Musical History-Russia

 Musical History of Russia


    As with any sort of musical history from many different countries of regions, The music can be very diverse. Today we will be focusing on Russian classical music that began to from during the Tsardom of Russia. 


    Russia was relatively slow in the growth of its musical diversity, the church was apposed to any sort of secular music or music for simply entertainment as well as it relatively removed interactions from musically progressive countries. Western composers were brought over to westernize Russia and jump start Russias musical culture. This meant that Russia composers fell by the wayside due to the previous "one trick pony" approach that had been used previously. Thus they attempted to compose in a western style, although this was difficult to achieve since they had little experience with the method. 


Russian Orthodox Church music

    Russian Orthodox music has a heavy emphasis on singing as mentioned prior with a fair amount having a relatively low bpm, around 60 - 70. I think Russian Orthodox music is quite beautiful. It has a way of brining peace to your mind, with a deep calming affect. I can see why throughout history religious music played such an incredibly crucial role in many peoples lives. It brings people together in a way other music can't manage to do. 


Sources: 

“Russian Orthodox: Choral Music.” YouTube, 24 Sept. 2021, youtu.be/lE6_yXFDNDc?feature=shared. 

“Russian Icons.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Oct. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_icons. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Russia 

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 24, 2024 at 12:46 AM

    Hello! Russian music definitely has a somber tone to a lot of it. A lot of the reason it is this way is because of the oppression of the regular people. Particularly in the last hundred years, but also in the 1800's. While a more peaceful time than the 1900's, the tsars were not particularly fair to those who were not the few elites. The religious music sang of hope and a somber sympathizing with the suffering of Christ. Even Tchaikovsky, who was a skeptic more than he was religious, wrote songs such as Легенда (Legend): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T5V8P5_msN0&pp=ygUj0LvQtdCz0LXQvdC00LAg0YfQsNC50LrQvtCy0YH
    It is an allegory of how Jesus suffered and died in order that the people (the children of Israel, as the song goes) could live. Russian music is deeply moving because it comes from a posture of hope in deep suffering and helplessness in the face of injustice.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog Post 1

Image
 Hello! My name is Dawson Vrana, I am 20 years old and was born and raised in Alaska. Even though I've lived in Alaska, I wouldn't say I am your typical Alaskan. I grew up on a farm mending fences and taking care of horses. From the time I was able to walk, my father taught me how to care for, and treat horses.  I was a bull rider growing up for the Texas Rattlers until I sustained a very bad injury. Aside from that, I love being outdoors whenever possible. I am currently living in Fairbanks pursuing a degree in petroleum engineering.  Naturally, I love country music. It is almost all I listen to. This is probably due to growing up with my father, who was a full fledged cowboy and professional bull rider. I think there is a lot to be learned form country music. People say it all sounds the same. But I think it is more about the message and relatability that truly makes it good music. Not every song of course, but many of them are very impactful in my mind.  This song is a perfe
Read more

Musical Analysis #1

Image
  Musical Analysis: " Fast Car" - Luke Combs  This song is a rendition of the original song released by Tracy Chapman in 1988. Not only is this song one of my favorites it is an amazing throwback to a beautiful song that could've been lost in the digital landfill of music at everyone’s fingertips today.   Fast Car - Luke Combs The powerful melody not only got Tracy Chapman widespread recognition but Luke Combs as well. This song won the CMA award for song of the year, and single of the year. It is no surprise he decided to sing this song as his manager stated Tracy Chapman was one of Luke's favorite artists.  I absolutely love songs that tell a story. Especially one that is so raw and true to life, and poetic. This is a song that each person takes something different away from. whether that's the objective story being told, the desire for something better, leaving a poor situation, or remembering an extremely vivid and cherished memory.  I think this song truly sh
Read more

Innovations and Evolutions- The Microphone

Image
The Microphone It's hard to think about singing and not inherently assume you would have a microphone. In today's age, it is an integral part of almost all singing and musical venues you will see. But of course there was a time before the microphone, and that's where we will start.  Singing before the advent of the microphone Before the microphone, singing was done in much smaller venues. A tenor style of voice was prefered for its ability to project loudly and fill a room, such as Al Jolson on Broadway. This also impacted the style of music being created and performed, it wasn't necessarily limited, but there was not as much variety in style.  Nobody wants to listen to music they cant hear!        Microphones in music Once microphones and amplification began working its way into the music industry a whole new era ensued. Larger venues, different vocal ranges became more favorable, and allowing events to be held in more areas.  This also allowed people like Frank Sinatr
Read more