ARCHIVAL MATERIALS AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE MARI MUSICAL CULTURE

The article analyzes the unpublished documents of the central and local archives, which made it possible to reflect the specifics of the development of the Mari musical culture. The aim of the study is to reveal the role of archival materials in reconstructing a holistic picture of the process of genesis and evolution of professional music of the Mari people. The material for the article was the documents of the central and local archives, studied by the author in different years of scientific activity. The main methods were critical and concrete-historical methods, description in combination with analysis, as well as the statistical method. The study also used an integrated approach. In the process of studying the development of the Mari musical culture, materials from 8 archives, 87 funds, 97 inventories, over 500 cases were analyzed. A significant part of the materials was introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The systematization, analysis and synthesis of this complex of sources made it possible to build a logical system of goals and objectives, to comprehend and recreate the main trends in the development of the Mari national culture that were not comprehensively covered earlier. The used source base of the research is representative in the complex study of the Mari musical culture.