The amazing song "Under the Blue Sky" has been performed at the concerts of the "Aquarium" group for more than forty years. However, everyone who at least once heard the most beautiful composition does not know who wrote it. Someone thinks that Bulat Okudzhava's poems, someone ascribes authorship to Boris Grebenshchikov. There are those who are sure that the poet is Aleksey Khvostenko. It's not that simple with music either.
The song sounded for the first time at a concert at Kharkov University in 1984. Then BG said that he did not know who wrote the work. There were many versions, but in the end, fans came to a common opinion about the music: the old canzona was written by Francesco da Milano during the Renaissance.
The birth of a myth
A difficult situation has developed with the text. Alexey Khvostenko, famous in the underground environment of St. Petersburg in the 70s and 80s, rock bard, singer Elena Kamburova, even Alexander Pushkin, were called the authors of the poems. The latter was supported by the argument about the existence of a romance with the same name. The rhyme and the meter were the same. Here's just one "but": a convincing fact turned out to be a joke.
Zeev Geisel, an Israeli translator, bard and publicist, conducted his own investigation. The results were quite unexpected. History claims to be one of the greatest hoaxes of the last century.
In the early seventies, the disc "Lute Music of the 16th – 17th centuries" gained popularity in the Soviet Union. Plays from her often sounded on radio and television as screensavers of programs, were used in films.
Interest was aroused by "Canzona", which became the first track on the disc. The annotation stated that Francesco Canova da Milano, who wrote the music, who received the title of divine lute player for his skill, served with the Medici and with Pope Paul III.
Music
But the professionals were perplexed by the fact that "Canzona" was not included in even the most detailed papal catalog of the musician. And then it turned out that the music was actually guitar, and the disc was an obvious hoax. Almost all the tracks were written by the performer, Vladimir Vavilov, whose name is indicated on the front side of the disc.
The last romantic of the Russian guitar enjoyed the greatest popularity in the sixties. The virtuoso was so inspired by the Renaissance that the instrumentalist himself made and mastered the lute guitar and in 1968 wrote several works for it in the appropriate key.
At first, Vavilov performed pieces at his concerts, naming famous Renaissance composers as authors. Making sure that even sophisticated music lovers were delighted, the guitarist included creativity in the disc, providing annotations and invented authors. The reason for the hoax was the desire to convey the idea to the general public. The idea was a success.
Over the years, the disc was not only reprinted many times, but always sold out instantly. In the new millennium, it is still in demand, changing the format to CD.
Text
At the end of 1972, the disc fell into the hands of a chemist by profession and a poet by vocation, Anri Volokhonsky. Most of all he remembered "Canzona". In emigration, she was inspired by the images of the Heavenly City of Jerusalem, unseen animals and symbolic characters in the Bible. Unexpectedly for the author himself, a mysterious phrase "full of eyes" appeared. The poet wrote a poem for a quarter of an hour, calling it "Paradise".
Aleksey Khvostenko put the text on the music, which amazed the co-author of many songs and a friend in life. He also became the first performer. In 1973, the "apartment" tour of "Paradise" began.
Elena Kamburova and Viktor Luferev made their contribution to the work. Now the work began with the phrase: "Above the blue firmament …". However, the original version was not forgotten either.
In 1976 the song sounded as a musical accompaniment to the play "Sid", which was attended by "Aquarium". BG, shocked by the canzona, included it in the group's repertoire. In 1987, the composition sounded in the film "Assa", becoming a kind of hymn of the new generation. This is not surprising, because each performer put into the work what he considered the best: the need for purity, love, light and a starry sky overhead.
