Utushka lugovaya
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A young woman or maiden, also called utushka lugovaya, spends a night in the wood (or in the meadow[1]), near a willow. Several young men pass by and make several gudocheks – each makes one for himself. The maiden asks the gudocheks not to tinkle, not to wake her (however, in some versions, her father[1][2]) up.
Commentary
Historical background
According to Alexander Tereshchenko, ″Utushka lugovaya″ could be performed during traditional Russian marriage celebrations.[3] Pavel Svinyin wrote that the Don Cossacks used the song in matchmaking.[4]
Some researchers consider that image ("Utushka lugovaya"/ "Young duck") as a traditional image of the young woman or bride.[5][6]
Genre characteristics
A number of sources mention the song as a plyasovaya[7][3] or a khorovodnaya.[8] Alexander Potebnja regards it – for its time signature – as an example of the so-called summer or spring songs.[7]
Settings and performance
Before 1792, Vasily Pashkevich created for his third opera a theme based on the song.[9][10] In the following two centuries, many composers (such as P. I. Tchaikovsky,[11] Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov,[12] Anatoly Lyadov,[13] Alexander Ivanov-Kramskoi[12]) arranged "Utushka lugovaya".
The song appeared in the repertoires of Lidia Ruslanova,[14] Lyudmila Zykina,[15] Alexandra Strelchenko,[16] and other famous Russian folk singers.