They’ve wanted to buy humor, but he just wouldn’t be bought! They’ve wanted to kill humor, But humor gave them the finger. Fighting him’s a tough job. They’ve never stopped executing him. (lines 13-16) Whatever the situation, even if he seems momentarily to be defeated or to submit, Humor frees himself. He not only escapes efforts to impose restrictions, he flips those who seek to do so the bird. He is an admirable, valiant, entertaining spirit figure. In the course of the second movement, the controlled register of the military parade gives way to the irrepressible spirit of Humor. Humor, in others words, enacts change on the mechanisms of power and regimentation that want to keep him – and Soviet people – in lockstep. He is irresistible, and his repeated escapes transforms the military march into a garish parody of itself. Humor is, of course, not an actual, flesh and blood character, but the personified spirit of rebellion. No single arrest or execution can destroy this irrepressible part of the human spirit. The movement’s satirical toppling of established musical structure offers Soviet audience insight into the power of the rebellious spirit they, too, share. III. V Magazine (In the Store) The third movement begins with a quiet, determined melodic line traced in the lower strings section. It has a monophonic texture suggestive of a single instrument performing alone, much as the united melodic chants of Gregorian choirs suggest a single voice. This is the musical context for Yevtushenko’s paean to the stoicism of Soviet women forced to wait for simple bread rations: They wait quietly, Their families’ guardian angels …These are the women of Russia. …They have endured everything, They will continue to endure everything. (lines 13-22) The women’s hardships have strengthened them, and their resolve and virtue have elevated them to the level of angels. The slow melody of the opening reflects their quiet determination. Yevtushenko depicts them as the backbone of their communities, which is musically underscored by the lowest sounding instruments in the orchestra – the foundation from which the music builds forth. In this light, their treatment is an indictment of Soviet society. The last chorus of the movement admonishes the society that imposes hardships upon them: 78
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