Aviators` March
Марш Авиаторов
The Aviators` March, also known as the Aviamarsh, is a Soviet song in the form of a march, composed by the Soviet composer Iulius Hight (1897-1966), to the words written by the Russian Soviet songwriter and publicist Pavel German (1894-1952).
The authors were invited in the Political Administration of the army and asked to compose a song devoted to the aviation, in order to inspire the pilots who were intended to support the forthcoming military operation on the old airplanes, left by the enemies. Kiev and the territories around had been caught with the fire of the civil war. The poet composed the verse and read it to his colleague, Hight, who liked the verse very much and composed the melody fast. |
The creation of the song demonstrated a great fantasy and a strong trust in the future of the Soviet aviation, displayed by the authors. The new song soon sounded for the soldiers, leaving for the front. The first performers were the authors themselves. The song was published in 1923 and soon gained a great popularity among the Komsomol-members (a Soviet youth organisation).
The composer himself told that he wrote the song in 1920. The content of the lyrics, however, does prove us the opposite. The lines "And trust us well, to any ultimatum the air fleet is able to reply!", clearly refers to the "Ultimatum of Lord Curzon", that was handed to the Soviet Union on May 8, 1923. The reason for the ultimatum was the political and military tension between Russia and Britain, which in particular resulted in the imprisoning of several British citizens in Russia.
The composer himself told that he wrote the song in 1920. The content of the lyrics, however, does prove us the opposite. The lines "And trust us well, to any ultimatum the air fleet is able to reply!", clearly refers to the "Ultimatum of Lord Curzon", that was handed to the Soviet Union on May 8, 1923. The reason for the ultimatum was the political and military tension between Russia and Britain, which in particular resulted in the imprisoning of several British citizens in Russia.
Replying this ultimatum, one month later Lev Trotsky (1879-1940) declared "If for all the offensives of the bourgeoisie we respond with the construction of airplanes, then maybe we will end all these offensives one day." From that moment Russia started the building of its large air fleet.
It must have been after this date that the song, dedicated to the "Airforce USSR" was written, most probably on request of the Main Political Administration of the army, Lev Trotsky. When Trotsky fell in disgrace and eventually was banned from the Communistic Party, everything that was connected to him was banned. That inclined Hight to claim that the song had already been written in 1920. Nevertheless, Hight was politically repressed in 1949 and imprisoned until 1953. |
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In the early 1920s the German communists received the song from their Soviet comrades with a German text, but the same one as the Russian, just properly translated. In 1930 the melody sounded at the 1 of May demonstration in Berlin, where a Soviet workers delegation greeted Ernst Thälmann, the leader of the German communists. However, after the defeat of the communistic movement in Germany, the Nazis took over the melody for their own needs and invented a new text known as "Herbei Zum Kampf". The melody sounds in the famous Nazi period film "Triumph des Willens" of 1935.
In 1925 the participants of the first Soviet long-distance flight Moscow-Peking sang the song, as the Soviet newspapers reported. The song was extremely popular among the parachute sportsmen also. Since the 1930's, and during the whole Stalin period, the song was well-known to an overwhelming majority of the Russian people. However, a strong criticism took place also, led by the Russian Association of the Proletarian Musicians which claimed that the march was in fact a "veiled foxtrot", having nothing in common with a true revolutionary song creativity. The song gained popularity very much because of its performances by the brass orchestras, and the military ones among them.
Eventually in 1933 it became the official hymn of the Soviet Air Force. It sounded in the Republican Spain which the Soviet aviation provided a support. With the march the famous Soviet pilot Valery Chkalov was greeted in the USA where he landed in 1937, carrying out his prominent long-distance flight.
The song as also connected with the birth of the Soviet cosmonautics. The founding farther of the Soviet cosmonautics, Eduard Tsiolkovsky, liked the song and mentioned it in his radio address delivered from the city of Kaluga to the participants of the 1 of May (The International Day Of The Workers Solidarity) demonstration on the Red Square of Moscow. The first Soviet cosmonauts were also officially greeted with the aviamarch during the corresponding festivities in Moscow. The fist human cosmonaut of the Earth, Yuri Gagarin, left his autograph on the score, belonging now to the relatives of Hight.
In 1925 the participants of the first Soviet long-distance flight Moscow-Peking sang the song, as the Soviet newspapers reported. The song was extremely popular among the parachute sportsmen also. Since the 1930's, and during the whole Stalin period, the song was well-known to an overwhelming majority of the Russian people. However, a strong criticism took place also, led by the Russian Association of the Proletarian Musicians which claimed that the march was in fact a "veiled foxtrot", having nothing in common with a true revolutionary song creativity. The song gained popularity very much because of its performances by the brass orchestras, and the military ones among them.
Eventually in 1933 it became the official hymn of the Soviet Air Force. It sounded in the Republican Spain which the Soviet aviation provided a support. With the march the famous Soviet pilot Valery Chkalov was greeted in the USA where he landed in 1937, carrying out his prominent long-distance flight.
The song as also connected with the birth of the Soviet cosmonautics. The founding farther of the Soviet cosmonautics, Eduard Tsiolkovsky, liked the song and mentioned it in his radio address delivered from the city of Kaluga to the participants of the 1 of May (The International Day Of The Workers Solidarity) demonstration on the Red Square of Moscow. The first Soviet cosmonauts were also officially greeted with the aviamarch during the corresponding festivities in Moscow. The fist human cosmonaut of the Earth, Yuri Gagarin, left his autograph on the score, belonging now to the relatives of Hight.
The song is now not so much popular as earlier, because it is strongly associated with the Soviet power itself. Even a new tone appeared in the
Russian movies of the recent years, in fact associating the song with the bravely expressed self-confidence, widespread among the Soviet Army command on the eve of the Great Patriotic War. That excessive trust in the power of the Soviet Army and the wrong estimation of the general situation led a big part of the Soviet Army command to the extraordinary failure in the beginning of the War, a catastrophic one for millions of the Soviet people. And the very song expresses the described mood in its artistic way, as it is actually shown in the films. However, the song remains the hymn of the prominent Moscow Aviation Institute. It is a well-known song, used usually as an instrumental recording during different sport, military and commemorative festivities.
The performers: old recordings here, no solo popular performances in our days, mostly used as an instrumental march.
Russian movies of the recent years, in fact associating the song with the bravely expressed self-confidence, widespread among the Soviet Army command on the eve of the Great Patriotic War. That excessive trust in the power of the Soviet Army and the wrong estimation of the general situation led a big part of the Soviet Army command to the extraordinary failure in the beginning of the War, a catastrophic one for millions of the Soviet people. And the very song expresses the described mood in its artistic way, as it is actually shown in the films. However, the song remains the hymn of the prominent Moscow Aviation Institute. It is a well-known song, used usually as an instrumental recording during different sport, military and commemorative festivities.
The performers: old recordings here, no solo popular performances in our days, mostly used as an instrumental march.
Russian lyrics
Мы рождены, чтоб сказку сделать былью, Преодолеть пространство и простор, Нам разум дал стальные руки-крылья, А вместо сердца — пламенный мотор. Припев: Всё выше, выше и выше Стремим мы полёт наших птиц, И в каждом пропеллере дышит Спокойствие наших границ. Бросая ввысь свой аппарат послушный Или творя невиданный полёт, Мы сознаём, как крепнет флот воздушный, Наш первый в мире пролетарский флот! Припев Наш острый взгляд пронзает каждый атом, Наш каждый нерв решимостью одет; И, верьте нам, на всякий ультиматум Воздушный флот сумеет дать ответ! |
English text
We have been born for making true all dreamt things To conquer vastness and to cross expanse, The human mind gave us the big steel arms-wings, And as the heart - the engine flame`s advance! Refrain: Much higher, higher the planes whizz The young guided birds learn to fly In every propeller the breath is Of our borders` calm sky When the experience of flights gets longer When a new challenge of the sky we meet, We see the air fleet is getting stronger, The first world`s working class's air fleet! Refrain With a sharp glance we can pierce every atom, Being dressed in firmness, every nerve stands by; And trust us well, to any ultimatum The air fleet is able to reply! Translation by Accordeonworld |
Transliteration
My rozhdeny chtob skazku sdelat bylyu
Preodolet prostranstvo i prostor
Nam razum dal stalnye ruki-krylya
A vmesto serdca plamennyj motor
Pripev
Vsyo vyshe vyshe i vyshe
Stremim my polyot nashih ptic
I v kazhdom propellere dyshit
Spokojstvie nashih granic
Brosaya vvys svoj apparat poslushnyj
Ili tvorya nevidannyj polyot
My soznayom kak krepnet flot vozdushnyj
Nash pervyj v mire proletarskij flot
Pripev
Nash ostryj vzglyad pronzaet kazhdyj atom
Nash kazhdyj nerv reshimostyu odet
I verte nam na vsyakij ultimatum
Vozdushnyj flot sumeet dat otvet
My rozhdeny chtob skazku sdelat bylyu
Preodolet prostranstvo i prostor
Nam razum dal stalnye ruki-krylya
A vmesto serdca plamennyj motor
Pripev
Vsyo vyshe vyshe i vyshe
Stremim my polyot nashih ptic
I v kazhdom propellere dyshit
Spokojstvie nashih granic
Brosaya vvys svoj apparat poslushnyj
Ili tvorya nevidannyj polyot
My soznayom kak krepnet flot vozdushnyj
Nash pervyj v mire proletarskij flot
Pripev
Nash ostryj vzglyad pronzaet kazhdyj atom
Nash kazhdyj nerv reshimostyu odet
I verte nam na vsyakij ultimatum
Vozdushnyj flot sumeet dat otvet
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWvJQa0f2LY ; https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Авиамарш ; http://mai.exler.ru/mailogo/aviamarch/
http://www.9maya.ru/2015/09/08/marsh-aviatorov-aviamarsh-istoriya-sozdaniya-slushat-i-skachat.html ;
http://www.tanki-media.ru/bp_07_musica/texts_marches/aviamarch_h.html ; https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Хайт,_Юлий_Абрамович ;
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komsomol ; https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Curzon%27s+Ultimatum ;
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Военно-воздушные_силы_СССР ; http://audiolit.ru/works/?ELEMENT_ID=438 ;
http://www.norma40.ru/chd/aviam.htm ; http://muzruk.info/?p=3029
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWvJQa0f2LY ; https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Авиамарш ; http://mai.exler.ru/mailogo/aviamarch/
http://www.9maya.ru/2015/09/08/marsh-aviatorov-aviamarsh-istoriya-sozdaniya-slushat-i-skachat.html ;
http://www.tanki-media.ru/bp_07_musica/texts_marches/aviamarch_h.html ; https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Хайт,_Юлий_Абрамович ;
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komsomol ; https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Curzon%27s+Ultimatum ;
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Военно-воздушные_силы_СССР ; http://audiolit.ru/works/?ELEMENT_ID=438 ;
http://www.norma40.ru/chd/aviam.htm ; http://muzruk.info/?p=3029