Balalaika Day is an international holiday of populist musicians. Balalaika Day - an international holiday of populist musicians

The balalaika as a special musical instrument, one of the sacred attributes of the life of the Russian people, has existed for several centuries. Folk motives in art are gaining popularity, which is why more and more musicians are mastering playing the balalaika, accordion, harp.

The international holiday of all fans of the "three-string", firmly entrenched in the calendar of solemn events of the Russian people, was established with the aim of respecting the work and creativity of populist musicians who make a significant contribution to the popularization of the rich Russian culture.

When celebrate

International Balalaika Day is celebrated on June 23rd annually. It does not have the status of an official holiday, but it is still loved by all the Russian people and not only. The event has been coping since 2008. The foundation is timed to coincide with the 320th anniversary of the first historical mention of the instrument so beloved by everyone. It is celebrated for the 12th time in 2019.

Who is celebrating

This event is handled by everyone who is related to folk music: and professional musicians, and those who pluck the strings of the balalaika "purely for the soul." This holiday is loved not only by Russia. It is popular all over the world.

History and traditions of the holiday

The event owes its appearance exclusively to music enthusiasts who regularly send petitions to the relevant authorities in order to grant the Balalaika Day the status of the state significant date... The idea to create a special day uniting all the "balalaischiks" came from Dmitry Belinsky, who at that time was the head of the Russian club of populist musicians. The date of the holiday was not chosen by chance. The earliest documentary mention of the balalaika dates back to June 23, 1688.

Various concerts are organized on this day folk music... Professionals in this field conduct master classes where they teach everyone the basics of playing the "three-string". The streets are full of musicians in bright folk costumes pleasing passers-by with a virtuoso performance of folk motives. Balalaika exhibitions are held in museums.

The original name of this three-stringed instrument is balabaika. The word comes from his akin to "balabonit", "joke", that is, to have a conversation about something idle. From here main function balalaikas - to entertain and amuse people.

This musical instrument loves dryness. Therefore, the happy owners of the balalaika know that it is strictly forbidden to wet it, as well as air the room in which it is located, in rainy weather.

This musical instrument can damage and sunlight, strong heat from the battery. It will immediately dry up and will no longer be able to delight listeners with its beautiful sounds.

Few people know that there are as many as 5 types of balalaikas in the world. They have the following names: prima (the smallest), second, alto, bass, contrabass (up to 2 meters long).

We often associate countries or even entire continents with certain musical instruments. We say Africa, and immediately huge drums appear in front of us. We remember Spain, and a guitar appears before our eyes. And what, according to the majority, musical symbol Russia?

... Now the balalaika is sweet to me
Yes, the drunken stamp of trepak
In front of the tavern's threshold.

A.S. Pushkin, "Onegin's Journey"

Balalaika, of course. Let us recall the well-known folk song “There was a birch in the field”. There are such words: "I will make three beeps from a birch, and the fourth - a balalaika."

And in another folk song “Ah! Street, wide street "is sung:" As I enter, I will enter the new hallway, I will play the balalaika! " There are also riddles about the balalaika: "It has grown in the forest, taken out of the forest, cries in his arms, and whoever listens, jumps." There is another riddle:
On the belly is the road,
There is anxiety between the legs
There's a hole in the middle
And the game will go
There will be no hole -
There will be no game.

Sergey Zimin "To the Fair", 2010

Proverbs and sayings set off the character of this instrument, link the character and actions of this or that person with it.

Our brother Isaika has no balalaika strings.
In words - that on a harp, in deeds - that on a balalaika.

Numerous ditties and choruses were performed most often to a balalaika tune.
Balalaichka is buzzing,
It's a pity to wake the darling ...
Balalaichka - beep
Ruined the whole house.

How to this balalaika
I hang flowers
So that this balalaika
I played about love.

Yuri Korchagin "Wandering Musicians" 1983

Tea drinking

Balalaika, strings of copper,
Something got dusty,
Have a drink for a conversation,
Oh, how I have accumulated.

The balalaika started playing
"Tryndi-bryn" tinkered,
Well, let's pour it
Tea with caramel!

Something somehow bothered
I have tea with you
The balalaika is fogging up
Should I start drinking vodka?

I decorated the balalaika
Asterisks, sequins,
Uncle Vasya got attached,
Like, play Tchaikovsky.

Pavel Malov

Don't be afraid of the fire
Do not go to the side
Ah, be jealous of me
Only to the sonorous strings.

I went around the whole world
With a flying song,
And to tell you came
I just in case:

Like, maybe you
The role of my mistress?
I'll give you my whole life
Except for the balalaika.
My girlfriend
There are dreams in the strings.
I walk with her
To the darling on a date.

Play, play, balalaika,
The star hangs over the woods.
Oh, balalaichka, balalaichka, balalaichka -
Russia is an amazing daughter!

The idea of ​​the holiday was born from the president of the Russian club of populist musicians Dmitry Belinsky.

The historical basis for the choice of the date was the first documentary mention of the balalaika in the document "Memory from the Streletsky order to the Little Russian order", which dates from June 23, 1688, in which, among other things, it is reported that in Moscow "the Arzamasets posad man Savka Fyodorov, son of Seleznev and Shenkursky uyezd of the palace Vazhesky volost, the peasant Ivashko Dmitriev, and with them a balalaika was brought so that they rode a horse-drawn carriage in a cart to the Yau gate, sang songs, and the guard archers, who stood at the Yau gate on guard, scolded. "

Another mention of the balalaika dates back to October 1700 in connection with a fight in the Verkhoturye district. According to the testimony of the coachmen Pronka and Alexei Bayanovs, I. Pashkov, the courtyard of the steward of the governor KP Kozlov, chased them and "beat them with a balalaika."

It is also believed that the balalaika was first mentioned during the reign of Peter I (late 17th century). Then the balalaika was common among the peasants. It was played by buffoons who amused people at fairs. These were not quite the balalaikas as we are used to presenting them today. They differed greatly in form and scale, especially since there was no standard yet, and each master made an instrument in his own way. Therefore, balalaikas could be round, triangular or quadrangular. The strings on them were also in different quantities - from 2 to 5.

The next written source in which the balalaika is mentioned is the "Register" signed by Peter I, dating back to 1714: in St. Petersburg, during the celebration of the clownish wedding of the "prince-dad" N.M. Zotov, among other instruments carried by the mummers, four balalaikas were named. J. Shtelin said about Peter I that "from a young age he had no chance to hear anything other than the rough sound of drums, field flute, balalaika ..."

Igor Sidorov "Semyon"

Vera Vataga "At the samovar", 2007

V late XVIII century, the word began to penetrate into high literature, for example, it is found in the poem of V. I. Maikov "Elisha", 1771, canto 1: "mood you me a beep il balalaika." The popularity of the balalaika in the folk environment was so great that many famous Russian writers and poets note in their works this fact as far from an ordinary phenomenon in cultural life Russia. Let's remember: N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls", F.M. Dostoevsky "Notes from the House of the Dead", L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace", A.N. Ostrovsky "There was not a penny, but suddenly - altyn" and "Truth is good, but happiness is better", M.Yu. Lermontov "Russian Melody", works by Pushkin, Maykov, Turgenev, Herzen and others.

The Russian folk instrument was repeatedly sounded in the apartments of the imperial palaces (for example, balalaika numbers were included in the celebrations on the occasion of the coronation of Catherine II; the Oryol landowner played incognito at the court of Nicholas I folk songs and tunes; according to the historian N. Eidelman, Paul I himself played on balalaika). In Amsterdam, even the Elector Sophia of Hanover danced to her with her daughter Sophia Charlotte, Elector of Brandenburg, and her son, Crown Prince George Louis, the august heir to the English throne ...

Andrei Bolkonsky was a real virtuoso in playing the balalaika, and he learned this art of playing from his father, Count Bolkonsky ... ("War and Peace", Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy)

Once upon a time to Leo Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana the famous balalaika player Boris Troyanovsky came, they had an interesting conversation, recorded by the writer's secretary D. P. Makovitsky: “... During the breaks, between the games, they had conversations, Lev Nikolayevich said that there are advantages of violin and voice and there are advantages of balalaika. There is a tone in the violin and voice, the main thing is to hit the very point of the tone; in balalaika - technique and rhythm. Then Lev Nikolaevich remarked to Troyanovsky that in his transcriptions of Russian songs into balalaika - for example, "The Lady" - there is a change in tempo, and this violates the character. This was once again played "Beer Berry". When they played "The month is shining", Lev Nikolaevich beamed with a smile ... ".

TO early XIX century, there is a composition for balalaika - variations on the theme of Russian folk song"Elnik, my fir-tree", written by a great balalaika lover, famous an opera singer Mariinsky theater N.V. Lavrov. Variations published on French and are dedicated [...] to the composer A.A. Alyabyev. On title page The publication indicates that the work was written for a three-string balalaika, which indicates the wide popularity of a three-stringed instrument at that time. "Thus, the work of N.V. Lavrov is still the first original piece of the written tradition in the history of balalaika.

In the Ukrainian language, the word was first attested in diary entries early XVIII century, telling about the "Tatar who played with the balabayku". This form of "balabaik" is also present in the southern Russian dialects and the Belarusian language. The very name of the instrument, which is typically folk, is curious, conveying the character of playing it by the sound of syllables. The root of the words "balalaika", or, as it was also called, "balabaika", has long attracted the attention of researchers by its kinship with such Russian words as balakat, balabonit, balabolit, joke, which means "to talk about something insignificant, to talk, to rake, to ring empty-handed, kalyakat "(go back to the common Slavic * bolbol of the same meaning, compare the similar barbarian onomatopoeia). All these concepts, complementing each other, convey the essence of the balalaika - a light, amusing, "strumming" instrument, not very serious.

There is no unambiguous point of view on the time of the emergence of the balalaika. It is believed that the balalaika is spreading with late XVII century. Possibly comes from Asian domra. According to M.I. Imkhanitsky, the balalaika came to folk life to replace the disappeared domra: "The people needed a string plucked instrument and above all - to accompany dance music. A stringed tambour-shaped instrument was needed with a sonorous rhythmically accurate sound that encourages dance. And most importantly - the tool is as simple as possible to manufacture [...]. Balalaika of the 17th - 18th centuries was nothing more than a folklore version professional tool- domras [...]. It was in the amateur essence of making the balalaika, the conditions of its existence, that the attitude towards it lay: it became an attribute of frivolous performance, jokes. It was with this attitude that V.V. Andreev. "Another version of how the balalaika appeared is interesting:" ... When the sitara was brought to us from India, this instrument was not widely used at first. Large, uncomfortable, 18 strings. But over time, our craftsmen it has been improved. First, they reduced the size for the convenience of wearing under a sheepskin coat in winter frosts. Secondly, we removed a lot of extra strings. Made it possible to tune in quickly while getting a hangover at the same time. Those who did not have time to get drunk, invented the "shaking hand" style of play. And to make it easier to fight in the club at the dance, they invented 2 sharp corners... This is how the balalaika appeared. "Among the people, the balalaika came into use after, according to the decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich" On the correction of morals and the destruction of superstitions ", all Russian folk musical instruments were destroyed: domras, gusli, pipes and flutes ...

It was a "long two-stringed instrument, had a body about one and a half spans in length (about 27 cm) and one span in width (about 18 cm) and a neck (neck) at least four times as long" (M. Gutry, " Dissertation on Russian Antiquities ").

Great Ukrainian writer Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol says that they used "... Moldovan pumpkins, called gorlyankas, from which they make balalaikas in Russia, two-string light balalaikas, the beauty and fun of a grasping twenty-year-old guy ..."

For more than a century and a half, the balalaika occupied a worthy place in the life of a Russian person, brightening up his difficult fate. It was in tune with its time, replacing the harp, whistle, bagpipes, subsequently giving way to their positions, first to the guitar, and then to the harmonica. "The development of harmonious production is interesting in the same way as the process of displacing primitive folk instruments and the process of creating a broad, national market; without such a market, there could be no detailed division of labor, and the cheapness of the product would not be achieved. Due to the cheapness of harmony, the primitive stringed folk musical instrument, the balalaika, was almost everywhere replaced "(Lenin V.I.

TO late XIX centuries in the evolution of Russian folk instruments there have been significant changes. Modern look the balalaika was acquired thanks to the musician-educator, the son of a poor Tver landowner Vasily Vasilyevich Andreev, who studied violin in St. famous violinist Galkin, and when he heard his worker Antip play the balalaika, he became a sincere admirer of this instrument (even leaving the violin) and masterly mastered it, and masters V. Ivanov, F. Paserbsky, S. Nalimov and others. Andreev suggested making the deck out of spruce, and making the back of the balalaika from beech, and also shortening it (up to 600-700 mm). In the spring of 1886, Vasily, with the help of the St. Petersburg violin maker V.V. Ivanova created the first concert balalaika with five cut-in frets, vein strings, an echoing mountain maple body and an ebony neck. Andreev with great success gave concerts in St. Petersburg, playing the balalaika, and thus contributed to the growth of the popularity of this instrument.

There is a legend that Vasily Vasilyevich designed an improved concert balalaika and brought his drawings to the famous St. Petersburg violin maker V.V. Ivanov. Ivanov felt insulted and flatly refused to do the "muzhik balalaika". Then Andreev took out his old balalaika, bought at the market for 35 kopecks, and masterly played a folk song on it. Ivanov gave up, but agreed to do the balalaika only on condition of complete secrecy. It was with this concert balalaika that Vasily Andreev conquered the St. Petersburg audience. Two years later, Andreev created the "Circle of fans of balalaika playing", which later turned into the "Great Russian Orchestra" - the first orchestra of Russian folk instruments, which won world fame.

In the 70s, according to the drawings of Andreev, St. Petersburg music master F.S. Paserbsky created the chromatic balalaika prima and its varieties. In his hands, the balalaika acquired the form in which it has survived to this day. The family of balalaikas (piccolo, primo, alto, tenor, bass, contrabass) made by F. Paserbsky became the basis of the Russian folk orchestra. Later, F. Passerbski received a patent in Germany for the invention of the balalaika.

For the first time in the history of music, a balalaika sounded from the stage in December 1886. And it was in the hall of the Assembly of the Nobility. The success was complete. The next day, "St. Petersburg newspaper" wrote with surprise: " great game V. Andreev on the balalaika makes one forget about the base origin of this instrument "... In the fall of 1918, Andreev took a big trip with his team, renamed" First folk orchestra", Along the Northern and Eastern fronts civil war... He also performed in front of the legendary Chapayevites. But this trip was the last for Andreev: he caught a bad cold and died on the night of December 26, 1918 ...

When the Greek created the harp, he thought of a woman.
When italian master was creating a violin, he was thinking about a woman.
When the Spanish master was creating the guitar, he was thinking of a woman.
And what was the Russian master thinking when creating the balalaika?

Diego Rivera Still-Life with Balalaika. 1913 g.

For the first time Balalaika Day was celebrated in 2008. The holiday then turned out to be connected with two "balalaika" anniversaries at once: 320 years have passed since the first documentary mention of the instrument and 125 years have passed since the date when the musician, creator and conductor of the first National Orchestra of Russian Folk Instruments Vasily Vasilyevich Andreyev first met the balalaika. In fact, this event marked the beginning of the development of the art of playing folk instruments in the form in which it is now familiar to us.

V.V. Andreev

It is said that in the summer of 1883, while traveling on his Maryinsky estate, a young nobleman Vasily Vasilyevich Andreev heard his courtyard Antip perform on a primitive balalaika "Along the St. Petersburg". Andreev was struck by the peculiarity of the sound of this instrument, because he considered himself a connoisseur of Russian folk instruments: “I remember that at the same time as a red-hot iron the thought burned out in my brain: to play myself and bring the balalaika to perfection. I don’t know what guided me more - instinct or national feeling. I think that there was both, and the combination of them gave me that strength that does not know obstacles on its way and does not stop at any sacrifice in its desire to bring the matter to the end. " And Vasily Vasilyevich decided to make from a balalaika most popular tool... To begin with, he learned to play himself, then noticing that the instrument is fraught with tremendous possibilities, he decided to improve the balalaika. Andreev went to Petersburg to the violin maker Ivanov for advice and asked him to think about how to improve the sound of the instrument. Ivanov, however, objected and said that he would not do the balalaika, categorically. Andreev pondered, then took out an old balalaika, which he bought at the fair for thirty kopecks, and masterly performed one of folk songs, of which there are a huge number in Russia. Ivanov could not resist such an onslaught and agreed. The work was long and hard, but still a new balalaika was made. But Vasily Andreev conceived something more than the creation of an improved balalaika. Taking it from the people, he wanted to return it to the people and distribute it.

Moreover, Andreev conceived to create a family of balalaikas different sizes by sample string quartet... To do this, he invited the masters: Paserbsky and Nalimov, and they jointly developed a whole family of balalaikas: piccolo, treble, prima, second, alto, bass, contrabass. These instruments formed the basis of the Great Russian Orchestra, which subsequently traveled to countless countries around the world, glorifying the balalaika and Russian culture. In 1889, St. Andrew's balalaika players appear at the World Exhibition in Paris. Their triumph was extraordinary. “Before the first performances were over, new fashionable perfumes“ Shine the Month ”and ladies' toilet soap“ Under an Apple Tree ”appeared in the fashionable shops of Paris. Even the pointed-nosed St. Andrew's galoshes became the subject of Parisian fashion ... "On the day of the 25th anniversary of the orchestra, in his welcoming speech, F. I. Shalyapin, addressing Andreyev, said:" You have warmed up an orphan girl - a balalaika with your kind, warm heart. From your care and love, she has grown into a wonderful Russian beauty, who conquered the whole world with her beauty ... ".

During this period, composers finally paid attention to the balalaika. For the first time the balalaika sounded with the orchestra. Of the balalaikas, only the prima is a solo, virtuoso instrument, while the rest are assigned purely orchestral functions: the second and viola perform chord accompaniment and the bass and contrabass are the bass function.

It got to the point that in other countries (England, USA, Germany) orchestras of Russian folk instruments were created on the model of the Great Russian. In the USA even appeared “ Joint-stock company exploitation of balalaikas and gusli ”.

However, in the United States, there is still a ban on the sale of Russian balalaikas. The history of the issue dates back to the pre-war time, when Franklin Roosevelt signed a secret decree banning balalaikas in the country for a period of 10 years. This happened in 1940 and since then the decree has been regularly renewed. Since 2000, by decree of Clinton, the ban has been extended to Alaska, which was the only place where the sale was allowed, because The balalaika is considered a folk musical instrument in Alaska. At the time of Roosevelt, these lands did not yet have state status, so the ban was circumvented thanks to loopholes in the legislation. On October 2, 2010, US President Barack Obama extended the ban on the sale of balalaikas in the United States for another decade. The formal reason for the ban was the fact that the balalaika was banned in tsarist Russia Orthodox Church and the state because "it allows you to mock the authorities." Of course, the ban was lifted in the USSR, but in the USA this extremist instrument remained banned. In fact, the ban on the sale of balalaikas is the US response to the demarche of the then USSR, which banned the sale of cowboy hats. In 1954, hats were allowed to be sold in the USSR, but the ban on the sale of balalaikas in the United States remained. Today is part of the Jackson-Vanik amendments. The ban remains incomplete today. It is not forbidden to play the balalaika, although you need to have a special license for this. Mass sale of this tool and industrial production are not allowed. Single private sales are permitted. That is why the book by J. Flynn "How to make a balalaika", which was published in 1984, enjoys fantastic popularity and has already gone through 9 reprints. For an ordinary American who wants to enjoy the sounds of a balalaika, there is no other way but to make it himself ...

The balalaika is also popular among the Jews. In the folklore of Eastern European Jews (Ashkenazi) there is even a song "Tum-balalaika" (in Yiddish טום־באַלאַלײַקע - "sound of a balalaika") - one of the favorite songs of Jews in Yiddish. Known in Poland, Russia, and recent times- also in Israel. In this song, the guy asks the girl questions (riddles), and she, in turn, answers them. Riddles are traditionally associated with love and courtship. Folk versions of the song have existed for a long time, but the lyrics (riddles in the song, for example: "what is higher than the house? (Trumpet)", "who is more agile than a mouse? (Cat)", etc.) - was very diverse. But what's the long story? Better to listen once:
The balalaika is also known in Japan.

Before Andreev turns the balalaika into concert instrument, it did not have a permanent, ubiquitous system. Each performer tuned the instrument in accordance with his style of performance, the general mood of the pieces played and local traditions.

The system introduced by Andreev (two strings in unison - the note "mi", one - one fourth higher - the note "la" (both "mi" and "la" of the first octave)) became widespread among concert balalaika players and began to be called "academic" ... There is also a "folk" system - the first string is "G", the second is "mi", the third is "C". With this tuning, triads are easier to take, its disadvantage is the difficulty of playing on open strings. In addition to the above, there are regional traditions of tuning the instrument. The number of rare local settings reaches two dozen.
the group "White Day" is one of the first "folk" groups, which in the early 90s began to actively perform "corporate" music on Russian balalaikas. Now "White Day" has made a "reboot" old program"Balalaika in Rock", giving it more drive, eccentrics, show and so on.

Balalaika Day is celebrated by professional performers playing various Russian folk musical instruments, creative teams, just amateurs, musicians-populists of Europe, Latin America, Australia, USA, South Africa, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and, of course, Russia.

Since 2010, a festival has been held in Crimea in honor of the holiday. During June, performances of populist musicians are organized here, which culminate in a large gala concert on the 23rd.

In March 2013, officers asked Shoigu to remove balalaikas from military units, since they had never received either balalaikas or domras.

According to the annex to the staffs of military units, adopted in the 1990s and still in force, in every company leisure room there should be musical instruments, which in practice have not been found anywhere for a long time. However, inspectors, if they wish, can always punish commanders for non-compliance with the directive.

The Main Organizational and Mobilization Directorate (GOMU) of the Ministry of Defense said that following the results of the 2012 academic year, hundreds of proposals were received from assistants to unit commanders for working with personnel on the cancellation of obsolete applications: "At the end school year, and this is November-December, brigade commanders, their deputies, including assistants for work with personnel, as well as chiefs of combat arms and services are required to submit proposals for optimizing the staff of brigades and their units. This time there are especially many complaints about balalaikas with domras. "

It is curious that even historians of the army find it difficult to say when and why balalaikas and domras appeared in applications. Most likely, this item in the supplements to the state serves as a means to keep unwanted officers on a short leash.

The stunning clip of Olya Polyakova is a kitsch-parody of the Korean PSY Gangnam Style video, which has become a trend in the world showbiz, on modern advertising and traditional stereotypes in performances western world about Russian culture.
- This is our answer to Kim Jong Un! - says Olya, forgetting, and most likely not knowing that the grandson of the Great Juche has nothing to do with PSY and hardly knows about its existence, however, as well as about Olya herself ...
- While some are trying to imitate "Gangnam Style", we will show the whole world what the real "Russian Style" is capable of - senseless and merciless! " - says the singer.

Installation on September 23, 2011, a monument to the balalaika in the city of Bezhetsk, Tver region, at the beginning of the linden alley, was timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the birth outstanding musician, a native of these places, V.V. Andreeva.

In September 2014, they installed in Khabarovsk sculptural composition presented by the Chinese Harbin in honor of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of twinning relations. The red pipa and yellow balalaika look great together. Especially against the backdrop of a peaceful blue sky.

And girls also love the balalaika:

Bogdanov-Belsky Nikolay Petrovich. Village friends.

Istvan Macsai, Woman with balalaika

Kevin Bilefuss "The Girl with the Balalaika"

Rurik Vasilievich Tushkin "At the samovar" 1991

Lyapkalo Victor. Musical lady with balalaika

Ukrainian TV presenter and singer Vesta Sennaya

crazy girls from the craziest Norwegian band "Katzenjammer".

You can also add that there is a cocktail called "Balalaika" This classic cocktail was invented back in the 30s of the twentieth century by Alain Nevers. Its recipe is very simple. 50 ml of vodka, 25-30 ml of orange liqueur (Triple Sec or Cointreau), 20-25 ml of lemon juice (preferably freshly squeezed and filtered) pour into a shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon or orange zest. You can also garnish with an orange or lemon wedge. "Vodka and orange liqueur with tart lemon juice create this simple Nordic cocktail."

There is also a variant of this cocktail. In a wide vodka glass without a stem, combine cognac and vodka (1: 1), filling ¾ of its volume. Place the filled glass in a cup or other container with hot water so that the edges of the glass are a few millimeters higher than the edges of the cup. Leave to warm up for a few minutes, cover the glass with lemon. Set fire to alcohol vapors in a glass for a few seconds, then cover with your hand. Due to the rapid cooling of the vapors, the glass sticks to the hand. Pull it out of the cup, drink the cocktail in one gulp, eat with lemon. Balalaika cocktail is an alcoholic drink based on heated cognac and vodka. Quite strong, bright, truly masculine drink, interesting in the way of preparation and consumption. And fans of "Balalaika" informally call themselves "the brotherhood of the ring" because of the ring burn on the palm of the hand from a burning glass.

There have been ups and downs in the history of balalaika. So today the instrument is not going through better times... There are few professional performers. Even in the village they forgot about the balalaika. In general, folk music is interesting to a very narrow circle of people who attend concerts or play any folk instruments. But she continues to live and it is not in vain that she is the personification of Russian culture.

The idea of ​​the holiday was born from the president of the Russian club of populist musicians Dmitry Belinsky. The historical basis for choosing the date was the first documentary mention of the balalaika in the document "Memory from the Streletsky Prikaz to the Little Russian Prikaz", which dates back to June 23, 1688.

For the first time Balalaika Day was celebrated in 2008. The holiday then turned out to be connected at once with two "balalaika" anniversaries: 320 years have passed since the first documentary mention of the instrument and 125 years have passed since the date when the musician, creator and conductor of the first National Orchestra of Russian Folk Instruments Vasily Andreev first met the balalaika. In fact, this event marked the beginning of the development of the art of playing folk instruments in the form in which it is now familiar to us.

Balalaika Day is celebrated by professional performers playing various Russian folk musical instruments, creative groups, just amateurs, populist musicians from Europe, Latin America, Australia, USA, South Africa, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and, of course, Russia.

Balalaika history

"Three-string", to which the inhabitants of our country have always shown special respect, has existed for more than one century. If you delve into history, it turns out that this instrument is not Russian either. According to one version, the balalaika is a prototype of the dombra, the national instrument of the Kirghiz-Kaisaks, according to the other, the idea of ​​creating a musical "toy" was successfully borrowed from the Tatars. In any case, this is a very ancient attribute, because it was mentioned in Arabic sources from 921: the author, the historian Ibn Fatslan, describes in his work the spied funeral of the Russian prince in Volga Bulgaria.

The musical instrument “eine Laute” (from the point of view of A. Kotlyarovsky - actually a balalaika) was among the traditional items put in the grave of the owner by his subjects. It is not known how reliable this fact is, because domestic historians call a completely different date of the instrument's origin - 1715, and are inclined to believe that the peasants are its creator. From them, the balalaika fell into the hands of buffoons and spread thanks to folk merry people throughout the country.

However, the joy of the people was short-lived. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, observing all this "disgrace", ordered the destruction of any musical instruments, including the "three-stringed" one, and those who dare disobey - flogged or even exiled to Little Russia. After the death of the ruler national instrument returned, but after a while was again banned. Only in the middle of the 19th century did the balalaika finally "join" the ranks of Russian musical instruments... It turned out this way thanks to the nobleman Vasily Andreev, who accidentally heard the sounds of the "three-string" from his courtyard Antip. And he liked this music so much that he decided to make the balalaika the most popular in Russia. Andreev succeeded - both young and old fell in love with the balalaika anew.

Unfortunately, playing a folk Russian musical instrument has not received such relevance in our time. Regularly organized balalaika concerts are of interest only to a narrow circle of people. The names of famous modern balalaika musicians are known: V.A. Kuznetsova, D.A. Zakharov, V. B. Boldyreva, A. A. Gorbachev.

Few facts

Why was this peculiar musical instrument called so strangely - balalaika? It turns out that initially its name sounded somewhat different - balabaika. Expressions similar in meaning and verbal configuration: "joke", "balabonit". There are many words, but the meaning is the same - to talk about idle things. As a result, it turns out that this musical instrument is intended for fun, amusement.

The balalaika should be stored in a dry living area. Dampness causes the instrument to deteriorate and fail. It is strictly forbidden to ventilate the room where the balalaika is located when it is raining or simply high humidity outside the window.

The flip side of the coin - heat and bright sunlight - is also undesirable. The fact is that under the influence of targeted heat, whether it is not even daylight, and any source, for example, a heating system battery, a balalaika will certainly dry up, the body will burst, and it will become impossible to play on it.

At one time, on the initiative of the nobleman Vasily Andreev, the very one who did a lot to popularize the balalaika, a whole clan of folk musical instruments was created, differing in size and, accordingly, sound. Two Russian masters were engaged in this: Nalimov and Paserbsky. The activity of this creative union resulted in seven types of balalaikas: piccolo, treble, prima, second, alto, bass, contrabass. The Magnificent Seven formed the fundamental basis of the Great Russian Orchestra.

About other instruments

Swedish sculptor Lars Wiedenfalk constructed the Blackbird violin from stone. It was made according to the drawings of Stradivari, and the material was black diabase. The idea of ​​such a violin came from Wiedenfalk, when he decorated one of the buildings with large diabase blocks, and the stone worked with a hammer and chisel sang beautifully. The violin sounds no worse than many wooden ones and weighs only 2 kg, since the thickness of the stone walls of the resonator box is no more than 2.5 mm. It is worth noting that the "Blackbird" is not the only such instrument in the world - the Czech Jan Roerich makes marble violins.

The Belgian master Adolphe Sachs, who invented the saxophone, originally named it in a completely different way - the mouthpiece ophicleide. Only two years later, his friend the composer Berlioz called new instrument in a magazine article with a saxophone, and this name stuck much more willingly.

A guitar with seven strings and "d¹, h, g, d, H, G, D" tuning is called the Russian guitar throughout the world. It is more customary for us to call it simply a seven-stringed guitar, or a gypsy guitar.

In the US state of Virginia, there are the Louray Caves, where a unique musical instrument is installed - a stalactite organ. 37 stalactites of different tones are connected to the pipe system of a traditional organ and are controlled from a conventional organ keyboard.

The whole world celebrates the day of balalaika or populist musicians. Although this instrument is considered by many to be primordially Russian, celebrations in its honor are held all over the world. The fact that it is not recognized at the official level does not interfere with celebrating the balalaika day, but even in spite of this, the populist musicians celebrate this celebration with a special scale, characteristic of the Russian people.

When celebrate

In the international and state register On holidays, nowhere is the balalaika day mentioned. However, amateurs and professionals folk art celebrate this day on June 23 every year, starting in 2008. The idea to hold musical holiday dedicated to folk art, belongs to the president of the Russian club of "folk musicians" Dmitry Belinsky (Honored Artist of the Russian Federation). The organization of the celebration was timed to coincide with two anniversary moments associated with the balalaika:
1) 320 years from the first documentary mention of this instrument in Russia.
2) 125 years since the first leader of the folk art ensemble Vasily Andreev, mastered playing the balalaika.

How they celebrate

The second name of the holiday is the international day of populist musicians. This celebration is celebrated by everyone talented people involved in folklore, as well as ordinary lovers of beautiful and groovy music. The wonderful balalaika holiday is celebrated not only in Russia, but also in Latin America, the USA, Australia, some European countries, as well as in the former Soviet states.

In many cities of our homeland, contests, festivals of folk art are held, in music schools are given free lessons on playing the balalaika. Since 2010 in honor of international day folk music festival "Nuggets" is organized, in which talented people not only from Russia, but also from all over the world (Kazakhstan, Brazil, Belarus, Ukraine, etc.) take part.

Interesting facts about the balalaika

1) Historically, the balalaika is not a Russian instrument. Doira, the national instrument of the peoples of Central Asia, is considered the "mother" of the balalaika.

2) For the first time, a certain prototype of the balalaika is mentioned in Arabic sources (early 10th century). Famous poet At that time, Ibn Fazlan described the funeral of a certain nobleman, where he spoke in detail about the list of objects buried with the "rich man", among them was the thing "eine Laute", very reminiscent of the modern balalaika.

3) This instrument came to Russia in the 19th century, together with buffoons (piper musicians or guslars). However, many rulers of Russia opposed the introduction of the balalaika. Tsar Alexander Mikhailovich "three-string" came under the ban, which ended simultaneously with the death of the king. But the balalaika became firmly rooted in life in Russia only in the second half of the 19th century.

4) Previously, the name of the three-stringed instrument was "balabaika" from the word "joke".

5) Balalaikas should not be stored in a damp or overly consecrated place, all this can lead to the drying out of the wood and deterioration of its musical properties.

Despite the fact that the International Day of Folk Musicians was not included in the Russian register of holidays, this does not deprive it of its popularity. This celebration provides an opportunity to show people the diversity and beauty of folk art. We hope that someday this holiday will be appreciated and given a special day on the calendar.

Wow, balalaika! Russian violin,
The laughter of the brook and the routine of the rain
The song is parting, the dance is a smile
And completely boring need.

The Information Age does not spoil us with the sounds of live music. Here and there electronic melodies are heard, created with the help of computer programs, and from the instruments in the course of the electric guitar and synthesizer. However, thanks to the Internet, you can download audio recordings of classical compositions, enjoy the eternal sounds of the harp, violin, flute, piano. If you are not a fan of such masterpieces, try to plunge into folk motives... One of the musical instruments "driving" here is the balalaika. June 23 all over the world celebrate a holiday dedicated to her - Balalaika Day.

history of the holiday

In the register of official events such an event as Balalaika day, not provided. True, this situation in no way diminishes the importance of the holiday for lovers of folk music - those individuals who cannot imagine their life without a cheerful musical instrument. Actually, thanks to the last Balalaika Day appeared. It happened 6 years ago, in 2008. The initiator of the first musical action was Dmitry Belinsky, president of the Russian club of populist musicians. Thereby wonderful person, who is also an honored artist of the Russian Federation and director of the Russian concert quartet "Skaz", the balalaika day acquired the status of an annual one and brought together balalaika players from all over the world under its wing. Another name for the significant date is the International Festival of Populist Musicians, because it is they, these creative people, demonstrate to us, mere mortals, all the power and beauty of the range of sounds extracted from the strings of a specific musical instrument.

Balalaika Day is celebrated by both solo musicians and entire groups... He is no stranger to self-taught balalaika players who strum on the "three-string" in their free time and for the soul. June 23 about significant date are remembered in different parts of the world: in the countries of Latin America, on the sultry African continent, in the States, in the steppe expanses of Kazakhstan, in distant Australia, immersed in greenery, in prim Europe.

The very first Balalaika Day coincided with two specific events.... First of all, on June 23, 2008, exactly 125 years have passed since Vasily Andreev's acquaintance with the balalaika, the musician who founded the first National Orchestra Russian folk instruments, and its conductor. And secondly, on this day, balalaika players celebrated the 320th anniversary of the first mention of a musical instrument in historical documents. We can say that on July 23, 2008, the development process started modern game on a Russian folk instrument.

It is likely that someday the International Day of populist musicians will receive the title of official, at least in our country. In the meantime, the government does not see the need to enter such a date in the register. public holidays, about which representatives of the Ministry of Culture reported in a letter to the already mentioned Dmitry Belinsky in response to the enthusiast's attempt to achieve justice with respect to the folk instrument.

Balalaika history

"Three-string", to which the inhabitants of our country have always shown special respect, has existed for more than one century. If you delve into history, it turns out that this instrument is not Russian either. According to one version, the balalaika is a prototype of the dombra, the national instrument of the Kirghiz-Kaisaks, according to the other, the idea of ​​creating a musical "toy" was successfully borrowed from the Tatars. In any case, this is a very ancient attribute, because it was mentioned in Arabic sources from 921: the author, the historian Ibn Fatslan, describes in his work the spied funeral of the Russian prince in Volga Bulgaria.

The musical instrument “eine Laute” (from the point of view of A. Kotlyarovsky - actually a balalaika) was among the traditional items put in the grave of the owner by his subjects. It is not known how reliable this fact is, because domestic historians call a completely different date of the instrument's origin - 1715, and are inclined to believe that the peasants are its creator. From them, the balalaika fell into the hands of buffoons and spread thanks to folk merry people throughout the country.

However, the joy of the people was short-lived. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, observing all this "disgrace", ordered the destruction of any musical instruments, including the "three-stringed" one, and those who dare disobey - flogged or even exiled to Little Russia. After the death of the ruler, the national instrument returned, but after a while it was again banned. Only in the middle of the 19th century, the balalaika finally "joined" the ranks of Russian musical instruments. It turned out this way thanks to the nobleman Vasily Andreev, who accidentally heard the sounds of the "three-string" from his courtyard Antip. And he liked this music so much that he decided to make the balalaika the most popular in Russia. Andreev succeeded - both young and old fell in love with the balalaika anew.

Unfortunately, playing a folk Russian musical instrument has not received such relevance in our time. Regularly organized balalaika concerts are of interest only to a narrow circle of people. The names of famous modern balalaika musicians are known: V.A. Kuznetsova, D.A. Zakharov, V. B. Boldyreva, A. A. Gorbachev.

• Why was this peculiar musical instrument called so strangely - balalaika? It turns out that initially its name sounded somewhat different - balabaika. Expressions similar in meaning and verbal configuration: "joke", "balabonit". There are many words, but the meaning is the same - to talk about idle things. As a result, it turns out that this musical instrument is intended for fun, amusement.
• The balalaika should be stored in a dry living area. Dampness causes the instrument to deteriorate and fail. It is strictly forbidden to ventilate the room where the balalaika is located when it is raining or simply high humidity outside the window.
• The flip side of the coin - heat and bright sunlight - is also undesirable. The fact is that under the influence of purposeful heat, whether it is even a daylight, but any source, for example, a heating system battery, the balalaika will certainly dry out, the body will burst, and it will become impossible to play on it.

• At one time, on the initiative of the nobleman Vasily Andreev, the very one who did a lot to popularize the balalaika, a whole clan of folk musical instruments was created, differing in size and, accordingly, sound. Two Russian masters were engaged in this: Nalimov and Paserbsky. The activity of this creative union resulted in seven types of balalaikas: piccolo, treble, prima, second, alto, bass, contrabass. The magnificent seven formed the fundamental basis of the Great Russian Orchestra.

Be happy, dear balalaika players! On Balalaika Day, I would like to wish you well-being, inspiration and always good weather: what's outside the window, what's in the house, what's in the shower!