Anthem of the Russian Empire under Peter 1. The national anthem of the Russian Empire has been approved. Comforter of all -
Listen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emNUP3EMu98&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qUFErfzIMc
Alexander Bulynko
ANTHEM OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE
Historical essay-essay
The words of the State Anthem of the Russian Empire “God Save the Tsar” were written in 1815 by the great Russian poet, founder of romanticism and translator Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky (1783 - 1852).
The text part of the anthem contained only six lines:
God save the Tsar!
The glorious one has long days
Give it to the earth!
Proud to the humbler,
Guardian of the weak,
Comforter of all -
All have descended!
(1815)
These six lines of the first Russian anthem were part of the poetic work of V.A. Zhukovsky “Prayer of the Russians” (see below).
Initially, the music of the British anthem - “God save the King”, written by the Englishman Henry Carey in 1743, was chosen as the musical accompaniment to the text of the first Russian national anthem.
In this form, it was approved by the decree of Emperor Alexander I of 1816 on the performance of this melody when the emperor met at ceremonial receptions, and in this version the anthem existed until 1833.
In 1833, Emperor Nicholas I visited Austria and Prussia on a visit, during which he was honored with the sounds of the English anthem-march. The Tsar patiently listened to the melody of monarchical solidarity without enthusiasm and remarked to Prince Alexei Fedorovich Lvov, who accompanied him on this trip, that such a situation was inadmissible.
Upon returning to Russia, Nicholas I commissioned Lvov to compose the music for a new national anthem.
Prince Alexey Fedorovich Lvov (1798-1870) was chosen as the author of the music for a reason. Lvov was considered a major representative of Russian violin art of the 1st half of the 19th century V. He received violin lessons at the age of 7 from F. Boehm, and studied composition from I.G. Miller.
He received an engineering and technical education, graduating in 1818 from the Higher Imperial School of Transport (now MIIT). Then he worked in the Arakcheevo military settlements as a railway engineer, without giving up his violin studies. Since 1826 he has been an aide-de-camp at the court of the Imperial Majesty.
Unable to perform in public concerts due to his official position (which was prohibited by a special decree of the emperor), he became famous as a wonderful virtuoso violinist by playing music in circles, salons, and at charity events.
Only when traveling abroad did Lvov perform in front of a wide audience. Here he developed friendly relations with F. Mendelssohn, J. Meyerbeer, G. Spontini, R. Schumann, who highly valued Lvov’s performing skills as a soloist and member of a string ensemble.
Later, in 1837, Lvov was appointed director of the Court Singing Chapel, and served in this position until 1861. From 1837 to 1839. The conductor of the chapel was the great Russian composer M.I. Glinka.
In addition to the music of the Russian anthem, Prince Lvov is the author of the operas “Bianca and Gualtiero” (1844), “Ondine” (1847), a concert for violin and orchestra, Orthodox church chants, such as “Like the Cherubim”, “Thy Secret Supper” and other musical works, as well as a number of articles on violin making.
And in 1933, 35-year-old Prince Alexei Lvov, having fulfilled a state order from Emperor Nicholas I, became the author of the music for the second version of the national anthem of the Russian Empire. The words to it were also taken from the poem by V.A. Zhukovsky, but lines 2 and 3 were changed by A.S. Pushkin, who should also be considered a co-author of this work.
The new anthem was first performed on December 18, 1833 and existed until the February Revolution of 1917.
It also has only six lines of text and 16 bars of melody.
The text part of this work is the shortest national anthem in the history of mankind. These words easily sank into the soul, were easily remembered by absolutely everyone and were designed for verse repetition - three times.
In the period from 1917 to 1967. This work has never been publicly performed anywhere and was heard for a wide audience only in the film “New Adventures of the Elusive” directed by Edmond Keosayan (Mosfilm, 1968). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv9lTakWskE&feature=related
From 1917 to 1918, the national anthem was the melody of the French song of the Army of the Rhine "La Marseillaise". The words, which are not a translation of the French song, were written by P.L. Lavrov, music by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.
From 1918 to 1944, the official national anthem of the country was “The Internationale” (words by Eugene Potier, music by Pierre Degeyter, Russian text by Arkady Kotz).
By a resolution of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on December 14, 1943, the new anthem of the USSR was approved (words by S.V. Mikhalkov with the participation of G.A. El-Registan, music by A.V. Alexandrov). This version of the anthem was first performed on the night of January 1, 1944. It was officially used since March 15, 1944. Since 1955, this version has been performed without words, since the name of I.V. Stalin was mentioned in its text. However, the old words of the anthem were not officially abolished, therefore, during foreign performances of Soviet athletes, the anthem with the old words was sometimes performed.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 27, 1977, a new text of the anthem was approved, the author of the text was the same S.V. Mikhalkov.
On November 27, 1990, at the opening of the Second Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR, it was performed and unanimously approved as the National Anthem Russian Federation melody of “Patriotic Song” by M.I. Glinka. It remained the anthem of Russia until 2000. This anthem was sung without words, since there was no generally accepted text for the “Patriotic Song”.
Since 2000, the official anthem of Russia has been the national anthem with music by Alexander Alexandrov, written by him for the “Hymn of the Bolshevik Party”. The next version of the text belongs to the same Sergei Mikhalkov.
But that, as they say, is a different story...
In conclusion, it should be noted that all monarchist movements in Russia still consider “God Save the Tsar” as their anthem.
Based on materials from the Free Encyclopedia "Wikipedia" and other Internet sites.
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National anthem of the Russian Empire
GOD SAVE THE KING
(A.F. Lvov - V.A. Zhukovsky)
God Save the Tsar
Strong, sovereign,
Reign for our glory,
Reign to the fear of your enemies,
Orthodox Tsar.
God save the Tsar!
(1833)
Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky
RUSSIAN PRAYER
God save the Tsar!
Strong, sovereign,
Reign for glory, for our glory!
Reign to the fear of your enemies,
Orthodox Tsar!
God, the Tsar, save the Tsar!
God save the Tsar!
The glorious one has long days
Give it to the earth! Give it to the earth!
Proud to the humbler,
Glorious to the guardian,
All to the comforter - all sent down!
First-power
Orthodox Rus',
God bless! God bless!
Her kingdom is harmonious,
Calm in power!
Anything unworthy, throw away!
The army is blasphemous,
Glory's chosen ones,
God bless! God bless!
To the avenging warriors,
Honor to the saviors,
Long days to peacemakers!
Peaceful warriors,
Guardians of truth
God bless! God bless!
Their life is approximate
Unhypocritical
Remember faithful valor!
Oh, Providence!
Blessing
It was sent down to us! It was sent down to us!
Striving for good
In happiness there is humility,
Give patience to the earth in times of sorrow!
Be our intercessor
Faithful companion
See us off! See us off!
Light and lovely,
Life in heaven
Known to the heart, shine to the heart!
(1815)
========================================
Eduard Leitman
GOT, SAVE THE TSAR
Translation into English of the anthem
"God Save the Tsar!"
God, save the tsar of us
Sovereign, vigorous!
Reign for the glory of,
Always defend beloved,
Orthodox rigorous.
God, save the tsar of us!
Eduard Leitman
THE RUSSIAN PRAYER
Translation into English of the poem
V.A. Zhukovsky "Russian Prayer"
God, save the tsar of us
Sovereign, vigorous!
Reign for the glory of,
Always defend beloved,
Orthodox rigorous.
God, save the tsar of us!
Save, God, for us the tsar!
Let him be the star
On Russian earth.
Insolence we'll defeat.
Weak ones 'll get a treat.
Living for all 'll be sweet.
God, make us peace!
Sovereign first of all
Of Orthodox as called
Save Russia, God!
Realms with powers
Where wealth flowers
From what's not ours
Help us to guard!
Oh, worldly providence,
Your highest prominence,
Bring us the world!
Being of good reputation
With happy life pursuit
On a demure route
Bless us on earth!
How was this main musical work of Tsarist Russia created, which sounded during all the celebrations of 1983?
1. The appearance of the official anthem in the Russian Empire is associated with the victory in Patriotic War 1812 and the glorification of Emperor Alexander I. Some musical works glorified the victorious Russian Tsar. Similar songs appeared already in 1813. Thus, “Song to the Russian Tsar” by A. Vostokov to the melody of the English anthem “God Save the King!” contained the following words: “Accept the crown of victory, Father of the Fatherland, Praise be to you!”
God save the Tsar!
Strong, sovereign,
Reign for our glory,
Reign to the fear of your enemies,
Orthodox Tsar!
God save the Tsar!
God save the Tsar!
The glorious one has long days
Give it to the earth!
Proud to the humbler,
Guardian of the weak,
Comforter of all -
All have descended!
First-power
Orthodox Rus',
God bless!
Her kingdom is harmonious,
Calm in strength,
Still unworthy
Get away! (drive away - Slavicism)
O providence,
Blessing
It was sent down to us!
Striving for good
In happiness there is humility,
Patience in sorrow
Give it to the earth!
And it was this work, set to the music of the English anthem, that was used as the Russian anthem from 1816 to 1833.
2. In 1816, A. Pushkin added two more stanzas to the poem. On October 19, 1816, they were performed by students of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum to the music of the English anthem. Thus, Zhukovsky’s poem received an original continuation written by Pushkin. Zhukovsky supplemented his work in 1818 - it was performed at a public exam for students of the St. Petersburg gymnasium. The text of the Russian anthem was practically created, only the music remained English. With this music, military bands in Warsaw greeted Alexander I, who arrived there in 1816. From that time on, it was ordered to always play the anthem when welcoming the sovereign. For almost 20 years, the Russian Empire officially used the melody of the English anthem.
3. Usually the history of the creation of the official anthem of the Russian Empire is explained by the whim of Emperor Nicholas I, who allegedly said: “It’s boring to listen to English music that has been used for so many years...”
In 1833, on the instructions of Nicholas I, a closed competition for a new anthem was held. The authors should have reflected in it the unity of Orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality. Unlike the existing one since 1816, the new anthem was supposed to show not the role of God, but the role of the king in state power. Among the best participants in the competition were poets Nestor Kukolnik and Vasily Zhukovsky and composers Mikhail Glinka and Alexey Lvov. Mikhail Glinka offered the final chorus from his opera "A Life for the Tsar", the "Glory" chorus. He was rejected and Glinka was very upset. Vasily Zhukovsky adapted his previous text, shortening it several times, and the tsar chose a person close and devoted to him, Alexei Lvov, as the author of the music.
4. Alexey Lvov was born in Reval in 1798 into an aristocratic and musical family. His father, F.P. Lvov, was the director of the Court Singing Chapel. Alexey Fedorovich received a good musical education and studied violin. However, after graduating from the Corps of Railway Engineers in 1818, he ended up in military service- to the military settlements of the Novgorod province under the command of A.A. Arakcheeva. Lvov tried more than once to leave the service and start studying music seriously. However, he could not refuse the chief of gendarmes A.Kh. Benckendorf and went to serve in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, convincingly asking, however, “not to use him in secret matters,” for which he was incapable. In 1826, he was seconded to the retinue of Nicholas I, first to “carry out affairs related to voyages,” and then became the manager of the affairs of the Imperial Apartment. He took part in the war with Turkey of 1828-1829, participated in the battles near Varna, receiving his first military awards. In 1832, Lvov was enlisted in the honorary Cavalry Regiment, he commanded the royal convoy, accompanying the king on all trips. From that time on, he became close not only to the emperor, but also to his family, accompanying him on the violin and participating in home concerts of the imperial family.
5. Lvov was very worried when composing music for the anthem: “I felt the need to create a majestic, strong, sensitive hymn, understandable to everyone, bearing the imprint of nationality, suitable for the church, suitable for the troops, suitable for the people - from the scientist to the ignorant.”
The anthem of Zhukovsky - Lvov consisted of only 6 lines:
"God save the Tsar!
Strong, sovereign,
Reign for our glory;
Reign to the fear of your enemies,
Orthodox Tsar!
God save the Tsar!"
Thanks to its sublime, choral melody, it sounded extremely powerful.
6. In November 1833, the Tsar and his family specially arrived at the Singing Chapel, where the first performance of the anthem music took place. After listening to the melody several times, the king liked it and gave the order to “show” it to the general public.
7. In December 1833, at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, the orchestra and the entire theater troupe took part in the performance of the “Russian Folk Song” (as the anthem “God Save the Tsar” was named in the playbill). The next day, rave reviews appeared in the newspapers. As the National Anthem of Russia, the work of Zhukovsky - Lvov was approved on Christmas Eve 1834 - January 6 - by the highest Decree of Nicholas I. Also, the commander of the Separate Guards Corps, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, gave the order: “It was the pleasure of the Sovereign Emperor to express his permission so that at parades, at parades, divorces and other occasions, instead of the currently used anthem, taken from national English, play newly composed music."
8. On August 30 (September 11, new style), 1834, a monument was opened on Palace Square in St. Petersburg - the Alexander Pillar - in honor of the victory over Napoleon in the War of 1812. The grand opening of the monument was accompanied by a parade of troops, in front of which for the first time in such a In an official setting, the Russian anthem “God Save the Tsar” was performed.
9. The music of the hymn “God Save the Tsar” quickly became famous in Europe. Forty years later, Lvov was awarded a place of honor in Ilya Repin’s allegorical painting “Slavic Composers” among Glinka, Dargomyzhsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, Chopin, Oginsky and others. P.I. Tchaikovsky "quotes" him in two musical works - "Slavic March" and the overture "1812", written in 1880 and performed on the occasion of the consecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
10. Shortly before his death, Zhukovsky wrote to Lvov: “Our joint double work will outlive us for a long time. A folk song, once heard, having received the right of citizenship, will remain alive forever as long as the people who appropriated it live. Of all my poems, these humble five, thanks to your music, they will outlive all their brothers. Where have I not heard this singing? In Perm, in Tobolsk, at the foot of Chatyrdag, in Stockholm, in London, in Rome!
In 1833, Prince Alexei Fedorovich Lvov accompanied Nicholas I during his visit to Austria and Prussia, where the emperor was greeted everywhere by the sounds of the English march. The Tsar listened to the melody of monarchical solidarity without enthusiasm. Upon returning to his homeland, the emperor wished that his own Russian march be created. Then a secret competition began to write a new monarchical anthem, in which many Russian composers took part, including great Michael Glinka, however, the composer Alexei Lvov, close to the court, won the competition.
The new anthem was first performed on December 18, 1833 (according to other sources - December 25), it existed until the February Revolution of 1917. After October Revolution this anthem was erased from the history of the new Soviet state, and the International began to sing instead...
The anthem of the Russian Empire was called “God Save the Tsar!”, lyrics to music by A.F. Lvov was written by the famous Russian poet V.A. Zhukovsky. There was not a single person in Russia who had never heard or sung the Russian anthem, glorifying the Orthodox Tsar and the Orthodox Autocratic Fatherland; however, this anthem was not just a patriotic march, but also a prayer, which is why it turned out to be so close to the soul of the Russian people .
God save the Tsar!
Strong, sovereign,
Reign for our glory,
Reign to the fear of your enemies,
Orthodox Tsar!
God save the Tsar!
.
God save the Tsar!
The glorious one has long days
Give it to the earth!
Proud to the humbler,
Guardian of the weak,
Comforter of all -
All have descended!
.
First-power
Orthodox Rus',
God bless!
Her kingdom is harmonious,
Calm in strength,
Still unworthy
Get away!
.
O providence,
Blessing
It was sent down to us!
Striving for good
In happiness there is humility,
Patience in sorrow
Give it to the earth!
On November 23, 1833, the anthem was first presented to the tsar - for which the royal family and their retinue specially arrived at the Singing Chapel, where the court singers with two military bands performed the anthem in front of them. Thanks to the sublime, choral melody, the anthem sounded extremely powerful. The tsar really liked the melody, which he listened to several times, and he ordered to “show” the anthem to the general public.
Performance of the hymn “God Save the Tsar”
On December 11, 1833, at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, the orchestra and the entire theater troupe took part in the performance of “Russian Folk Song” ( This is how the hymn “God Save the Tsar” was named in the poster.). The next day, rave reviews appeared in the newspapers. This is what the director of the Moscow Imperial Theaters M.P. says about the historical premiere. Zagoskin: “At first the words were sung by one of the actors, Bantyshev, then repeated by the whole choir. I cannot describe to you the impression that this national song made on the audience; all the men and ladies listened to her standing; first “hurray” and then “foro” thundered in the theater when it was sung. Of course, it was repeated..."
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On December 25, 1833, on the anniversary of the expulsion of Napoleon's troops from Russia, the anthem was performed in the halls of the Winter Palace during the consecration of banners and in the presence of high military officials. On December 31 of the outgoing year, the commander of the Separate Guards Corps, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, gave the order: “The Emperor was pleased to express his permission to play newly composed music at parades, reviews, divorces and other occasions, instead of the currently used anthem, taken from national English.”
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On August 30, 1834, a monument, the Alexander Pillar, was opened on Palace Square in St. Petersburg in honor of the victory over Napoleon in the War of 1812. The grand opening of the monument was accompanied by a parade of troops, before which the Russian anthem “God Save the Tsar” was performed for the first time in an official setting "
Soon the music of the hymn “God Save the Tsar” became famous in Europe.
On May 26, 1883, on the Day of the Ascension of the Lord, the consecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow took place, coinciding with the Day of the Holy Coronation of Emperor Alexander III to the All-Russian Throne. Then this anthem was performed especially solemnly. P.I. Tchaikovsky - back in 1880, wrote an overture in which the theme of the hymn “God Save the Tsar” sounds in a beautiful harmonic arrangement, and it was performed on the occasion of the consecration of the Temple. In total, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky used the music of the anthem in six of his works.
However, not everyone liked the music of the anthem, for example, the famous critic V.V. Stasov did not like her and made critical remarks about her. M.I. also expressed some disapproval of the anthem. Glinka, but despite this composer A.F. Lvov forever entered the galaxy of Russian composers, as evidenced, in particular, by the painting by I.E. Repin, hanging on the landing of the stairs at the Moscow Conservatory. The painting is called “Slavic Composers”, and in it, along with Glinka, Chopin, Rimsky-Korsakov and others, the author of the official Russian anthem A.F. is depicted in an embroidered court uniform. Lviv.
Painting by I. Repin “Slavic Composers”
After the overthrow of the tsarist regime, covered by the imaginary abdication of Tsar Nicholas II from the throne and the subsequent murder royal family Bolsheviks, glorifying the royal person with a “folk song” became impossible. The new interim government almost immediately made attempts to create its own Russian anthem. Then the Russian poet V.Ya. In March 1917, Bryusov wrote an article “On the New Russian Anthem,” in which he expressed the idea of the need to organize an all-Russian competition to write the anthem of New Russia and proposed several options for approaching writing the music and words of this work.
He wrote: “We need a short song that, by the power of sounds, the magic of art, would immediately unite those gathered in one impulse, would immediately set everyone in one high mood”... Bryusov emphasized that the “spirit of the people”, usually characteristic of the national anthems of countries with a “uniform » by the population, must be expressed differently in multinational Russia. According to Bryusov, the anthem cannot be “Great Russian”. He also cannot draw pathos from the Orthodox religion due to the diversity of faiths in the country. Finally, the anthem should not divide the population by class, nationality, etc. - it should sound for everyone who considers Russia their Motherland. In the verses of the anthem, as V.Ya. believed. Bryusov, should be reflected: military glory, the size of the country, the heroic past and the exploits of the people. The pathos of the words of the anthem should correspond to the pathos of the melody and contain ideas: the brotherhood of the peoples inhabiting Russia, their meaningful work for the common good, the memory of the best people native history, those noble endeavors that will open the path for Russia to true greatness... “In addition,” the poet wrote, “the anthem must be an artistic creation, genuine, inspired poetry; the other is unnecessary and useless. External form- the anthem should be a song..."
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Following Bryusov, many other proposals were made regarding a new anthem.
At first, the orchestras performed the classic French version of “La Marseillaise,” while the Russian “Workers’ Marseillaise” was sung to the words of P. Lavrov. Meanwhile, at rallies and meetings, the socialist anthem “Internationale” began to be heard more and more often. In January 1918, the Internationale was approved by the Council of People's Commissars as the country's anthem and began to be sung by the people, but it was no longer a song-prayer; rather, on the contrary, it was the song of rebels who had risen to the previous order of life, ready to demolish and destroy everything, in the hope build your own world on the ruins of the old world. It remains only to add that according to Holy Scripture, “those branded with a curse” are demons, but people can also brand themselves with the curse of the Almighty if they rebel against God and begin to cooperate with demons. Here is the first verse of the international, compare it with the prayer hymn “God Save the Tsar”:
Arise, branded with a curse,
The whole world is hungry and slaves!
Our indignant mind is boiling
And ready to fight to the death.
We will destroy the whole world of violence
Down to the ground and then
We are ours, we will build a new world:
He who was nothing will become everything!
This is perhaps the most unpopular “red day of the calendar.” History has shown that the reason is not very significant, not key in the context of the history of the last thirty years - the adoption of the declaration of sovereignty of the RSFSR. There is no longer either the RSFSR or the USSR, within which the supporters of the proclaimed sovereignty intended to develop. Time has shown that this was a petty and largely provocative political struggle.
If we were to perpetuate the milestones of our modern history, it would be more logical to turn to August 1991. These days are truly memorable for many: the 19th – 21st. They embodied the energy of change and the will of freedom-loving citizens.
Of course, this impulse can be viewed in different ways. For example, I am not delighted with the spirit of that time, as well as with the results of democratization and the collapse of the Union. But one person's opinion is almost nothing. There is no doubt that the wind of history was felt then. In August '91, not June '90. But for some reason the authorities got caught up in the vague acceptance of sovereignty...
For some time, the holiday was called in the American manner - Independence Day. Although there has never been such an official name. Just as there was no reason for it: Russia has never been dependent... Officially, the holiday since 1992 was called “The Day of Adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Federation.” The declaration was adopted on June 12, 1990; a year later, on the same day, the President of the RSFSR was elected in the first popular elections in Russian history.
In 2002, the holiday received a new name and expanded meaning: Russia Day. This means that on this day it makes sense to remember the state symbols of different centuries. About those phenomena that symbolized Russia. I would like to remember the anthems of our country - inside and out.
Thunder of Victory, ring out...
This song by Osip Kozlovsky to the verses of Gavrila Derzhavin was first heard at the Potemkin festival, when Catherine’s Russia celebrated the capture of Izmail and convincing victories over the Ottomans...
In the simple verses of a wonderful hymn, Derzhavin colorfully expressed the official truth of the “golden age”, the psychological background of the activities of the great creators of that time, among whom A.V. occupies a special place as an unfading genius through the centuries. Suvorov – main character Izmail assault, which, however, was absent from the holiday:
We rejoice in the sounds of glory,
So that enemies can see
That your hands are ready
We will stretch to the edge of the universe.
Look, wise queen!
Look, great wife!
What is Your glance, Your right hand -
Our law, the soul is one.
The song struck a chord in our hearts. The text was revised many times, adding stories about new victories and new battles. The main thing is about the confrontation with Napoleon. "Thunder of Victory" was not considered an official anthem. This song was not always heard when the monarch appeared. And yet it was often performed during ceremonies.
Gavrila Derzhavin
God save the king!
In 1814, during the reign of Tsar Alexander Pavlovich, the poet Vasily Zhukovsky, with the highest approval, wrote a Russian text based on the English anthem “God save the king.” It turned out quite thoroughly:
God save the Tsar!
The glorious one has long days
Give it to the earth!
Proud to the humbler,
Guardian of the weak,
Comforter of all -
Everything has been sent down!
First-power
Orthodox Rus'
God bless!
Her kingdom is harmonious,
Calm in power!
Still unworthy
Get away!
In those days, the king had to humble the proud in the literal sense - by force of arms. This anthem appeared as the war continued, although the victory of Russia and its allies was already a foregone conclusion. It could have sounded in London, Paris and Vienna, where the Russian emperor appeared. But Alexander hesitated with an official decision - and only at the end of 1816 he approved the ceremony. This date can be considered the starting point in the history of the first official anthem of the Russian Empire.
Seventeen-year-old poet Alexander Pushkin, at the suggestion of the director of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, will add two stanzas to Zhukovsky’s poem. Vasily Andreevich will like the poems of the young poet - and his two “Russian prayers” will be published under one cover. Pushkin was indeed in no way inferior to his older brother:
Scold at a terrible hour
Protected us powerfully
Faithful hand.
Voice of tenderness
Thanksgiving,
Hearts of aspiration -
Here is our tribute.
The new emperor was not satisfied with this anthem... As you know, Nicholas I did not like to obey foreigners... He wanted the Russian anthem not to be associated with British music. And a secret competition began, in which the great Mikhail Glinka took part... But the tsar preferred the talented musician Alexei Fedorovich Lvov, who was close to the court.
Mikhail Glinka
Lvov was fully aware of the deep meaning of the task: “I felt the need to create a majestic, strong, sensitive hymn, understandable to everyone, bearing the imprint of nationality, suitable for the church, suitable for the troops, suitable for the people - from the scientist to the ignorant.” The new anthem, approved by the sovereign, was presented to the general public at the Moscow Bolshoi Theater on December 11, 1833. The new “Russian folk song” (as the anthem was called in the first editions) caused a surge of patriotic feelings.
Zhukovsky reworked the text, made it more concise and symbolic:
God save the Tsar!
Strong, sovereign,
Reign for glory, for our glory!
Reign to the fear of your enemies,
Orthodox Tsar!
God, the Tsar, save the Tsar!
Six lines in one go. Millions of people remembered this anthem by heart. The royal anthem was canceled immediately after the February Revolution.
Let's renounce the old world...
And the anthem of the republic became “Workers’ Marseillaise” based on the verses of Pyotr Lavrov. The music of Rouget de Lille was reworked for the anthem by the outstanding Russian composer Alexander Glazunov. The text sounded, perhaps, too revolutionary for bourgeois Russia:
Let's renounce the old world,
Let's shake his ashes off our feet!
The golden idols are hostile to us,
We hate the royal palace.
We will go to our suffering brothers,
We will go to the hungry people,
With it we will send curses to the villains -
We will lead him to fight.
Rise up, rise up, working people!
Stand up to the enemy, hungry people!
Ring out, the cry of people's vengeance!
Forward, forward, forward, forward, forward!
Rich kulaks are a greedy pack
They are stealing your hard work.
Your sweat makes the gluttons fatten,
They tear your last piece.
Hunger so they can feast
Starve so that in the stock market game
They sold their conscience and honor,
So that they mock you.
However, then everything was temporary - both the government and the anthem. The right dreamed of a more neutral anthem—say, a reworked “Hey, Let’s Whoop!” The Bolsheviks insisted on the "International". It was assumed that all issues would be resolved by the Constituent Assembly.
Get up, branded with a curse!..
But after October, the disputes stopped: the Bolshevik party anthem became the national anthem. Music by Pierre Degeyter, lyrics by Eugene Potier. Russian translation by Arkady Kots. Three verses and a chorus were approved as the official anthem. Almost everyone in the USSR knew these words:
Arise, branded with a curse,
The whole world is hungry and slaves!
Our indignant mind is boiling
And ready to fight to the death.
We will destroy the whole world of violence
Down to the ground and then
We are ours, we will build a new world,
Who was nobody will become everything!
The music is spectacular and memorable. She spoke about the global significance of the Russian revolution, about unity with “the proletarians of all countries.”
The union is unbreakable
But during the war years, a more grounded anthem was needed, connected with the heroic history of Russia. The competition began immediately after the Great Turning Point in the war, in 1943. Dozens of composers and poets took part in it, including such figures as Dmitry Shostakovich, Alexander Tvardovsky, Aram Khachaturian, Konstantin Simonov, Sergei Prokofiev, Mikhail Isakovsky...
A lot of new solemn music was written, and the already existing melody of Alexander Alexandrov won. This is the “Hymn of the Bolshevik Party.” True, Alexandrov slightly changed its tempo, and the poems, instead of Lebedev-Kumach, were written by Sergei Mikhalkov and Gabriel El-Registan.
Alexandrov also presented a new hymn melody to the court. The tireless Lebedev-Kumach also took part in the competition. But the management liked the fusion of Alexandrov, Mikhalkov and El-Registan. True, Stalin, remembering his youthful passion for poetry, greatly corrected the text. In fact, he is the author of the first line - “The indestructible union of free republics...”. The new anthem was first played on January 1, 1944. The liberation of our country from the Nazis began...
After the 22nd Congress, the anthem glorifying Stalin lost its relevance: the cult of personality was condemned. The solemn melody was performed without words until 1977. Then they adopted a new constitution and a new text of the anthem. Without Stalin, without the verse “We raised our army in battles...”. This option existed until the collapse of the USSR, until December 1991...
Sergey Mikhalkov
Patriotic song
Many people in the USSR knew this melody... Both as the anthem of Moscow (“Hello, glorious capital!..”), and as one of the screensavers of the information television program “Time”. Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka composed this solemn melody in 1833. In November 1990, deputies approved this song without words as the anthem of the RSFSR - then still part of the USSR.
After the collapse of the Union, attempts were made more than once to approve the text of the anthem. Famous poets offered fresh options, but... it didn’t work out. The anthem sounded without words. Couldn't make this tune true state symbol: many even confused it with another famous work by Glinka - the chorus “Hail!..”. The great composer is not to blame: the propaganda system went wrong. And the State Duma did not approve the anthem...
New old anthem
In 2000, it was decided to return to Alexandrov’s melody. Nostalgia for the USSR also played a role, especially aggravated after the crisis of 1998, after the rampant terrorism in the Caucasus and throughout the country...
But there was no Soviet ideology in Mikhalkov’s new words. Yes, yes, Sergei Vladimirovich again turned out to be our main hymn writer, the heir of Zhukovsky. Even in 2000, Mikhalkov had several options, in one of them the Orthodox motif sounded more clearly:
Hail, our Fatherland is free,
An age-old union of fraternal peoples!
This is the folk wisdom given by our ancestors!
Motherland, glory! The Lord is above you!
In the end, they decided not to mention the Lord in the hymn.
The anthem of Alexandrov and Mikhalkov was approved by both deputies and the president. I think this melody will remain our civic prayer for a long time. Aleksandrov managed to turn on the musical “crane”: you listen and you want to get up. At least stand up.
The appearance of the official anthem in the Russian Empire is associated with the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812 and the glorification of Emperor Alexander I.
In 1815, V. A. Zhukovsky published his poem “The Prayer of the Russians,” dedicated to Alexander I, in the magazine “Son of the Fatherland.” The first line of this poem was the words: “God Save the Tsar.” In 1816, A. S. Pushkin added two more stanzas to the poem. On October 19, 1816, they were performed by students of the lyceum to the music of the English anthem. Thus, the text of the “Prayer of the Russian People,” the Russian anthem, was practically created, but when it was performed, the music remained English. With this music, military bands in Warsaw greeted Alexander I, who arrived there in 1816. For almost 20 years, the Russian Empire officially used the melody of the English anthem.
Emperor Nicholas I, the first Russian monarch of modern times, who understood the need to create a state ideology, commissioned his court composer A.F. Lvov to write the music for the anthem. At the same time, the Emperor remarked: " It’s boring to listen to English music that has been used for so many years.” A.F. Lvov recalled:
Count Benckendorff told me that the Emperor, regretting that we do not have a national anthem, and, bored with listening to the English music that has been used for so many years, instructs me to write a Russian anthem. I felt the need to create a majestic, strong, sensitive hymn, understandable to everyone, bearing the imprint of nationality, suitable for the Church, suitable for the troops, suitable for the people - from the learned to the ignorant.
The difficulty of the task was that the national anthem is not just a musical and poetic work performed on special occasions. The anthem is a symbol of the state, reflecting the worldview and spiritual mood of the people, their national idea.
On March 21, 1833, the newly appointed new Minister of Public Education S.S. Uvarov for the first time promulgated in his circular the then famous formula “Orthodoxy, Autocracy, Nationality” as an expression of the official ideology approved by the Sovereign.
Therefore, Zhukovsky’s lines expressed this ideology in the best possible way. However, the text of the poem was greatly shortened.
Today, many people mistakenly sing the original long version of the anthem. In fact, “God Save the Tsar” consisted of only two quatrains:
God save the Tsar!
Strong, sovereign,
Reign for glory, for our glory!
Reign to the fear of your enemies,
Orthodox Tsar!
God save the Tsar!
Before his death, Zhukovsky wrote to Lvov:
Our double work together will outlive us for a long time. A folk song, once heard, having received the right of citizenship, will remain alive forever as long as the people who appropriated it live. Of all my poems, these humble five, thanks to your music, will outlive all their brothers.
The first listening to the anthem took place in the Imperial Court Singing Chapel in St. Petersburg, where Emperor Nicholas I, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich and the Grand Duchesses arrived on November 23, 1833. The performance was carried out by court singers and two military bands. Thanks to the sublime, choral melody, the anthem sounded extremely powerful.
The appearance of the official anthem in the Russian Empire is associated with the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812 and the glorification of Emperor Alexander I. www.globallookpress.com
The Emperor listened to the music several times and really liked it. The Emperor approached A.F. Lvov, hugged him, kissed him deeply and said:
Thank you, it couldn't be better; you completely understood me.
The first public performance of the National Anthem took place in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theater on December 6 (19), 1833.
The orchestra and the entire theater troupe took part in the performance of the “Russian Folk Song” (as the anthem “God Save the Tsar!” was named in the poster). This is how an eyewitness described this memorable evening:
I am returning now from the Bolshoi Theater, delighted and touched by what I saw and heard. Everyone knows Zhukovsky’s Russian folk song “God Save the Tsar!” Lvov composed music for these words. As soon as the words of the chant “God Save the Tsar!” were heard, all three thousand spectators who filled the theater rose from their seats, following the representatives of the nobility, and remained in this position until the end of the singing. The picture was extraordinary; the silence that reigned in the huge building breathed majesty, the words and music so deeply affected the feelings of all those present that many of them shed tears from excess excitement. Everyone was silent during the singing of the new anthem; it was only clear that everyone was holding back their feelings in the depths of their souls; but when the theater orchestra, choirs, regimental musicians numbering up to 500 people began to repeat together the precious vow of all Russians, when they prayed to the Heavenly King for earthly things, I could no longer restrain the noisy delight; The applause of the admiring spectators and the cries of “Hurray!”, mingling with the choir, orchestra and the brass music that was on stage, produced a roar that seemed to vibrate the very walls of the theater. These animated delights of Muscovites devoted to their Sovereign only stopped when, at the unanimous universal demand of the audience, the people's prayer was repeated several times. For a long, long time this day in December 1833 will remain in the memory of all residents of Belokamennaya!
The anthem was performed for the second time on December 25, 1833, on the day of the Nativity of Christ and the anniversary of the expulsion of Napoleon’s troops from Russia, in all halls of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg during the consecration of banners and in the presence of high military ranks. On December 31 of the outgoing year, the commander of the Separate Guards Corps, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich gave the order:
The Emperor was pleased to express his permission to play newly composed music at parades, parades, divorces and other occasions instead of the currently used anthem, taken from national English.
By the Supreme Decree of December 31, 1833, it was approved as the National Anthem of Russia. The Emperor ordered that on the day of the liberation of the Fatherland from enemies (December 25), the Russian anthem should be performed annually in the Winter Palace.
On December 11, 1833, the first public orchestral and choral performance of the anthem “God Save the Tsar” took place at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. The next day, rave reviews appeared in the newspapers. Director of the Moscow Imperial Theaters M.P. Zagoskin wrote:
I cannot describe to you the impression that this national song made on the audience; all the men and women listened to her standing, shouting “Hurray!”
The anthem was performed several times.
The majestic and solemn official anthem of the Russian Empire "God Save the Tsar!" existed until the February Revolution of 1917.
