Historical Song

The historical song is a lyric-epic genre that reflects concrete historical events and figures through the eyes of the people. Unlike the duma, the historical song has a strophic structure, syllabically even verse, and a distinct melody closer to an ordinary song. Thematically it embraces the struggle with the Turks and Tatars, Cossack campaigns, the Khmelnytsky era, the haidamaka movement, and the Ruin. Famous examples are 'Oh Moroz, Morozenko,' 'The Sun Rises Beyond Siberia' (about Karmaliuk; composed by Tymko Padura), and 'The Song of Baida.' Historical songs preserve the names of real figures: Baida Vyshnevetsky, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Ivan Sirko, Ustym Karmaliuk. A classic collection of historical songs was compiled by Volodymyr Antonovych and Mykhailo Drahomanov (1874–1875). The genre was a powerful source of national historical consciousness.