The translator's name did not appear in the source document. It gave up the accuracy of literal translation to preserve meter and rhyme. The following English version, appearing in Todd and Belova p. In battles we settle the fate of generations, We will sweep the vile aggressors from the way! Stalin brought us up - on loyalty to the people, Nas vyrastil Stalin - na vernost' narodu, Through tempests shined on us the sun of freedom, Reliable bulwark of the friendship of peoples! Words by Sergei Vladimirovich Mikhalkov (1913- )Ĭreated by will of the peoples, long live Slova - Sergej Vladimirovich Mixalkov (1913- ) Music by Alexander Vasil'evich Alexandrov (1883-1946) A poetic English version, suitable for singing, is given below.Īnthem of the Soviet Union Compozitor- Aleksandr Vasil'evich Aleksandrov (1883-1946) The English translation to the right is literal. Ob"yasnenie latinskoj azbuki vospolzuemoj zdes' Todd, English: A Textbook of the English Language for the 7th Grade in 7-year and Secondary Schools (third edition)State Textbook and Pedagogical Publishers of the Ministry of Education of the RSFSR, Moscow, 1951 p. So they relied on the familiar tonality of Orthodox church music."Anthem of the Soviet Union" (original 1943 version)Īnthem of the Soviet Union (original 1943 version)Į. Composers that survived the Artistic purges of the 30s and 40s sought to create works that wouldn't get them killed which meant making things in line with the soviet populist ethos. I think that with the atheistic focus of Soviet communism and it's effect on the how it diminished the Russian Orthodox church - it left a musical power vacuum. Borrowed iv chords abound in the liturgical music of Bortiniansky, Chesnokov, Rachmaninov, et al. This influence bleeds over into the writing of many of the great Pre-soviet composers. You also have strong plagal relationships in this music. In Znammeny (however you spell it), Kievan and Kondakarian chants and psalm-tones, modes that have that "minor" feel vastly outnumber the ones that have a "major" feel. In Russian Orthodox liturgical chants (pretty much a mainstay of pre-soviet Russian musical culture) minor modes dominate. If I might suggest another source for the minor chords, though. I don't know about the culture of suffering as I'm not familiar with it, but I agree that the use of minor is designed to resonate with the musical ethos of the russian people. For instance, imagine how this would sound with an all female choir in contrast. Basically, to me, it makes the work sound quite powerful (in the sense of brute strength). I think because that it's all male also contributes to that dominating quality I don't know much about Russia, but based on my experiences with Russian friends I get the impression that even today is quite a male-centric culture with emphasis on men "being men," stoic, and all that. When I hear that distinct emphasis of minor sonorities (and with the knowledge that this is the anthem of the USSR, composed in 1944) it's hard for me not to think of millions of Soviet war casualties which accompany this piece contextually.Ĭulturally, there's also something to be said about the prominent choir you've identified. I tend to interpret this as indicative of the 'culture of suffering' which I imagine was the USSR experience. Usually anthems are a statement of national pride and consist mostly of major chords (I'm thinking of the US anthem here) with only brief flirtations of minor. This piece gives us quite a heavy dose of the tonicization of vi and has many recurring minor chords. Also, I might just be talking out of my ass here, but a iii chord to me has quite a meaningful place in a Romantic, tragic, and so on, kind of musical repertory. In general this is a rare chord relative to how often other triads in a diatonic collection occur. Not only that, but the first chord the opening tonic moves to is the mediant. Generally I find the piece to sustain listener interest because it doesn't immediately move from a tonic to dominant sonority in your RN analysis you can see it's not even in the first 'phrase'. I'll see if I can write about a few of both of these. There seems to me some extramusical factors which contribute to the anthem's expressive power. It's difficult (some might say impossible) to talk about the aesthetic value of a piece when trying only to analyse its autonomous qualities.
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