E-mail: mistro@rambler.ru;
Tel.: +7(499) 245 22 05;
Turchaninov side-st. 6, 119034 Moscow, Russian Federation;
Full Professor (Philology), head of Department of Research Projects, State Republican Center of Russian Folklore
The author’s song “Katyusha” (1938), with lyrics composed by Mikhail Isakovskiy the Soviet poet and music by Matvey Blanter the professional composer, had expanded into widespread oral performances in folk milieu and sustained considerable oral variation. “Katyusha” — song phenomenon has been recognized as a new form of foklorization of the original text of literature origin. Moreover, the original authors’ “Katyusha” did not function as an invariant totally. Majority of song’s transformation carries on the message of the original song nevertheless; despite depreciating transformations by children. Some performers sang the song’s transformation’s entire cycle. Versions were related either to the Soviet-Finnish War (1939–1940) or to the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945). Recurrence of events is emphasized: wars differed, but invariable characters symbolized the myth about the motherland’s defender and his beloved maiden who was waiting for his return devotedly. Characters are statical, but their dialogue constructs the plot. In the cycle of four renditions the plot that is based on heroine’s status changes: Katyusha sees off her beloved (1), she is partisan herself (2), she tells about it to another guy, called “zalyotochka” (the stranger) (3), she serves as a medical attendant to cure defenders of the Homeland (4).
Variations of situation or status of the character in oral cycles of folklore transformations is not so considerable as in musical variations in jazz or, e. g. poet Boris Pasternak’s “Theme with variations” — famous literature cycle. Modifications adhere stylistic of Isakovskiy’s “Katyusha”.
The “Katyusha” lyrics contain the reasons why the song is so predisposed for varying transformations. Isakovsky confessed that he could not create the song’s plot. Still the haziness of maiden’s conduct turned productive for her fictive “destiny”. Performers produced a set of variations on imagined events that could happen to the maiden when she came to the river’s brink. Isakovskiy disputed to recognize these modifications as a new form of folklorization because he couldn’t deny his authorship. But people didn’t recognize “Katyusha” as an author’s song and thus provided it with many transformations in oral performance.
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