A Russian folk-rooted vocal lament in a flexible, rubato flow, without a rigid metronomic grid. Richly sustained vowels unfold in long melismatic lines, with fluid descending melodies and interweaving, subordinate harmonies. Balalaika, accordion, gusli, and bowed strings support the voices in an old diatonic modal palette, with spacious phrasing and an open, unhurried texture.