Big Blog 2: Russian Folk Music
When I very first heard we could research a country or culture that we have not learned in class yet I immediately thought of Europe with France or Great Britain. But with those countries I have already learned so much throughout my American and World History classes. I then thought of Russia. But as you know Russia is a huge country, so I needed to dial it down to a smaller culture of music in the country of Russia. I looked at the most popular type of music is in Russia and the main genre was folk music. I wanted to look into Russia because on my mom’s side of the family is from Russia and my brother and sister both played Russian soldiers in the Nutcracker, so obviously I have to learn more on the music and the dancers. Russia is a beautiful country with such an incredible history, so I really do their music to be just as beautiful and incredible as their country.
To start off, Russia’s folk music is music mixed with criminal songs, bard,and romance. Kind of sounds similar to music we hear in the United States, but we do have like every culture in this country so. Russian folk music mainly deals with the traditions of the people of Russia and tied with life in the village. It can mainly, surprisingly, sound sad but other time can be joyful. Russian folk music is actually called “Russian Chanson.” I would have not have thought of this but one of the biggest instruments for Russian folk songs are just your two little lips, and if you do not understand what I mean, it is whistling. “Opa,” “Op op,” and “Ota” is a very common characteristic of Russian folk music. It is used by both male and female singers. Today the music can be performed by famous people but throughout history it was performed by all, like you see Native Americans perform their music all together. sadly Russian folk music is not as popular a it used to be, the main music now is classical, but that is not what we are talking about here. There are still festivals and competitions to try to keep the music and its history alive today. At the Moscow Conservatory, there was a movement by the members of the faculty of folk music and musicologists to reproduce authentic folk music and perform it on a concert stage. But Russian folk songs that have a religious or spiritual side have been performed by some famous artists, but we will get to that later.
A lot like other cultures in music and a recent one we have learned, India, the music of Russia is being played as if it is telling a story. The Shostakovich scale is what is used in the music. It has both a minor and a major that makes a dual scale, meaning it can be used to create either a cheerful or melancholic music. Now Russia being technically in the European side, we know that it can be very old. Russian folk music began around the 11th century as a vocal music. A group of immigrants, Trio Veronezh, from Russia, were invited by the United States to perform at the Oregon Bach Festival, in Eugene, Oregon, and to share his culture. One of the men, Sergei Teleshev said, “Russian folk music has rich melodies and harmonies.” The group did a tour in the United States of performing Russian folk music in 2000. In the very beginning of Russian folk music they did not use instruments, mainly because at one point using instruments was illegal in the 16th century by the Russian Orthodox Church and did not become legal again in the 19th century. Crazy, of not using instruments
for around three years. As this genre of music developed throughout time the more instruments were used, developed, and modified.
There are many instruments used in Russian folk music. The instruments are still being played today not just in the folk music but other genres of music. The first of the instruments were very simple. There was a gudok, which is a three stringed type of fiddle, a gusli, a harp like instrument, a doudka, a simple win instrument, and a rozhok, which is a type of flute with two pipes made out of wood. As the music became more and more popular and grew throughout the country, more and more instruments were being introduced into folk music, like: the balalaika, which is a double bass, a domra which is another stringed instrument. And of course there is the biggest main instrument, the accordion. Most famous instrument in Russia. My grandma on my mom’s side actually knows how to play the accordion and I love listening to her play. There are seven different types of balaika. Growing from a little piccolo to a double bass balaika. The most common instrument of them to be played is a medium sized balaika. The domra is still common to this day in Russian folk orchestras. It sounds very similar to a mandolin. There are lots of festivals going on today in Russia and more and more people are trying to use these traditional Russian instruments and use them for Russian folk music today. Russia folk music is pretty simple to follow and is usually played at occasions like weddings or after people get drunk.
Now as I mentioned earlier, there are some famous artists who perform Russian folk music. You may not have ever heard them because they are of course mainly known in Russia. Some of them are Ivan Redbroff, a German vocalist but know for the song “Abendglocken” a Russian folk song. There is Natalia O’Shea, a Russian harpist, and the group i mentioned earlier Trio Veronezh.
There are many places you can listen to Russian folk music like Spotify or SoundCloud. Russian folk music has long and adventurous history. And I highly recommend giving it a chance to listen to. It’s not everyone’s forteit but it is very interesting to listen to.
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