You Fell Victim (Russian: ''Вы жертвою пали''; ''Vy zhertvoiu pali''), or You Fell Victim to a Fateful Struggle, is a Russian Marxist and revolutionary funeral march. It acted as the funeral

dirge A dirge ( la, dirige, naenia) is a somber song or lament expressing mourning or grief, such as would be appropriate for performance at a funeral. Often taking the form of a brief hymn, dirges are typically shorter and less meditative than elegi ...

of the Russian revolutionary movement, among them the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

s. The song was written in 1878; the lyrics were written by Anton Arkhangelsky, and the musical arrangements were made by Nikolay Ikonikov. During the funeral of the Bolshevik

Nikolay Bauman Nikolay Ernestovich Bauman () ( – ) was a Russian revolutionary of the Bolshevik Party. His death in a struggle with a royalist upon his release from Taganka Prison in 1905 made him one of the first martyrs of the Revolution, and later o ...

, a student orchestra joined the procession near the St. Petersburg Conservatory, playing "You Fell Victim to a Fateful Struggle" repeatedly. The melody of "You Fell A Victim" was used by Dmitri Shostakovich in the third part of his Symphony No. 11; it had since the end of the 19th century often been the funeral march of Russian revolutionaries. The same melody was used in

Edmund Meisel Edmund Meisel (14 August 1894 – 14 November 1930) was an Austrian-born composer. He wrote the score to Walter Ruttmann's '' Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis'' (1927), ''The Battleship Potemkin'' (1925), and other films of Sergei Eisenstein. Meis ...

's score for

Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, scree ...

's ''

Battleship Potemkin '' Battleship Potemkin'' (russian: Бронено́сец «Потёмкин», ''Bronenosets Potyomkin''), sometimes rendered as ''Battleship Potyomkin'', is a 1925 Soviet silent drama film produced by Mosfilm. Directed and co-written by S ...

'', in the scene of the funeral of Grigory Vakulinchuk. The melody also forms the basis of the 1936 composition "Russian Funeral" by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

, scored for brass and percussion.

References

Bibliography

* Soviet music Russian music Bolsheviks Russian Revolution Songs about revolutions Funerary and memorial compositions 1878 songs {{Russian-history-stub