10. The Yakut Heroic Epic “Er Sogotokh The Brave”

Tape recording, text preparation by V. V. Illarionov. Translation by P. E. Efremov, S. P. Oyukskaya, and N. V. Emelyanov. Introductory article by N. V. Emelyanov and V. V. Illarionov. Musicological article by E. E. Alekseev. Musical scores by N. N. Nikolaeva. Editing of the volume‘s musicological section by R. B. Nazarenko.—Novosibirsk: Nauka. Siberian Publishing Firm, RAN, 1996.—440 pages.

The tale published represents an early type of archaic epos. Er Sogotokh is a popular epic hero who occupies a special place in the repertoire of Yakut storytellers.

The publication is of great scholarly value for offering the first ever decipherment of the tape recordings made years earlier from live performances of the tale by the famous Yakut storyteller V. O. Karataev, from whom it was recorded three times in different years.

Audio excerpts of the tale reproduced on the accompanying record give an impression of the expressive qualities of the Yakut heroic epic as a theatrical work, where each monolog sung by a character is a distinguishing feature of that hero‘s personality.

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