You Fell Victim to a Fateful Struggle

"You Fell Victim" (Russian: Вы жертвою пали, romanized: Vy žértvoju páli, IPA: [vɨ ˈʐɛrtvəjʊ ˈpalʲɪ]), also "You Fell Victim to a Fateful Struggle",[1] is a Russian Marxist and revolutionary funeral march. It acted as the funeral dirge of the Russian revolutionary movement, among them the Bolsheviks.[1]

The song was written in 1878; the lyrics were written by Anton Arkhangelsky, and the musical arrangements were made by Nikolay Ikonikov.[2]

During the funeral of the Bolshevik Nikolay Bauman, a student orchestra joined the procession near the St. Petersburg Conservatory, playing "You Fell Victim to a Fateful Struggle" repeatedly.[1]

The melody of "You Fell A Victim" was used by Dmitri Shostakovich in the third part of his Symphony No. 11; it had since the end of the 19th century often been the funeral march of Russian revolutionaries.[3][4] The same melody was used in Edmund Meisel's score for Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin, in the scene of the funeral of Grigory Vakulinchuk.[5]

The melody also forms the basis of the 1936 composition "Russian Funeral" by Benjamin Britten, scored for brass and percussion.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Figes, Orlando (2014). A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891–1924. London: The Bodley Head. pp. 198–9. ISBN 9781847922915.
  2. ^ "Вы жертвою пали (Vy zhertvoiu pali) / You fell victims". Marxists.org. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  3. ^ Königsberg & Mikheev 2000, p. 600.
  4. ^ Druskin, Mikhail Semenovich (1954). Русская революционная песня. M. p. 159.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Patalas E. "Хождения по мукам "Броненосца "Потемкин""". Киноведческие записки 2005, № 72. Retrieved 2016-10-08.

Bibliography

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  • Königsberg, A. K.; Mikheev, L. V. (2000). 111 симфоний. St. Petersburg: Культ-информ-пресс. ISBN 5-8392-0174-X.