§ I Am Music and I Pick the Songs: The Song of the Volga Boatmen

{Song #53 « Song #54 » Song #55}

§ ≡ One of an ongoing series of posts in which I pick, in my not-so-humble opinion, the best songs of the second millennium. Feel free to offer constructive dissenting opinions; preferably set to music.

Song #54 is The Song of the Volga Boatmen, a well-known traditional Russian folk song collected by Mily Balakirev. The song, also called The Volga Burlak's Song, was inspired by Repin's famous painting, Burlaks on the Volga, depicting the suffering of the people in the depth of misery in Tsarist Russia.

Ilia Repin, Burlaks on the Volga

The people's suffering was ultimately epitomized by the most horrific battle of all time, a decisive victory for the Russian Army, fought in and around that Russian city on the Volga — Stalingrad.

Russian Victory at Stalingrad

The song was popularised by Feodor Chaliapin, and has been a favourite concert piece of bass singers ever since. Glenn Miller's jazz arrangement took the song to #1 in the US charts in 1941.

Chaliapin — The Song of the Volga Boatmen


Post #1,134 § I Am Music and I Pick the Songs: The Song of the Volga Boatmen