Mass Song Research Articles

ИННОВАЦИОННЫЕ ПРОЦЕССЫ В МУЗЫКАЛЬНОМ ФОЛЬКЛОРЕ НАРЫМСКИХ СЕЛЬКУПОВ

The article discusses the processes of development of modern musical folklore among the Narym Selkups based on the analysis of the publication “Ob tunes of Narym Selkups” (compiled by V. Tuzakova and I. Korobeynikova, Tomsk, 2015). Russian folklore and Soviet mass song are influencing the modern musical folklore of the southern Selkups, and the creativity of amateur Selkup composers (melodists) is developing. In the works of modern musical folklore, the main marker of national identity is the Selkup language. Manifestations of the “Selkup” musical style (scale, organization of melodic movement) are partially preserved, but new stylistic features come to the fore: arrangements defining the musical style of new songs, instrumental accompaniment, square structural constructions peculiar to modern music and other means of popular musical genres. Onomatopoeia of the voices of animals and birds, which are associated with the traditional taiga landscape for the Selkups and bring the “image of a place” to modern compositions, are widely used in modern folklore works. This allows us to consider the modern musical folklore of the Selkups in the light of the concept of the sounding landscapes of the Arctic.

The History of one Song: Concerning Study of the Musical Heritage of the Soviet Period

The article is devoted to David Tukhmanov’s song Victory Day set to Vladimir Kharitonov’s text, which became a symbol of the momentous victory of 1945 in the Great Patriotic War. Reconstructing the history of the development of this song, the author examines the mechanisms of the formation of the genre of the mass song. The article raises the problem range of applying various scholarly approaches for studying the musical heritage of the Soviet period. Examination is made of the sociocultural context of creating the song, as well as the performance aspect of its existence in the political and ideological discourse which formed in the 1960s and 1970s in Soviet society. Analysis is applied to the composition’s musical and poetic text and the peculiarities of the genre-related features. The leading tendencies of the musical text are traced out: the interpenetration of the genres in the form of synthesis of the march and the tango; a rejection of the established canons of the mass song. It is highlighted that the poetic text corresponds to the conceptions of the composer and the poet: to create an artistic image which simultaneously combines in itself social cohesion and humanism in correspondence with the demand of society’s movement towards civil consolidation. In his conclusions arrived upon in his article the author discloses the nature of the mechanism of the birth of the mass song and the means of its functioning and also outlines the facts which shows the topicality of the given type of mass culture at its present stage.

The Mass Song Seminar at Nieborów, June 1950

Abstract The seminar on mass songs held in Nieborów, Poland in June 1950 is notable for what it did not accomplish: Amid a diversity of opinions voiced by poets, composers, and cultural officials, no firm guidelines for this seemingly new type of song emerged. What we can draw from examining the proceedings of this three-day session are an enhanced understanding of mass song as an evolving, not a static phenomenon and fresh insights into the political and logistical complexities that faced composers at this time.

Шляхи модифікації жанру масової пісні в умовах тоталітарної системи

The song-writing has taken a special place in the system of musical genres of the Ukrainian culture (it is about the 1920s – 1930s). It has been directed to the call of the period, namely to popularize revolutionary ideas, to glorify the struggle for new values of the commune life. Mobility, democratization of content, conciseness and specificity of expression, a clear rhythmic basis, proximity to folklore sources have become the main prerequisites. Such dynamics of the genre development is quite natural as the song is one of the most widespread art forms in the vocal music of all nations of the world. Its advantages include a small form (the so-called miniature), a synthesis of two artistic principles – poetic (verbal / the lyrics) and musical (the melody first of all). The song has sustained various genre changes both in folklore and in the professional field over its centuries-long history. A new ideologically marked genre, known as mass song, with its age gradations (Pioneer, Komsomol, etc.) is presented in the former USSR in the middle of the 1920s. Its first examples appear as fundamental continuation of the songs of Ukrainian, Russian and world revolutionary proletariats. The concept of mass (mass genres, mass songs, etc.), introduced in the 1922 yet, has become a manifestation of cultural ideologies of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of the USSR, who understand the conception mass as a quantitative indicator of the people concentration (although it is well-known that this term belongs to physical science, the concept biomass is more correct for the society). Thus, the symbols of spiritual origin in the works are rejected (almost for a century). The new themes for the development of mass songs have appeared in the 1930s. The militaristic content is intensified in them on the one hand and the style of the panegyric with the glorification of the cult of the leader personality on the other. The evolution of song-writing in the pre-war Ukraine could has been richer in creative discoveries if it had taken place naturally through the spiritual succession of artistic generations. However, Stalin’s repressions have caused great damage to culture, as well as to all spheres of life. Well-known Ukrainian composers and poets have fallen a prey to them.

Советская массовая песня 1920-1940 х годов в зеркале эпохи

Relevance. The relevance of studying the phenomenon of Soviet mass song is currently increasing due to special attention to educational work, to the formation of an active civic position among modern youth. This genre is not only a sign of the era, but also clearly reflects the spiritual, moral, patriotic values of Russian society. The purpose of this article is consideration of the stages of formation of the Soviet mass song genre in the 1920-1940s. Research objectives to consider the formation and development of the Soviet mass song genre in the 1920-1940s; to identify the influence of the main events of national history that influenced the evolution of this genre. Methodology. The work uses general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis of information, as well as a set of methods of historical-cultural, problem-chronological nature; the analysis of the means of musical expressiveness and genre and stylistic features of the subject of research was applied. Results. The social structure of society, which changed after the October Revolution of 1917, required changes in the country's cultural policy. The desire to "throw Pushkin off the ship of modernity" and build a new world led to the emergence and flourishing of the Soviet mass song genre. The concept of “mass song” was filled with new content at different stages of development: in the 1920s, arrangements of revolutionary songs for the choir were among the leading directions in composer creativity. The practice of composing a new text to an already existing melody was widespread. After the end of the civil war, modern dance rhythms penetrate the mass song, against which a large-scale campaign is unfolding in society. In the prewar years, this genre reflected the themes of socialist construction, memories of historical events and bright hopes. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the task facing the artists was determined by the need to help the people survive, raise their fighting spirit, and strengthen patriotic feelings. Conclusion. The Soviet mass song has become an expression of the values and needs of the era and a real documentary evidence of its time.

РЕФЛЕКСИВНО-ДИАЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ ВЗГЛЯД НА МУЗЫКАЛЬНОЕ ИСКУССТВО СОВЕТСКОГО ПЕРИОДА 1930-1950-Х ГГ.

The reflexive-dialogical view allows us to rethink the heritage of Soviet art. The totalitarian policy of the USSR is paradoxical in its essence: anti-religious propaganda did not destroy religiosity, but used it to create new myths, manipulating the mass consciousness. Based on archetypes and mythologemes, the new doctrine creates the image of a «new man», ready for obedience, for submission, putting the interests of the state above his own. In manyrespects, the state ideology was closed on itself, when the opposition «we» (the Soviet Union) and «they» (the West, hostile to us) was clearly declared, the idea of the superiority of socialism over capitalism was introduced into the minds of people, the war was going on in the minds of people. With the aim of introducing the basic dogmas of political ideology into the sphere of musical art, introducing uniform creative principles of socialist realism, obligatory for all musicians: composers, performers, critics, etc., a new organization was created (Union of Soviet Composers, 1932). Collectivism, being a component of Soviet ideology, took on a massive scale and expressed itself in the phenomenon of «mass song». The main characteristics of the mass song genre are highlighted: artistry, simplicity, brightness of a memorable melody, verse-chorus form, accessibility to perception, replicability. The cantata-oratorio genre plays the role of the genre dominant of the «grand style», with its monumentality, the idea of praising the «father of nations» and glorifying the myth of the inviolability of the imperial power of the state. Composers and performers of the Soviet era continued the best domestic traditions, preserved those universal spiritual principles that political and ideological censorship could not influence, although to a certain extent they held back creative thought, wounded and sometimes humiliated a creative person. The depth of reflection on the problems of modern reality, the author's vision and individual view of the values and meanings of life gave rise to the originality of the artist's ethical reflection, regardless of ideological influence.

Documentary sources and methodological landmarks in the research of the creation of the singer Veronica Mihai in the „Folclor” Orchestra

The study aims to identify the main theoretical and methodological criteria, important in shaping the scientific vision applied to the approach of the subject. The author delimits two distinct periods in the evolution of the singer’s repertoire: the late Soviet period (1968–1991) and the post-Soviet period (1991–1999). The main focus is on the Soviet epoch. Among the documentary sources are the materials stored in the IPNA archive – “TeleradioMoldova” Company, the personal files of the artists, the minutes of the Artistic Council, the musical scores, the library of the editorial offices within the institution. To substantiate the theoretical framework of the study, the author argues the need to instrumentalize the concepts of „Soviet folk song”, „mass song”, „creator&producer networks”, „modernization”, „revitalization”, „invented traditions”, „folklorization”, „new folk songs”, „neo-traditional music”.

The song genre in the work of Ukrainian composers of the first half of the ХХth century: through the prism of folklore, kitsch, and hit

The purpose of the article is to consider the development of the genre of the song of the first half of the twentieth century. The methodology of the research is based on the historical and cultural and artistic methods of studying the genre of the song. The scientific novelty is to consider the genre of the song at different stages of its development (from folklore, amateur level, Kitsch, Biedermeier to a mass song, samples of socialist realist kitsch, pop culture, hits, etc.). Conclusion. The genre of songs during the first half of the twentieth century became one of the binding links of the "low" and "high" culture and due to its availability and easier perception, with frequent use of techniques and methods of Kitch, which later fallen the basis of pop culture, enabled the birth of such a The phenomenon as a hide, separate samples of which became a "classic", are popular today, taking their niche in the treasury of national musical culture.

The theme of labor in the Soviet mass song of the 1930s.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the theme of labor in the Soviet mass song of the 1930s. The purpose of the study is to reveal the poetics of mass song labor in the context of the Russian musical culture of the 30s of the twentieth century. The author points out that the mass song is one of the most interesting phenomena of Soviet culture. It is rightly noted that being a product of the socialist era, the mass song was designed to solve the tasks of mobilizing a significant number of people for labor feat, without which it was unthinkable to successfully build a new life in the young Soviet state in the first decades of its formation after the October Revolution of 1917. It is stated that the song of those past years reflected the typical features of song art aimed at developing an optimistic spirit, strong will and self-confidence among Soviet citizens. The article examines the characteristic features of the mass song of the 1930s, analyzes the goals of its dissemination, the main images popularized in the texts of this type of songs, as well as their influence on the consciousness of the Soviet people. The theoretical significance of the research is determined by his contribution to the development of the problems of pop music art as an integral part of Russian culture.

Composer Valentyn Borysov. Symphony of life

Background. The aim of the article is examination and presentation of Valentyn Borysov’s creative life, who was a celebrated Ukrainian composer (1901–1988), a classic of Kharkiv composition school, author of vivid and profound works in such spheres as symphonic, choral, chamber, vocal and piano music; his 120th anniversary in 2021 will be a big milestone for artistic community of Ukraine. Valentyn Borysov’s creativity is an indispensable part of national music, one of its treasures. He belonged to artists who had defined ways of development of Ukrainian professional music in XX century. In his creative outcome we can see influences of numerous artistic tendencies, characteristic for extremely controversial, but also prolific epoch. Composer being a part of quite ambivalent period of Ukraine’s cultural history conditioned usage of diverse research approaches; his works are regarded both in the light of existing musical traditions and on the background of his contemporary cultural environment. This is the novelty of the study. Integrity of presentation of Valentyn Borysov’s creative life is supported by the fact that this article considers his pedagogical activity in his alma mater, nowadays Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts, which resulted in bringing up a constellation of well-known Ukrainian composers, as well as his public and aimed at cultural enlightenment work. Results and conclusions. For V. Borysov, stage of accumulation of professional and personal experience coincided in time with a turning point in development of Ukrainian musical art. In these years composer attended classes of S. S. Bogatyrov, forefather of Kharkiv composition school; he studied alongside with M. Koliada, H. Tumeneva, D. Klebanov, V. Barabashov, M. Tits, who constituted a brilliant generation of Ukrainian composers several decades later. Symphonic and chamber works of this time showed such features of V. Borysov’s creative method as large-scale thought, leaning towards epic and heroic images, skilful usage of advanced composition techniques. At the same time, under the influence of external factors V. Borysov turned to relevant genre of his time, such as mass song and choral music. As early as on the primary stage of his development as a composer, V. Borysov defined Ukrainian folklore as one of the main sources for his inspiration. Folklore component of musical language became one of the prominent features of his style, its presence is conspicuous on each stages of his evolution. Submission of individual to collective, national conditioned V. Borysov’s interest to monumental forms of symphony, oratorio, cantata, poem, defined their leading role through late style of composer’s creativity. Unique combination of already existing aesthetic premises, high level of moral imperative, relevance of musical language created phenomenon of “V. Borysov’s late style”. The article regards the most original works, which were received very well by the contemporaries: “Divertissement” for symphonic orchestra, “Music for strings”, concert compositions for piano, violin, viola, sets of piano miniatures, composed on late period (70s–80s). Singularity of musical language in these works is created by the fact that V. Borysov succeeded to create a unique mixture of folklore tradition with “sonic field” of avantgarde musical art; with this musical language incredibly relevant, “eternal” problems of existence are embodied. This article was inspired by a desire to draw attention to V. Borysov’s legacy, to revive profound and immensely talented works of the composer, to enrich culture of modernity with them, to remind people of XXI century about such a treasure, that his works are.

МУЗИЧНО-ТЕАТРАЛЬНА СПАДЩИНА ВОЛОДИМИРА БАЛТАРОВИЧА В КОНТЕКСТІ СТАНОВЛЕННЯ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ ОПЕРЕТИ 1930-х років (із фондів Львівської національної наукової бібліотеки України імені В. Стефаника)

Introduction. In the early 1930s, the task of creating a new Ukrainian operetta arose on Ukrainian soil, however, the ways and conditions of its implementation in Eastern and Western Ukraine differed significantly (state system, ideology, professional and production opportunities, etc. played its role). In “UnderSoviet” Ukraine, composers were in a better financial position: there were stationary specialized theaters with professional performers, state support. However, they had to glorify the “happy Soviet life” (in the conditions of mass repressions and the Holodomor) — mainly due to mass song genres. In 1930s, the musical-theatrical creativity of Lviv composer, singer, and public figure V. Baltarovich: “Mefistiada” (1930–31), “Three Hearts in 2/4” (1930), “Frogging” (1932–34), “The Marriage in Two Apartments” (1933), “Chords” (1934) and “Sich’s adventure” (1939, author of the libretto G. Luzh¬nytsky), — had a great popularity, confirming the responses of the press of that time. However, V. Baltarovich’s emigration to Czechoslovakia after II World War led to the removal of his works from the repertoire and a ban on even mentioning his name. Therefore, the fourth volume of the academic “History of Ukrainian Music” (1992) was only about Soviet operetta. The first information about the operettas of Western Ukraine began to appear only with the beginning of Ukraine’s independence. As one knows, in the funds of V. Stefanyk’s LNSBU manuscripts of the musical comedies “Marriage in Two Apartments” and “Frogging” have been preserved since 2011. So, objectives: to introduce the named works into scientific circulation and to inscribe them in the context of Ukrainian operetta. The musical and theatrical heritage of V. Baltarovich (Ston) has been analyzed. His talent, education and musical activity at the head of the Bohemia theater studio made it possible to create outstanding works. His music was “fashionable”, easy to remember, with many salon dances (tango, waltz, foxtrot, rumba, etc.). The composer made extensive use of ensembles (duets, trios, sextet), and sometimes quoted classical music (F. Chopin’s Funeral March, Toreador’s couplets from opera “Carmen” G. Bizet etc.) in a parody key. Results and Discussion Conclusion. We proved that V. Baltarovich’s musical and theatrical works were predominantly comic in nature (sometimes with elements of satire). Built on models of the salon genres, they were designed to entertain the public (and successfully achieved that goal). With some textual editing of these musical comedies (first of all, “Marriage in Two Apartments” and “Frogging”), they deserve a musical and stage reconstruc-tion, that will enrich the national repertoire. Keywords: V. Baltarovich’s musical and theatrical heritage, musical comedies, epoch musical dictionary, “Marriage in two Apartments”, “Frogging”, operetta of 1930, becoming.

Zofia Lissa, Wartime Trauma, and the Evolution of the Polish “Mass Song”

Scholars have primarily seen the musicologist Zofia Lissa (1908–80) as a communist ideologue and key instigator of the Sovietization of Polish musical culture after World War II. An examination of materials from seven archives in three countries related to her life reveals a more complex picture of her views and of how she deployed her power. Before World War II she was a fierce advocate for both modernist aesthetics and communist politics, as well as a cutting-edge thinker about issues of social identity. World War II, which forced her to flee deep into the Soviet Union to avoid the Holocaust, transformed her thinking about these topics. Working in Moscow with a Polish and Polish-Jewish diaspora, she saw how popular song could mobilize war-wearied exiles despite seemingly unbridgeable political and social fissures. These ideas became the core of Lissa’s postwar advocacy for the mass song, a genre of accessible socialist music that had deep roots in the USSR. Viewing the Polish mass song from Lissa’s perspective reveals how she believed that the genre could reflect the experiences of widespread loss among Poles and harness these reactions in service of a communist musical culture. In showing how musical performance can enunciate collective identities founded in the experience of trauma, Lissa’s views shed light on a cultural logic that continues to inform commemorations of World War II in Poland to this day.

Opera creativity by Andrei Tikhomirov

Relevance of the study. The work of a contemporary Russian composer, graduate from the Leningrad Conservatory, Andrei Tikhomirov, is considered, with the main emphasis on his operatic work being made. The music and dramaturgical components of his chamber opera “The Last Days” and the large format opera “Dracula” were subjected to analysis.Main objective(s) of the study. The author’s means of creating music. He has relied on the musical context of the epoch, the music “sounding around” (rock, pop music, bard song, jazz, mass song, etc.). His loyalty to the melodic gift, has forced him to create in close connection with classical traditions born by European and Russian opera theaters.Methodology. Evidence is given by authoritative domestic musicologists and music critics, emphasizing, on the one hand, the undoubted originality of A. Tikhomirov’s creative method, and, on the other, his living connection and reverence for the classical heritage and composition of European academic music. Both operas have been investigated for compositional composition, dramatic development and dramatic logic; their literary origins are indicated, as well as conjugation of action and composer’s findings of adequate musical forms and means of musical and dramatic expressiveness.Results / findings and conclusions. The close relationship of A, Tikhomirov’s operas with the traditions of Russian classical music and Russian and European classical literature is shown. There are cited software installations of the composer of a theoretical nature, his philosophical and aesthetic views on the nature of opera, musical theater, academic music, ways of its further development, the essence of the crisis of the opera genre.Significance. In addition, the article contains important biographical information about the composer, a general description of his work and the stages of its development. The article puts an emphasis on the development of possibilities of composer thought and technology (including in the operatic genre) in modern conditions, without breaking with the traditions of European classical music.

Socialism or Art: Yugoslav Mass Song and Its Institutionalizations

The genre of the mass song is one of the fundamental phenomena in aesthetics and practice of socialist realism. Mass songs are supposed not only to be accessible to the lay audience, but also to be composed in a way that invites the participation of amateurs. Importantly, the institutions which have been disseminating the mass song under state socialism, such as various institutions of education, culture and art, have also served as mechanisms for the normalization of its ideological content. This article summarizes important aspects of the concept of the mass song in general and offers a multifaceted exemplification, before proceeding to discuss the history of mass songs in socialist Yugoslavia (including, by and large, what is usually referred to as partisan songs), with emphasis on the institutional framework through which they were practiced and disseminated, and on specificities that the genre had accrued within the Yugoslav framework. This historical framework of practicing mass songs in Yugoslavia provides a platform for opening the question of intrinsic incompatibility between the project of a classless society and the institution of art. In regards to this, article discusses contemporary practice of Yugoslav mass songs as practiced by self-organized choirs and their new political potential.

Literary Competitions Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Arts in 1949–1950 in the Light of Archive Records

The subject of this paper are these literary competitions organized by Ministry of Culture and Arts in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Analysys of the materials from archivesenabled to tackle the issues: these competitions are one of the many aspect of stalinism offensive. Competitions encouraged writers for moving problems of socialist realism, they enforced artists for submission in accordance with Government of country.In article characterized six competitions. Most curious was “Third competition on mass song”, in which took part important writer Tadeusz Różewicz.

Bleed for the Devil

Using ethnographic method combined with analysis of primary sources like mass media appearances, song lyrics and websites, the article ex-amines ritualized self-injury in the Black Metal milieu. It ...

Totalitarianism and music in the context of the 20th century

The article Totalitarianism and Music evaluates the system of totalitarianism and realization of its ideologies in arts. The article does not aspire to provide comprehensive and detailed analysis of totalitarianism, its purpose is to create an informed impetus for further in-depth studies of totalitarianism, the objectives are to (1) comprehend the totalitarian systems and the musical culture politics established in 1930ies by the most notable examples of totalitarianism – USSR and Germany (3rd Reich), (2) to compare these examples, highlighting the main ideological conceptions of the realization of the aforementioned culture politics (socialistic realism, songs of masses, degenerate music, censorship, ceremonial, music outside the law, et al), (3) to observe differences and similarities in the perceptions of the ideological criteria of “correct” art (principle of party and principle of nationalism), (4) to define the place and role of the artist – creative personality – in these systems. The work employs methods based on research of scientific and journalistic sources, audio and video documents that capture processes of the given time period, personal competencies of composer and conductor, as well as other available materials. The conclusion of the article offers a comparison of similarities and differences of music politics in totalitarian systems. Fundamentally, several similar totalitarian ideologies and mechanisms of artistic control exist; differences hide within their realization and concept of priorities, as well as in the general perception and view of culture politics. Music and arts are subject to control exerted by party and ruling elite; the term music outside the law is clearly defined. Musical and ideological upbringing objectives facilitate its purpose for wide social strata (music in factories, for town squares, for working people, etc). The relative competence of the leaders (Y. Stalin and A. Hitler) in music history and musical processes, their general interest in music and arts, as well as desire and pleasure to act as “enlightened rulers” facilitated spreading of specific musical taste and comparatively proficient evaluation of musical tendencies, as well as valid concept definitions. The “ideological” composer of both systems was Beethoven, confirming the universal nature of his music. In the Soviet Union the mass musical education was realized through new music of social realism, reflecting the ideology of the regime. The culture politics of the 3rd Reich prioritized values of classical music. The USSR differentiated music and art according to their ideological characteristics, declaring the aesthetics of social realism and mass songs the cornerstones of its culture ideology. In Germany, however, music and arts were differentiated according to national characteristics (degenerate art). In contrast with the communist ideology of ceremonial and commissioned music, Germany forbids composition of dedications to individuals or to party. The juxtaposition of mass song and academic music, as well as the contrasting attitudes towards innovative elements in art are the most significant differences between both totalitarian culture politic systems.

The Soviet Proletarian Music Movement by Neil s> Edmunds (review)

I34 SEER, 8o, I, 2002 workedmainly in Prague(andarethereforeentitledto be includedin a 'study' of Czechoslovak cinema?). Of the writers,only LadislavMnacko is mentioned, presumably because his works were translated into Czech, and one of his novelswas adaptedby a Czech director. What then, precisely, is the aim of this booklet?It has been publishedwith the support of the Jan Hus Educational Foundation as part of the 'Life-time Learning for Teachers of Czech Language and Literature'project. In her introduction, Koudelkova states that film 'is one of the best didacticmethodological aids to encourage students to read' (p. 3) since she believes that it is easier to watch a film than to read a book. However, it is hard to see how the handfulof synposesin thisvolume is going to achieve either. School ofSlavonic andEastEuropean Studies CESAR BALLESTER University College London Edmunds, Neil. TheSovietProletarian MusicMovement. Peter Lang, Oxford, Bern, and Berlin, 2000. 407 pp. Notes. Bibliography. Discography. Index. f36.oo: $57.95 (paperback). NEIL EDMUNDS's detailed study of the proletarian episode in Soviet music historymakesan extremelywelcome addition to the meagre body of Western scholarshipin this area. In recent years, attention has focused on the popular cultureof thisperiod (RichardStites:Russian Popular Culture, Cambridge, I 992, S. F. Starr:RedandHot.7heFateofJazz intheSoviet Union I9I17-I980, New York and Oxford, I983) rather than on the 'serious' music written for the masses. This music has tended to fall between two stools:neglected by music historians interested in major figures such as Shostakovichand Prokofievas well as by those attractedto the subversivepotential of genuine, ratherthan State-produced,popularmusic. Edmunds'sapproachto his subjectis necessarilyinterdisciplinary,claiming allegiance to the 'new historicism' which has posited a challenge to the supposedly narrow, canonic orientation of traditional scholarship. Edward Said,Roger Scruton,ChristopherNorrisand musicologistsLawrenceKramer and Susan McClary are approvinglycited as examples of culturalcommentators and scholarswho have advocated looking 'beyond the score' to gauge the social significanceof music. How 'new' these approacheshave reallybeen is open to debate, as Edmunds himself acknowledges; but it is true that musicology has so farbeen content to leave thisparticularbody of music well alone. The reasons for its sidelining are clear enough: the little of it that is known is so third-rate and some of its composers so tainted by their ingloriousbehaviour in the Stalinperiod that studyof theirmusic has been a singularlyunattractiveprospect. Edmundsmakesno exaggeratedclaimsfor this music'squality.Rather, for him, its chief value lies in what it can tell us about the society thatproduced it. A persistentthread is his contention that much mass artwas motivated by an idealism more deserving of respect than scorn; few, I suspect, would regard that assertion as controversial today. But there are times when Edmunds's REVIEWS I35 revisionistbias weakens, ratherthan reinforces,his arguments.For example, the quotations from French Revolutionary songs in Nikolai Miaskovskii's Sixth Symphony are cited merely as evidence of 'common ground' (p. I73) between composers affiliated to the Association for Contemporary Music (ASM) and proletarian composers who regularlyexploited this material.Yet the musical context of these quotations may well suggest a quite different conclusion: they are woven into one of Miaskovskii'smost tragicworks, and followedby a Dies Iraequotation and an old Russianfuneralchant (seeDavid Fanning:'The Soviet Russian Symphony' in Robert Layton, ed., A Companion totheSymphony, London, I993, pp. 295-96). Issues of bias aside, this is still a study that no-one interested in Soviet culture would want to be without. Although most of Edmunds's sources are published, some archivalmaterial mostly unpublishedarticlesand printed music has been used to supplement the considerablebody of information collected from Soviet journals of the I920S and early '30s. It fleshes out informationin the chapterson proletarianmusic in BorisSchwarz'sMusicand MusicalLifeinSoviet Russia, I9I7-Ig8I, enlargededition, (Bloomington,I 983) and Levon Hakobian's recent Musicof theSoviet AgeI9I7-1987 (Stockholm, I998) in fascinatingdetail, and goes some way towardsachieving the author's goal of eliciting admiration for many pioneers of mass culture. Musical examples, though frequentlyinadequatelypresented, are especiallyvaluable, and may well provoke further investigation. One brief citation of VasilievBuglai 's Starinnaia pesniapro bratsa-soldatika ('Old song about a soldier-boy') (p. I83) is enough to indicate cross-fertilization between mass song and mainstream symphonic music: the song's opening went on to become a key theme in the...

Russkie evrei v Velikobritanii. Stat'i, publikatsii, memuary i esse by M. Parkhomovsky A. Rogachevskii (review)

REVIEWS I35 revisionistbias weakens, ratherthan reinforces,his arguments.For example, the quotations from French Revolutionary songs in Nikolai Miaskovskii's Sixth Symphony are cited merely as evidence of 'common ground' (p. I73) between composers affiliated to the Association for Contemporary Music (ASM) and proletarian composers who regularlyexploited this material.Yet the musical context of these quotations may well suggest a quite different conclusion: they are woven into one of Miaskovskii'smost tragicworks, and followedby a Dies Iraequotation and an old Russianfuneralchant (seeDavid Fanning:'The Soviet Russian Symphony' in Robert Layton, ed., A Companion totheSymphony, London, I993, pp. 295-96). Issues of bias aside, this is still a study that no-one interested in Soviet culture would want to be without. Although most of Edmunds's sources are published, some archivalmaterial mostly unpublishedarticlesand printed music has been used to supplement the considerablebody of information collected from Soviet journals of the I920S and early '30s. It fleshes out informationin the chapterson proletarianmusic in BorisSchwarz'sMusicand MusicalLifeinSoviet Russia, I9I7-Ig8I, enlargededition, (Bloomington,I 983) and Levon Hakobian's recent Musicof theSoviet AgeI9I7-1987 (Stockholm, I998) in fascinatingdetail, and goes some way towardsachieving the author's goal of eliciting admiration for many pioneers of mass culture. Musical examples, though frequentlyinadequatelypresented, are especiallyvaluable, and may well provoke further investigation. One brief citation of VasilievBuglai 's Starinnaia pesniapro bratsa-soldatika ('Old song about a soldier-boy') (p. I83) is enough to indicate cross-fertilization between mass song and mainstream symphonic music: the song's opening went on to become a key theme in the firstmovement of Shostakovich'sFifthSymphony. In spite of occasional authorial asides, this is primarily a solid reference book which avoids a strong narrativeapproach, and it is none the worse for that. It is marred by typographicalerrors- scarcelya page is unaffectedand poor referencing(readersare directed 'above' and 'below' but never to a specific page). A few omissions are likely to be frustrating:Edmunds refers several times to a surveywhich is never named (p. I37) and to the 'circlesof friends' attached to RAPM (Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians) (p. I36) without explaining what these were. But this was researchwaiting to be done, and many scholarswill be gratefulforEdmunds'sintelligentdigestof stillrelativelyobscureRussian sources. Department ofMusic PAULINE FAIRCLOUGH University ofManchester Parkhomovsky, M., and Rogachevskii A. (eds). Russkieevreiv Velikobritanii. Stat'i,publikatsii, memuagy i esse.Russkoe evreistvov zarubezh'e,vol. 2 (7). Russian Jewry Abroad, Jerusalem, 2000. 55I PP. Illustrations. Notes. Indexes. Priceunknown. LIKE its predecessorsin this now substantialseries, Russkie evrei v Velikobritanii packsin a largeamount of information,a good deal ofwhich willbe unfamiliar at least in detail even to scholars with a special interest in the Russian I36 SEER, 8o, I, 2002 emigration. After an introductionby the editors and a forewordby Professor Marc Raeff, the body of the book is divided into seven sections, devoted successively to 'The First Among Equals', history, literature, journalism, memoirsand essays,scholarship,and art;togethertherearethirty-threeitems. The title of the first section refers above all to Sir Isaiah Berlin; besides an essay on him by Henrietta Mondry it includes one by him on Aleksandrand Salomeia Halpern. The other firsts among equals ('First'is a plural in the Russian title)are the Pasternaksisters,the subjectof two essays,one by Nikita Lobanov-Rostovskiiand the other by Evgenii Pasternak.The historysection begins with Boris Frumkinon Aron Liberman (I845-I880), the pioneering Jewish Socialist.Then comesAron Cherniakon ChaimWeitzmanin England, the years concerned being I904- I9 I8 and again during World War Two. AfterWeitzmancomes V. E. Zhabotinskii,whose Londonyears(I 915- I8 and I934-40) are discussed by Era Mazovetskaia and Tat'iana Gruz. Mariia Lobytsynaconcludes this section with an essay on Ivan Maiskii and Maksim Litvinov;both of them were in the London political emigrationbefore I9 I7, and Maiskiilaterreturnedas Soviet ambassador.The literaturesection opens with an essay on S. S. Kotelianskii by Ol'ga Kaznina, and continues with a particularlywelcome pen portraitof David Magarshakby Andrei Rogachevskii . There is then a survey of Mark Aldanov's views on England (they were banal) by Ekaterina Rogachevskaia, and a rapid survey of Il'ia Erenburg's various visits and predictable responses by Viacheslav Popov. Vadim Kreid fillsa gap in Roger Hagglund'sworkby tellingthe storyof GeorgiiAdamovich in Manchester;how many Russianistsknow that...

Songs to Seven Strings (Russian Guitar Poetry and Soviet "Mass Song")

Songs to Seven Strings (Russian Guitar Poetry and Soviet "Mass Song")