Bard song is an art form that was not originally intended to gather huge concert halls or stadiums, although there is no shortage of spectators at art festivals. The author-performer does not try to teach the listeners something, does not try to "turn on" them, but leads with them through his works a frank conversation about the eternal: about love, about the soul, about a person's place in this world.
The historical roots of the bard song
Initially, the word "bard" originated in the Celtic language and denoted the lowest priestly rank in the Druidic caste. The title of bard was given to a person who was a master of the magic of sound, who knew by heart thousands of ancient ballads and poetic legends, who knew how to raise the fighting spirit of warriors with singing and music and even heal bodies and souls.
But honor and respect were won by singers who compose and perform songs about heroes and gods not only among the Celts, but also among other peoples of antiquity: among the Hellenes, Etruscans, Scandinavians and ancient Slavs.
The tradition of composing ballads and sagas, performing them, accompanying oneself on a musical instrument, was still alive in the Middle Ages. Such singers and performers were called in one person in different ways: trouvers, troubadours, vagantas, minstrels. But they can be called the successors of the bard tradition. These eternal wanderers had in common with the bards that they not only performed other people's hits of that time, but also composed both the text and the music on their own.
Modern bards
In the modern sense, a bard is a singer-songwriter. There is a separate genre - author's or bard's song, and the followers of this musical and song direction are usually called bards today.
Since the 30s of the twentieth century, a new direction of the song genre has developed on the territory of the Soviet Union. The so-called urban romance, popular in the 19th century, is transformed into a courtyard song. By the 60s, the image of a young man with a guitar, performing songs of his own composition by the fire or during kitchen gatherings, had become a classic attribute of urban, student and tourist romance. The brightest representatives of this new genre became famous and even popular. Many people still hear the names of A. Galich, Y. Vizbor, E. Klyachkin, A. Yakusheva.
But such bright and talented personalities as Bulat Okudzhava and Vladimir Vysotsky are considered the first Russian bards who won truly nationwide fame and love. It was they who raised the author's song from the level of "apartment concerts" to a significant phenomenon in the cultural life of the country. It was they who showed that a person without musical education, who does not own a professional musical instrument, is able to find a response in thousands of hearts.
Perhaps the 80s of the last century became the golden age for author's song in Russia, but even now this genre has not lost its fans. Many poets have come out and continue to go on stage, accompanying themselves on the guitar, performing their songs. Of course, the poetic component of the bardic song is more valuable and significant than the musical one. But the guitar rhythm or the unhurried overflow of the melody help the words find their way to the hearts and souls of the listeners.