Oi u luzi chervona kalyna (“Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow”) as an Anthem-Song: Social Roles and Genre Transformations in the Time of War

Abstract

Countering the Russian invasion is the subject of many songs dating back as far as several centuries. Oi u luzi chervona kalyna (“Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow”) is one of such songs. Intonation structure of this folk song, remarkably resembling an anthem, represents the mighty power of generations and unites the communities in their struggle against the enemy. Investigating the genre transformations of this piece and it communicative models that consolidate communities serving as an attribute of Ukrainian national identity as opposed to the enemy proves the importance of the subject of this paper. The objectives of this research were the following: to study the historical and genre reminiscences of the Oi u luzi chervona kalyna song, to analyze its impact on developing the new trends within the popular Ukrainian music and culture, to outline the communicative mechanisms used in the anthem-like pieces rooted in folk songs to influence and consolidate communities. The means of replication of this song may be identified, on the one hand, as a specifically targeted strategy, namely, seemingly random viral sharing in the Internet. On the other hand, the transformation of a genre of this song is evident. Heavy rotation of the Oi u luzi chervona kalyna song enables concluding that it became a part of the mainstream of the present time. The very idea of the song encourages the audience to collaboration and co-creation, be it singing along, making electronic covers, singing backing vocals, etc. The fact that its symbolic and semiotic fields influenced the intensification of cross-cultural interaction between similar worldviews and became a unifying factor in the struggle against the Ruscist evil in is an important feature of this song’s replication during the war