The author of this text is indicated by both I.A. Shatrov himself (Wikipedia) and Stepan Skitalets (for example,). However, it is known that Shatrov had a negative attitude towards performing his waltz with text, since he believed that these words turned the work into a “requiem in the rhythm of a waltz,” and he wrote music about selfless love for his homeland and devotion to it. Therefore, we can assume that Shatrov was not the author of the above text, and was neither previously nor later noticed writing poetry. As for the Wanderer, the situation here is even more interesting. Most of the sources I have encountered indicate that the author of the earliest text is Stepan Petrov (literary pseudonym - Skitalets). But! The following text is often cited as the work of the Wanderer:
It's quiet all around, the hills are covered in darkness,
The moon flashed from behind the clouds,
The graves keep peace.
The crosses turn white - these are the heroes sleeping.
The shadows of the past have been circling for a long time,
They talk about the victims of battles.
It's quiet all around, the wind has carried away the fog,
Warriors sleep on the hills of Manchuria
And Russians don’t hear tears.
My dear mother is crying, crying,
The young wife is crying
Evil fate and curse fate!...
May Kaoliang bring you dreams,
Sleep, heroes of the Russian land,
Native sons of the fatherland.
And we will celebrate a bloody funeral.
It was this text that became the most famous among the people (just look at the numerous folk variations that begin with the words “it’s quiet around”). But who is its author? Note that option 1 and option 2 are different poems. Yes, the general emotional background and poetic images used in writing have been preserved. And it seems that the meaning of the song has not been changed, but... the lyrics are different! As if one of them is the result of a poetic translation of the second into another language. It is believed that the author of the early text is the Wanderer, but objectively, the earliest text is the first option, but the text of the Wanderer also indicates the second option. Not clear. There are also hybrid variants, for example, in the collection of Mitkov’s songs the first text appears, but with the first verse attached to it:
Kaoliang is sleeping,
The hills are covered with darkness...
Warriors sleep on the hills of Manchuria,
And no tears are heard from the Russians...
And the last verse, taken from the second version:
My dear mother is crying, crying,
The young wife is crying
Everyone is crying as one person
Evil fate and curse fate!...
And the author of all this is also indicated as S. Skitalets.
Unfortunately, I have not come across any early (pre-revolutionary) records with the second text, and therefore we will assume that Stepan Skitalets is the author of the first version, and the second is the result of a later (probably post-revolutionary) processing of the first. In fact, the second version seems more perfect from a poetic point of view; it contains the text for the second part of the waltz (“Crying, crying, dear mother...”). But who is its author? Still the same Wanderer? Or maybe Kozlovsky? (To be fair, I note that I have never heard recordings of exactly this version of the “second version” of the text - only Kozlovsky’s recording, but more on that below)
A few words about the text writing for this waltz. A thankless task. This is not a song, but an instrumental piece. Three-part waltz. And our earliest text refers to only one part of it. In the second version, the text for the third part of the waltz appears as a “chorus”. Later there will be a text trying to use the most "unsung" second part. But all these attempts look somewhat forced and unnatural. This is not a song, however, this is only my opinion, which does not pretend to be objective.
Another interesting waltz recording performed by M. Bragin:
The record was recorded at the Sirena Record studio in January 1911. The verses (as far as I could hear them) are as follows:
We will never forget this terrible picture.
And what Russia was able to survive
Times of trouble and shame.
In the Chinese land on the far plains of the east
there are(?) thousands(?) of our(?) lying(?)
The will of unfortunate(?) fate.
In their hearts there is now hope for a funeral feast
With the knowledge (?) that we are dying for Rus',
For Faith, Tsar and Fatherland
Great grief
And tears involuntarily run from my eyes
Like the waves of a distant sea
Fathers, mothers, children, widows are crying
And there, far away on the Manchurian fields
Crosses and tombs turn white
Peace to your soul... ... ...
Please accept my last farewell greetings
From sorrowful sorrowful Russia
And again - a painful impression. A definite "requiem in waltz rhythm".
Let's go back to historical events. 1910-1918, the waltz is extremely popular. Abroad it is called "Russian National Waltz". It is played, sung, recorded on records. By the way, if you listen to some recordings from 10-13, the end of the waltz catches your eye - the funeral march sounds for quite a long time. This is truly a requiem. The author of the music saw his work differently, but the author's artistic vision was sacrificed to social demands. However, often in this world art is sacrificed to ideology.
They write that after revolutions the waltz stops sounding. But this is what during the Great Patriotic War(again - a social order?) it is actively fulfilled - this is a well-known fact. It is sung and recorded by Utesov (as they write, although I have not heard these recordings) and Kozlovsky. There are several versions of the Soviet waltz text. First:
The night has come
Dusk fell on the ground,
Desert hills are drowning in darkness,
The east is covered by a cloud.
Here, underground,
Our heroes are sleeping
The wind sings a song above them and
The stars are looking down from the sky.
It wasn’t a volley that came from the fields -
It was thunder in the distance. 2 times
And again everything around is so calm,
Everything is silent in the silence of the night.
Sleep, fighters, sleep peacefully,
May you dream of your native fields,
Father's distant home.
May you die in battles with enemies,
Your feat calls us to fight,
A banner washed in the blood of the people
We will carry forward.
We will go towards a new life,
Let's throw off the burden of slave shackles.
And the people and the fatherland will not forget
The valor of your sons.
Sleep, fighters, glory to you forever!
Our fatherland, our native land
Don't conquer your enemies!
Night, silence, only the kaoliang is noisy.
Sleep, heroes, your memory
The Motherland protects!
The author of the above version is A. Mashistov, although on Wikipedia the author was named Demyan Bedny. (By the way, why exactly Poor?) You can pay attention to the stanza “It wasn’t a volley that came from the fields...”. This is the same attempt to select a text for the most difficult part of the waltz.
But in the performance of A. Kozlovsky, the text is already well known to us - the same one whose author I could not find traces of (because I didn’t look well?) - the second of the options given in this article. Only Kozlovsky replaced the phrase “bloody funeral feast” with “glorious feast,” apparently in order to avoid all sorts of misinterpretations on the topic of the excessive bloodthirstiness of the Russians. The last verse of his song sounded like this:
You fell for Rus', you died for the Fatherland,
Believe me, we will avenge you
And we will celebrate a glorious funeral feast.
Or did Kozlovsky completely rework the pre-revolutionary text of the Wanderer, thereby giving life to the most popular “quietly in the forest...”? The question of the author of this version of the text is still open to me.
Here he is, the most known variant sounds of the waltz "On the hills of Manchuria":
During the Great Patriotic War, the waltz became very relevant. Especially after the start of active hostilities against Japan. So we again owe the revival of this wonderful melody to “social order”. At the same time, several more text options appeared. For example, front-line poet Pavel Shubin:
The fire is fading,
The hills were covered with fog.
The gentle sounds of the old waltz
The button accordion gently leads.
In tune with the music
Remembered the hero-soldier
Dew, birch trees, light brown braids,
Girlish cute look.
Where they are waiting for us today,
In the meadow in the evening,
With the strictest untouchable
We danced this waltz.
Shy date nights
They have long passed and disappeared into the darkness...
Manchurian hills sleep under the moon
In the powder smoke.
We saved
The glory of our native land.
In fierce battles, here in the East,
Hundreds of roads have been passed.
But also in battle,
In a distant foreign land,
Remembered in light sadness
Your motherland.
She's far, far away
From a soldier's light.
In the gloomy nights from Manchuria
Clouds float towards her.
Into the dark space
Past the night lakes
Higher than the birds, further than the border
Higher than the Siberian mountains.
Leaving the gloomy land,
Let them fly after us in joy
All our brightest thoughts,
Our love and sadness.
There, behind the blue ribbon,
The banner of the homeland is above you.
Sleep, my comrade! The shots stopped
Your last battle has died down...
These poems are a completely different story. It's no longer a requiem. A lyrical story of memories of peacetime, of a distant home, of dancing to the sounds of this particular waltz, smoothly flowing into something pathetic on the theme “here we are back, glory to the fallen.” The author makes it clear that the same funeral feast that his predecessors wrote about has been completed. The Russian army returned to Mukden and defeated the Kwantung group of Japanese troops. The circle is closed. On the other hand, this text contains much more of exactly what Shatrov put into his music: expressions of love for the Motherland and dedication to the memory of fallen comrades, but not in the style of a tragic sob, but simply by silently taking off his hat. That is why this text is most sympathetic to me, although I do not hide the fact that I consider it incorrect to write poetry to originally instrumental compositions.
Listen here (recording from 1959, sung by Petr Kirichek):
(addition: a site visitor pointed out a factual inaccuracy - the entry dates back to 1958).
With these verses, Shatrov’s brilliant work really began to resemble a waltz, and not a funeral march, didn’t it? In this regard, I had a stupid question: didn’t Shubin know Shatrov? For it is known how negatively the composer treated the “orthodox” versions of the text to his melody, and Shubin’s poem is strikingly in tune with Shatrov’s thoughts about his waltz. But these are crazy thoughts.
To complete the story, a few words about the future life of bandmaster Shatrov. In 1910, the 214th Moksha Regiment was disbanded and joined the 189th Izmail Infantry Regiment. In 1918, Shatrov was mobilized into the Red Army, and in 1938 he was transferred to the reserve due to his age. But in 1945, for some reason, they mobilized again, and in order to comply with formalities, they had to falsify their year of birth. There is another semi-mythical story concerning the fact of secondary conscription into the Red Army. Allegedly, after the capture of Port Arthur, Stalin personally ordered the author of the waltz “On the Hills of Manchuria” to be delivered there. For what? For what mystical or ideological purpose? But it is a fact that after this I.A. Shatrov served until the moment of his death. He died on May 2, 1952 in the city of Tambov, and was buried there.
This is such a magical waltz. Not a requiem, but tragic notes are undoubtedly heard in it. Beautiful music in waltz time, but the dedication from the author’s title should not be forgotten - “Moksha Regiment on the Hills of Manchuria”.
PS: Photos, as well as a number of audio recordings, were taken from the website
The next anniversary was celebrated by the waltz “On the Hills of Manchuria” - a famous work dedicated to Russian soldiers who died in the war with Japan. Its writing began with Far East.
More recently - about 20 years ago - this melody could be heard everywhere: in squares and gardens, in parks and on the embankment. In general, wherever brass bands played. Today, alas, brass bands are a novelty, but this melody is remembered by everyone, young and old.
“The Moksha Regiment on the Hills of Manchuria” is the correct title of this work. In 1905, during the Russo-Japanese War, the regiment was surrounded near Mukden. When the cartridges ran out and the soldiers began to lose last hopes, the commander gave the command: the banner and orchestra to the parapet. Having perked up, gathering their last strength into a fist to the sounds of the march, the soldiers launched a bayonet attack and were able to break through the encirclement. Of the 4,000, 700 people survived, and seven musicians from the orchestra. The regiment's bandmaster, Ilya Shatrov, was awarded the officer's Order of St. George, which is very rare for a musician, and the orchestra was awarded honorary silver trumpets.
Andrey Popov, head of the Pacific Fleet orchestra, major: “The work greatly influenced the development of national culture. It is permeated through the events that took place in Manchuria. It probably remained in the hearts of all listeners, musicians, conductors, and ordinary listeners, because it was written from the heart.”
After the end of the war, the Moksha regiment remained in Manchuria for another year. At one point, Ilya Shatrov, by order of the commander, ended up in the guardhouse. It was here that he began to compose a waltz in memory of his comrades who died in battle. In May 1906, the regiment returned to its permanent location in Zlatoust. It was here that the composer created the first version of the waltz. And here Ilya Shatrov met the teacher and composer Oscar Knaub. He helped the bandmaster finish the work and publish the notes. Already in the summer of 1907 they appeared on the counter of Knaub’s store.
The brass band performed the waltz “The Moksha Regiment on the Hills of Manchuria” for the first time in Strukovsky Park in Samara on April 24, 1908. At first, the audience greeted this melody rather coolly. Critics also had many comments about the new waltz.
Andrey Popov, head of the Pacific Fleet orchestra, major: “Firstly, it was an innovation on Shatrov’s part - to play a waltz in Strukovsky Park. Because people are accustomed to brass bands performing bravura works with the participation of the famous, at that time popular, Turkish drum and copper cymbals. And then suddenly people heard a waltz. This was something new. Therefore, the waltz initially received such criticism, but soon this music became popular and began to develop. Along with this waltz, many patriotic songs were written precisely about those times, about those events in the Far East. And I think many composers, taking an example from that work, began to write more specifically about the exploits of the Russian people. And this began to be strongly reflected in art.”
The popularity of the waltz grew by leaps and bounds. In the first three years alone, it was reprinted 82 times. The circulation of records exceeded all other fashionable hits. It was played everywhere - on playgrounds, in restaurants, waltz music flowed from almost every window. Soon the Samara poet and writer Stepan Petrov wrote the first version of the poems for the waltz. It was this that formed the basis for subsequent versions.
During the First World War, all military bands performed this waltz during a lull on the front line. It did not lose popularity during Soviet times. On all dance floors, in clubs, at holidays, “On the Hills of Manchuria” and “Amur Waves” were played first. In 1945, the waltz was performed on the radio, at concerts and in solemn moments, in connection with the victories of the Red Army in battles with Japan.
Tatyana Selitsskaya, concert master of the Pacific Fleet orchestra: “This is precisely the secret of the composer’s talent. He put his soul and his emotions into the music. He invested it to such an extent that it became clear to everyone and passes through the music. Music in general is magic.”
Several versions of the lyrics were written for this waltz over the years. Such masters of Russian and Soviet pop music as Kozlovsky, Leshchenko, Utesov, Zykina took it up and performed it at the most special events. Yes and simple people, especially those who are older remember and sing this waltz with pleasure. It has been used more than once or twice in feature films.
The popularity and value of this waltz is also evidenced by the fact that more than once or twice at different times, in eras of completely different musical styles, “Manjurian Beat” - as the name sounds in English, was performed by various groups. Glen Miller Orchestra, Ventures, Spotnix... These are just a few honors of foreign performers.
Evgeny Kalestratov, musician of the Pacific Fleet orchestra, midshipman: “In my opinion, because it was written for people. And it was apparently written very a good man. And when music is written not for someone, but specifically for ordinary people, it takes on other forms, some spiritual ones, there is a lot of Orthodox stuff like that in this music.”
A year ago, on April 24, the 105th anniversary of the first performance of the waltz was celebrated in Strukovsky Park in Samara. Such famous performers as Mark Kogan and Georgy Tsvetkov took part in the concert. Now a project of annual brass band festivals dedicated to the waltz “Moksha Regiment on the Hills of Manchuria” has begun in Samara.
On the hills of Manchuria. Song from the Russian-Japanese War.
ON THE HILLS OF MANCHURI
Music by Ilya Shatrov
Words of the Wanderer (Stepan Petrov)
It's quiet all around, the hills are covered in darkness.
The graves keep peace.
The shadows of the past have been circling for a long time,
They talk about the victims of battles.
And Russians don’t hear tears.
Crying birth mother, the young wife is crying,
Evil fate and curse fate!..
Sleep, heroes of the Russian land,
Native sons of the fatherland.
Sleep, sons, you died for Rus', for the fatherland,
And we will celebrate a bloody funeral.
Masterpieces of Russian romance / Ed.-comp. N.V. Abelmas. — M.: LLC “AST Publishing House”; Donetsk: “Stalker”, 2004. - (Songs for the soul).
The original name was “Moksha Regiment on the Hills of Manchuria.” Dedicated to the soldiers of the 214th Moksha Infantry Battalion who died in February 1905 in battles with the Japanese near the city of Mukden.
The author of the melody is the bandmaster Moksha Regiment Ilya Shatrov. There are many variants of the text - author's and folklore. Poet K.R. is mentioned among other authors. - Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov, but this is more of a legend. Alterations were created many years after the war - by A. Mashistov (see below), and in 1945 by Pavel Shubin (). Today, a comic song is sung to this melody: “It’s quiet in the forest, but the badger is not sleeping...”. There is also a song of the same name by Alexander Galich<1969>, dedicated to the memory of the writer Mikhail Zoshchenko.
From. Collection: Anthology of military songs / Comp. and the author of the foreword. V. Kalugin. - M.: Eksmo, 2006:
The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 was unsuccessful and fatal in its consequences for Russia, but the memory of it was preserved in two songs that became one of the most popular - “Varyag” and the waltz “On the Hills of Manchuria.” They are based on real events: the death of the cruiser "Varyag" in a naval battle and the death of soldiers of the Moksha regiment in a land battle. "Varyag" is the first of the cruisers of the Far Eastern squadron to take part in an unequal battle in Port Arthur with 14 Japanese ships. With his death, a tragic war for the Russian fleet began. The bloody battle on the hills of Manchuria of the Moksha regiment is just an episode of this war. But it was he who was destined to become no less significant than the naval battle. The regiment consisted of 6 staff officers, 43 chief officers, 404 non-commissioned officers, 3548 privates, 11 mounted orderlies and 61 musicians. These musicians were to play a decisive role. For eleven days the regiment did not leave the battle. On the twelfth the ring of encirclement closed. But at the most critical moment, when both strength and ammunition were exhausted, the regimental orchestra burst out. Military marches followed one after another. The Japanese wavered. Russian "Hurray!" sounded in the finale. For this battle, seven orchestra members were awarded the soldier's St. George's Cross, and the bandmaster was awarded the officer's military Order of Stanislav, 3rd class with swords. Soon the name of this conductor, Ilya Alekseevich Shatrov, was recognized throughout Russia. In 1906, the first edition of his waltz “The Moksha Regiment on the Hills of Manchuria” was published, which went through more than a hundred reprints. Gramophone records with waltz music sold in fabulous quantities. And soon the words to the waltz music appeared. Gained the greatest fame poetic text Stepan Skitalets, author of the song “The bells and bells are ringing...” to the music of Y. Prigozhey. In Soviet times, Shatrov's waltz, like "Varyag", continued to remain among the most popular, but with new words, which, as was believed then, were more in line with the "spirit of the times": "We will go towards a new life, / Let's throw off the burden of slave shackles" and etc. In the 20s and 30s, not only “On the Hills of Manchuria”, but also other old songs were heard on new way. Now, in the 21st century, they have also become part of history.
The Wanderer (Stepan Gavrilovich Petrov) (1869-1941)
OPTIONS (5)
1. On the hills of Manchuria
Variation performed by I. S. Kozlovsky
It's quiet all around, the hills are covered in darkness,
The moon flashed from behind the clouds,
The graves keep peace.
The crosses turn white - these are the heroes sleeping.
The shadows of the past are spinning again,
They talk about the victims of battles.
It's quiet all around, the wind has carried away the fog,
Warriors sleep on the hills of Manchuria
And no tears are heard from the Russians.
My dear mother is crying, crying,
The young wife is crying
Everyone is crying as one person
Evil fate and curse fate!..
May Kaoliang bring you dreams,
Sleep, heroes of the Russian land,
Native sons of the fatherland,
You fell for Rus', you died for your fatherland.
Believe me, we will avenge you
And we will celebrate a glorious funeral feast!
Ancient Russian romance. 111 masterpieces. For voice and piano. In four issues. Vol. IV. Publishing house "Composer. St. Petersburg", 2002. - in total, the collection contains two versions of the text (the above and Mashistov’s text)
2. On the hills of Manchuria
The moon flashed from behind the clouds,
The graves keep peace.
It's quiet all around, the wind has carried away the fog.
Warriors sleep on the hills of Manchuria
And no tears are heard from the Russians.
May the kaoliang bring us dreams.
Sleep, heroes of the Russian land,
Sons of the Fatherland...
An excerpt quoted in Alexander Galich’s song “On the Hills of Manchuria” (in memory of M. M. Zoshchenko),<1969>
3. On the hills of Manchuria
Kaoliang is sleeping, the hills are covered in darkness.
The moon flashed from behind the clouds,
The graves keep peace.
It's quiet all around, the wind has carried away the fog.
Warriors sleep on the hills of the Manchurians,
And no tears are heard from the Russians.
Sleep, heroes of the Russian land,
Native sons of the fatherland.
No, it wasn’t a volley that came from distant fields,
It was thunder in the distance,
And again silence all around.
Everything froze in this silence of the night,
Sleep, warriors, sleep, heroes
Quiet, peaceful sleep.
May kaoliang bring you sweet dreams,
Father's distant home.
Sleep, fighters, glory to you forever.
Our fatherland, our native land
Do not conquer enemies.
In the morning we go on a hike, a bloody battle awaits us,
Sleep, heroes, you are not dead,
If Russia lives.
May kaoliang bring you sweet dreams.
Sleep, heroes of the Russian land,
Native sons of the fatherland.
Unknown source, no signature
The night has come
Dusk fell on the ground,
Desert hills are drowning in darkness,
The east is covered by a cloud.
Here, underground,
Our heroes are sleeping
The wind sings a song above them,
And the stars look from heaven.
It wasn’t a volley that came from the fields, -
It was thunder in the distance,
And again everything around is so calm
Everything is silent in the silence of the night. *
Sleep, fighters,
Sleep peacefully,
May you dream of your native fields,
Father's distant home.
Let you die
In battles with enemies,
Your feat
Calls us to fight
Blood of the people
Washed Banner
We will carry forward.
We will meet you halfway
New life,
Let's drop the burden
Slave shackles.
And the people and the Fatherland will not forget
The valor of your sons.
Sleep, fighters,
Glory to you forever!
Our Fatherland,
Our native land
Don't conquer your enemies!
Night, silence,
Only the kaoliang is noisy.
Sleep, heroes,
Memory of you
The Motherland protects!
*This verse is repeated twice
Oh, those black eyes. Comp. Yu. G. Ivanov. Music editor S. V. Pyankova. - Smolensk: Rusich, 2004
Ancient Russian romance. 111 masterpieces. For voice and piano. In four issues. Vol. IV. Publishing house "Composer. St. Petersburg", 2002.
5. On the hills of Manchuria
Arranged by A. Khvostenko, late 20th century
It's scary around
Only the wind is crying on the hills,
The graves of soldiers are illuminated...
The crosses are turning white
Distant and beautiful heroes.
In the midst of everyday darkness,
Everyday everyday prose
And burning tears flow...
Heroes of the body
They have long since decayed in their graves,
And they did not sing eternal memory.
So sleep, sons,
You died for Rus', for the fatherland,
But believe me, we will avenge you
And let's celebrate a bloody funeral!
Transcript of the phonogram by A. Khvostenko, audio cassette "Mitkovsky songs. Supplement to the album", studio "Soyuz" and studio "Dobrolet", 1996
Perhaps this is not an adaptation by Khvostenko, but one of the original texts, since the same version is in the collection. Anthology of military songs / Comp. and the author of the foreword. V. Kalugin. M.: Eksmo, 2006 - given as the author’s version of the Wanderer:
On the hills of Manchuria
Music by Ilya Shatrov
Words of the Wanderer
Kaoliang is sleeping,
The hills are covered with darkness...
Warriors sleep on the hills of Manchuria,
And no tears are heard from the Russians...
It's scary around
Only the wind is crying on the hills.
Sometimes the moon comes out from behind the clouds,
The soldiers' graves are illuminated.
The crosses are turning white
Distant and beautiful heroes.
And the shadows of the past swirl around,
They tell us about the sacrifices in vain.
In the midst of everyday darkness,
Everyday everyday prose,
We still cannot forget the war,
And burning tears flow.
Heroes of the body
They have long since decayed in their graves.
And we didn’t pay them the last debt
And they did not sing eternal memory.
So sleep, sons,
You died for Rus', for the Fatherland.
But believe me, we will avenge you
And we will celebrate a bloody funeral.
My dear mother is crying, crying,
The young wife is crying
All Rus' is crying like one person.
The Mokshansky 214th Infantry Regiment was originally formed in 1878 on the basis of the Ryazan local battalion. In 1891, it received the name of the Mokshansky (214th) reserve infantry battalion in the district town of Mokshansk, Penza province. In December 1901 he was transferred from Penza to Zlatoust. In May 1904, he was deployed to the 214th Mokshansky Infantry Regiment. From August 14, 1904, the regiment took part in Russian-Japanese war as part of the 5th Siberian Corps (battles near Liaoliang, attack on Bensiha).
The 214th Moksha Regiment included: 6 staff officers, 43 chief officers, 404 non-commissioned officers, 3548 privates, 11 mounted orderlies and 61 musicians.
One of the bloody battles took place near Mukden and Liaoyang. The battle for Mukden lasted more than 10 days, and the regiment was constantly in battle. On February 25, 1905, the regiment became part of the rearguard, covering the retreat of our troops from the city. On the 27th, already during the retreat, the commander of the 214th regiment, Colonel P. P. Pobyvanets (14.01.1848 - 1.03.1905), was mortally wounded in the thigh by a shrapnel of shimosa. Russian-Turkish war was awarded military orders and golden weapons.
The Mokshans did not leave the battles for eleven days, holding their positions. On the twelfth day, the Japanese surrounded the regiment. The defenders were running out of strength and ammunition was running out.
At this critical moment, in the rear of the Russians, the regimental orchestra began to play, conducted by bandmaster Ilya Alekseevich Shatrov. Marches replaced each other. The music gave the soldiers strength, and the encirclement was broken.
For this battle, seven orchestra members were awarded the St. George Cross, and the bandmaster himself was awarded the Order of Stanislav, 3rd class. with swords.
By September 18, 1906, the regiment was transferred to Samara, where the bandmaster of the Moksha regiment, I.A. Shatrov, published the world-famous waltz “The Moksha Regiment on the Hills of Manchuria.”
Due to its wide distribution, some couplets were modified during oral transmission, so that slightly different variants can be found. In this video, Yulia Zapolskaya performs a pre-war version of the waltz.
The popularity of the waltz was unusually high. In the first three years after it was written, the waltz was reprinted 82 times. Gramophone records with music written by Shatrov were produced in huge quantities. Abroad, this waltz was even called the “national Russian waltz.” Only in the pre-revolutionary years were several versions of the text written to a popular melody. The most widely used words were those written by Stepan Skitalets.
ON THE HILLS OF MANCHURI
(pre-revolutionary version)
Music I.Shatrov, lyrics. St. Skitalets
Kaoliang is sleeping,
The hills are covered with darkness...
Warriors sleep on the hills of Manchuria,
And no tears are heard from the Russians...
It's scary around
Only the wind is crying on the hills
Sometimes the moon comes out from behind the clouds,
The soldiers' graves are illuminated.
The crosses are turning white
Distant and beautiful heroes.
And the shadows of the past swirl around,
They tell us about the sacrifices in vain.
In the midst of everyday darkness,
Everyday everyday prose,
We still cannot forget the war,
And burning tears flow.
Heroes of the body
They have long since decayed in their graves,
And we didn’t pay them the last debt
And they did not sing eternal memory.
So sleep, sons,
You died for Rus', for the Fatherland.
But believe me, we will avenge you
And we will celebrate a bloody funeral.
My dear mother is crying, crying
The young wife is crying
All Rus' is crying like one person
Evil rock and fate cursing...
On the hills of Manchuria.
On the Hills of Manchuria (originally, the Moksha Regiment on the Hills of Manchuria) is a Russian waltz of the early 20th century, dedicated to the soldiers of the 214th reserve Moksha Infantry Regiment who died in the Russo-Japanese War. The author is the military bandmaster of the regiment Ilya Alekseevich Shatrov. Due to its wide distribution, some couplets were modified during oral transmission, so that slightly different variants can be found. In this version, Yulia Zapolskaya performs the Pre-War version of the waltz.
It's quiet around. The hills are covered with haze.
The moon flashed from behind the clouds, The graves are in peace.
The crosses turn white - These are the heroes sleeping.
The shadows of the past are circling again, They are talking about the victims of battles.
It's quiet all around, the wind has carried away the fog,
The warriors sleep on the Manchurian hills and the Russians do not hear tears.
The dear mother is crying, the dear mother is crying, the young wife is crying,
Everyone is crying as one person, cursing evil fate and fate.
May Kaoliang bring you dreams,
Sleep, heroes of the Russian land, native sons of the Fatherland.
You fell for Rus', You died for the Fatherland.
But believe me, we will avenge you and we will celebrate a glorious funeral feast.
YULIA ALEXANDROVNA ZAPOLSKAYA (WHITNEY) (1919-08/13/1965) - Soviet film actress and singer, composer born in Moscow. Father - Alexander Zapolsky (economist), mother - Estella Khokhlovkina. The parents met at the University of Liege, and around 1914 they returned to Moscow, where Julia was born. She graduated from the Gnessin School, majoring in vocals. During the war, Zapolskaya was part of the pop group of Konstantin Smirnov-Sokolsky. She sang her songs there to the accordion. In the late 1940s, Yulia sang at the “Repeat Film Cinema” at the Nikitsky Gate, then it was customary to invite artists to perform before screenings. She also had several performances after the war with the Utyosovsky Orchestra. Later, Yulia Zapolskaya met US citizen journalist Thomas Whitney and emigrated from the USSR in 1953. They got married in 1959 in Finland. Thomas Whitney helped her record a series of discs for the famous American company Monitor, which produced what is called “world music.” Her first disc was called “Moscow After Dark” (“Midnight Moscow”), it was released by the DECCA studio, and the disc achieved widespread success. In total, the singer recorded and released 10 vinyl discs. She also wrote a book of children's fairy tales. Yulia Zapolskaya's first official disc in Russia was released in 2002. She died and was buried in New York. In the early 1990s and in 2007, the entire series of Yulia Zapolskaya’s records was reissued in the United States.
Mikhail Dyukov http://russianshanson.info/?attr=1&am...
Sheet music for piano can be found here
On the hills of Manchuria
Performed by the choir of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery a cappella, artistic director and conductor - Nikon Zhila. Concert, dedicated to the Day St. George the Victorious (May 6, 2009).
Music - I. Shatrov, words - A. Mashistov.
Soloist - D. Beloselsky.
