Music of Belarus

Soviet postage stamp depicting traditional musical instruments of Belarus

Belarus is an Eastern European country with a rich tradition of folk and religious music. The country's folk music traditions can be traced back to the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the 20th century, the Soviet control of the country somewhat limited musical development because nationally oriented music was considered subversive and dangerous to the Soviet authority. The country's musical traditions spread with its people to countries like Russia, Canada, United States, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Ukraine [1]. The people of Belarus were exposed mostly to Russian pop music during this period and also after independence in 1991. In 2002, however, Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree requiring 50% of all FM broadcast music to be Belarusian in origin, and since January 1, 2005 the rule was made even stricter (75% of daily broadcast music must be Belarusian). Though it doesn't regulate songs language, so most of broadcast music is still in Russian.

Part of a series of articles on Belarusians Culture Language ·Literature · Music · Art · Cinema Cuisine · Dance By regions Russia · USA · Poland · Australia · Great Britain · Canada Closely related peoples Pаleszuki · Belarusian Poles · Belarusian Jews · East Slavs · Lithuanians Religion Russian Orthodoxy (also Autocephalous) · Roman Catholicism · Greek-Catholicism Languages and dialects Belarusan · Russian · Polish · Trasianka Topics History · People from Belarus · Rulers · Belarusians · Litviny This box: view · edit] Traditional music Documentation of its music stretches back to at least the 15th century. Prior to that, skomorokhs were the major profession for musicians. A neumatic chant, called znamenny, from the word 'znamia', meaning sign or neume, used until 16th century in Orthodox church music, followed by two hundreds of stylistic innovation that drew on the Renaissance and Protestant Reformation. In the 17th century, Partesnoe penie, part singing, became common for choruses, followed by private theaters established in cities like Minsk and Vitebsk. Music of Soviet Belarus Main article: Soviet music In the 20th century, the first secondary education institute in Belarus was founded (1924) and the first operas (Mikhas Podgorny by E. Tikotsky, In Virgin Forests of Polesie by A. Bogatryev and The Flower of Happiness by A. Turenkov) and ballets (The Nightingale by M Kroshner). Popular Soviet Belarusian music was composed by several prominent bands, many of whom performed Belarusian folk music. Folk rock act Pesniary, formed in 1969 by guitarist Vladimir Mulyavin, became the most popular folk band of the Soviet Union, and often toured over Europe. Pesniary's example inspired Siabry and Verasy to follow their way. The tradition of Belarus as a centre of folk and folk rock music is continued today. Late 70's saw more straightforward rock bands such as Suzorie[citation needed] Modern Belarus Belarus gained independence after the fall of the Soviet Union and new bands appeared, including N.R.M. (probably the best-known rock band of the late 90s, and 00s), ULIS, Little Blues Band, The Stoks, Tornado, Krama, TT-34 and Neurodubel. Modern pop stars are also well-known, including Boris Moiseev and Lyapis Trubetskoy (though they tend to orient themselves toward Russia and Russian speakers). There are also electronic music performers like Autism, Energun 22, h.h.t.p., Dromos. Worth noting is Drum XTC performs live drum'n'bass. Around 2002 a new generation of electronic bands appeared, organized by Electrokids promo-group, including the groups like Randomajestiq, Stone People, Dreamlin, T-Trider, CherryVata and Koordinate of Wonders. Rock music of Belarus arose in Perestroika times. Bands like Bi-2 (currently living in Russia), Lyapis Trubetskoy, Krama and ULIS were founded in late 1980s or early '90s. Though rock music has risen in popularity in recent years, the Belarusian government has attempted to limit the amount of popular music aired on the radio, in favour of traditional Belarussian music. These restrictions have encouraged some Belarusian bands to sign up to Russian labels and to tour more in neighbouring countries. The tradition of Belarus as a centre of folk and folk rock music is continued today by Stary Olsa, Gods Tower, Vicious Crusade and Kriwi, among others. Stary Olsa is a Neo-Medieval music revivalist band that uses authentic instruments of the medieval Belarus (then part of Grand Duchy of Lithuania). In 2003, Belarus took part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for the first time. Their participant, Volha Satsiuk, came in 4th place. In 2004 Belarus made it to the semifinals of the regular Eurovision Song Contest. The country was represented by a duo Alaksandra i Kanstantsin, who failed to reach the final. Nevertheless, they won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005 the following year, with Ksenia Sitnik's song, 'My Vmeste'. The Belarusian authorities promote folk or "Slavic" music at the country's top musical event -- the state-sponsored Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk, an annual pop and folk music festival in Vitebsk. The biggest festival of Belarusian rock music takes place outside of Belarus, in Gródek (Belarusian: Haradok, Гарадок), northeastern Poland, a small town some 40 kilometers east of Białystok -- the center of Podlaskie Voivodeship, which is inhabited by a 200,000-strong Belarusian minority. The festival, held in July every year since 1990, is organized by the Belarusian Union of Students (BAS) in Poland. The official name of the event is the Music Festival of Young Belarus or Basovišča ("BASS" + suffix "-ovishcha", alt.spelling Basovishcha, Basoviszcza). Some rock music fans dubbed it "Belarusian Woodstock." Belarusian rap Belarusian rap dates back to the early - mid-'90s and has produced three waves of Belarusian rappers. Having evolved around a most influential rap crew of the mid 90's Udar Bandy (Удар банды, The Gang Strikes) and their associates Ё.Б.Т.В.О.Ю.М.А.Т.Ь. (S.C.R.E.W.Y.A.M.O.T.H.E.R.), the first wave was a movement of the most numerous, committed and impassioned rappers in Belarus (born in the late 70's - early 80's). Originating from the city of Lepel, Udar Bandy recorded two amateur highly acclaimed tape albums that were recopied and changed hands massively. These tapes produced a great effect on the youth trapped in a disorienting crime and poverty striken environment. In 1997, after recording the controversial studio album Uroki Rasslableniya (Уроки расслабления, Chill Out Lessons) Udar Bandy disappeared from the scene to reemerge in 2007 as the core of a creative alliance called Da Joint with the debut album Vikhod (Выход, A Way Out). Among other influential rap artists of the mid-'90s are Kat, Ghetto Mentalitet (Гетто менталитет, Ghetto Mentality), Miatezhniky (Мятежники, Rebels), Lisy Dil (Лысый Дил, Baldie Dil) and many more. The most prominent events of this period include underground hip-hop parties at the Rezervatsya (Резервация, Reservation) club in Minsk and Krapiva-98, a hip-hop festival that drew the entire movement to its apogee. However, a great start was followed by a détente, after which most of the old school rappers went underground. The second wave was led in Minsk by Oleg Litvinuk, a person who tried to turn hip-hop into a mainsteam culture and provided an incentive for an array of mostly ephemerous rappers and rap crews. The rap creativity substantially decreased. However, this wave still managed to produce a number of prominent rappers reminiscent of the old school era. By 2005, most of the old school and second wave rappers disappeared. Among the rappers to emerge during the second wave are Nestandartny Variant (Нестандартный вариант, Irregular Design), who later became a most acclaimed Belarusian pop-rap crew. The third wave has developed around a Belarusian rap source bratinfo.com and is represented by young (born in the late 80's - early 90's) rappers. Some of the new artists are as charismatic and committed as the old school pioneers, others are more into diss and bling-bling rap. See also Belarusian rock Soviet music References External links Belarusian Music Links Basoviszcza Rock Fest — the Belarusian Woodstock Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу Balochi music Music of Bill Evans Look at other dictionaries: Belarus — This article is about the country. 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