Musicology Annotation << Back Stylistic and structural-typological features of the birth-christening ritual songs of Russian-Belarussian borderland Elena Kiseleva The article is devoted to systematize birth-christening ritual songs. In folk tradition of Smolensk-Vitebsk borderland they (songs) are quite diverse, representing the core of the birth-christening song system, which includes confined genres (dance and lyric songs). Based on the analysis of functional, meaningful, stylistic and structural features of musical and poetic forms, the specific traits identified that promote the formation of ritual songs in a single cycle. The functional purpose of the ritual songs suggests fixing milestones for a particular group of ritual chants having stylistic connection with various genres of musical folklore of local tradition. Structural-typological features of tunes (slogorythmic, mood and intonation indicators) identify general patterns of ritual songs organization within the birth-christening cycle. Keywords: christening, Russian-Belorussian borderlands, birth-christening songs, ritual songs, confined songs, songs cycle. Contacts: Е-mail: helenos@list.ru Pp. 36-41.