"Choral Folk Music"

[Corno Dolce]

Here's a great little ditty sung by a choir who regularly sing at Sretensky Monastery - It is a ballad about the Horse:


www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOneK7tJWEc


And the sheet music:


www.horisty.narod.ru/notes2/kon.pdf


The words are somewhat as follows - Translations are notoriously difficult:


Go out at night in a field with a horse,
Dark night will go quietly.
We'll go with the horse on the field together.

Night in a field of stars grace ...
In the field no one in sight.
Once we have a horse in the field are going.

I'll sit astride a horse,
You carry it on the field I was.
According to my boundless field.

Let me look it once -
Generates a field where the dawn.
Ah, cranberry color, scarlet yes dawn,
Ali is the place, Ali is not.

Polyushko mine, springs,
Lights of distant villages,
Golden Rye yes Kinky linen -
I'm in love with you, Russia, in love.

Be a good year-Khleborodov,
There were all, every pass,
Sing a golden rye, sing Kinky flax
Sing about how I love Russia!
Sing a golden rye, flax sing Kinky ...

We go with the horse on the field together.


And in Russian:


Выйду ночью в поле с конем,
Ночкой темной тихо пойдем.
Мы пойдем с конем по полю вдвоем.

Ночью в поле звезд благодать...
В поле никого не видать.
Только мы с конем по полю идем.

Сяду я верхом на коня,
Ты неси по полю меня.
По бескрайнему полю моему.

Дай-ка я разок посмотрю -
Где рождает поле зарю.
Ай, брусничный цвет, алый да рассвет,
Али есть то место, али его нет.

Полюшко мое, родники,
Дальних деревень огоньки,
Золотая рожь да кудрявый лен -
Я влюблен в тебя, Россия, влюблен.

Будет добрым год-хлебород,
Было всяко, всяко пройдет,
Пой златая рожь, пой кудрявый лен,
Пой о том, как я в Россию влюблен!
Пой златая рожь, пой кудрявый лен...

Мы идем с конем по полю вдвоем.

[wljmrbill]

Thanks..I enjoy listening to Russian Male Choirs and the Orthodox Service Music.( all 13 of them )

[teddy]

Thank you CD. Very pleasurable

teddy

[JHC]

You just can't beat a male voice choir, and Russian Basses are so strong, do you remember the "Red Army Choir" I have a LP of them.
Thank you CD

[Corno Dolce]

Yep, they are quite unbeatable...

Do ponder about that Russian choirs have not only baritones and basses but also Octavists who descend to F - Below the range of the cello!!! In the contrabass range.

[JHC]

Do ponder about that Russian choirs have not only baritones and basses but also Octavists who descend to F - Below the range of the cello!!! In the contrabass range.

I learn something new each day just checked on wiki and it seem they can get a full oct lower than a bass, Thanks CD. You would think they could come up with a better name?

[Corno Dolce]

As I am now very carefully and studiously reading Pavel Chesnokov's book "The Choir: How to manage it" the author who was the Director Musices at Christ the Saviour Cathedral where I am doing research and performance, mandates that the bass section shall be larger than the other sections - e.g. in a choir of 54 singers there are 18 in the whole bass section(baritone, bass, and octavists) and 12 in every other section, in a group of 27 there are 9 in the bass and 6 in the other sections, in a group of 13 there are 4 basses and 3 in other sections. Compare that to the equal in number or less in every section in Western Choirs.

[wafer hero]

Corno Dolce, it's not a russian folk song. This song written by Igor' Motvienko (russian composer and producer).

[GoneBaroque]

As I am now very carefully and studiously reading Pavel Chesnokov's book "The Choir: How to manage it" the author who was the Director Musices at Christ the Saviour Cathedral where I am doing research and performance, mandates that the bass section shall be larger than the other sections - e.g. in a choir of 54 singers there are 18 in the whole bass section(baritone, bass, and octavists) and 12 in every other section, in a group of 27 there are 9 in the bass and 6 in the other sections, in a group of 13 there are 4 basses and 3 in other sections. Compare that to the equal in number or less in every section in Western Choirs.

CD, Thank you very much for the information on the make up of Russian Choirs. That must be a fascinating book. In many of the church choirs in the U.S. you will probably find about 12 female singers (often with Altos singing Tenor and if you are lucky 3 men.

[JHC]

CD, do you have many Counter Tenors in your choirs?

[Corno Dolce]

Well, there are three(and those tenors sing ionospherically high to boot!) in the Cathedral Choir.

[Corno Dolce]

Hi GoneBaroque,

I was born and grew up in the US and lived for 17 years in Hawaii before moving to Moscow with my wife. The Russian Choral tradition is just so fascinating!!! Plus, it gives people a chance for employment if they can't find another job. Of course, they'll have to pass muster during the audition but you can live on a choristers salary in Russia. Yes, you'll be singing on the average of about two services a day Monday through Sunday.

[GoneBaroque]

Hi GoneBaroque,

I was born and grew up in the US and lived for 17 years in Hawaii before moving to Moscow with my wife. The Russian Choral tradition is just so fascinating!!! Plus, it gives people a chance for employment if they can't find another job. Of course, they'll have to pass muster during the audition but you can live on a choristers salary in Russia. Yes, you'll be singing on the average of about two services a day Monday through Sunday.

Hi C D,

Thank you for your informative reply. The Russian Choral tradition is a great national treasure. It is good to see it maintained. It must keep the choristers happily busy. I did not realize the churches were so active. I would assume that some government support is involved. It seems that the U.S. is about the only country which does not support the Arts in some fashion.

Rob

[Corno Dolce]

Hi Rob,

Very minimal, at best, govt. support - The current Patriarch Kirill is doing alot of traveling now to visit many parishes. He has some interesting specialists who go with him and they quickly gather info about the churches history and physical condition. It all ends up then becoming a restoration project with local people guided by local district experts doing a "Labor of Love". Quite often they have almost nothing to go on since the Bolsheviks made very sure to eradicate the cultural history in re to the parishes. In many places I have visited and seen some very awe-inspiring restorative work by people who receive food and a place to sleep and facilities for personal hygiene - Thats it!

As to music, I believe I mentioned in another thread that the Moscow Patriarchate has a few specialists who travel to parishes all over Russia in order to find extant copies of music score that has escaped the Bolshevik scourge, identify it, and if it is unknown, will then make it a part of a musical collection that can then be accessed by everyone who works and performs choral literature.

[JHC]

CD When did you go to the good old CCP to live ?