Hello One and All!
Once there was a poor musician, named Sadko, who only had one prized possession, his gusli (a stringed instrument). With skillful playing he was able to make a name for himself in Novgorod, and invites to feasts and celebrations grew in number as his name traveled. On a day off, the musician was practicing on a beach at Lake Ilmen, when the nature and weather all around him started to respond to each note he played. After he had finished with his song, the king of the sea himself rose up from the deeps.
"Thank you musician, my guests and I enjoyed your tune immensely. When you attend a celebration tomorrow, make a bet with the merchants of Novgorod, that there is a fish with golden fins in the lake. Win the bet and you will be able to play for pleasure instead of survival."
Sadko was indeed commissioned to perform at a massive event the next day, where he issued the challenge: his head for all of the merchant's shops, that he would be able to catch a golden finned fish. The musician, accompanied by the merchants, went down to the lake, and he cast a net of silk. When it was reeled back in again, a golden finned fish lay in the netting. Henceforth, Sadko would become one of the wealthiest men in Novgorod, building a great palace and marrying a woman called Lubava.
Twelve years later, the former musician sailed with his fleet of thirty ships, when his lead ship ran aground of a reef, and then a storm broke out and slowed their progress. It was then that he remembered he had forgotten to express his gratitude to the king of the sea. To remedy this, he threw buckets of gold and silver into the sea, but the weather remained tempestuous. Sadko suggested that every member of the crew carve their name into a block of wood; if the piece of wood sunk, it would indicate that they carried a sin that the king of the sea wanted to punish. The former musician chose a feather instead, because he didn't want it to sink, but it disappeared under the water nonetheless. Seeing that he had no way to deny the monarch, he grabbed his gusli and jumped into the sea. The clouds dissipated and the ships journeyed onward without him.
Sadko floated downwards, until he came to the court of the king of the sea, where the king and queen sat on their double thrones. Both of them were engaged in a heated debate.
The king noticed the musician and said, "We are in a disagreement as to which metal is the most valuable to humans. Is it - as I think - gold, or my wife's choice - iron?"
"That is difficult to answer," said Sadko ", but I would say iron, because we could do without gold but would struggle to live without any iron."
The king seethed, grasped his sword and rushed forward, but the musician gripped his gusli and played a melody, which stopped the sovereign. Entranced, the king launched into a feverish dance.
A water elf floated down and whispered into Sadko's ear that he should stop his playing, because the ruler's motions were causing a storm on the surface world.
As a reward for the beautiful music, the sea king offered to arrange a marriage between him and the most beautiful mermaid in his kingdom. Once again the water elf appeared at Sadko's side and started to whisper:
"Three hundred of the moist beautiful maidens will pass in a procession, but you must let them go by. At the back of the line a small, scrawny woman will appear. This is the one you must ask to marry."
It happened as the elf had predicted. Sadko waited and chose the last girl, the king's sister named Volkhova. She comforted him until he fell asleep on her lap.
The next morning Sadko woke up one the bank of the River Volkhov. In the distance his fleet of ships appeared, fully laden with the greatest treasures. Never again did he set foot on a ship and he lived a happy and fulfilled life with his wife and children.
Thank you for reading!
Sadko is the protagonist in three medieval Russian songs that details his supernatural exploits. They would become so popular that it would feature in a poem of Alexei Tolstoy, receive a operatic adaptation and a film adaptation (in 1953). One reason for its success may lay in how it takes a snapshot of the culture, history and life of Novgorod in such an entertaining yarn.
The Intrepid Sadko
Once there was a poor musician, named Sadko, who only had one prized possession, his gusli (a stringed instrument). With skillful playing he was able to make a name for himself in Novgorod, and invites to feasts and celebrations grew in number as his name traveled. On a day off, the musician was practicing on a beach at Lake Ilmen, when the nature and weather all around him started to respond to each note he played. After he had finished with his song, the king of the sea himself rose up from the deeps.
"Thank you musician, my guests and I enjoyed your tune immensely. When you attend a celebration tomorrow, make a bet with the merchants of Novgorod, that there is a fish with golden fins in the lake. Win the bet and you will be able to play for pleasure instead of survival."
Sadko was indeed commissioned to perform at a massive event the next day, where he issued the challenge: his head for all of the merchant's shops, that he would be able to catch a golden finned fish. The musician, accompanied by the merchants, went down to the lake, and he cast a net of silk. When it was reeled back in again, a golden finned fish lay in the netting. Henceforth, Sadko would become one of the wealthiest men in Novgorod, building a great palace and marrying a woman called Lubava.
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| Stage Design For The Opera Sadko. By N. Rimsky-korsakov, 1901. |
Twelve years later, the former musician sailed with his fleet of thirty ships, when his lead ship ran aground of a reef, and then a storm broke out and slowed their progress. It was then that he remembered he had forgotten to express his gratitude to the king of the sea. To remedy this, he threw buckets of gold and silver into the sea, but the weather remained tempestuous. Sadko suggested that every member of the crew carve their name into a block of wood; if the piece of wood sunk, it would indicate that they carried a sin that the king of the sea wanted to punish. The former musician chose a feather instead, because he didn't want it to sink, but it disappeared under the water nonetheless. Seeing that he had no way to deny the monarch, he grabbed his gusli and jumped into the sea. The clouds dissipated and the ships journeyed onward without him.
 |
| "Sadko" (1903) by Ivan Bilibin. |
Sadko floated downwards, until he came to the court of the king of the sea, where the king and queen sat on their double thrones. Both of them were engaged in a heated debate.
The king noticed the musician and said, "We are in a disagreement as to which metal is the most valuable to humans. Is it - as I think - gold, or my wife's choice - iron?"
"That is difficult to answer," said Sadko ", but I would say iron, because we could do without gold but would struggle to live without any iron."
The king seethed, grasped his sword and rushed forward, but the musician gripped his gusli and played a melody, which stopped the sovereign. Entranced, the king launched into a feverish dance.
A water elf floated down and whispered into Sadko's ear that he should stop his playing, because the ruler's motions were causing a storm on the surface world.
 |
| "Sadko and Master" by Marine Konstantin Vasilyev. |
As a reward for the beautiful music, the sea king offered to arrange a marriage between him and the most beautiful mermaid in his kingdom. Once again the water elf appeared at Sadko's side and started to whisper:
"Three hundred of the moist beautiful maidens will pass in a procession, but you must let them go by. At the back of the line a small, scrawny woman will appear. This is the one you must ask to marry."
It happened as the elf had predicted. Sadko waited and chose the last girl, the king's sister named Volkhova. She comforted him until he fell asleep on her lap.
 |
| "Sadko and Volkhova". Vintage Soviet Postcard (1963). Artist: O. Platonov. |
The next morning Sadko woke up one the bank of the River Volkhov. In the distance his fleet of ships appeared, fully laden with the greatest treasures. Never again did he set foot on a ship and he lived a happy and fulfilled life with his wife and children.
Thank you for reading!
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