“Beloi akatsii grozd’ya dushistye” [Fragrant clusters of white acacia...]: the social and historical context of the song

Abstract

At the beginning of the 20^th century in the Russian Empire, the romance “Fragrant clusters of white acacia...” (“Beloi akatsii grozd’ya dushistye”) was popular. It was repeatedly printed in musical editions, released on records, performed by popular artists. During the Civil War, a new text was written to the music of the romance – “Boldly we will go into battle...” (“Smelo my v boi poidem…”). This rebel song was sung in its own way by various opposing forces, and with the establishment of Soviet power it got into the songbooks of the Red Army and into films about the Civil war. In 1976, the poet M. Matusovsky and composer V. Basner remade the “White Acacia” for the film “Days of the Turbins” (directed by V. Basov). The theme “how naive we were”, introduced by the author of this version, became the key material for subsequent alterations.

Over its more than a century-old history, these songs have been sung by Russians, Gypsies, Ukrainians, and Finns. The text is still performed from stage, used for comic alterations, the song serves as a means of self-identification, undergoes genre metamorphoses, being actualized as parodies, overtexts, parodies, is used in films, undergoes a new interpretation, accumulates both verbal and non-textual components. Studying the history of the song “White Acacia” will allow you to see how, by whom and under what circumstances the song is performed and how it participates in the broadcast of official and private ideology.