Periods of creation of Russian historical songs. Periodization of world history Main periods of creation of historical songs

HISTORICAL SONGS (Russian) - folk poetic genre. creativity that arose during the struggle against the Tat. yoke (“Song of Shchelkan”, etc.) and became the main. historical genre in the 16th century. Historical stories differ from epics in that their plots are always based on actual events that are important for the era, social and foreign policy. conflicts. The first major cycle of I. p. depicts the events of the 2nd half. 16th century (“The Capture of Kazan”, “Kostriuk”, “The Wrath of the Terrible on His Son”, etc.). Their problems are strengthening the unity of the state, the fight against external enemies and the boyars. Cossack I. p. are distinguished (about Ermak, “Cossacks before the Terrible”), which speak about the fair structure of the society (“circle” of free Cossacks) and about the attitude of the Cossacks to the tsar and boyars.

I. p. beginning 17th century (about the poisoning of Skopin, the first Pretender, etc.) express concern for the fate of the Motherland, hatred of the interventionists and their accomplices. The theme of defending the Motherland prevails in the songs of Ser. 17th century about the struggle for Smolensk (“Zemsky Sobor”, “Miloslavsky”). I. p. develop among the Cossacks; their main The theme is the protection of the southern borders from the Turks and Tatars (“The Capture of Azov”, “The Mistake of the Cossacks”, “The Prisoner of Azov”, etc.). Numerous the songs depict the stages and vicissitudes of Stepan Razin’s uprising: the beginning of the uprising (Razin’s call for a navy, a naval campaign), its highest rise (songs about the Razins on the Volga and the execution of the Astrakhan governor) and defeat (songs about the death of Razin and the fate of his comrades-in-arms). With Razin, who became the typical image of the leader of the people. antifeud. struggle, connected and some lyrical. stories. The most common of them - about “Son of Stepan Razin” - expressed the people’s faith in the coming victory.

In I. p. end 17 - beginning. 18th centuries episodes of the Northern War are reflected (songs about the capture of Shlisselburg, Riga, Poltava, etc.) and social movements - the Streltsy riot, the Bulavin uprising (songs about Ignat Nekrasov). Satirists appear. I. p., denouncing high dignitaries (about Prince Gagarin, Menshikov, etc.). A number of songs depict Peter I and soldiers, who from the beginning. 18th century become the main creators and keepers of military I. p. In songs of the 18-19 centuries. Social issues are intensified, class antagonism appears more clearly (for example, in the song “Count Panin tried the thief Pugachev”), the image of the tsar is reduced. Created sharply denounces. songs about Arakcheev and others. The last major cycle of I. p. is about the Fatherland. war of 1812. In the 19th century. I. p. become smaller and lose their former meaning.

Ch. features of the poetics and manner of performance of I. p. - laconicism (usually one episode with a brief or more detailed exposition), drama, simplicity of language. Depict. means are largely common to Russians. folklore, but there are also specific ones (military and political terminology, special epithets, etc.). In songs 16 - beginning. 17th centuries the techniques and imagery of epics are encountered, and later the epic poems become closer to the lyrical ones. In the 19th century they become close to the songs of lit. origin. In the process of development of IP, their regional types emerged, among which the northern ones especially stand out. songs (primarily 16th - early 17th centuries), approaching epics in style, and Cossack songs, distinguished by theme and greater lyricism. I. p. were preserved longer in the North, among the Cossacks and in the Middle Volga region, where different regional traditions crossed.

ANALYSIS OF A SPECIFIC SONG

Of the songs of the “Time of Troubles,” the song about Grishka Otrepiev received the most widespread use, which expressed the sharply negative attitude of the people towards False Dmitry, who is depicted as an obvious impostor who betrayed national interests and conspired with the enemies of Rus':

...God sent us a charming one,

I will strip the evil Grishka Otrepiev of his hair,

Has he, Rasstriga, really sat down as king?

Rasstriga is called the direct king,

Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich Ugletsky.

The impostor is accused mainly of violating Russian national customs and violating religious prohibitions. As in the song about Kostriuk, one of the main episodes here is the episode of the marriage of the Russian Tsar to a foreign bride, in this case, False Dmitry to Marina Mnishek. But if Grozny in the song about Kostriuk, together with the people, rejoices at the shame of a foreigner, then Otrepyev, on the contrary, does everything to please Marina and the Poles, who, like himself, behave in Moscow in a pointedly defiant manner, allowing themselves to outrage Russian customs. The people's hatred of forces hostile to Rus', of interventionists, is also manifested in the image of Marina Mnishek, who in the song is endowed with the features of a sorceress, an evil witch. There was even a legend that after the murder of the Pretender, Marina turned into a magpie and flew away from Moscow. At the end of the song, the mutinous archers overthrow Otrepyev and put him to death.

The images of Grigory Otrepyev and his foreign wife Marina Mnishek in songs are always parody, caricature. In the song Trishka Rasstriga, both of them are condemned for outrage against Russian customs. Marina Mnishek is called an evil heretical atheist.

The events depicted in the song about False Dmitry appear as a series of chronologically sequential actions and episodes, the main ones being the marriage and blasphemous behavior of the Pretender and Marina. The focus on authenticity and chronicity leads to the disorganization of the plot of the song, to the fact that all the episodes and events are weakly interconnected and do not reveal internal unity. The singers strive to capture as many real facts as possible in the song, to reflect all the political, moral and ethical accusations against the Pretender. And because of this, the song loses in compositional terms, in the harmony of construction, while at the same time gaining in journalisticity, in the depiction of acute political conflicts and collisions. This focus on chronicle, on covering more and more facts and events in one work is a new quality of historical song, a quality that will appear more than once in the further development of the genre.

16th century. A cycle of songs about Ivan the Terrible (about the capture of Kazan, about the Terrible’s marriage to Maria Temryukovna and about the king’s anger at his son.) + a cycle of songs about Ermak Timofeevich (“Ermak in the Cossack circle”, “Ermak’s capture of Kazan”, “Ermak took Siberia”, “Ermak at Ivan the Terrible”, “Campaign on the Volga”, “Ermak in the Cossack circle”). reducing the role of hyperbole, now hyperbole is used not to denote the actions of one person, but to denote the actions of a team. There is a noticeable tendency in the song towards realistic detail, towards liberating the content from fantastic fiction.

17th century Historical songs responded to the “time of troubles”, to the death of Ivan the Terrible’s son Dmitry, the appearance of the False Dmitriev, the campaign of the Poles against Rus', the struggle against them by Minin and Pozharsky, the Cossack campaigns against Azov, and the uprising led by Stepan Razin. Songs about Stepan Razin are the largest cycle of the 2nd half. XVII century. The songs in this cycle are poetic. The side of the image noticeably predominates over the concreteness of the political. problems. As the researcher of historical songs B.N. Putilov suggests, the “Razin cycle” contributed to the fact that in Russian. historical the song has a lyrical beginning. development and became resultant with the narrative. Built epithets depicting the image of Razin are identical to the epithets applied to the depiction of nameless robbers; they emphasize the people's love for the “clear falcons.” In this cycle of songs, the technique of personification is actively used, nature is an active participant in events: “the glorious quiet Don has become clouded.” Songs from the 17th century are under b. influence of lyrical song poetry, they tell about one episode, but are narrated emotionally.

18 century. A cycle of songs about the time of Peter the Great. In the songs of the early 18th century, a new hero appeared - a soldier, and the genre was replenished with soldier's historical. song. Suvorov, his life and activities were given factually. material for creating the image of a national hero. Songs about Emelyan Pugachev. The songs of this cycle are close to Razin. cycle, although there is no the plots were reworked, adapting to new events and the personality of Pugachev, folk poet. consciousness almost does not separate these fighters from each other.

19th century. A cycle of characters about the Patriotic War of 1812. About Platov, about Kutuzov. The character of the individual is later. songs, incl. songs about the War of 1812, is used separately. formulas, lines, entire episodes and even ready-made military-historical songs about past wars. Soldier's historical the songs became shorter in size, their melody became closer to marching, marching, military vocabulary was used, they acquired a musical rhythm. forms. One can note the influence of literature in the songs of the 19th century. poetry, which confirms the idea that folk poetry in this era was looking for new forms of poetic expression.

In the 2nd half of the 19th century, the creation of new cycles of oral history finally ceased. songs.

STUDYING HISTORICAL songs began relatively late, which is due to the fact that the genre was not distinguished from epics. The first to separate the historical songs from epics Belinsky, in articles about people. poetry he used. the term "historical" songs". Belinsky gave an assessment of the songs known to him, mainly from the collection of Kirsha Danilov. Particularly fruitful. There was a study of historical songs at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, when they attracted the attention of such researchers as Veselovsky, Miller, Buslaev, etc. In the 20th century, the publication and study of historical songs, mainly Attention to historical songs, which reflect the struggle of the people for their liberation.

In their totality, historical songs reflect history in its movement - as the people realized it. In the plots of the songs we are faced with the results of the selection of events, as well as with various aspects of their coverage.

Early history songs

The earliest historical songs known to us reflected the events of the mid-13th century, when individual Russian principalities tried to stop Batu’s hordes.

The song "Avdotya Ryazanochka" tells about the tragedy of 1237: old Ryazan was wiped off the face of the earth by the conquerors, and its inhabitants were killed or driven into slavery. The song persistently repeats a commonplace - an image of this disaster:

Yes, and the city of Kazan was ruined by the undergrowth,

Kazan devastated the city.

He knocked out all the boyar princes in Kazan.

Yes, and princesses and noblewomen -

I took all those alive.

He captivated many thousands of people.

He led the Turkish to his land<...>

The heroine of the song, city dweller Avdotya, showed courage, patience and wisdom. According to the song, she brought all her people out of captivity and built the city of Kazan anew (modern Ryazan was built on a different site).

The plot of this song, and possibly the image of Avdotya, is fictional. Artistic fiction was based on the poetic forms of epics and early (mythological) fairy tales. Stylistic clichés (common places) are associated with these genres: a hyperbolic depiction of the enemy (He let loose rivers, deep lakes; he let loose fierce beasts), the plot itself about a journey to another kingdom (to the Turkish land) and the obstacles that stood in Avdotya’s way, the motive for unraveling difficult riddle. The song has a ballad element: the “riddle” of King Bakhmet passed through Avdotya’s heart, stirring up her feelings for her husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son, daughter-in-law, daughter, son-in-law and dear brother. Consequently, private human life was brought to the fore, and the national tragedy was shown through the tragedy of one family.

The everyday refraction of the historical collision also occurred in ballad-type songs about Polonyanka girls. The plot motif of an enemy raid to take away a girl goes back to ancient times, to those archaic marriage customs when a woman was the main prey of a foreign kidnapper. Linking this motif with the Golden Horde invasion, folklore typified many life situations of that time.

In the song "Tatar Full" an elderly woman, captured by the Tatars and given to one of them as a slave, turns out to be the mother of his Russian wife, the grandmother of his son. The song is imbued with a bright humanistic pathos: the Tatar son-in-law, having learned that the slave is his mother-in-law, treats her with due respect. In this interpretation, universal human ideals turned out to be higher than heroic-patriotic ones. However, in other stories of the same group, the girl escapes from Tatar captivity or even kills herself so as not to fall to the enemy.

The epic nature of the narrative is characteristic of the song "Shchelkan Dudentievich", which is based on a real fact: the uprising in 1327 of the oppressed inhabitants of Tver against the khan's ruler Shevkal (son of Dudeni). The content of the song expressed the deep hatred of the people towards the conquerors, which was manifested primarily in the generalized image of Shchelkan. Various artistic means were used in its depiction. For example, when depicting Shchelkan as a tribute collector, the technique of stepwise narrowing of images was used, which helped to convincingly show the tragic, subjugated position of the people:

He took a hundred rubles from the princes,

From the boyars to fifty,

Five rubles from peasants;

who has no money

He will take his child from him;

who has no child,

He will take his wife;

Who doesn't have a wife,

He'll take it with his own head.

The technique of hyperbole was used. So, in order to earn the favor of Khan Azvyak, Shchelkan fulfilled his savage demand: he stabbed his own son, drew a cup of his blood and drank it. For this he was made the khan's ruler in Tver, the inhabitants of which he tormented with his atrocities. However, according to the song, he himself met a terrible end. Some Borisovich brothers came to Shchelkan on behalf of the townspeople with gifts for peace negotiations. He accepted the gifts, but behaved in such a way that he deeply offended the petitioners. Again using hyperbole, the song depicted the death of Shchelkan: One brother grabbed him by the hair, and the other by the legs - And then they tore him apart. At

In this case, the Borisovichs remained unpunished (no one was found guilty), although in real history the uprising in Tver was brutally suppressed.

Early historical songs are works about the time when Rus' was under the yoke of the Golden Horde. The songs became a concentrated expression of this tragic period in the people's fate.

Historical songs of the 16th century.

In the 16th century classical examples of historical songs appeared.

The cycle of songs about Ivan the Terrible developed the theme of the struggle against external and internal enemies for the strengthening and unification of the Russian land around Moscow. The songs used old epic traditions: the organization of their plots, storytelling techniques, and style were largely borrowed from epics.

So, for example, “The Song of Kostryuk” in some versions had a characteristic ending. The defeated Kostryuk says to the king:

“Thank you, son-in-law.

Tsar Ivan Vasilievich,

On your stone Moscow!

God forbid I go there again

In your stone Moscow,

Otherwise it wouldn’t be for me and my children!”

This ending echoes the ending of some epics of the Kiev cycle:

I will order for children and grandchildren

Travel to the city to Kyiv.

It is also reproduced almost verbatim in the song “Defense of Pskov from Stefan Batory”:

<...>The king himself ran away by force.

Running, he, the dog, conjures:

"Don't forbid. God, I should go to Rus',

And neither my children nor my grandchildren,

Neither grandchildren nor great-grandchildren

Some epic storytellers almost completely transferred the description of the epic feast into a historical song about Ivan the Terrible and his son, etc.

At the same time, the song image of Ivan the Terrible, unlike the heroes of the epic, is psychologically complex and contradictory. Understanding the essence of royal power, the people portrayed Ivan the Terrible as the organizer of the state, a wise ruler. But, as it really was, the king is quick-tempered, angry and recklessly cruel in anger. He is contrasted with some reasonable person who bravely pacifies the king’s anger and prevents his irreparable act.

The song “The Capture of the Kazan Kingdom” describes the events of 1552 quite close to reality. The people correctly realized and reflected the general political and state meaning of the conquest of Kazan: this major victory of the Russian people over the Tatars put an end to their domination. The expedition was organized by the king. Having besieged Kazan, the Russians dug under the city wall and planted barrels of gunpowder. The explosion did not occur at the expected time, and Grozny became inflamed, suspected treason and conceived the gunners to be executed here. But a young gunner emerged from among them and explained to the king why the explosion of the fortress wall was being delayed: the candle left on the powder barrels underground had not yet burned out (That in the wind the candle burns faster, But in the ground that candle goes quieter). Indeed, soon there was an explosion that lifted a high mountain and scattered the white stone chambers. It should be noted that the documents do not say anything about the clash between Ivan the Terrible and the gunner - perhaps this is a popular fiction.

The fight against betrayal became the main theme of the song about Ivan the Terrible’s anger at his son (see “The Terrible Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich”). As you know, in 1581 the tsar, in a fit of anger, killed his eldest son Ivan. In the song, the tsar's wrath falls on his youngest son, Fyodor, accused of treason by his brother Ivan.

This work reveals the dramatic era of the reign of Ivan IV. It talks about his reprisals against the population of entire cities (those where he committed treason), depicts the cruel deeds of the oprichnina, terrible pictures of the mass persecution of people. Accusing his younger brother, Tsarevich Ivan says:

Oh, formidable sir, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich,

Oh, the parent is our father!

You were driving along the street, -

I was driving along the street -

He beat some and hanged others,

He sent the rest of them to prison.

And Fyodor and Ivanovich rode with his heart,

Bill executed and hanged others,

He sent the rest of them to prison,

He sent decrees in advance,

So that the little ones can run away,

So that the old one grows up...

A psychological portrait sketch of the king runs through the song as a leitmotif:

His eye grew dim.

His royal heart flared up.

The Tsar orders Fyodor to be executed, and the executioner Malyuta Skuratov is in a hurry to carry out the sentence. However, the prince is saved by the brother of his mother (Ivan the Terrible’s first wife Anastasia Romanovna), old Mikitushka Romanovich. The next day, the king, thinking that his son was no longer alive, suffered deeply. In this scene we have before us not a statesman, but a repentant father:

Here the king began to cry very hard:

- By thieves and by robbers

E<есть>intercessors and defenders.

In my opinion, we're going to give birth to children

There was no help or intercession,

No intercession, no fence!

But he learns about the rescue of the prince. The grateful Tsar-Father gives Nikita Romanovich, at his request, a fief in which every person who has stumbled could take refuge and receive forgiveness.

Regarding the marriage of Ivan the Terrible to the Circassian princess Maria Temryukovna, a parody “Song about Kostryuk” was composed. Kostryuk, the king's brother-in-law, is depicted hyperbolically, in an epic style. He boasts of his strength and demands a fighter. But in reality he is an imaginary hero. Moscow wrestlers not only defeat Kostrkzh, but also, by removing his dress, expose him to ridicule. The song is composed in the style of a cheerful buffoon. Its plot is most likely fictional, since there is no historical evidence of the fight between the Tsar’s brother-in-law and Russian fist fighters.

A number of other historical songs about Ivan the Terrible and his time are known: “Raid of the Crimean Khan”, “Ivan the Terrible near Serpukhov”, “Defense of Pskov from

Stefan Batory", "Ivan the Terrible and the Good Fellow", "Terek Cossacks and Ivan the Terrible".

A cycle of songs about Ermak- the second large cycle of historical songs of the 16th century.

Ermak Timofeevich - Don Cossack chieftain - deserved the wrath of Ivan the Terrible. Fleeing, he goes to the Urals. At first, Ermak protected the possessions of the Stroganov breeders from attacks by the Siberian Khan Kuchum, then he began a campaign into the depths of Siberia. In 1582, Ermak defeated the main forces of Kuchum on the banks of the Irtysh.

“Song of Ermak” depicts the difficult and long journey of his detachment along unknown rivers, the fierce struggle with Kuchum’s horde, the courage and resourcefulness of the Russian people. In another song - “Ermak Timofeevich and Ivan the Terrible” - Ermak came to the Tsar to confess. However, the royal prince-boyars and thoughtful senators persuade Grozny to execute Ermak. The king did not listen to them:

Forgave him in all his faults

And he only ordered Kazan and Astrakhan to be taken.

Ermak is a truly folk hero, his image is deeply embedded in folklore. Breaking the chronological framework, later historical songs attribute campaigns to Kazan and Astrakhan to Ermak, turning him into a contemporary and accomplice in the actions of Razin and Pugachev.

So, the main idea of ​​historical songs of the 16th century. - unification, strengthening and expansion of Moscow Russia.

Historical songs of the 17th century.

In the 17th century song cycles were composed about the era of the Troubles and about Stepan Razin.

The cycle of songs about the “Time of Troubles” reflected the acute social and national struggle of the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

After the death of Ivan the Terrible (1584), his young son Tsarevich Dimitri (born in 1582), together with his mother Maria Naga and her relatives, was expelled by the boyar council from Moscow to Uglich. In 1591, the prince died in Uglich. After the death of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich in 1598, Boris Godunov became tsar. A folk song responded to this event in the following way:

Oh, we had it, brothers, in the old days...

<...>How our Orthodox Tsar passed away

Fedor Ivanovich,

So Rosseyushka fell into villainous hands,

To the villainous hands, to the boyars-lords.

One violent head appeared from among the boyars.

One wild head, Boris Godunov's son.

And this Godunov has deceived all the boyars.

The crazy Rosseyushka has already decided to rule,

He took possession of all of Russia and began to reign in Moscow.

He already obtained the kingdom by the death of the king,

The death of the glorious Tsar, Saint Dmitry Tsarevich.

In 1605, Boris Godunov died. In the summer of the same year, False Dmitry I (Grishka Otrepiev) entered Moscow. Folklore has preserved two laments of the daughter of Tsar Boris, Ksenia Godunova, whom the impostor tonsured into a monastery: she was taken across all of Moscow, and she wailed (see “The Lament of Ksenia Godunova”). The fact that Ksenia is the daughter of a king hated by the people did not matter to the idea of ​​​​the work; All that mattered was that she had been cruelly and unfairly offended. Sympathy for the sad fate of the princess was at the same time a condemnation of the impostor.

The images of Grigory Otrepyev and his foreign wife Marina Mnishek in songs are always parody, caricature. In the song “Grishka Rasstriga” (see in the Reader), both of them are condemned for outrage against Russian customs. Marina Mnishek is called an evil heretical atheist. In 1606, the impostor was killed, Marina Mnishek fled. The song says that she turned around like a Magpie and flew out of the door.

Historical songs from this period paint a positive picture of those who opposed foreign invaders. This was Mikhail Vasilyevich Skopin-Shuisky - a prince, a talented commander and diplomat who defeated the Poles in 1610. The Polish invaders acquired the features of epic enemies in the historical song. National recognition and the solemn meeting of Skopin-Shuisky in Moscow aroused envy and hatred among the princes and boyars. According to contemporaries, in April 1610, at the christening of Prince I.M. Vorotynsky, he suddenly fell ill and died during the night. It is assumed that the prince was poisoned by the daughter of Malyuta Skuratov. This event shocked Muscovites so much that it became the basis for several songs (see the song “Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky”). In Arkhangelsk province. one of them was processed into an epic (records at the beginning of the 20th century by A.V. Markov and N.E. Onchukov). The songs mourned Skopin's death as a grave loss for the state.

The cycle of songs about Stepan Razin is one of the largest. These songs were widespread in folklore - much wider than those places where the movement of 1667-1671 unfolded. They lived in people's memory for several centuries. Many, having lost their association with the name of Razin, entered the vast circle of bandit songs.

The songs of Razin's cycle are varied in content. They carry out all stages of the movement: Razin’s robbery voyage with the Cossacks along the Caspian (Khvalynsky) Sea; peasant war; songs about the suppression of the uprising and the execution of Stepan Razin; songs of the Razin people hiding in the forests after the defeat. At the same time, almost all of them are lyrical and plotless in genre type. Only two songs can be called lyroepic: “Razin’s son in Astrakhan” and “The Astrakhan voivode (governor) was killed.”

The song about “son” has a humorous, anecdotal element. Its hero is a daring fellow who, bowing to no one, proudly walks around the city and feasts in the king's tavern. “Sonny” is Razin’s messenger, who appeared in Astrakhan in order to inform the governor about the upcoming arrival of the ataman himself:

“From the river, the Kamyshka River, Senka Razin, I am the son.

My father wanted to visit.

I wanted to visit, you know how to host him,

You know how to accept it, know how to treat it.

And if you can accept it, I’ll give you a marten fur coat.

If you don’t know how to accept, I’ll put you in prison.”

The angry governor puts him in a white stone prison, but Razin and the robbers are already rushing to the rescue.

The most profound social theme is revealed in the song about the murder of the Astrakhan governor (see in the Reader). The extensive exhibition colorfully depicts river expanses, red-steep banks, green meadows... Yesaul shavings float along the river, on which robbers are sitting - all barge haulers, all thugs from the Volga region. The song idealizes them appearance:

Well, all the daredevils were dressed up:

They wear sable caps, the tops are velvet;

On damask, their caftans are single-row;

The rope beshmets are stitched into thread;

Silk shirts are lined with galloon;

Everyone's boots are in morocco;

They rowed with oars and sang songs.

The goal of the barge haulers is to lie in wait for the ship on which the Astrakhan governor is sailing. In the distance the governor's flags turned white. Seeing inevitable death, the governor tries to pay off the robbers with gold treasury, colored clothes, overseas curiosities - but this is not what the brave free people want. They carry out reprisals against the governor: they cut off his violent head and throw it into Mother Volga. The governor deserved his punishment, as the song itself explains:

“You’re kind, governor, you were strict with us,

He shot our wives and children at the gates!”

The songs of Razin's cycle were created mainly among the Cossacks and largely expressed the ideals of struggle and freedom inherent in Cossack creativity. They are deeply poetic. Stepan Razin is portrayed in them using folk lyrics: he is not an individualized, but a generalized hero, embodying traditional ideas about male power and beauty. The songs contain many images from the natural world, which emphasizes their overall poetic atmosphere and emotional intensity. This is especially evident in songs about the defeat of the uprising, filled with lyrical repetitions and appeals to nature:

Oh, my fogs, my fogs.

You are my impenetrable fogs,

How hateful sadness and melancholy!<...>

You can, you can, you threatening cloud.

You shed, shed heavy rain.

You destroy, destroy the prison of the earthling<...>

The image of the darkened, quiet Don - From the top to the black sea, to the black sea of ​​Azov - conveys the sadness of the Cossack circle, which has lost its chieftain:

They caught a good fellow.

White hands tied,

Taken to stone Moscow

And on the glorious Red Square

They cut off the riot's head.

Razin folklore, which has great artistic merit, attracted the attention of many poets. In the 19th century folk songs about Stepan Razin of literary origin appeared: “Because of the island on the core...” by D. N. Sadovnikova, “Stenka Razin’s Cliff” by A. A. Navrotsky and others.

Historical songs of the 18th century.

Since the 18th century. historical songs were created mainly among soldiers and Cossacks.

A cycle of songs about the time of Peter the Great tells about various events of this period. Songs associated with wars and military victories of the Russian army come to the fore. Songs were composed about the capture of the Azov fortress, the cities of Oreshk (Shlisselburg), Riga, Vyborg, etc. They expressed a sense of pride in the successes achieved by the Russian state and glorified the courage of Russian soldiers. New images appeared in the songs of this period - ordinary soldiers, direct participants in battles. In the song “Under the Glorious City of Oreshok,” Peter I consults with his generals about the upcoming military operations - they persuade the tsar to retreat from the city. Then Peter I addresses the soldiers:

"Oh, you goy ecu, my little soldiers!

Come up with a little idea for me, guess -

Should we still take Orek-city?"

That it was not the ardent bees in the hive that made noise,

What will the Russian soldiers say:

“Oh, you goy ecu, our father Tsar!

We have to swim to it by water, but we won’t get there.

We can't reach it by the dry route.

Aren't we going to retreat from the city?

And we will take him with our white breasts."

It should be noted that in most songs, soldiers speak about military leaders with respect and even admiration. Field Marshal B.P. Sheremetev (“Sheremetev and the Swedish Major”, etc.) was especially popular among the soldiers. The song image of the ataman of the Don Cossack army, I.M. Krasnoshchekov (“Red-cheeked in Captivity”), is covered in heroic romance.

In the songs of Peter's time, the theme of the Battle of Poltava occupies an important place. The people understood its significance for Russia, but at the same time they realized at what cost the victory over the army of Charles XII was achieved. The song “The Poltava Affair” (see in the Reader) ends with an expanded metaphor of “battle-arable land”:

The Swedish arable land is plowed,

Plowed open with a soldier's white chest;

Orana Swedish arable land

Soldier's feet

Boronena Swedish arable land

With soldier's hands;

New arable land has been sown

Soldiers' heads;

Polpvana new arable land

Hot soldier's blood.

The idealized image of Peter I himself occupies a large place in historical songs. Here, as in the legends, his active nature, closeness to ordinary warriors, and justice are emphasized. For example, in the song “Peter I and the Young Dragoon,” the Tsar agrees to fight with a young dragoon of about fifteen years old. Finding himself defeated, the king says:

“Thank you, young dragoon, for the harrow!

What should I give you, young dragoon?

Are they villages, villages,

Ali are the golden treasury?"

The young dragoon replies that he only needs one thing: to drink wine without money at the Tsar’s taverns.

At the beginning of the 18th century. songs were composed about the execution of the Streltsy - participants in the Streltsy rebellion, organized in 1698 by Princess Sophia. They were sung on behalf of the Streltsy and emphasized their courage, although they did not condemn the tsar (“Streltsy atama-nushka and Tsar Peter the Great”, etc.).

A special group consisted of songs of the Nekrasov Cossacks. They tell about the departure of several thousand Old Believers Cossacks from the Don to the Kuban in 1708, led by Ataman Ignat Nekrasov, as well as their second departure from the Kuban for the Danube in 1740.

A cycle of songs about the Pugachev uprising constitutes a relatively small number of texts recorded in the Urals, in the Orenburg steppes and in the Volga region from the descendants of participants or eyewitnesses of the events of 1773-1775. It is necessary to emphasize its connection with Razin’s cycle (for example, the song about Stepan Razin’s “son” was completely dedicated to the name of Pugachev). However, in general, the attitude towards Pugachev in the songs is contradictory: he is seen either as a king or as a rebel.

During the Pugachev uprising, Chief General Count P.I. Panin was appointed commander-in-chief of the troops in the Orenburg and Volga regions. On October 2, 1774, in Simbirsk, he met with Pugachev, who was captured and brought there.

This is how A. S. Pushkin describes this event (according to documents) in “The History of Pugachev”: “Pugachev was brought directly to the courtyard of Count Panin, who met him on the porch, surrounded by his staff. “Who are you?” he asked impostor. “Emelyan Ivanov Pugachev,” he answered. “How dare you, thief, call yourself a sovereign?” - continued Panin. “I am not a raven (Pugachev objected, playing with words and speaking allegorically, as usual), I am a crow. , and the raven is still flying." - You need to know that the Yaik rebels, in refutation of the general rumor, spread a rumor that there really was a certain Pugachev among them, but that he had nothing in common with Emperor Peter III, their leader. Panin, noting that Pugachev’s insolence struck the people who crowded around the courtyard, hit the impostor in the face until it bled and tore out a tuft of his beard. Pugachev knelt down and asked for mercy. He was placed under a strong guard, shackled at the hands and feet, with an iron hoop near him. waist, on a chain screwed to the wall."

The popular response to this event was the song “The Trial of Pugachev” (see in the Reader). The song gives its own interpretation of the meeting, filling it with acute social meaning. Like the heroes of bandit folklore (see, for example, the lyrical song “Don’t make noise, mother, green oak tree..."), Pugachev talks to Panin proudly and courageously, threatens him and this terrifies him (The Count and Panin gave up, knocked him down with his hands ). Even in chains, Pugachev is so dangerous that all the Moscow senators cannot judge him.

Songs about the Pugachev uprising are known among different peoples of the Volga region: Bashkirs, Mordvins, Chuvash, Tatars, Udmurts.

Historical songs of the 19th century.

From the second half of the 18th century. The image of the tsar in soldiers' songs began to decline; it was contrasted with the image of one or another commander: Suvorov, Potemkin, Kutuzov, the Cossack ataman Platov.

A cycle of songs about the Patriotic War of 1812. Artistically very different from the earlier cycles. It has already lost contact with the epic and at the same time there is a noticeable tendency towards rapprochement with folk and even book lyrics. The songs are a soldier's story about some event, which appears as one episode, not always reliable. (For example, the content of the song “Platov visiting a Frenchman” is completely fictitious). The plot is conveyed statically, undeveloped, and is almost always preceded by a lyrical beginning. For example, a song about a conversation between Field Marshal M.I. Kutuzov and a French major (see in the Reader) begins with an opening expressing admiration for the Russian military leader:

What a red sun did not shine:

Kutuzov's sharp saber shone.

Prince Kutuzov goes out into the open field<...>

The songs are dominated by typical details, and the characters are revealed through their actions, speeches or through comparisons. The same type of life situations are presented in old, already known artistic forms.

For example, an ancient epic motif was used about how an enemy leader sent an ultimatum letter to the Russian prince: The French king sends to the White Tsar:

“Save me some apartments, exactly forty thousand apartments,

For me, the king, white tents."

The letter plunges the king into despondency: His royal persona has changed. Kutuzov encourages the Tsar:

He already spoke, Generalushka,

As if blowing a trumpet:

“Don’t be alarmed, our Orthodox Tsar!

And we will meet the villain in the middle of the road,

In the middle of the path on my land,

And we’ll set up tables for him - copper cannons,

And we'll lay out a tablecloth for him - bullets are free.

We'll put hot buckshot for a snack,

The gunboats will treat him.

All the Cossack women will see him off."

The artistic loss of historical songs of this period can be considered the frequent lack of plot integrity in them. Some songs consist of random, fragmentary and unfinished episodes, loosely linked to each other.

So, for example, the song about the ataman of the Don Cossack army M.I. Platov begins with a lyrical beginning:

From your pure hearts,

Let's give Platov a crown.

We'll put it on your head,

Binge the songs themselves<...>

Next, the soldiers talk about how well they live in the army - they are provided with everything they need. Then - an unmotivated transition to the battle scene (Our people began to fire...), and at the end it is reported that the Frenchman with the army is bringing down and lavishing threats on stone Moscow (see in the Reader).

Such facts indicate the process of reformation of the old system of folklore, especially its epic forms. The people were looking for new ways of poetic expression. Nevertheless, historical songs captured important events of 1812: the battles of Smolensk, the Battle of Borodino, the destruction of Moscow, the crossing of the Berezina, etc. The songs expressed the patriotic feeling of peasants, Cossacks, and soldiers; their love for national heroes - commanders Kutuzov, Platov; their hatred of their enemies.

In the 19th century historical songs were also composed about other events - for example, about the Crimean (Eastern) War of 1853-1856 | In songs dedicated to the defense of Sevastopol, mu-| the courage and heroism of ordinary soldiers and sailors.

Historical songs are an oral poetic chronicle of the people, their emotional story about the history of the country.

LITERATURE ON THE TOPIC

Texts.

Songs collected by P. V. Kireevsky. Published by the Society of Love-| lei of Russian literature. - Part 2: Songs of epic, historical. - Vol. 6-10. - M., 1864-1874.

Miller V.F. Historical songs of the Russian people of the XVI-XVII centuries. - Pg., 1915.

Historical songs of the 12th-16th centuries / Ed. prepared by B. N. Putilov, B. M. Dobrovolsky. - M.; L., 1960.

Historical songs of the 17th century / Ed. prepared by O. B. Alekseeva, B. M. Dobrovolsky and others - M.; L., 1966.

Historical songs of the 18th century / Ed. prepared by O. B. Alekseeva, L. I. Emelyanov. - L., 1971.

Historical songs of the 19th century / Ed. prepared by L. V. Domanovsky, O. B. Alekseeva, E. S. Litvin. - L., 1973.

Russian historical songs. - 2nd ed., revised. and additional / Comp. V. I. Ignatov. - M., 1985.

Research.

Putilov B. N. Russian historical and song folklore of the XIII-XVI centuries. - M.; L., 1960.

Sokolova V.K. Russian historical songs of the XVI-XVIII centuries. - M., 1960. [AS USSR. Proceedings of the Institute of Ethnography named after. N. N. Miklouho-Maclay. New episode. - T. LXI].

Krinichnaya N.A. Folk historical songs of the early 17th century. - L., 1974.

CONTROL QUESTIONS

1. What was the main artistic discovery of historical songs?

2. Why do you think A.S. Pushkin called Stepan Razin “the only poetic person in our history”?

EXERCISE

Using specific texts, reveal the connection between historical songs and epic tradition.

BALLADS

DEFINITION OF GENRE

Folk ballads are lyric-epic songs about a tragic event. Ballads are characterized by personal, family and everyday themes. The ideological orientation of ballads is associated with folk humanistic morality. At the center of the ballads are moral problems: love and hatred, loyalty and betrayal,

catharsis, brightening the soul (from the Greek katharsis - “purification”): evil wins, innocently persecuted heroes die, but in dying they gain a moral victory.

The manner of performing ballad songs is solo, choral, recitative, and chanting, depending on the local tradition. The classical ballad has tonic verse, without a chorus or strophic rhyme. In form it is close to historical songs and spiritual poems.

The term "ballad" has many meanings. It is sometimes traced back to the Italian "ballare" - "to dance". However, it is more accurate to explain the origin of this term by the name of the English-Scottish folk narrative songs on the themes medieval history("ballad"). The term began to be applied to the literary genre of the romantic ballad and became international. To denote the genre of folk songs, the term “ballad” was proposed back in the middle of the 19th century. P.V. Kireevsky, but only in the 20th century. rooted in folklore. To separate it from the literary, they say “folk ballad”. Among the people, the word “ballad” is not used; performers do not separate works of this genre from other epic songs and call them songs or poems.

Ballads have many features that bring them closer to other song genres, so the issue of selecting the texts of folk ballads is complex. In the oral tradition, some lyric-epic songs or their variants form a peripheral zone, i.e., based on their characteristics, they can be classified as different genres. In many cases, the same works can be classified as both a ballad and a historical song, spiritual verse, even an epic.

In this regard, let us pay attention to the group of so-called “historical ballads”: “Avdotya Ryazanochka”, “Mother-in-law captured by her son-in-law”, “Girl captured by the Tatars”, “Red girl flees from captivity”; in the ballad “The Death of a Young Man at the Transport” the name of Razin (“The Death of Razin”) could have been included - etc. Based on their content, these works can be called historical songs, i.e. assigned to a different genre.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

FOLK BALLADS

The folk ballad, changing, has gone through many centuries: it was a genre of early traditional, classical and late

this genre: mythological ballad - classical ballad - new ballad - the material itself leads to this conclusion.

The plots of mythological ballads were built on an archaic ideological basis. The classical ballad firmly connected its content with feudal life. As D. M. Balashov emphasized, “the ballad was one of the leading song-epic genres of the Russian Middle Ages of the post-Mongol era (XIV-XVII centuries).” “...The serfdom period is especially richly represented; we can consider that the 17th and 18th centuries are the period of the most intensive composition and design of ballads; the second half of the 19th century (especially the end of the century) is already transforming ballads into romances,” wrote N.P. Andreev

It is necessary to note the popularity of the ballad not only among peasants, but also among city residents. N.P. Andreev wrote that a significant group of ballad songs depicts the merchant milieu, and “with such detail, with such knowledge of the matter and usually with such a definite focus that we can attribute to these songs a corresponding (bourgeois, merchant) origin.” The researcher also drew attention to a significant group of urban ballad songs of a “petty-bourgeois (“philistine”) character, songs of a romance type,” emphasizing their later, sometimes clearly literary origin.

MYTHOLOGICAL BALLADS

Mythological ballads are known among most Slavic peoples; their themes go back to ancient times. One of the most popular among the Slavs is the plot of the hero’s spell into a tree (see in the Reader: “Turning a Woman into a Tree”). The images of South Slavic mythological ballads are the humanoid sun, the fairy of forests and waters vila (from the verb “to curl”), the snake (from his relationship with a woman a wonderful son will be born). In Russian song folklore we also encounter these themes (see in the Reader: “The Serpent Gorynych and the Princess”). Along with the serpent

The Russian mythological ballad also knows another fantastic image: this is Indrik the beast.

In ancient Russian writing, Indrik is a unicorn. He appears in the spiritual verse "The Book of the Dove." A.N. Afanasyev brought Indrik closer to the ancient Aryan god Indra. In the mythological ballad he resembles the fairytale horse Sivka-Burka:

He’s wearing a short short all over earth,

And the mane-tail is gilded,

And his hooves are all damask,

Fire blazes from his nostrils.

There is a column of smoke coming out of his ears.

He runs to the Tarya River to drink,

He runs, runs - the whole earth trembles.

Plots with the theme of incest (from the Latin incestum - incest) were very popular - see in the Reader: “The Widow and Her Shipwright Sons.” The motif of incest between sister and brother is especially popular.

In the ballad "Tsar David and Olena" a girl must become the wife of her brother under the coercion of her parents. The father responds to her complaints with a demand: “Oh, you daughter Olena! Call me a fierce father-in-law.” The mother demands the same: “Oh, you daughter Olena! Call me a dashing mother-in-law!” And the brother is at the same time with them: “Oh, dear sister, call me a legal marriage!” The girl has no choice but to die:

She ran into an open field,
She cried in her pitiful voice:
"Oh, come running, you fierce beasts,
You eat my white body:
My soul has sinned a lot.
Fly together, hags-crows,
Tear my white body to pieces!"

This is what happens. The ballad ends with the death of the girl and at the same time her moral victory.

In a mythological ballad, the death of the hero can be traced back to an ancient rite of passage (initiation). These are songs about the death of a girl or a young man in the river.

In the ballad “The Unfortunate Fellow and the Smorodina River” (see in the Reader), the hero must go to someone else’s distant side. There is an insurmountable river on his way. The river heeded the young man’s plea: she answered him in a human voice. Yes, and a red-hearted maiden, she indicated the move. The young man moved across the river, and then began to sacrilegiously mock her. But he forgot two damask knives on the other side and was forced to turn back. The river punished the young man: he died.

Traces of mythological ballads are found in different genres of Russian folklore: fairy tales, epics, spiritual poems. They are especially noticeable in classical ballads.

CLASSIC BALLADS

The content of a folk classical ballad is always addressed to the theme of family. The ballad is concerned with the moral side of the relationship between fathers and children, husband and wife, brother and sister, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, stepmother and stepdaughter. Mutual love between a guy and a girl should also have a moral basis: the desire to create a family. Violating a girl's honor and violating her feelings is immoral.

In the plot of the ballad, evil triumphs, but the theme of repentance and awakened conscience is important. The ballad always condemns the atrocity, depicts the innocently persecuted with sympathy, and laments the dead.

Songs (mainly epic and lyro-epi-ches), dedicated to a historical entity or person, with a detailed Well, in a very important way.

In the oral tradition there was no special designation. The period of flowering of historical songs was the 16th-18th centuries, but they continued to be produced even later.

Regional regions: Central Russia, Volga region, Russian North, Siberia, some villages on the Don rivers , Kuban, Te-rek, Ural. From more than 600 historical songs. Early syu-same-you otto-bra-zi-li so-by-tiya per-rio-da fight against the Mongol-Tatar yoke (“Av-do-tya Rya-za-nochka”, “Ta- Tar-sky po-lon”, “Shchel-kan Du-den-t-e-vich”). In the cycles of historical songs of the 16th century, we developed the struggle of Ivan IV Va-sil-e-vi-cha the Terrible with external and internal ren-ni-mi vra-ga-mi (“Take-tie of Ka-za-ni”, “Wrath of the Thunderstorm on the son”), Si-bi-sko-go-ho-da-ka- why-e-go ata-ma-na Er-ma-ka Ti-mo-fee-vi-cha.

In the 17th century, historical songs about the Time of Troubles were complex (“Mi-khail Sko-pin-Shui-sky”, “Grish-ka-ras-strizh-ka”, “The Lament of Ksenia” Go-du-no-voy"), about the fight for Smo-lensk (“Zem-sky Sobor”, “Mi-lo-slav-sky”), about the defense of the southern borders ( “The Capture of Azov”). One of the largest cycles is about Ste-pa-ne Ra-zin (“As-t-ra-khan’s warrior was killed”, “Song of ra-zin- tsev", "Execution of Sten-ki Ra-zi-na" and others). In the 18th century, historical songs about the time of Peter the Great arose, in which the themes of the misfortunes of the Russian army came to the fore: Paul -Tava battle of 1709, capture of Oresh-ka, Ri-gi, Vy-bor-ga; historical songs appeared about the rise of E.I. Pu-ga-che-va 1773-1775.

In the historical songs of the 18th-19th centuries, images of Pol-ko-vod-tsev A.V. are printed. Su-vo-ro-va, G.A. In the dark-ki-na-Tav-ri-che-skogo, M.I. Ku-tu-zo-va, ka-zach-e-go ata-ma-na M.I. Pla-to-va, the events of the Patriotic War of 1812, the Se-va-sto-Polish defense of 1854-1855 and others. In the ethical com-po-zi-tion, an important place is for-ni-ma-yut mo-no-lo-gi and dia-lo-gi, the character-te-ren of the accented verse, usually two-strike. The is-to-ri-che-skaya school of folk-lo-ri-sti-ki has made a great contribution to the study of historical songs.

Is-pol-ni-tel-traditions

Northern tales sang historical songs in a style that was close to us, and called them ancient. In Central Russia, there are pre-ob-la-da-li po-ve-st-vo-va-t-vo-va-l-songs, sti-li-sti-ka for-vy-vi- sits from local tradition; in the early songs, archaic la-do-vye special-ben-no-sti (“About the Ta-tar po-lon” in the collection of N.A. Rome) were preserved -sko-go-Kor-sa-ko-va).

For the Central Russian tradition, ha-rak-ter-but good use-in-mix-shan-nom ak-kor-do-vo-po-li-fo-no-che- com warehouse. It is key to the role of historical songs in folklore; ka-za-ki sing historical songs either as marching songs (hero-ic, sa-ti-ric, glorified), or as “be-seed” (in a home environment, with the participation of women’s voices), similar in style to heavy songs (“Oh yes you are our cor-milie, the glorious Ti-hiy Don,” about the misfortunes during the Patriotic War of 1812). Whose popular historical songs have a marching rhythm, but keep their la-do-voice (pen-ta -tone in the song “Pi-shet, p-shet of Karl the Swedish”) and non-square structure (“Because of the forest, forest of copies and swords"); in the conversations there was stored a free musical rhythm, a sub-go-lo-juicy polyphony (often all development), but you also worked on a number of new techniques, for example, one-night use.

For historical songs with sa-ti-ric sue-ta-mi in different tra-di-tsi-yah ha-rak-ter-ny “sharp” rhythms: dance-so-vye (“ Shchel-kan Du-den-t-e-vich" in the collection Kir-shi Da-ni-lo-va), march-she-vye ("Pi-shet, p-shet Karl-la Shved-sky" in the collection A.M. Lis-to-pa-do-va). On the sti-li-sti-ku of soldier-Danish historical songs (appeared after the introduction of the re-gu-lar army under Peter I) oka-za-li influence of vi-vat-nye kan-you and mar-shi military-en-no-du-ho-vyh or-ke-st-trov, one-on-the-other-where co-storing-nya-yut- Xia accentuated verse (in the Nov-gorod va-ri-an-te song “Po-le pure turk-koe” in the recording of E.E. Lee -non-howl) and non-square structures. Often, soldiers' Danish historical songs were sung to book texts (“Bo-ro-di-no” based on the poems of M.Yu. Ler-mon-to-va), not -some of them are completely author-made (“There was a de-lo near Pol-ta-voy”, co-chi-not-on the Yaro-Slav-kre-st-I -no-nom I.E. Mol-cha-no-vym). For city historical songs ti-pi-chen go-mo-fon-no-gar-mo-ni-che-sky warehouse.

Historical songs continue to live in the oral tradition, mainly among the Kazaks, used by folk collections, folk -lor-ny-mi an-samb-la-mi (“Ka-za-chiy krug”, Mo-sk-va, and many others), are included in the re-per-tu-ar of professional choirs.

The first recordings of historical songs with na-pe-va-mi were published in the collection Kir-shi Da-ni-lo-va (1818). Northern songs were published in the collection of M.A. Ba-la-ki-re-va, songs of Central Russia - in the collections of M.A. Sta-ho-vi-cha (1855), N.A. Roman-go-Kor-sa-ko-va (see Korsakov) and other collections of the 19th century. The first recordings of many historical songs by ear were published in the collection of N.E. Pal-chi-ko-va (published in 1888), for the first time on the fo-no-graph, many-lo-lo-los-nye historical songs of Ka-za-kov for-pi-sal A.M. Lis-to-pad-dov (“Songs of the Don Cossacks”, vol. 1, parts 1-2, 1949).

Editions:

Is-to-ri-che-skie songs of the 13th-16th centuries / Edition prepared by B.N. Pu-ti-lov, B.M. Dob-ro-vol-sky. M.; L., 1960;

Is-to-ri-che-songs of the 17th century / Edition prepared by O.B. Alek-see-va. M.; L., 1966;

Is-to-ri-che-songs of the 18th century / Edition prepared by O.B. Alek-see-va, L.I. Emel-ya-nov. L., 1971;

Is-to-ri-che-skie songs of the 19th century / Edition prepared by L.V. Do-ma-novsky, O.B. Alek-see-va, E.S. Lit-vin. L., 1973.

Historical songs are epic or lyrical-epic works that depict events or episodes from the life of historical figures, as a result of whose activities the speakers of the song are interested. Historical songs are works of art, therefore the facts of history are present in them in a poetically transformed form, although historical songs strive to reproduce specific events, to preserve accurate memory in them. As epic works, many historical songs have features similar to epics, but they are a qualitatively new stage in the development of folk poetry. Events are conveyed in them with greater historical accuracy than in epics.

The first recordings of historical songs date back to the 17th century; works of this genre are also found in printed and handwritten collections of the 18th and 19th centuries; they were included in the collection “Ancient Russian Poems Collected by Kirsha Danilov.” Subsequently, recordings and publications of works in this genre continued, and now researchers fully understand how historical songs were created and performed. In folklore studies, historical songs were not distinguished as a separate genre for a long time; they were classified as epic epics, considered a Moscow or Kazan cycle. But we must take into account that between epics and historical songs there is a fundamental difference in the way they reflect reality.

EARLY HISTORICAL SONGS

As a genre, historical songs were formed in the era of Muscovite Rus', but the first trends towards the creation of new songs appeared chronologically earlier, in the 13th century. We can talk about the appearance of a small group of songs related in their content to the heroic feat of the residents of Ryazan, who tried to stop the hordes of Batu (Ryazan cycle according to the classification of B.N. Putilov). These songs are characterized by a search for new ways of historical song storytelling - reflection of historical specificity in the works or the use of a historical theme to create a generalized patriotic image, as in “Avdotya Ryazanochka”. Historical songs are a plot genre, the plot in them is reduced to one event or even an episode, the action develops quickly, there is no desire to slow down the narrative, and techniques that promote retardation are not used.

Historical songs are narrations about the past, but they usually took shape shortly after the events described. Fiction may be present in historical songs, but it does not play a decisive role; exaggeration is possible, but there is almost no hyperbolization. Historical songs reliably reveal the psychology, experiences, and motives of the characters’ actions—their inner world.

In ancient historical songs, the main thing is the image of people's strength, not broken by the invasion of enemies. One of the heroes of this cycle, Evpatiy Kolovrat, overcome with anger and grief at the sight of the devastated Ryazan, rushes after the Tatars, enters into an unequal struggle with them, and defeats the Tatar hero in a duel. And although Evpatiy dies, the description of his feat contains the theme of the invincibility of the Russian people. The closeness of this song to the epic is enhanced by the fact that the battle in it is depicted primarily as a clash of one hero with hordes of enemies. Although Evpatiy is accompanied by a squad on the campaign, we do not see the soldiers in action. The climax of the song - the duel between Evpatiy and the Tatar hero Khostovrum - is decided in the epic traditions, but the ending of the song is far from optimistic. The Tatars, although they suffer considerable losses, do not suffer complete defeat, do not flee from Russian soil, and Evpatiy, who opposed them, dies. Here there is a break with epic traditions, with the ideas of the invincibility of the Russian hero, a departure from the epic idealization of history. In the song about Evpatia, the time of action is not epic, but historical, but the plot is based on artistic fiction. This song belongs to the works of a transitional type; it is still closely connected with epic traditions.