“Art Made Tongue-tied by Authority”: Censoring Soviet Song

This essay considers the impact of censorship on the work of a range of Soviet song composers. Arguing that song has been relatively little studied in comparison to the supposedly “major” genres of Soviet music (opera, symphony, etc.), it speculates that song may have been less caught up in egregious instances of censorship precisely because its status as a “minor” form protected it from obvious scandal. It also argues that because most composers turned to printed sources when it came to selecting the poetic texts they would set to music, this prior process of official approval also lent song a degree of protection. However, the ubiquity of censorship within the Soviet cultural system meant that song was in no way immune from its influence, and the article details instances of where songs were deemed problematic, as well as noting instances of where composers may have internalised practices of self-censorship that were widespread within Soviet culture. Finally, it notes that until detailed archival studies of the operation of the entire system of Soviet music-making are available, the field remains beset by instances of mythology and misrepresentation.