In the world there are many songs that mark times and are hummed although their words are not understood outside their countries of origin, and Kalinka song is one of these examples that cannot go unnoticed.
Kalinka, Kalinka, my Kalinka! There is a raspberry in the garden, my raspberry!
It is probably difficult to meet a Russian person or foreign who lives in Russia in general and a lot of people globally who are not familiar with these simple lines or the melody, but at the same time bright and striking in their originality.
The song “Kalinka” is perhaps one of the most famous compositions that relates not only to the culture of the citizens of the USSR, but also to the folklore of the entire native Russian people.
Surprisingly, more than a century and a half have passed since the creation of this song, and its unique sound and instantly memorable lyrics do not lose their relevance to this day.
History of the Kalinka song
Perhaps, most people definitely believe that the composition “Kalinka” is a folk song, but this opinion has long been recognized as erroneous, although it can still be easily found in some sources of information.
Kalinka Song Authorship
In fact, the authorship of this song belongs to the famous Russian composer Ivan Petrovich Larionov, who is also considered a writer, musicologist, folklorist and choral director.
The composition “Kalinka” was composed in the period of 1860 in the city of Saratov. At that time, Ivan Larionov was creating musical arrangements for the staging of a local amateur performance based on the Bobyl drama.
It was at this performance that the song “Kalinka” was officially performed for the first time in front of the public by the author himself; whose voice and original interpretation could really receive absolutely all the sympathy of the audience.
Kalinka song reaches the world
Subsequently, the rights to perform the composition were transferred to the famous Russian singer and part-time collector of folk songs, Dmitry Alexandrovich Agrenev-Slavyansky, who was a close friend of Ivan Larionov.
On his next trip to Saratov, Dmitry Agrenev-Slavyansky was lucky enough to hear the song “Kalinka”, which impressed him so much that he wanted to include it in his repertoire. That is why he turned to Ivan Larionov with a special request to allow him to play it.
A few years later, in 1868, Dmitry Agrenev-Slavyansky created the Slavic Chapel Choir, with which he successfully toured both in Russia and abroad. It is from this moment that the world fame of the song begins, the motive and words of which are heard by people to this day.
Interesting data
Folklore or not?
The song “Kalinka” for a long time was considered the property of Russian folklore and belonged to folk songs.
But in 2008 a book was published where the true biography of Ivan Larionov was told. The book also contains important archival data for the story, officially proving that Ivan Larionov is the author of the song “Kalinka”. Since then, this composition is no longer considered a popular folk song, although this information is not known to everyone.
Translation of the song
There were many attempts to translate the words of the song “Kalinka” abroad, but all attempts were in vain.
The final versions of the translation lose absolutely all meaning and sound completely meaningless. Translators were most puzzled by the incomprehensible line “Ai, lyuli, lyuli, ai, lyuli, lyuli”, which was incomprehensible to them.
The expression “Kalinka-Malinka” has long taken root in most foreigners, as something that is directly related to Russia or the Russian people. Such speech is often used, for example, when selling Russian folk souvenirs.
Foreign adaptation
On September 3, 2018, the world famous Romanian band Morandi released a song called “Kalinka”.
In this composition, the band members used some of the samples from the original song and also borrowed some lines from the text.
Although the composition “Kalinka” has a rather non-standard style for the group, the song was evaluated quite positively by its listeners.
The Kalinka song in sports
In Russia, the song “Kalinka” can be heard quite often at football and hockey games during breaks. Fans are always particularly happy to perceive this invigorating and lively motif, which can really inspire athletes to a brilliant game.
Fans of the Chelsea football club especially like the song, for whom Kalinka has long been an unofficial anthem.
Famous Soviet figure skaters Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina and Alexander Gennadievich Zaitsev created perhaps the most successful figure dance of that time with the song “Kalinka”.
An amazing fact, in 1973, at the figure skating competition, during the performance of Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev, for unknown reasons, the musical accompaniment stopped sounding, which directly affected the final decision of the judges.
But this carelessness did not prevent the Soviet skaters from taking first place. They showed a truly brilliant performance without missing the beat of the song that like all Russians they have more than memorized.
The meaning of the song “Kalinka”.
The meaning of the song “Kalinka” is quite simple and at the same time mysterious. There are many alternative versions about the presence of some hidden meaning in the composition of Ivan Larionov. But the general opinion is that the author simply wanted to describe the unique and inimitable state of the mysterious soul of a Russian person.
From the beginning to the end of the song, the words are filled with boundless joy and deep love for all that is precious to each of us.
Surprisingly, why has a song that was created more than a century and a half ago still not lost its meaning to the people?
Apparently, not everything is so simple, since this simple and unpretentious composition was able to gain such immense popularity throughout the world. To this day it retains its relevance and importance to listeners.
We strongly recommend that you listen to the song “Kalinka” again in order to fully feel this exciting motif and words understandable to all listeners.
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