The musical and poetic material of the poem by G. V. Sviridov based on the verses of S. A. Yesenin "The Departed Rus" reveals the characteristics of the "myth of Russia." The concept of the "myth of Russia" as a fundamental goal of Sviridov's creativity is borrowed from his memoirs. The object of study is the national myth as a mechanism for forming national identity shared by a cultural community; the subject of study is G. V. Sviridov's composition "The Departed Rus" as a creative embodiment of the basic characteristics of the national myth. Special attention is focused on the features of "borderline" civilizational systems, as Russian civilization belongs to this type. The position regarding the heterogeneity, variability of value orientations, and the permanence of the idea of movement and change that characterize domestic civilization is substantiated. The national myth is interpreted as a mechanism for the formation of universally significant values, and the musical and poetic material of the poem is considered as an artistic expression of this value system. The basic methodological works include texts by V. B. Zemskov, I. V. Kondakov, Ya. G. Shemyakin, and N. A. Khrenov, which analyze the civilizational features of Russian culture. The main research method is contextual, based on correlating the basic characteristics of "borderline" cultures with the semantic content of S. A. Yesenin's verses and the musical techniques used by G. V. Sviridov. The analysis of the poem allows for conclusions about the correspondence of the image of the main character—the creator—to the type of personality characteristic of "borderline" cultures. The "borderline" personality type is heterogeneous and antinomic, like the "borderline" civilizational systems. Relying on the works of musicologists, a conclusion is made about the epic nature of the poem, listing the artistic techniques that allowed the composer to present his work as an epic piece: the specificity of instrumental accompaniment, the use of vocal techniques such as portamento and "non-vibrato singing," and the application of continuous performance of sections—attacca. At the end of the article, three basic characteristics of the "myth of Russia" embodied in the poem "The Departed Rus" are formulated. The materials of the article have scientific value for research in the field of civilizational analysis (proposed is an original version of the "prasimbol" of the Russian civilizational system), the study of various aspects of national identity, and the conclusions of the article allow the subject of musicology to be viewed from the perspective of related disciplines, thus significantly expanding previous research dedicated to the work of G. V. Sviridov.
Tishchenko et al. (Wed,) studied this question.