russia at that time was undergoing violent upheavals and reforms. The first Russian Academy of Sciences was opened. The heyday of various types of art: science - Lomonosov, the heyday of literature - Trediakovsky, Radishchev, Lotonovsky. The heyday of painting - portraits. It began with the reforms of Peter. Peter established assemblies in which dances, then fashionable in Europe, and instrumental music were performed. Each regiment had its own brass band. Of the musical genres, cantes (panegyric) in honor of military victories, spiritual concerts, Vedel (composer) spread. The folk song was widely spread. She became interested in the city. The first collections of folk songs appear (towards the end of the 18th century):
Collection of Trutovsky
Lvov and Prach - Collection of folk songs.
Kirsha Danilov - Collection of folk songs.
and others. Folk songs in them were processed in a Western manner - they were harmonized with Albertian basses, they squeezed the music into a certain time signature (in folk music there was a frequent change in time signatures) - for home music-making. The first Russian operas (late 18th century) were composed from Russian folk songs. They (operas) consisted of separate numbers with colloquial dialogues. The first Russian opera without spoken dialogue is Glinka's Ivan Susanin.
In 1779, 3 Russian operas appeared at once. The first operas were comic.
1. "The miller is a sorcerer, a deceiver and a matchmaker." Ablesimov's text. The music was composed by Sokolovsky (arranged folk themes).
2. "St. Petersburg Gostiny Dvor". Text and music by Maatinsky. 2nd edition with Pashkevich.
Evstigney Fomin stood out among theatrical composers. He wrote the melodrama "Orpheus" (French genre). This is the reading of a tragedy to music with musical inserts. The music shocked the listener with its drama. There is an overture. Written in the spirit of the Viennese classics. Inside there is a resemblance to Gluck and Handel - sublime music.
In the 18th century, folk song spread to instrumental music as well. Composers wrote variations on folk themes, but the musical material often did not correspond to the nature of the variation, since the variation was done in a Western way - classical ornamental variations. Only Glinka solved this problem.
The second important genre of instrumental creativity is overtures, in which Russian symphonism was born, but overtures were not independent, but as an overture to an opera or melodrama. Russian material also began to penetrate into them, but not always.
Russian music of the early 19th century before Glinka
At the beginning of the century, the first Russian concert organization, the Philharmonic Society, was opened. But the main concert life was concentrated in secular salons. There were also many fortress orchestras and theaters. Delvig's (poet) salon was very popular. It was visited by Pushkin, Glinka, Griboyedov and others.
In the 19th century, there were various artistic trends: sentimentalism, romanticism (especially in Zhukovsky's poetry), classicism. All these tendencies merged together in the work of Pushkin, who had a great influence on the entire artistic life of the first half of the 19th century.
The two main genres of the early 19th century were opera and romance.
Operas became more diverse in genres - not only comic, but also with an element of seriousness. Composer of Italian origin Caterino Cavos was the first to write the opera "Ivan Susanin". This opera was with spoken dialogues. Susanin in it has a domestic character. In the opera, a happy ending (Happy End).
A new genre appeared - fairy-tale-fantastic opera. The first of them is "Lesta - Dnieper Mermaid". The authors are Kavos and Davydov. The music is based on Russian folk material. From here, the path to the "Mermaid" by Dargomyzhsky (in the genre sense) can be traced.
In the 30s - the genre of "romantic opera". A great master of this genre was Verstovsky - "Pan Tvardovsky", "Vadim" (according to Zhukovsky) and the especially popular "Askold's Grave" (a plot from ancient Rus'). This opera was staged even after the appearance of Glinka. It was staged a year before Glinka's "Ivan Susanin" - in 1835 ("Ivan Susanin" - 1836).
The second popular genre of the first third of the 19th century was romance. It was a favorite genre of both professionals and just music lovers. In these romances, vivid emotionality and expressiveness have accumulated. Romances were written by both professionals and amateurs to the verse of contemporary poets.
Russian everyday romance has stable features. They could be written in the elegy genre with extended accompaniment. This romance is a philosophical reflection.
Another variety is the “Russian song”. It arose first in poetry and had a certain vocabulary, close to folk speech. This genre also appeared in the romance (with similar vocabulary). Such romances were distinguished by greater simplicity in music than other romances.
Composers of romances widely used the rhythm of waltz, mazurka, bolero, polonaise. Russian romances were characterized by melodious melodies, often with the use of a sixth (from the 5th to the 3rd century). Minor dominated with a mandatory deviation to parallel major. In cadenzas, D7 with a sixth was often used. The most popular authors of romances were: Zhilin, Titov, Gurilev, Varlamov, Alyabyev. Forms of romances are simple - couplet. Alyabyev - "The Nightingale", Varlamov - "The lonely sail turns white" (with the rhythm of a polonaise), Gurilev - "Tiny House".
I may be wrong, but in my opinion buffoons, sort of with bells ...
In Rus', wandering musicians and actors were called mummers, buffoons. Their performances combined theatrical performances, playing folk musical instruments, dances, parodies of ritual actions, games, the skill of magicians, performances with a trained bear, puppet theater ...
Buffoonery forever disappeared from the expanses of Russia in the second half of the 17th century. By decrees of Patriarch Nikon in the middle of the 17th century, buffoonery was prohibited and subjected to severe persecution.
The life and work of itinerant actors and musicians is well described in the words of the song:
We are wandering artists, we are on the road day after day, and a van in a clean field is our usual home.
We wander all over the earth, we don’t look at the weather, where we will have to spend the night, what we will have to eat.
We are great talents, but understandable and simple, we are singers and musicians, acrobats and jesters.
If, with the help of a time machine, we were on the territory of Rus' in the period of the 12th - 17th centuries, we would see how artels and gangs of wandering actors and musicians go from village to village along country roads to cities and villages,
who were called buffoons.
The arrival of buffoons in a village or settlement was a real festive event for the inhabitants.
The passage to the village square, where the performance was planned, was accompanied by playing musical instruments, singing and dancing. Everyone dropped their business and rushed after the artists.
Old and young alike gathered for the performance in the square.
For the common people, this was the only form of entertainment and fun that suited their tastes and
needs, because there was no fiction and theater at that time.
Performances of buffoons united various types of folk art. Using masks, costumes, make-up, various props, buffoons showed puppet scenes, sang humorous, comic, satirical and sometimes obscene songs, danced to melodies played on various musical instruments.
The people said: Buffoon songs are funny, funny, amusing.
After puppets, songs and dances, buffoons performed acrobatic numbers, tricks, pantomime,
they acted out humorous social and everyday scenes, directly communicating with the audience and involving them in the game and performance.
Of particular note is social satire - slander, which was performed in masks and buffoon costumes under
accompaniment of musical instruments. The rich, the clergy were ridiculed in the glooms, and ordinary people were shown with sympathy - skits about the boyar and the petitioners, about the greedy merchant, the comedy about Petrushka.
The buffoons themselves created scripts, often improvised, were resourceful wits and, in general, -
cheerful people.
The performance of the counselor with the learned bear was a constant success. The bear was treated to a bottle of vodka (honey water), he danced awkwardly on his hind legs, did handstands on his front legs, imitated playing a musical instrument and performed other nursery rhymes.
In the gang there was always a mummer in the image of a goat, taken from the Christmas comedy about a goat and a bear.
After the performance, everyone tried to invite the buffoons to their house. The goat was the first to enter, glorifying the owners, wishing a rich harvest and offspring of domestic animals. Then they invited the rest of the gang members to the laid table.
After dinner, the performance continued, if the weather allowed - in the yard, and if not - then in the hut. Jokes continued - jokes, tales and tales, ballads and epics, humor and buffoonery, stories about other lands.
Grateful residents collected a small amount of money from the society, gave food for the journey, and the next morning the gang set off for the next settlement.
Buffoonery in Rus' lasted until the middle of the 17th century. In 1657, Archbishop Nikon obtained a royal decree banning buffoonery.
Churchmen and those in power did not like buffoons for their connection with ancient paganism, independence from the church, for their fun and mischief, short caftans, masks, hypocrisy and criticism of church ministers who verbally preached asceticism.
Skomorokhov in Rus' was called: The gods of the Russian stage. They not only sang songs, but also showed whole performances in the form of a (modern) cheerful dance performance with a circus and songs in crowded squares. Buffoons, like gypsies, led a bear. The people welcomed them with joy.
To another category of musicians in Rus' belonged, as they were called, passers-by. They sang spiritual songs, thoughts and wandered around the world like buffoons. But they were not counted as wandering actors.
Songwriters-storytellers once lived in Great Rus'. They composed and sang and told epics about Russian heroes and about the life of the people: about Prince Vladimir of Kyiv Krasno Solnyshko and Princess Apraksia, their mighty squad, about battles with fierce enemies, about foreign kingdoms-states. They sang about unseen miracles: the Serpent-Gorynchishche, the sea king Vodyanik with the queen Vodyanitsa, the Giant Idolische ... And an uncountable number of these epics were composed, and an infinite number of them walked around Rus'. And often the first information about their native land, about its heroes and enemies, children received from the lips of singer-storytellers.
The most famous singer of the Russian land is remembered by the people to this day - his name is Bayan.
Bayan, brothers,
not ten falcons let loose on a flock of swans,
but their prophetic fingers
he laid on living strings;
They themselves rumbled glory to the princes.
This is how the famous Tale of Igor's Campaign tells about Bayan. The storyteller was skillful, and the strings on his miraculous instrument were "alive" - they themselves sang the glory of the Great Rulers.
And that instrument was very ancient - its history has more than 14 centuries. Its name comes from the ancient Slavic word "thick" - to buzz, and a string was buzzing in it, which was called "gusla". So the buzzing, talking strings got their name - "harp".
The strings were stretched on a special box, similar to a small trough. In order for the strings to sound louder, louder, “violently”, the box was covered with a special lid-deck made of leather or wood.
“I’ll take a sonorous, yarovchaty harp and set the harp in the old way, start the old times, the old story about the deeds of the Slavic Russian hero Dobrynya Nikitich. Silence to the blue sea, and obedience to people ”- this is how the famous epic about Dobryn Nikitich begins. And they sang and told that epic to the accompaniment of the sonorous harp.
The sonorous harp is similar to the wing of a bird, or to a geometric figure - a trapezoid. The singers put the harp on their knees, tilting them to the left. The strings were plucked either with both hands, or only with the right hand, while the left at that moment gently muffled the strings. Later, the sound began to be extracted with a plectrum, or pick, which made the sound brighter. The sonorous harp was played both with rattling, like on a balalaika, and in “waves”, like on a harp. Several harps playing wonderful music together were never called an ensemble, but they spoke of them as people who sing in chorus, they said so - a harp choir.
Slowly the epic about Dobryn Nikitich affects: “And for twelve years he played the harp. He played the harp, composed songs "...
The sonorous harp has glorious descendants - plucked and keyboard harps. The plucked harp combine elements of the harp, ancient Slavic harp and cymbals. From the latter, they adopted a body on four legs, similar to a table. Metal strings of different lengths and thicknesses give the musician a huge creative scope: any sounds - from the lowest to the highest - easily come out from under the magic fingers of the harpman, who pluck the strings with both hands.
Keyboard harp is akin to a piano, and they appeared quite recently - less than a century ago. In appearance and structure, they look like plucked harps, but the strings are strictly horizontal, and on the left is a piano keyboard of just one octave. Most often, these harps are played with chords: the keys are pressed with the left hand, and the opened strings are sorted with the right hand with the help of a plectrum.
Gusli is considered the main decoration of the orchestra of Russian folk instruments. Thanks to the harp, folk music sounds as loud and voluminous as it did many centuries ago. And the harp players always sit right in the center, as if leading an orchestra, showing respect to such an ancient and so respected instrument in Rus'.
