Music of Belarus

Soviet postage stamp depicting traditional musical instruments of Belarus

Belarus is an Eastern European country with a rich tradition of folk and religious music. The country's folk music traditions can be traced back to the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The country's musical traditions spread with its people to countries like Russia, Canada, United States, Kazakhstan and Latvia. The people of Belarus were exposed mostly to Russian pop music during this period and also after independence in 1991. In 2002, however, President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree requiring 50% of all FM broadcast music to be Belarusian in origin, and since 1 January 2005 the rule has been even stricter (75% of music broadcast each day must be Belarusian). However, it does not regulate the language of the songs, so most of the music which is broadcast is still in Russian.

Documentation of its music stretches back to at least the 15th century. Prior to that, skomorokhs were the major profession for musicians. A neumatic chant, called znamenny, from the word 'znamia', meaning sign or neume, used until the 16th century in Orthodox church music, followed by two hundreds of stylistic innovation that drew on the Renaissance and Protestant Reformation. In the 17th century, Partesnoe penie, part singing, became common for choruses, followed by private theaters established in cities like Minsk and Vitebsk.

Prehistoric Times

The first musical instruments appeared in territories adjacent to Belarus as early as the Paleolithic era. Tools made from mammoth bones, showing marks of rhythmic strikes—considered by some researchers to be primitive musical instruments used to create rhythmic sounds during magical rituals associated with hunting—have been discovered near the villages of Mezin in the Chernihiv region, Horodok in the Rivne region, and Kostenki in the Voronezh region.

The earliest musical instruments on Belarusian territory were found at the Dubakray settlement near Lake Sennitsa, on the border of Vitsyebsk and Pskov regions. Two bone flutes discovered there were straight tubes with five sound holes. Excavations of the Neolithic settlement of Asavets (Beshankovichy district) uncovered a fragment of a reed pipe (zhaleyka) made from the bone of a small bird. These finds are dated to the 4th–3rd millennium BCE. Similar discoveries include whistles made from the leg bones of a stork at the Kamyen settlement (Pinsk district).

In the Bronze Age (3rd–early 1st millennium BCE), multibarreled flutes were already known. Some examples were found in monuments of the Lusatian culture, which was widespread in Poland and the southwestern regions of Belarus.

From the early Iron Age (7th century BCE–5th century CE), bone pipes and whistles have been found, such as those discovered at the Horani hillfort (Smorgon district). These instruments were carefully crafted, with both ends of the bones neatly cut at right angles and holes drilled along the sides. A similar pipe from the 12th–13th centuries was found in Slutsk.

The origins of Belarusian musical art can be traced back to the folk creativity of the Eastern Slavs. The first professional musicians included skomorokhi (wandering minstrels), instrumentalists (players of lyres, bagpipes, gusli, cymbals, violins, and others), as well as church and monastery musicians.

Ancient Music

The development of ancient professional musical art in Belarus is closely linked to the Christianization process. This facilitated the assimilation of Byzantine spiritual music, influencing genres of church chants such as the antiphon, irmos, troparion, canon, and sticheron. These chants were performed in a monophonic, a cappella manner, and the accompanying musical terminology also reflected these influences. Church choral culture was indirectly shaped by folklore traditions, especially linguistic prosody, which later influenced secular music. Over time, the foundations of musical professionalism emerged. Original Old Belarusian chant forms were recorded using medieval neumatic notation in handwritten collections, predominantly monastic.

A connection with broader European folk traditions in the Middle Ages is evident in the activities of skamarochy—wandering professional performers whose art synthesized various forms. They were musicians (playing husli, bagpipes, recorders, drums, reed pipes, shawms, later violins, and cymbals), singers, acrobats, gymnasts, illusionists, and animal trainers who performed in town squares, villages, castles, taverns, and other venues. Notable among them were skamarochy-damračei (performers of historical songs and epics accompanied by the domra), and skamarochy-paciesniki (entertainers who performed dramatic, comedic, and satirical scenes, pantomimes, dances, and more). As carriers of oral poetic and musical folk traditions, they participated in various folk rituals and festivals.

Page from the Suprasl' irmologionj of 1601

The origins of Orthodox music among the Eastern Slavs can be traced to Byzantine and Bulgarian church music, which arrived in Belarus with Christianity. The 10th–14th centuries were marked by the adaptation of Byzantine hymnography to local conditions. Greek played a significant role in ancient Eastern Christian worship in Belarus, and Byzantine church music was assimilated, while original forms of neumatic notation and an oktoichos system with its characteristic set of chants were developed. This period also saw the establishment of single-voiced Orthodox liturgical singing, where the dominant role was given to the text of the hymns. From the late 10th century, notable singing schools in Belarus included the Polack and Viciebsk schools (established in 992), Smalensk (1001), and Turau (1005). Initially, the practical theory of singing art and its semiography involved the use of non-linear notation symbols, church statutes (ustavy), service books, and padobniki (the first practical singing manuals). By the 14th century, a system of znamenny (neumatic) notation had taken shape. In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, traditions of Old Rus' znamenny chant were initially preserved.

The 15th century saw the flourishing of Orthodox singing culture in Belarus. Authors of hymns and compilers of handwritten musical collections (irmologions) began to be recorded. Early singing alphabets appeared, the number of znamenny signs increased, and the tonal range expanded toward higher notes. Diverse melodies and musical terminology developed, while local differences in chanting styles deepened. Belarusian hymnography became closely tied to folk-song creativity and everyday culture. Original znamenny chants emerged and became widespread in the singing practice of the 15th–16th centuries, documented in handwritten collections like the Suprasl irmologiongion (1598–1601). Greek, Bulgarian, and Serbian chants were widely used, while the semantics of non-linear notation were reinterpreted. Square linear notation arose as Old Rus' chant transitioned to a new Western European level and polyphonic recording systems. During this period, Belarusian hymnography gradually diverged from the norms of the oktoichos system. Spiritual chants (kanty) and psalms began to develop, recorded in early handwritten kantsianaly, bahahłasniki, and catechisms.

Music of the 16th–18th Centuries

During the Renaissance, the role of the secular component in Belarusian musical culture increased. The temple remained the main center for the development of professional musical art. In Belarus, where various religious currents historically intersected, a unique polyconfessional environment emerged in the 16th–18th centuries. Orthodox music coexisted with Catholic, Protestant, and Uniate traditions, as well as with music from non-Christian confessions. From the late 16th century, traditional Orthodox chants coexisted with Suprasl, Kyiv-Lithuanian, and Belarusian chants, as well as regional styles such as Viciebsk, Kuceinski, Mahiloŭ, Mir, Niaśviž, and Sluck.

Influence on Russian Music

From the mid-16th to the 18th centuries, Catholic influences became characteristic. Several Belarusian monasteries were relocated to Russia, including the Kuceinski Monastery near Orša, which became the foundation of one of Russia’s cultural centers, the New Jerusalem Monastery. Here, the novaierusalimska school of text and melody creators developed spiritual kanty and psalms. Belarusian singers (vaspiavaki) joined the patriarchal and imperial choirs in Moscow. Belarusian theorists, alongside Ukrainian and Russian scholars under the guidance of Novgorodian Ivan Šajdura, developed the kinavarnyja notational marks and formalized the expanded tonal system (based on tetrachords) widely used in singing practice at the time.

Significant contributions to Orthodox church singing were made by the Iverski and Novadevočy monasteries in Moscow, which were entirely composed of Belarusians. These monasteries produced new manuscripts, hymns, and Belarusian (Lithuanian) chants, including the Vetski, Iverski, and Starysimanaŭski styles. Belarusian singers in Moscow included Ja. Kaniuchoŭski, Ja. Kalenda, I. Dziakoŭski, and I. Koklia from Polack, as well as Dziak Tyzienhauz from Vilnius and A. Bierazanski.

Belarusian A. Miezianiec created the sole theoretical work on znamenny chant, Izveščenie o soglasnejšich pometach (1668), while C. Makarjeŭski from near Orša authored Kliuč razumienia (late 17th century). Belarusian singing art and kant culture significantly influenced Russian liturgical music. By the mid-17th century, all church singing in Moscow was entirely managed by “natives of Poland and Lithuania,” who also served as teachers. Belarusian cherubic hymns became part of the Liturgy of John Chrysostom, and various Ukrainian and Russian irmologions incorporated these chants.

With the introduction of Belarusian and Ukrainian kant culture, polyphonic (partesny) singing entered Russia, aiding the transition of Russian church music to a new Western European level.

Page from the Zhyrovitsk irmologion of the 1620s

Orthodox Music

By the late 16th century, Belarusian choirs of the Vilnius, Niaśviž, Sluck, Minsk, Mahiloŭ, Orša, and Kuceiń brotherhoods were distinguished for performing both spiritual and secular works in 4, 6, 8, and 12 parts. Belarusian monasteries, such as the Suprasl, Blahaveščański, Žyrovičy, and Mahiloŭ monasteries, as well as local churches, served as cultural and educational centers and strongholds of Orthodoxy.

At the Suprasl Monastery, the complete body of Orthodox hymns was transcribed, with B. Anisimavič playing a key role as a compiler. The monastery also produced anti-Catholic and anti-Uniate polemical writings in manuscript form. Elements of Orthodox worship and chanting persisted in Uniate, especially Basilian, monasteries. For example, in the 17th century, several handwritten irmologions were created at the Žyrovičy Monastery.

By the late 18th century, new handwritten singing collections were being created, using both square linear and neumatic notations. Copies of older manuscripts were also circulated. During this time, there was an expansion of humanistic and democratic spiritual kanty, alongside the development of a rich tradition of Belarusian folk songs and instrumental works.

Following the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the end of the 18th century, Belarusian church music, while retaining its local characteristics, evolved within the framework of Russian liturgical singing. Churches performed canonical hymns approved by the Holy Synod, blending Belarusian traditions with the broader Russian Orthodox musical canon.

Catholic Music

Catholic music appeared in Belarus in the late 14th century as an integral part of the Latin rite. The musical accompaniment of Catholic worship was composed of stylistically diverse elements, including the archaic Gregorian chant, vocal-choral works a cappella with instrumental accompaniment, instrumental compositions (notably organ music), and religious hymns. The arrival of Catholicism facilitated the cultivation of organ music in Belarus, including cycles of Mass ordinaries, Requiems, individual Introits, Graduals, Sequences, Communions, and Office chants.

The Flourishing of Catholic Musical Traditions (16th Century Onward)

From the 16th century, Catholic musical traditions in Belarus experienced significant growth. Music, including instrumental music, became a mandatory subject in Catholic educational institutions at all levels. The Jesuit order played a leading role in musical and educational activities. Catholic church music in Belarus developed in close connection with European Catholic institutions, following broader European trends and integrating into the European musical tradition.

In Belarus, various traditions of Catholic liturgical music coexisted:

• Jesuit Tradition: Highly professional and oriented towards the latest European innovations.
• Dominican Tradition: Conservative and protective of earlier practices.
• Franciscan Tradition: Adapted to the tastes of ordinary believers.

The Vilnia Jesuit Academy emerged as a hub of Catholic music, hosting educated European composers and musicians such as Jan Brant, S. Lauksmin, M. Radaŭ, Š. Berant, and M. Krečmer.

Catholic Music Printing

The 17th century saw an expansion of music printing in Belarus, including works such as:

• Jan Brant's "Piesni" (Songs) (1601)
• B. Bartasheŭski's "Spieŭnik" (Hymnal) (1613)
• Š. Berant's "Litanies" (1638, 1639)
• Various Graduals (1667, 1693, 1742) and Antiphonaries (1667, 1694, 1742) compiled by Žygimantas Liauksminas

Liauksminas also authored the first textbook on the theory of choral singing in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, "Theory and Practice of Music" (1667, 1669, 1693).

Franciscan Dominance in the 18th Century

In the 18th century, most Catholic music works in Belarus originated from the Franciscan order. Liturgical compositions flourished, with notable contributions from figures such as Franciscan monk Šymkievič and musicians from the Słonim Chapel of M. K. Ogiński, including musicians like J. and L. Grabenbauer.

Page from the Brest cantional of 1558

Protestant Influences on Music in Belarus

The Protestant denomination significantly influenced the formation of professional musical art in Belarus. Protestantism's spread in Belarus during the mid-16th century, under the impact of Reformation ideas embraced by much of the local aristocracy, contributed to the growth of musical culture. Protestants notably advanced music publishing, producing the first Belarusian music printings, including:

• "Bieraściejski Kanciaŭnal" (Brest Cantional) (1558)
• "Niaśvižski Kanciaŭnal" (Nesvizh Cantional) (1563)

These publications reflect the broader impact of Protestantism on Belarusian musical traditions and liturgical culture.

Uniate Music

In the late 15th to early 16th centuries, the Uniate musical tradition began to take shape in Belarus. This development was linked to significant changes in Orthodox music, including the strong influence of Western European musical culture. The adoption of Western systems of staff notation for recording compositions and the incorporation of polyphonic partesny singing (designed in a Western European concert style) marked this transformation.

The Uniate liturgical musical practice, modeled after Catholic traditions, combined several elements:

• Traditional Belarusian-Ukrainian znamenny chant
• Polyphonic choral compositions with either polyphonic or homophonic-harmonic structures (a cappella or with instrumental accompaniment)
• Simple, semi-folkloric songs performed by congregants

The Uniates maintained and developed ancient Belarusian-Ukrainian znamenny singing traditions, which were preserved in manuscript irmologions of the 17th–18th centuries from locations such as Supraslaŭ, Žyrovičy, and Smalensk. These traditions also appeared in the first Slavic music prints for Uniate churches, such as the Lviv irmologions (1700, 1709) and Počaev irmologions (1766, 1793), as well as Asmaglasniks (1776, 1793).

Instrumental Accompaniment in Uniate Music

The Uniate tradition incorporated widespread use of the organ and instrumental ensembles (chapels). The organ at the Žyrovičy Basilian monastery was considered one of the finest instruments of the 17th century.

Uniate centers of musical culture included:

• The Supraslaŭ monastery, which published the first collection of Eastern Slavic religious songs, "Bahahłasnik" (1790)
• The Žyrovičy and Vilnius Basilian monasteries, which were prominent hubs for Uniate liturgical music

Music of Non-Christian Confessions

From the 16th century, alongside Christian denominations, Belarus was home to non-Christian confessions such as Judaism and Islam, each with distinct musical traditions. These communities contributed to the diversity of musical culture in the region, albeit in separate spheres from the dominant Christian traditions.

Secular music

Ruthenians, an illustration in a book by Pietro Bertelli, 1563

Secular vocal and instrumental music is associated with princely castle, military, and urban life. From the 16th century, musical centers were established at royal, grand-ducal, and magnate courts, where talented local and foreign musicians worked. In Hrodna since 1543, the "Litouskaja kapjela" (consisting of 15 musicians, likely of local origin) performed for noble festivities. At the court of Stefan Batory in the 1580s, there was a chapel where authors of vocal and instrumental (mainly lute) works Krzysztof Klabon and Wojciech Dlugoraj worked. At the courts of magnates and grand dukes in the 16th century, the following also worked: Slavic composers Cyprijan Bazylik and Wacław of Szamotuły, Mikołaj Gomółka and Jan Brat, Hungarian lutenist and composer Bálint Bakfark, many Italian musicians, including well-known composers Luca Marenzio, Džovani Batysta Kalola, lutenist and composer Djamjed Kato, organist Antoni Maphon. At the courts of the local aristocracy, both authorial and anonymous works were performed, examples of which have been preserved in the "Vilenski šytku" and Astračmječaŭski rukapis (the so-called "Polacki šytku"; both 17th century).

In the 16th-18th centuries, musical accompaniment was characteristic of theatrical performances in educational institutions of various denominations in cities and towns of Belarus, including Bieraści, Haradnia, Žyrovičy, Mahiloŭ, Minsk, Orša, Polack, and Słonim. In school performances, timed to religious and secular holidays, vocal (chants, psalms, hymns, songs) and instrumental (musical tunes, dances) music appropriate to the content and character of the plays was performed. In intermedes and interludes, played between the main parts of the action, folk melodies were sometimes used. As school theater developed, the role of music in performances grew, and operatic works began to be performed. A manuscript score of one of them has been preserved — "Apalon-zakanadavca, abo Refarmavany Parnas" by R. Vardoсki and M. Ciacerski from the Dominican Collegium in Zabieĺ (1789), which organically combines features of school productions and actual opera.

From the second half of the 18th century, musical centers emerged and expanded at magnate courts, encompassing musical theaters, orchestras-cappellas, and music-theatrical schools. Among the largest musical centers were Niasviž and Słuck (Radziwiłłs), Słonim (Michał Kazimierz Ogiński), Hrodna (A. Tyzenhauz), Škłoŭ (Semyon Zorich), and Dziarečyn (Sapiegaŭ). The stages of magnate theaters presented world opera classics as well as the first local operas, including "Agatka, abo Pryjezd pana" by Ja. Holand and M. Radziwiłł. Concerts featured symphonic and chamber works by Italian, French, Austro-German composers, as well as compositions by local authors. Composers and performers from various countries were invited to the magnate centers. Talented local musicians such as Jerzy Bakanovič, Ljaŭon Sitanski, Jan Ciancyłovič, and future renowned composers like Józef Kozłowski also worked there. Amateur performance and creativity (M. Radziwiłł, M. Kazimir Ogiński) also developed. At the end of the 18th century, due to socio-political events and the destruction of the previous infrastructure of magnate-aristocratic culture, most magnate musical centers ceased to exist and gave way to new forms of musical life. The activities of magnate "musical estates" contributed to the development of various forms of musical creativity, performance, and education in Belarus, the growth of musical professionalism, the formation of theatrical and concert genres, and the creative assimilation of the norms of European classical music.

1848 portrait of Anton I. Abramovič

Music from the 19th-early 20th Century

In the 19th century, interest in Belarusian folk songs was awakened. Alongside the collection, study, and publication of these songs, there were attempts at their compositional arrangement and concert promotion. The first publications of melodies of Belarusian folk songs are found in the works of Maryja Čarnouskaja ("Monuments of Slavic Mythology in Customs Preserved among the Rural Population of Belarus," 1817), Łukasz Gołębiowski ("Polish People, Their Customs, Superstitions," 1830), and Anton Abramovič (article "Several Melodies of Belarusians Recorded and Arranged by the Piano Society," 1843).

The period of intensive accumulation of information about the folk musical culture of Belarusians, recording of tunes and instrumental pieces, and their publication falls on the second half of the 19th — early 20th century. Musical material was included in ethnographic descriptions and folklore collections: "Materials for the Study of the Life and Language of the Russian Population of the North-Western Region" by Pavel Shejn (vol. 1—3, 1887—1902), "Litvins-Belarusians of the Chernihiv Province, Their Life and Songs" by Maryja Kosič (1901), "Belarusians-Saky" by Isaak Serbaw (1915). Separate publications included "Belarusian Songs of the Dzisna County of the Vilnia Province" by Adolf Černy (1895), "Collection of Folk Songs Recorded in the Village of Kaljuga-Kamarna, Ragoznańska Parish of the Kobryn District, Grodno Province" by I. Byčko-Maško (1911). Among important works of this period are: musical "Collection of Little Russian and White Russian Songs of the Homiel District, Recorded for Voice with Piano Accompaniment" (1881) and "Homiel Folk Songs (White Russian and Little Russian)" (1888; described for the first time the ancient type of Belarusian polyphony — heterophony) by Zinaida Radčanka, "Belarusian Collection: Belarusian Folk Melodies. Seasonal, Ritual, Game, Dance, Spiritual Songs" by Jaukima Ramanaw (1910), "Belarusian Songs with Notes" by Anton Hrynevich (vol. 1, 1910). The style of Belarusian two-voice singing was first recorded in the book "Belarusian Songs with Notes" by Anton Hrynevich (with Andrej Ziaziula, vol. 2, 1912). The activities of Michał Fiedarowski and Oskar Kolberg developed in the mainstream of Romanticism and Positivism. In the fundamental collection "Belarusian People" by Michał Fiedarowski, prepared in the 1890s (vol. 5, 1958; vol. 6, 1960), 1413 songs of various genres with melodies recorded and noted by Jan Karlovič, L. Patula, and Ioahim Tračyk were included. In the main Belarusian work in vol. 52 "Belarus-Paliessie" (1968) of the "Complete Collection of Works" (vol. 1—69, 1961—1995) by Oskar Kolberg, 41 melodies with texts of ritual and non-ritual songs were included. The first theorist-ethnomusicologist Ludvík Kuba in the collection "Belarusian Folk Song" (1887) defined the place of Belarusian folk songs in the Slavic world, characterizing their main musical-stylistic features, particularly emphasizing their antiquity compared to Russian and Ukrainian ones. The activities of Mikalaj Janczuk were characterized by organizational scope and innovative scientific approach, which allowed ethnomusicology to gain the status of one of the ethnological sciences. The range of problems outlined and developed in his major musical folklore works "Across the Minsk Province" (1889) and especially "Little Russian Wedding in the Karnicki Parish of the Konstantinów County, Siedlce Province" (1886), allowed a systematic understanding of the musical-song component in the structure of the Belarusian wedding ritual. A special role belongs to the collection "Folk Songs with Melodies" by Maksim Harecki (with Mikalaj Aladaw and A. Jagoraw, 1928), which largely became the prototype of future analytical ethnomusicological collections of the 1980s-1990s.

In the first half of the 19th century, manor theaters, galleries, libraries, and private schools of the magnates Tyszkiewicz in Łahojsk, Astrašycki Haradok, Plesčańicy, Śvislač, Count Zakhar Chernyshev in Mahiloŭ and Čačersk, princes Sapieha in Ružany, the music lover and patron V. Rakićki in Haradzišča near Minsk, gained fame. The spread of home music-making and education was facilitated by the activities of musical salons of Counts Rudolf Tyzenhauz in Žałudok, Grodno Province, and Ludwik Rakićki in Haradzišča, Minsk Province, General Zaviša in Kuchcicy, Prince Michał Kleofas Ogiński in Zaliessie, Minsk Province, and others. Active organizers of home musical evenings were the parents of Stanisław Moniuszko and Vincent Dunin-Marcinkievič.

1836 portrait of Daminik Stafanovič

Intensive musical activity developed in large cities of Belarus—Minsk, Bieraście, Viciebsk, Mahiloŭ, Babrujsk, Hrodna, Homiel, and others. Boarding schools in Minsk, Pinsk, Homiel, Viciebsk, Polack, Słuck, Mścisłaŭ, Biełastok, Bieraście, and Hrodna played an important role in its expansion. In Minsk boarding schools, musical education was obtained by Belarusian pianist, composer, and teacher Kamila Marcinkievič (boarding school of L. and Maryja Montegrandzi), Stanisław Moniuszko, and Florian Miładowski (boarding school of Dominik Stafanovič). The spread of musical culture was facilitated by city orchestras in Minsk (conductors the brothers Dominik and Vicency Stafanovič), Haradzišča (conductor Juzaf Daščynski), Mahiloŭ (conductor Lean Skrebiecki), Homiel (conductor T. Sipajła), Viciebsk (conductor and composer I. V. Šadurski), an amateur orchestra in Hrodna (conductor Ivan Vicencievič Dabravolski); solo performances by pianists Kamila Marcinkievič, F. Miładowski, N. Orda, violinists K. Krzyżanowski, M. Jeĺski, wind instrument players father and son T. and J. Sipajłau, vocalists N. Murańska, J. Rejder, and guitarist K. Strelka. Some musicians engaged in music-theoretical activities: N. Orda created the "Grammar of Music, or Theoretical and Practical Teaching of Melody and Harmony with a Brief Appendix on Fugue, Counterpoint, Orchestral Instruments, Organ, Piano and the Science of Singing for Pianists" (1873), Ja. Hołand wrote the "Academic Treatise on True Musical Art" (1806), Lean Skrebiecki wrote articles about the musical life of Mahiloŭ, and others. Since 1838, a chronicle of musical life was maintained (newspaper "Minskie gubernskie vedomosti").

In the 19th century, interest in Belarusian folk songs was awakened. Alongside the collection, publication, and study (see Musicology), attempts were made for their compositional arrangement and concert promotion. Belarusian folk song themes or intonations were occasionally used by Polish (F. Chopin, S. Manioŭszka, M. Karłowić) and Russian (N. Rimsky-Korsakov, A. Glazunov) classical composers. Works of the Belarusian composer A. Abramovič ("Belaruskaje viaselie", "Belarusian Melodies", "Zacharavanaja duda") were based on Belarusian folklore. One of the first propagandists of Belarusian song folklore was the Russian choral conductor Dz. Ahreńew-Slaviancki (since 1863). In 1893, several Belarusian songs arranged by M. Kłanowski with symphonic orchestra accompaniment were performed in the hall of the Moscow Nobility Assembly. A significant role in the study and promotion of Belarusian folk songs was played by the music-ethnographic commission of the ethnographic department of the Society of Lovers of Natural History, Anthropology, and Ethnography at Moscow University, organized in 1901 by M. Janczuk. Sergei Taneyev, M. Kłanowski, A. Masław, and J. Engel participated in its work.

In compositional activity during this period, the genres of operetta ("Konkurenty" by F. Miładowski, "Taras na Parnasie" by Jaŭchim Šadurski, "Rekrutski nabor" and "Sialanka" by Stanisław Moniuszko and Kanstancin Krzyżanowski, "Spabornictva muzykaŭ" and "Charadziejna vada" by Stanisław Moniuszko), musical comedy ("Latareja" by S. Moniuszko), as well as instrumental concert (two violin concerts by Michal Jeĺski), instrumental miniature (piano compositions by V. Pšybory, dances for various instruments, including polonaises, mazurkas, angles by P. Karafa-Korbut), piano miniatures (mazurkas by M. Jeĺski, N. Orda, K. Marcinkievič, F. Miładowski, waltzes by A. Abramovič, J. Daščynski, N. Orda, impromptus by F. Miładowski, M. Jeĺski, serenades by N. Orda, "songs without words" by M. Jeĺski and others) stood out.

Alongside secular music, spiritual music was also created. It was written by: J. Daščynski (masses, requiems, vespers, Astrabrama litanies and others), S. Manioŭszka (masses, requiems, Astrabrama litanies, organ compositions, religious songs and others), F. Miładowski (masses, hymns and others), J. Hliński (masses, motets), J. Hrym (masses, organ arrangements and others). Masses on the texts of Polish verse paraphrases of traditional Latin texts became widespread. In Vilnius, church cantionals by E. Tupałski, M. Herburt, Vaškevič, songbooks by J. Hrym, textbooks on organ playing by J. Halin, J. Hrym, masses by L. Herinh, J. Hrym and others were regularly published. There were attempts to create specialized educational institutions for church musicians.

At the turn of the 19th—20th centuries, private music schools operated in Minsk (S. Šackina, since 1894), Mahiloŭ (Piačkoŭskaja, since 1886), Homiel (S. I. Zacharyń, since early 20th century). In 1872—1897, an organist school operated in Minsk (founded by canon F. Sencykoŭski), where piano, violin, singing, music theory, and performance on the organ and in wind orchestra were taught.

The existence of musical instrument factories in Minsk (piano factory of I. Bieławski, preceded by the musical instrument factory of I. Foht, J. Kačkoŭski; in 1858, a church organ was made here) attests to the level of culture in Belarus in the 19th century. In 1896, the press mentioned the depot of pianos and grand pianos by V. L. Valicki.

At the end of the 19th century, there were permanent theaters in Belarus in Minsk (since 1890) and Mahiloŭ (since 1888). The activities of ensemble troupes expanded: A. Metalaw (1877—81, Minsk, Babrujsk; operettas as well as operas "Askold's Grave" by Alexey Verstovsky and "Natalka-Poltavka" by M. Lysenko were staged), A. Danilovič, A. F. Kartavy (the first impresario in the new building of the Minsk theater, conductor V. Suk; classical repertoire operas were staged), I. A. Tuman (rented the Minsk theater building from 1892, conductor V. Suk), F. Kastelana (1899—1901, 1903), M. F. Knaufkaminŝkaja (from 1902—03), E. Bialieva (1906—07), O. Susława (April 1906); the Polish operetta troupe of B. Mariecki (November 1906), the Italian troupe of the Hansapec brothers (December 1906) and others. In 1907, a new form of stage art "opera in tails" was presented in the Minsk theater by the Moscow Society of Opera Artists. In the second half of the 19th century, musical societies were organized in Belarus (1860), a Literary and Musical-Dramatic Circle of Amateurs (1884) and the Society of Lovers of Fine Arts (1898) in Minsk, the Brest-Lithuanian Musical and Dramatic Society of Amateurs (1885), the Society of Music and Dramatic Art in Viciebsk (1887), the Brest Musical-Dramatic Circle (1892), the Mahiloŭ Musical-Dramatic Circle (1905—14), the Hrodna Society of Drama and Music Lovers "Muza" (1907—14), the Minsk Society of Friends of Music (1912), "Lyra", "Lutnia" in Dzińsk, the Musical-Dramatic Society in Homiel, the Society of Fine Arts in Viciebsk and others. Among the musicians who performed in Belarus at that time were L. Auer, M. Batystyńi, A. Vieržbilovič, H. and J. Vieniaŭski, M. Helmar (soloist of the Vienna Opera, native of Minsk), I. Hofman, K. Davydaw, H. Jesipava, A. Ziloty, A. Koncki, S. Mentar, Mikalaj and Miedea Fihnery, F. Shaliapin. In 1895, concerts of S. Rachmaninaw, who performed with the Italian violinist T. Tua, took place in Hrodna, Minsk, and Mahiloŭ. At the turn of the 19th—20th centuries, Belarus was toured by pianists R. Puińio, I. Sliwiński, violinists K. Hryharovič, P. Sarasate, cellist D. Popier, an orchestra of Russian folk instruments under the direction of V. Andrejew and others. In the early 20th century, the work of literary and art societies and music classes attached to them resumed. In 1915, a branch of the Russian Musical Society was organized in Viciebsk (among its directors were M. Arciemoŭič, V. Karmiław, F. Levinson, P. Rengarten, V. Somaw). Since 1907, the Minsk Musical School (director N. Rubinstein) operated with day and evening departments. Each year, 5—6 chamber and symphonic concerts were organized. Introductory lectures were given by I. Patupaw. The Belarusian musical culture was associated with the work of the Polish composer L. Rahowski, who created musical arrangements for the performances of the troupe of I. Buinicki, compiled "Belarusian Songbook with Notes for Folk and School Choirs" (1911) and other musical works, including choirs (among them, on the verse "A kto tam idzie?" by J. Kupala).

Music of Soviet Belarus

Main article: Soviet music

Soviet folk rock VIA Pesniary was one of the most popular Belarusian bands

In the 20th century, the first secondary education institute in Belarus was founded (1924) and the first operas. Popular Soviet Belarusian music was composed by several bands, many of whom performed Belarusian folk music. Folk rock act Pesniary, formed in 1969 by guitarist Vladimir Mulyavin, toured over Europe.

Modern Belarus

Ska punk band Lyapis Trubetskoy

Opening ceremony of Slaviansky Bazar, largest pop music festival of Belarus, in 2009

Belarus gained independence after the fall of the Soviet Union and new bands appeared, including N.R.M. Modern pop stars include Boris Moiseev and Lyapis Trubetskoy (though they tend to orient themselves toward Russia and Russian speakers). Around 2002 a new generation of electronic bands appeared, including the groups like Randomajestiq, Dreamlin.

Rock music of Belarus arose in Perestroika times. Bands like Bi-2 (currently living in Russia), Lyapis Trubetskoy, were founded in the late 1980s or early 1990s. The Belarusian government has attempted to limit the amount of popular music aired on the radio, in favour of traditional music of Belarus. These restrictions have encouraged some Belarusian bands to sign up to Russian labels and to tour more in neighbouring countries.

The tradition of Belarus as a centre of folk and folk rock music is continued today by Stary Olsa, Bristeil and Kriwi, among others.

In 2003, Belarus took part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for the first time. Their participant, Volha Satsiuk, came in 4th place. In 2004 Belarus made it to the semifinals of the regular Eurovision Song Contest. The country was represented by a duo Aleksandra and Konstantin, who failed to reach the final. They won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005 the following year, with Ksenia Sitnik's song, 'My Vmeste'.

The Belarusian authorities promote folk or "Slavic" music at the country's top musical event—the state-sponsored Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk, an annual pop and folk music festival in Vitebsk. The biggest festival of Belarusian rock music takes place outside of Belarus, in Gródek, northeastern Poland, a small town some 40 kilometers east of Białystok—the center of Podlaskie Voivodeship, which is inhabited by a 200,000-strong Belarusian minority. The festival, held in July every year since 1990, is organized by the Belarusian Union of Students (BAS) in Poland. The official name of the event is the Music Festival of Young Belarus or Basovišča.

Patriotic songs and hymns

• Vajacki marš
• Mahutny Boža
• Pahonia (song)

External links

• Belarusian Music Links
• Basoviszcza Rock Fest — the Belarusian Woodstock