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Adopted 1945 (Original Version)1980 (Renewed Version) Relinquished 1980 (Original Version)1991 (Renewed Version) | ||
The State Anthem of the Moldavian SSR (Moldovan: Имнул де Стат ал РСС Молдовенешть, Imnul de Stat al RSS Moldovenešť; Romanian: Imnul de Stat al RSS Moldovenești, Russian: Гимн Молдавской ССР, Gimn Moldavskoy SSR) was the national anthem of Moldova when it was a republic of the Soviet Union and was known as the Moldavian SSR.
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Originally, the anthem began with the words, "Moldova cu doine străbune pe plaiuri.." and was composed by Ștefan Neaga, with lyrics by the poets Emilian Bukov and Bogdan Istru (Ivan Bodarev) in 1945.
Ivan Bodiul, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Moldova, authorized composer Eduard Lazarev to modify the anthem in a "Musical Renovation". (Second Edition of the Anthem).
The lyrics were remade, removing all references to Stalin. The music was also altered, removing the original three-stanza structure in favor of a single-stanza three-part structure.
The beginning words of the anthem were changed to "Moldova Sovietică".
History
In 1945 Ștefan Neaga wrote the melody for the Anthem of Moldova SSR, for which the poets Emil Bukov and Bogdan Istru created the lyrics. Thanks to this work, the composer and the writers won the first prize of a great national musical contest in the Soviet Union, where composers from Moldova and other Soviet republics presented their works.
"E. Bukov remembered how demanding and self-critic was Ștefan Neaga. For this anthem, he made dozens of variants, each time being dissatisfied. The Anthem -said the composer-, had to be composed so when a person hears it, he would stand up filled by a deep patriotic sentiment.
The anthem that they created, was highly appreciated by musicians, becoming for over 45 years the main song of the country. Through this musical work, Neaga became the eternal pride and joy of the Moldavian people. (Moldova socialistă, 1951)"Moldavian SSR's anthem is one of the best creations of this genre. Adopted in 1945, it entered for three and half decades in our republic's symbolism".
It was very melodic and it had some ties with folk music. The musicologist Leonid Răilean testified: "In the years of the "greater country" (USSR), one day, the anthem ceased to like. And, as its author was no longer alive, Ivan Bodiul authorized Eduard Lazarev "to renovate" the anthem. This renovation deformed and damaged the music structure and thus, its sonority. One way or another, in the early 90s, this anthem was thrown to the garbage dump of history, as well as other signs of the past times".
Ștefan Neaga said that he wanted to represent with his work "the creativity and love of Great Stalin, the certainty of the victory of communism, and his desire to give all his forces in this unique case".
"I wanted to play in this gratifying music event, to create the symbol of these historic victories, in which the Moldovan people regained their freedom."
Neaga was an artist who supervised under his own magnifying glass the weaknesses of his art. French writer Claude Roy said that there is a type of character in which one can see a creation as "an art to shine for yourself and for others, a little more than one can really live your life."
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Mystery of lyrics
In the only instrumental recording of the Moldavian SSR National Anthem, made by the Brass Band of the USSR Ministry of Defence in 1968, the original version made by Neaga in 1945 can be heard. It is a "typical" Soviet Anthem with three stanzas and three choruses.
There is no known recording of the vocal original version of the anthem. There have been several hypotheses to explain the musical structure. Some suggested a three-stanza and chorus structure, like the State Anthem of the Soviet Union, or a six-stanza structure, like the Anthem of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Moldovan politician and historian Valeriu Passat, stated in his exhibition "13 ani of Stalinism. RSS Moldovenească în anii 1940–1953" (13 Years of Stalinism, Moldavian SSR in years 1940–1953) that Iosif Mordoveț forced the authors to write the anthem.
According to Vladimir Poțeluev, this anthem was created by an order made by the Supreme Soviet in Moscow, after the annexation of the Moldavian ASSR and Bessarabia (the west and east territory of the Dniester River) to the Soviet Union. It also said that the top brass (Stalin and others) set multiple rules for the writers of the lyrics:
Rejected lyrics:
On February 3, 2016, The Ștefan Neaga Commission (made up of five YouTubers by the nicknames of kingworld30, wolf_, YuusukeOnodera, Slevisham and DeroVolk) found the original lyrics after months of research. The mysterious lyrics that were previously unknown to the world had been made public, confirming the existence of three stanzas and a chorus prior to 1980 change made by Ivan Bodiul and Eduard Lazarev.
Lyrics (1945–1980)
Music by Ștefan Neaga. Lyrics by Emilian Bukov and Bogdan Istru.
Lyrics (1980–1991)
Music by Ștefan Neaga, arranged by Eduard Lazarev. Lyrics by Emilian Bukov and Bogdan Istru.