С оръжие и песен – към победата
To Victory with Arms and Songs

Summary/Abstract: The large-scale cultural life at the front during the Patriotic War of Bulgaria (1944-1945) is characterized by its variety and diversity. The folklore, amateur and professional strains coexisted and interacted, and the dividing lines between them got blurred. Some elements of our folklore tradition were preserved in proper forms and were also modernized. One finds this in the way anecdotes were told, songs were sung and instruments were played. The soldiers got engaged in amateur groups with their own repertoire which did not differ materially from the principles and forms of the repertoire of the professional theatres visiting the front. Music played an important role not only during the time the soldiers were free but also when they were in the trenches or engaged in an attack. Music became part of their struggle, it became an additional active weapon. In the soldiers’ repertoire of songs during the Patriotic War two genres stand out: the folksong and the march. Musically, the new popular marches some of which were created at the front revealed two tendencies: melodies in the existing tradition and melodies with folklore intonations. The marching songs from the Patriotic War represent a stage in the intensive development of the popular song of today. The variety of songs was increased by newly created songs about the war which drew upon the texts and melodies of the narrative songs sung around the table.

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