Mark Bernes
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Mark Bernes | |
---|---|
Died | 16 August 1969[1] | (aged 57)
Resting place | Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow |
Occupation(s) | Actor, singer |
Years active | 1929–1969 |
Awards | |
Mark Naumovich Bernes (Russian: Ма́рк Нау́мович Берне́с) (8 October [
Life and work
In the late 1930s, not long before the war, Mark Bernes starred in two motion pictures: Man With a Rifle and The Fighter Planes. In both of these films, he performed songs which immediately became famous all over the Soviet Union after each film was released. In the former film, he performed the song "Clouds Rose over the City," which was a romantic song of a simple young Soviet worker. In the later film, he performed a famous patriotic ballad "Beloved Town". This pre-war song was full of hope and optimism, and several years later, encouraged soldiers during the war.
When the war began, Bernes became among the first singers to perform for the Soviet troops. In 1943, he starred in the motion picture
Bernes's name had become closely associated with World War II. After the war, he continued to perform songs about the war. His greatest hits of the 1950s were "Muscovites" (also known as "Seryozhka from Malaya Bronnaya Street") and "Enemies Burned the Native Hut Down". Both songs were about hardships suffered by people who lost family members in the war, and expressed extreme melancholy, directly confronting death and grief. The latter song was banned by the government because it was considered purportedly as too pessimistic. In the song, the soldier from front-line dugout bespeaks to his distant wife and his child at the cot, with sad and melancholy, but with hope for future meeting too.
In the 1950s, Mark Bernes also performed torch songs such as the sentimental ballad I Dreamed of You Three Years, and inspirational optimistic songs such as the march "I Love You, My Life".
In 1969, Mark Bernes was dying from lung cancer. In the summer of 1969, he recorded his last song "Cranes" (Russian: Журавли́, "Zhuravli"), which became his swan song. Bernes sang that the soldiers that perished in war turned into cranes, that the cranes are still flying, and, that he will join their ranks. On 16 August, Mark Bernes died. "Cranes" was played at his funeral.
Popular songs
- "Cranes" (Russian: Журавли, "Zhuravli"; 1969)
- "Dark Night" (Russian: Тёмная ночь, "Tyomnaya noch"; 1943
- "Scows full of mullet" (Russian: Шаланды, полные кефали, "Shalandy polnyie kefali")
- "What does the motherland begin with?" (Russian: С чего начинается Родина, "S Chego Nachinayetsya Rodina")
- "I love you, Life" (Russian: Я люблю тебя, жизнь, "Ya lyublyu tebya, zhizn")
- "Do the Russians Want War?" (Russian: Хотят ли русские войны, "Khotyat Li Russkie Voyny")
- "Dark mounds are sleeping" (Russian: Спят курганы тёмные, "Spyat Kurgany Tyomnyie")
- "When a distant friend sings" (Russian: Когда поёт далёкий друг, "Kogda poyot daliokiy drug")
- "Enemies burnt the native hut down" (Russian: Враги сожгли родную хату, "Vragi sozhgli rodnuyu khatu")
- "Vast Sky" (Russian: Огромное небо, "Ogromnoe nebo")
Honors
Bernes received
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References
- ^ Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. True date: October 8 [O.S. September 25] 1911 – was engraved on the Bernes's gravestone at Novodevichy Cemetery(Moscow), and also confirmed by Bernes's daughter Natasha.
- ^ Васильев А. Статья из буклета к компакт-диску «Неизвестный Бернес» (MOROZ RECORDS, 2009).
- ^ Mark Bernes' biography. – www.kino-teatr.ru
- ISBN 978-1442268425.
- ^ Френкель Ян. Честь певца // Советская эстрада и цирк. — 1974. — С. 3—5.
- ^ Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – p.250
External links
- Mark Bernes at IMDb