Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 23, 1912.djvu/456

 432 Modern Russian Popular Songs.

This new tendency of the popular poetic genius is chiefly manifested in the chastushka. This form of popular song is especially widespread in the governments of Great Russia, although it is also known to Little Russia and White Russia. The chastushka, also known by many other names, is a rather short piece, sung to a gay, lively tune, and is contrasted in the popular mind with the long-drawn- out melodies of the ancient songs. The chastushki'^ are sung at the evening meetings and games of the country youth to the accompaniment of an accordion. These meetings and the accordion are simg about in a large number of the chastiishki. The melodies of the chastushki are exceedingly uniform and monotonous, and cannot be compared for richness, variety, and beauty with the music of the ancient songs, in which the fulness and originality of the musical combinations arrest the attention of the hearer. The chastushki are sung in unison, whereas in the old chorus singing the several voices are given, and each voice enjoyed absolute freedom, so that the variations of the principal voice formed an independent melody of their own.

The music of the chastushka is improvised, as are also the words, and is characterised by extreme simplicity, being reduced to three or four notes of quick monotonous rhythm. At times the chastushka is merely spoken in the manner of "patter" on the music-hall stage, so that the connection between the tune and the text becomes very weak, and may even be entirely broken. The poverty of the music in the chastushka is explained, it seems to me, on the one hand by the very form of these songs, which in virtue of their brevity give no scope for complicated musical com- position, and on the other by the influence of the accordion. The form of this instrument which is most extensively used by our people is one upon which only music in the open key may be played, and modulation is impossible. It is

^ Chastushki is the plural form of the singular chastuslika, this name being derived from the adjective chasfy, i.e. quick.