SYRDARYA

“SYRDARYA”, is a Bashkir ethnic song, uzun-kuy. The song melody was firstly written down by S.G. Rybakov in 1894 in Yulukovo village of Orskiy District of Orenburgskaya region (now Baymakskiy District, RB) and published in “Music and songs of the Ural Muslims and their household description”. The song is dramatic. The story of the creation of “S.” is connected with a military campaign in 1853 to the Ak­Mechet fortress under the command of V.A. Perovskiy. According to legend, it was composed by the soldiers who had to guard Ak­Mechet for long years after it had been taken. The song’s form is a period consisting of 2 sentences, each of which contain 2 phrases of variable metro­rhythmic structure. The melody is based on a major pentatonic; the quart, quint, seventh and octave leaps make it wide and dynamic, rapid melodical descent from the highest climactic sound make it unique. G.A. Ishkinina

A.S. Klucharyev made a musical adaptation for a string quartet, he also used the melody in “Suit on Bashkir ethnic themes” and in a play for the domra quartet.

G.A. Ishkinina