folk

(2 cлайд) Folk music songs deal with almost every kind of human activity. Folk music often expresses the character of ethnic and social groups and sometimes a nation. It is the music of the people. A folk song can express political or religious beliefs, tell a story or describe history, or just provide amusement. (3 слайд) Folk music is usually learned by listening rather than by reading the notes or words. The music is shared from person to person, from place to place, and from generation to generation. Folk song sometimes change either by accident or from a purposeful alteration. Folk song melodies and words often evolve over time. Words of a song may also change over time. (4 слайд) Folk songs can often be classified into different types. The ballad, a song that tells a story often about real events, is one of the main types of folk song. Ballads are in stanza form, where a melody is repeated for each of several verses, and may have a refrain that is repeated several times. Another type of folk song is those that deal with a particular activity, occupation, or set of circumstances. This group includes work songs, prison songs, war songs, and the like. There are also spiritual songs, songs for children, songs about life's stages, and many songs are just for celebration, dance, and enjoyment.

(5 слайд) Russian folk songs and dances were formed in two cycles: one of them is associated with calendar rites (sowing, harvest, etc.), while the other has to do with family rituals (wedding, birth, burial, etc.). More individual are lyrical songs. ('Ah ty dushechka' (Performed by Sergey Lemeshev) ) The epoch of Old Rus is characteristic of heroic ballads sensing the praises of noble princes and instrumental music (pipes, horns, tambourines and kettle-drums).
Special place in song folklore belongs to calendar song cycle; it consists of smaller cycles definitely timed to seasons and pagan festivals (often overlaid with Christian holidays). These songs are peculiar for