What is a chastushka? Definition and types of chastushki

The article tells about what a ditto is, when a similar form of folk art appeared, and what kinds of ditties are there.

Art

It has long been proven that without art the development of a normal society is simply impossible, and people have always given him great importance. The craving for some of its manifestations, probably, is embedded in us at the genetic level, and besides humans, it is inherent in all highly developed animals. Well, we all remember the rock paintings that our ancestors, even then, painted.

Over time, this kind of art emerged, as folk, which is also called folklore. Its distinctive feature consists in the fact that songs, poems, fairy tales, etc. are created by a team of writers, pass from generation to generation, and in time lose the mention of the original authors. And one more peculiarity is that such art is passed orally. It refers to him and ditties. But what is a ditty, when it arose and what are its types? In this we will understand.

Definition

According to the encyclopedia, the chastushka is one of the genres of Russian folklore, which was finally formed around the second half of the 19th century. And this term was first introduced into use by the writer Ouspensky when he compiled the characteristics of folk verses. If we talk about the roots of the ditties, then, most likely, they are dance and gaming pripevki, collective round dance songs, buffoons buffoons, children's teasers and short jocular songs. Now we know what a ditto is. Let's consider the basic its characteristic features.

As a rule, chastushka is characterized by topical themes, some aphoristic features, unusual rhymes with metaphors and, most importantly, recitative humming, which is often accompanied by improvisation on various musical instruments. So now we know what a ditto is.

According to one of the versions, the name comes from the verb "part". And if you listen to any of the ditties, then this option seems not devoid of logic. Now let us examine in more detail the characteristics of the chastushki.

Characteristics

Most often the chastushki were created by rural youth, who performed them under one repeatedly recurring melody on different instruments during the festivities. The main emotional component of the chastooshkas is majeure. Also, mainly, folk ditties were distinguished by a loving, everyday, jocular theme. Simply put, they were short funny songs on simple, all close and familiar topics, which determined their popularity. But in the same years of the existence of the USSR, the theme of the chastushki increased sharply, and some of them had political meaning.

Being a kind of poetic response to some events, the chastushka often appeared as a spontaneous improvisation. It differs also by directness, expression, appeal to a specific person or group of people, or to some social class.

Most often folk ditties were written by the horei, in which the 2nd and 4th line of the work were rhymed. Also for the chastushki is characterized by a rich language, colorful images, comparisons, which sometimes went beyond the literary language (quite simply, were foul language).

History

There are some facts and references to short, topical or simply funny songs as early as the 18th century. True, they are all rather inconclusive. That is why it is usually considered that the ditty as a genre of folk art originated in the middle of the XIX century and especially intensively developed in the first decades of the establishment of Soviet power.

Initially, many believed that the chastushki - this is something that can not be taken as folk art, and this genre can ruin folk songs, distort their meaning and generally gives Russian folklore a frivolous, foolish shade. Against the ditties, incidentally, Fyodor Shalyapin himself and many other artists of the early twentieth century spoke, considering them too vulgar and stupid. However, over time everything changed, and many composers began to use the sharpness and originality of this genre. And in our time, ditties occupy an important place among the genres of folk art. So we sorted out what the chastushki is, the definition of this genre and its history.

And, by the way, an interesting fact: there were never any dowds on the Don, except imported from other regions. It was connected with the fact that the Don Cossacks treated this genre of folk art very contemptuously, considering it stupid and shameful.

Now consider the most common types.

Types of ditties

There are the following types:

• Lyrical . They differ in that they have only 4 lines and are composed on very different topics, not necessarily fun and simple.
• The dance . Also contain 4 lines, but have a special rhythm, which, as the name implies, is convenient for dancing and dancing. For example, the famous ditty "Yablochko" belongs to this type.
• Suffering . Usually the main theme of such chastooshkas was love, unhappy or undivided. They sing slowly, viscidly. Distributed throughout Russia, except Siberia.
• Matanya . Using this word, those who sang such chastooshkas addressed their fiancees or brides. The genre itself was named so because the word it was found in the text very often. They were also compiled using four-legged chorea.

So we have analyzed the meaning of the word "chastushki", the definition of this folk art and its most common varieties.

Themes

As in any other genre, the themes of the ditties are very diverse. But nevertheless, one of the main themes has always been love themes and everyday ones. And in the first years of the USSR, the subject of chastushkas often became active political propaganda for the new system. Thus, their drafters expressed indifference to political trends. However, in time, singing songs with such semantic content became dangerous.

Well, at the time of the collapse of the USSR and the so-called perestroika, chastushki appeared, in which foreign words were used. Also, they changed their subject matter. At the same time, this genre is no longer as popular as it used to be.