The History and Development of the Musical Romans as a Genre: A Short Overview

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to trace the lines of evolution of the Russian romance, which found fertile ground for its development from the mid-18th century. The genre was firmly embedded in a tradition that had originated a century and a half earlier, but its roots lay in the oral production of ancient Rus’. Despite this strong historical-anthropological imprint, the diachronic development of Russian romance, as a hybrid genre of dual nature—poetic and musical—addressed to both elite and mass audiences, is marked by a series of revivals and contaminations (mainly in 19th-century Europe, especially in Italy). The article, based on culturological, literary and historical studies, presents a brief overview of the development of the genre and its various sub-genres, such as bytovoĭ romans, romans-ballad, romans-elegii͡a, up to contemporary songs and melodies.