Pskov-Krivichi Ethnomusicological Borderlines of the Russian Northwest
Abstract
The article considers an example of historical-ethnomusicological correspondence established by means of the areal method. A study of the cartographic projections of ritual songs of the Pskov region and the nearby areas of the Tver and Smolensk regions showed that three types of chants — two associated with weddings and one with Maslenitsa (Carnival) — form areas that largely correspond to the historical territory of the Pskov Krivichi. During the second half of the first millennium AD, the population of this ancient East Slavic tribe lived on the coast of the Peipus-Pskov Lakes, in the Velikaya River basin, as well as along the upper reaches of the Western Dvina and Lovat Rivers. By comparing the ethnomusicological areas with an archaeological map, they are shown not only to be oriented toward the external boundaries of the tribal territory of the Pskov Krivichi, but also to recreate the internal structure of this area. On this basis, the three chant types can be considered as inheritors of the Pskov-Krivichi musical tradition. Structural analysis of the melodies revealed the mixed nature of their rhythmic structure, which both unites them and distinguishes them from the wider East Slavic context. On the one hand, like the ritual songs of the Western ethnocultural region, they are coordinated with syllabic verses, form strophic compositions according to the model of caesurised chants, and even use caesurised rhythmic formulas. At the same time, they demonstrate qualities of segmented musical-rhythmic organisation, whose principles of accentuation — whether uniform or uneven — connects them with northern Russian culture. By comparing them with the classical rhythmic types of the Russian North, the identified Pskov-Krivichi types of ritual chants appear to embody early and arguably immature forms of musical-rhythmic segmentation.
Keywords: geography of folk culture, mapping of musical folklore, areal method, Russian NorthWest, Pskov Krivichi, settlement history of East Slavic tribes, ritual songs, structural analysis of tunes, rhythmic structure
For citation: Belogurova, L. M. (2025). Pskov-Krivichi Ethnomusicological Borderlines of the Russian Northwest. Contemporary Musicology, 9(2), 187―213. https://doi.org/10.56620/2587-9731-2025-2-187-213
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.56620/http2587-9731-2025-2-187-213
Copyright (c) 2025 Larisa M. Belogurova
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