Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: In the song folklore of the Crimean Tatars, the most extensive and widespread are love songs, among which a special place belongs to songs of sad love. One of the most typical examples of such folklore works is the song “Whiter than a Silver Thread”, considered in the article. In its figurative and compositional structure, in its artistic symbolism one can perceive a consonance with intricate folk ornaments. The authoress of the article examines the peculiarities of the verbal and musical poetics of this song. In particular, she pays attention to the characteristic features of its lyrical plot and versification. Structural and compositional complexity and sophistication, lyrical expressiveness reaching almost an epic scale, the true-to-life and symbolic eloquence of laconic figurative details, the spectacular sound organization of stanzas (a combination of predominantly blank verse with a wealth of internal consonances and echoes) are typical features of this folklore work. All this is subordinated to rendering the deep feelings of an unhappy lover, who is dejected by the bitterness of dramatic life circumstances. The music of this song is no less refined than the poetry. It is characterized by a smoothly flowing, mournful melody. This melody is invariably interspersed and enlivened by short chants, which are more dynamic. Such chants are very characteristic of oriental melodies. In this case they conceal a variety of emotional and intonation shades, but, mainly, in accordance with the poetic text, they are designed to give special expressiveness to the flashes of either more tangible or subtle pleasant memories, aspirations, and hopes of a sufferer in love, which certainly fade away under the influence of the harsh realities of life. The musical text is harmoniously consistent with the poetic text, contributing to the expressive and heartfelt disclosure of the touching lyricism and dramatic expressiveness of the folklore work under consideration.
Author: Olha M. Humeniuk
Language: English
Subfield: Museology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4410412010