Serafim Tulikov - Mature Phase

Mature Phase

Many of the older generation of Soviet composers did not feel particularly comfortable after the onset of the television age in the 1960s. Serafim Tulikov adjusted himself, and established himself as one of the leading and most popular Soviet song-writers. His repertoire, as well as the stylistic forms he used, expanded significantly. On the one hand, Tulikov composed such near-hymnal solemn songs as "Lenin is Forever with You" (lyrics by Lev Oshanin), perhaps one of the most successful and widely-known Soviet songs dedicated to Vladimir Lenin, and "Motherland" (lyrics by Yuri Polukhin). On the other hand, he wrote songs which clearly carried in themselves an imprint of the cultural thaw of the 1960s, such as "Smile!" (lyrics by Mikhail Pliatskovsky), "Equation with One Unknown" (lyrics by Mikhail Pliatskovsky), and "This will Never Be Repeated" (lyrics by Mikhail Pliatskovsky) These contained no explicit elements of ideology or patriotism, and they were decidedly divorced from the folkloristic tradition in which the majority of Tulikov's lyrical songs of the 1940s-50s were rendered.

Tulikov continued to contribute mass songs dedicated to various important events in Soviet history and politics. His song "To the Distant Planets!" (lyrics by Yuri Polukhin) was a work of optimism designed to celebrate the USSR's technological breakthroughs. Unsurprisingly, it was written in the wake of Yuri Gagarin's first space journey in 1961. In 1964, Tulikov's only opera, Barankin, bud' chelovekom, premiered in Moscow.

In the late 1960s Tulikov began to compose songs with overtly neo-Slavophile overtones. They were all dedicated to Russia, yet were different from his previous patriotic style. They became explicitly more folkloristic and filled with rural and natural imagery, such as Russia's meadows, fields, sky, lakes and rivers. The elements of wistfulness and even light sadness, as if bidding farewell to something destined to extinction, became more and more prominent. Examples of this period include "There, Far Away is my Russia" (lyrics by Vladimir Kharitonov), "Love Confession" (lyrics by Mikhail Tanich), "Treasure Russia" (lyrics by Oleg Miliavsky), and "My Native Homeland" (lyrics by Peter Gradov).

Tulikov continued to write songs dedicated to the Soviet Army, its exploits and traditions, such as "Veterans' Souls Do Not Age" (lyrics by Yakov Belinsky), which became popular with the USSR leadership, itself composed of many who actively participated in the Great Patriotic War, and "The Son of Russia" (lyrics by Vladimir Kharitonov). Tulikov became notorious for composing multiple songs about Lenin and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. For instance, an incredibly pompous and anthem-like song "I Sing of My Motherland" (lyrics by Nikolai Dorizo) was dedicated to the opening of the 26th Party Congress in 1981. The song praised the strength and the global mission of the Soviet state and pointed out that this strength was not based on fear and intimidation but rather on genuine achievements and generosity of the Soviet people.

In the early 1960s Tulikov wrote a very successful song about Moscow, "I sing of you, my Moscow" (lyrics by Yuri Polukhin). The phrase "Moscow, your fame is flying on the wings of your glory all over the world! Moscow, you are the heart of my Motherland!" became legendary. In the 1970s, Tulikov contributed several songs to the project of constructing the Baykal-Amur Mainline railway, launched by the Soviet government in 1974-75. The "BAM Waltz" (lyrics by Mikhail Pliatskovsky) became perhaps the most famous of these songs.