Folklore tradition of the Novgorod region: the problem of the area

Korolkova Inga PhD in Art History Associate Professor, Department of Ethnomusicology of Saint Petersburg State Conservatory named after N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov 190000, Russia, Leningradskaya oblast', g. Saint Petersburg, ul. Glinki, 2, aud. 507 inga-korolkova@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Veliky Novgorod is an ancient city that was destined to play one of the main roles during the formation of Russian culture and art. Various forms and types of folklore developed on his lands, which had a huge impact on the development of folk music in the Russian North, the Urals and Siberia. This thesis has become a common place in research on the folk music culture of these regions. But what exactly did the Novgorodians bring to the new territories? In order to build these connections, it is necessary to first conduct a systematic study of the Novgorod folklore traditions proper, which has not yet been implemented.

To begin with, we note that the very concept of "Novgorod folklore traditions" requires not only clarification, but justification.

Firstly, historical factors have formed a number of concepts, with the help of which the works of folklorists and ethnographers carried out the description of the Novgorod cultural component. Among them are indications of territorial associations of various time periods (Novgorod Republic, Novgorod Province, Novgorod Region) or generalizations that do not contain specific geographical coordinates (Novgorodchina, Novgorod land). For example, the second issue of one of the earliest publications of folk songs, carried out by E. E. Lineva in 1909, is called "Songs of Novgorod". Indeed, the material was recorded by a collector within the Novgorod province, but the counties in which the work was carried out are quite far from the historical center and are now part of the Vologda region.

Secondly, folklore recordings were carried out unevenly in the Novgorod territories. Some areas were fully surveyed, which allows us to judge with confidence the peculiarities of the folklore genres and forms that existed there. However, there are individual loci, information from which is fragmentary or completely absent, which makes it difficult to study the areal Novgorod folklore traditions. Unfortunately, at the present stage, the expeditionary work in the Novgorod region will no longer be able to fill these gaps, therefore, the generalization of all available materials must be carried out one way or another, bearing in mind the indicated circumstances.

The purpose of this article is to present the preliminary results of the areal study of Novgorod folklore traditions. Its specific tasks can be formulated as follows:

- clarification of the nature of the correlation between the modern administrative boundaries of the Novgorod region and local folklore traditions spread on its territory;

- clarification of the areas of these traditions, taking into account the border areas;

- the allocation of the territory of the spread of folklore traditions representing the Novgorod musical and folklore system proper.

In the course of the study, the author studied the main available folklore and ethnographic materials containing information about Novgorod folk music. Among the most important sources is the collection "Traditional Folklore of the Novgorod Region", created on the basis of recordings by various collectors from 1960 to 1970, stored in the phonogram archive of the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) ^[1]; collections prepared by A. A. Banin ^[2-3]; proceedings of the Novgorod Pedagogical University. Yaroslav the Wise, prepared by O. S. Berdyaeva ^[4]; editions of the Novgorod Regional House of Folk Art, made with the participation of V. I. Zhekulina, V. A. Lapin, E. E. Vasilyeva ^[5-8].

The leading source of the research was folklore and ethnographic materials recorded by expeditions of the St. Petersburg (Leningrad) Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory ^[9]. The Novgorod Region was among the territories where the first expeditionary trips of conservatory students took place under the scientific supervision of Professor F. A. Rubtsov. During the summer of 1968, a number of villages and villages in three districts of the region (Volotovsky, Starorussky and Pestovsky) were surveyed. The value of these materials is enormous. At the moment, audio recordings from 1968 remain the earliest available source that allows you to hear the voices of Novgorod singers. Among them are samples of calendar folklore, wedding and round dance songs, recordings of lyrical songs of the early stratum, including those performed by men, unique samples of group lamentations.

Later, in the course of a purposeful study of the folklore of the North-West of Russia, initiated and organized by the head of the Laboratory of Folk Music of the Conservatory A.M. Mehnetsov, a series of expeditions to the Novgorod region was undertaken (1978, 1985-1992). As a result of this work, the folklore and ethnographic center of the Conservatory has formed a significant collection, including recordings from 16 districts of the Novgorod region. In the process of collecting activities, the method of complex frontal study of folklore traditions was developed and consistently applied, which constitutes the specifics of the conservative approach to field research. The Novgorod expeditions were distinguished by the breadth of coverage of the territory, the "density" of fixation of the material, which made it possible to identify the dynamics of the spread of key components of local folklore and ethnographic systems, to clarify the genre composition of Novgorod folklore. The most striking examples of Novgorod folklore from the expedition collections of the St. Petersburg Conservatory are published in a special Anthology prepared by the author of this article ^[10].

The problem of the areal study of folk musical traditions occupies one of the important places in modern Russian and foreign science. In the context of this study, we note, first of all, the works of ethnomusicologists engaged in the melogeography of Slavic and Baltic folklore ^{[11, 12]}. Despite the differences in scientific schools, one can see the commonality of scientists' approaches to identifying the boundaries of local traditions. One of them is the coordination of the results of ethnomusicological and historical-ethnographic research. The criteria used to identify and describe musical and folklore areas are usually the genre composition of folklore, its musical, typological and stylistic properties. These parameters were also decisive for the author of this article. If we summarize the records of Novgorod folklore made by various collectors, correlate them with the map of the Novgorod region, as well as with the results of studying the processes of settlement of the Novgorod lands ^[13], then we can preliminarily identify three areas on the territory of the Novgorod region.

The Ilmen area covers the lake itself and the lands corresponding to the upper reaches of the Volkhov and the lower reaches of the main rivers flowing into Lake Ilmen (Msta, Shelon, Lovat, Pola). From a historical point of view, this is the most important territory, which is distinguished by ethnographers as an independent historical and cultural zone. Unfortunately, the field recordings made in these places are scattered and insignificant in volume, and therefore a systematic understanding of the folklore tradition of these places is difficult.

Nevertheless, very important folklore recordings were made in Priilmenye. One of them is the ballad "Prince Mikhailo", discovered on the southern shore of Lake Ilmen in the Starorussky district by an expedition of the Novgorod Pedagogical Institute in 1976 (Figure 1). It belongs to the group of older ballads and is performed with a storytelling type of melody. Variants of this chant have become widespread in the North Russian traditions and are associated with texts of an epic nature, which was previously shown by the author in a special article ^[14].

Drawing 1. The ballad. Novgorod region, Starorussky district, Chertitsko village. Recorded on 12/21/1976 by students of the Novgorod Pedagogical Institute from A. A. Tetyushina, 72 years old ^{[1, p. 213]}.

The traditions of the Priilmenye are distinguished by some features of wedding folklore, among which:

- a form of collective wedding lamentation with a caesurated 15-complex verse, defined by the local terms "Will" or "Dawn" ^{[15, pp.76-77]};

- singing wedding songs with 9-complex tonic verse organization and single-verse structure ^{[16, p. 22]};

· a type of solo lamentations with a stable composition (based on a 9-complex or 10-complex verse with a caesura), which developed in the Lake district and subsequently spread far beyond the Novgorod region (Figure 2).

Figure 2. A funeral lament. Novgorod region, Parfinsky district, village of Rechnye Kosy. Recorded on 07/13/1983 from M. F. Ignatieva (born in 1911), originally from the village of Sheikino, Starorussky district. The authors of the recording have not been identified. Archive of the Novgorod Regional House of Folk Art. № 057-03. Notation by I. V. Korolkova.

The southwestern range covers the territory between the Lovati and Sheloni rivers, the Pola basin and the northwestern shore of Lake Seliger. According to historians, two tribal groups – the Ilmen Slovenes and the Pskov-Izborsk Krivichi - interacted in this zone. The folklore traditions of these places generally correspond to this circumstance. According to a number of indicators, they can be called transitional and show proximity to the Lovat and Loknyan traditions of Pskov region. This similarity is reflected in the presence of wedding song melodies coordinated with the texts of the syllabic organization of syllabic composition 3+3+5, 5+4+5, 5+3 ( Figure 3), which allows us to trace the Western Russian style gravitations ^[17].

Figure 3. Wedding song. Novgorod region, Kholmsky district, Borisovo village. It was recorded on 07/21/1985 by A. N. Zakharov from D. N. Andreeva (born in 1914), A. P. Petrova (born in 1912), A. I. Makarova (born in 1912), P. N. Leonova (born in 1926). The archive of the Federal State Budgetary Institution SPbGC. OAF. № 1874-25. Notation by E. Y. Baskakova (Novikova).

The stylistic specificity of the folklore of the southwestern area is also reflected in the solo lamentations, which have a mobile composition and approach the Western Russian religious type.

It is important that in the southwestern part of the Novgorod region (Kholmsky and Marevsky districts), variants of the Maslenitsa chant with a five-membered structure are recorded (Figure 4), which is common in the Pskov-Smolensk-Tver border area and in some areas of Belarus ^[18].

Figure 4. Carnival song.Novgorod region, Marevsky district, d. Bor. The archive of the FEC SPbGC. OAF. № 3177-71. Recorded on 07/26/1991 by E. A. Valevskaya, J. V. Osipova, K. A. Mehnetsova from A. S. Dmitrieva (born in 1916) Notation by I. V. Korolkova.

The East Novgorod area (mesopotamia of Msta and Mologa) is a territory that occupies a special place on the map of the Novgorod region. It was mastered by people from Priilmenye, that is, actually, the Novgorodians, who later formed the basis of the medieval Novgorod Republic. The recordings made in this area in different years (from 1968 to 1992) differ in the density of fixation of the material and the good preservation of folklore at the time of field research. Taking into account all available sources, the East Novgorod folklore and ethnographic complex can be described according to the main indicators adopted in ethnomusicology (ritual system, genre composition of folklore, its structural and stylistic properties), and characterized as a systemic integrity. Thus, in identifying the Novgorod component of Russian folklore, the folk musical traditions of the Mstas and Mologs play a key role.

Let's consider the folk musical tradition of the East Novgorod historical and cultural zone in more detail. The first level that I would like to focus on when describing it is genre. The uniqueness of the East Novgorod complex lies in the composition of folklore genres, their correlation with each other and the functions of genres in the tradition system.

The list of genres and Novgorod folklore includes:

- solo and collective lamentations;

- wedding songs;

- lyrical and round dance songs dedicated to different calendar periods;

- genres of instrumental music associated with the existence of such instruments as small-stringed psaltery and hookah;

- types of folk choreography (ornamental round dances, evening choruses, circular female dance "circle", male dance "breaking").

It is necessary to focus on the genres of calendar folklore specifically. They cover all the main periods of the agricultural calendar, except for the summer. In addition to such genres as carols, folk songs, and Carnival songs, known to many other Russian regions, special genre phenomena characterizing the Novgorod tradition were identified in the eastern Novgorod region. Among them:

- aukanias are non-textual vocalizations performed in spring and summer and performing a set of functions in labor and ritual practice;

- the Yuletide ritual complex "Funeral of the Dudar" and the song accompanying the funeral of the ritual character;

- forms of Easter calls of Christ that have no analogues in other traditions;

- intonated shouts as part of the Maslenitsa ritual complex.

If we consider the relationship of these genres with each other, clarify their functions in the local tradition, take into account the musical and poetic form of embodiment, then we can see that the folklore tradition of the eastern Novgorod region is determined by two functional and semantic lines.

One of them can be characterized in connection with the concept of "deplorable culture". This concept refers to a system of ideas and norms developed by an ethnic group to regulate human relationships with the other world ^[19]. The deplorable culture is realized through special forms of behavior that form the basis of ritual actions, and through folklore texts. In the Eastern Novgorod tradition, a number of folklore genres are associated with the function of mourning an object. Among them:

- genres directly related to mourning the objects of the rite of passage (crying for the dead and for the bride);

- farewell wedding songs;

- "rhymes" performed by beggars as a memorial to the dead ^[20];

- genres of folklore formed in the female environment and performing, among others, the functions of self-lamentation (lamentations performed in the forest and in the field; stubble ditties for a "long" voice; aukanias, lyrical songs).

The system of lamentation culture may include genres of calendar folklore associated with the farewell and funeral of a mythological character (the Yuletide funeral of Dudar, the farewell of Maslenitsa), since one of the functions of these genres is the mourning of these characters. With the same function, some variants of conversion can be associated-the calling of Christ, which are performed in the churchyard or at the "stingers" – ancient Slavic funerary monuments. Individual samples of the melodies of the Novgorod calendar folklore can be presented on the basis of various publications ^{[15, 19, 21]}.

The mentioned genres have a stylistic kinship and rely on similar intonation turns and fret structures. An example of generalizing the idea of a cry of a deplorable nature can be the musical formula of a sound (Figure 5). In comparison with it, lamentation melodies, lyrical songs, and calendar melodies can be comprehended. It is also possible to talk about the kinship of the poetic content of various genres of folklore that make up the features of the Novgorod lamentable culture – these are appeals to the object, motives of farewell, farewell, regret-lamentation, etc.

Figure 5. The fret model of the Novgorod auk

The second functional and semantic line, which should be mentioned, characterizing the Eastern Novgorod tradition, has roots in the laughing culture and may partly be associated with the buffoon tradition. Despite the fact that buffoonery, which once formed an important social institution of Ancient Russia, has long been a thing of the past, certain elements of ethnography and folklore make it possible to draw such parallels. Firstly, it was in the Eastern Novgorod territories that samples of tall tales were recorded ^[1], and secondly, a gusli instrument was identified, a gusli game was recorded ^[22]. Thirdly, it is worth mentioning the East Novgorod complex of Maslenitsa rituals, which includes shouts and choruses of humorous, shameful content, dressing in thin and torn clothes, the ceremonial behavior of mummers - ritual obscenities and other comic actions.

The structural features of the musical folklore of the eastern Novgorod region are closely related to rhythmic forms based on the tonic type of versification. The leading place among them is occupied by the already mentioned 9-10-a complex structure, entrenched in the traditions of the Lake district in the genre of solo lamentations and wedding songs and developed in the eastern zone. In the latter, it formed the basis of the collective form of crying (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Wedding collective lamentation. Novgorod region, Lyubytinsky district, village of Porog. Recorded on 15.01. 1989 by A. A. Tretyakova from S. M. Ivanova (born 1907) and V. F. Ivanova (born 1908). Notation by I. V. Korolkova. The archive of the FEC SPbGC. OAF. № 2704-11.

A striking feature of this area is also the nature of the ratio of solo and collective lamentations, in which both forms rely on the same rhythmic structure. The contrasts between the two forms of performance are minimized, since both of them have a low-sowing character. Probably, this type of coordination of solo and collective pricheti was formed in the Novgorod region, and later served as a model for some Northern Russian pricheti traditions.

9-We also find complex rhythmic structures in other genres of East Novgorod folklore. A striking example is the type of Maslenitsa ritual songs ("Our Dear Maslenitsa"), which has no analogues in other local traditions, both Novgorod and others. In addition to this type of verse, it differs in a one-line composition, which connects it with the priestly forms, which was noticed by I. S. Popova ^[21]. The influence of the 9-complex rhythmic structure is also found in the lyrical songs of the Eastern Novgorod tradition.

Wedding tunes with 7 and 8 complex types of tonic verse occupy an important place in the tradition system. In the future, they played a significant role in the formation of the corpus of Northern Russian wedding folklore, and thus significantly influenced the specifics of the wedding traditions of the northern and eastern parts of Russia. Among them is the song type "Falcons", characterized by elements of syncopation and rhythmic composition of a non–repetitive structure (Figure 7).

Figure 7. Wedding song. Novgorod region, Pestovsky district, village of Pogorelovo. Recorded on 02/6/1989 by A.M. Mehnetsov, G. V. Lobkova, G. P. Paradovskaya, A. A. Tretyakova from A. P. Nikitina (born in 1915), L. M. Kapitonova (born in 1914), E. K. Bobrova (born in 1918), P. K. Vishnyakova (born in 1908), A. I. Matveeva (1911R.). Archive of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution SPbGC. OAF. № 2680-02. Notation by V. E. Stolyarchuk.

An example of the melodic independence of some genres of folklore of the eastern Novgorod region can be the folk songs recorded in the Khvoyninsky and Pestovsky districts. The main melodic types that have developed here have not been identified in the Western Russian traditions (primarily in the Smolensk region), which indicates their Novgorod origin ^{[1, p. 280]}.

Some general principles of the organization of folklore texts in the system of various ethnographic complexes can be attributed to the category of typological universals of East Novgorod folklore. One of them is the possibility of implementing one poetic text (and one function) in several structural forms — in the singing—chorus and song versions or in the form of an intonated shout. This pattern characterizes the genres of calendar folklore. Using the example of Maslenitsa folklore, this property was revealed and described in the studies of I. S. Popova, however, one can see its manifestation in other phenomena of the Novgorod calendar (folk songs, folklore texts of Easter rituals).

So, in the ancient Russian period, three folklore and ethnographic complexes were formed on the territory of the modern Novgorod region - the southwestern (Lovatsky), central (Priilmensky) and eastern (mesopotamia Msta and Mologa). The close ties between the folklore of the southwestern Novgorod region and the territory of the Pskov-Smolensk-Tver borderland confirm the fact of active interaction between Ilmen Slovenes and Krivichi. The Novgorod traditions themselves were formed in Priilmenye, but they were most systematically preserved in the eastern part of the region, which was mastered by immigrants from the central zone. As the study showed, the specifics of these traditions were the phenomena of lamentable and laughing cultures. Genres of musical epic recorded in Novgorod region are also of great importance.

Of course, Novgorod folklore traditions should become an important part of the picture of the folklore world, which is now being formed by the combined efforts of ethnomusicologists through publications and research. However, it is necessary to continue work on clarifying the boundaries of the spread of Novgorod traditions, which will become possible as a result of combining information concentrated in various publications, folklore archives, as well as taking into account historical sources, data from archeology, ethnography, dialectology. The features of Novgorod folklore outlined in the article should be taken into account in the future when assessing the historical Novgorod traditions and the role they played in the formation of the folk musical culture of the Russian North, the Urals and Siberia. A promising task is the further comparative study of folklore recorded in Novgorod and in the designated territories.