Note 7 — WEDDING SONG CYCLE

As the rose in our love songs so in those of Ukraina does the Cranberry or Kalina bloom—the symbol of beauty. Maidens are always being compared to it, and one sings: “Would I were red as a cranberry, for then never was I sad; my lips and cheeks were scarlet, but now they are pale.” The German story of the “Juniper Tree” finds its counterpart in the Cranberry-bush of the Ruthenians. A young girl was murdered, so runs the tale, and her relatives placed the Kalina on her grave. From a branch of this her brother made a flute—immediately a voice sighed: “Brother, play not so loud—do not bring sorrow to my heart!”