There is a chamber genre in the art of music, which can rightfully be considered unique – it is "romance". This vocal miniature from the moment of its appearance was very popular and reflected all significant processes taking place in the life of society. No one can now answer the question when “romance” came to Russia, but musicologists suggest that this happened in the second half of the 18th century. However, it is reliably known that it came to our country from France, since initially the term "romance" was used to refer to a vocal work of lyrical content, written to lyrics in French. It should be noted that at that time Russian composers wrote many vocal miniatures to the verses of French authors.

Having taken root on fertile soil, “romance” began to merge with Russian culture, and soon lyrical, sensual, love songs began to be called “romance”, and were created not only by composers, but by amateur musicians as well. At that time, there was a significant manifestation of interest in amateur music composing and song writing everywhere. Representatives of the nobility and people of different ranks considered it obligatory to have some kind of musical instrument among household items: a violin, guitar, harp or piano. At the same time, romantic moods dominated in European and, accordingly, in Russian art. Along with the classical romance, which was the creation of professional composers and was subdivided into various genre variants, including elegies, ballads and barcaroles, in Russia, where the peculiar subculture flourished, other varieties of romance developed, such as urban (domestic), "cruel" and gypsy ones. They enjoyed recognition and existed as folklore, that is, they were composed by authors of common origin. Such compositions gained the greatest popularity in the first quarter of the 20th century. After the October Revolution, romances in Russia, and then in the USSR, were banned as alien to the proletarian ideology and a relic of the past. Well-known performers were persecuted and even repressed. A gradual revival of the romance began during the war years, but a special rise in the genre was observed in the 70s of the 20th century.

Among the well-known performers of the Russian romance were A. Vertinsky, A. Vyaltseva, N. Plevitskaya, V. Panina, P. Leshchenko, A. Bayanova, I. Yuryeva, T. Tsereteli, V. Kozin, N. Slichenko, V. Baglaenko, V. Ponomarev, N. Bregvadze, V. Agafonov and O. Pogudin.

In our new musical selection "Maestros of romantic song" - romances performed by Vadim Kozin - a Soviet singer that experienced the peaks of fame, a long period of oblivion in his work, and hard post-war years of imprisonment, but always remained a devoted and true artist.

Currently, interest in the romance does not fade away. Melodies that have received recognition in old times are very popular nowadays. Today we often listen, enjoying their charm and pristine freshness in concert halls, television programs and radio broadcasts. Romance is not going to recede; on the contrary, it unobtrusively attracts more and more people of different ages into its wonderful world of genuine feelings, wise thoughts and real passions.

Source: https://soundtimes.ru/