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MUSICAL TRADITIONS OF THE RUSSIAN GERMANS IN RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES OF SIBERIA
Authors: Egle Ludmila Yurievna

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In the course of mass resettlement of Germans on the territory of the Russian Empire some subethnic
groups were formed, in each of which the specific features of religious musical culture were created. At the
initial stage of settling preservation of traditional elements of culture, such factors were promoted as granting free lands, internal self-government, release from military service, a freedom of worship, etc. As a result of
antireligious policy of the beginning of the XX century, the Germans were deprived of conditions for fullfledged
religious life, however by the beginning of mass deportation of Germans to Siberia, still there were
communities keeping an ethnoconfessional way of life and religious musical traditions.
As a result of Lutherans’ deportation, as well as Catholics, they had no opportunity to carry out church
services, they had no Lutheran bishop, there were no church arrivals, places where they could gather, but
only secret family prayers. However, despite it, secret prayful meetings, subsequently been the center of
consolidation of special settlers and formations of religious communities gradually began to be organized.
Bible texts, spiritual chants, non-initial prayers, sermons were restored by memory or corresponded from
the remained songbooks, prayer books, religious books. Hand-written songbooks constantly were replenished
with the pleasant verses which answered spiritual needs of the originator. As an example, the hand-written
collection which was used in a community of German Lutherans from Youzhny, Kuraginsky district of
Krasnoyarsk Krai, made by F. F. Konradi, year of birth 1902, banished from Lutheran reformatory village
Bauer in the ASSR of Volga Germans.
At the end of the XX century, religious communities were getting support from Germany. Enough spiritual
literature arrives, financing the projects directed on preservation of national musical culture begins. However
the number of German religious communities during this period reduced sharply. It is connected, first of all,
with mass emigration of Germans to Germany, secondly, the average and the younger generation as a result of
antireligious promotion departed from religious traditions of ancestors more and more, thirdly, Germans had
no opportunity to communicate in the native language and to celebrate national holidays for decades. All these
factors promoted destruction of musical traditions of Russian Germans.
Keywords: Russian Germans, religious communities, spiritual chants, hand-written collections,
transformation.