Voices from Russia

Monday, 4 March 2013

4 March 2013. Some of My Favourite Things… Svetilen Sings Again… and the Voronezhskie Devchata

00 Svetilen. Old Russian music. 04.03.13

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00 Voronezhskie Devchata. 04.03.13

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Svetilen specialises in singing medieval Russian spiritual songs. Na Iordane is an interesting mixture of Russian vocal technique with an instrumental accompaniment that’s redolent of Western Early Music. The second is an Old Russian song that’s been hijacked by Galician Uniates (usually, in very bad Westernised and bowdlerised versions)… do mistrust all “Ukrainian” nationalist claims… this song has Byelorussian roots, for instance. Svetilen has been around since 1989, keeping alive the Old Russian singing tradition. Like many good things, it started in Soviet times (just as many bad things, such as the oligarchs and buccaneer crapitalism came in after the Soviets fell). They take from both sources of spiritual singing… the Church and the folk tradition. They use Old Russian instruments and perform in Old Russian garb. They’ve had tremendous achievements on stage in France in 2001, in Austria and Czechia in 2003, and in Serbia (Belgrade) in 2004. Enjoy the sounds of the ancient Orthodox Russia.

The Voronezhskie Devchata (Voronezh Girls) are NOT “Ukrainian“ (Voronezh is in Great Russia proper), despite internet propaganda to the contrary. As you can hear and see, so-called “Ukrainian” usages aren’t unique; they’re part of the Greater Russian culture. Always suspect “Ukrainian” loudmouths… most are Uniate imposters, with no real roots in Great Russia (most real Ukrainians readily admit their ties to Russia… keep that in mind). The ensemble was founded by Konstantin Iraklievich Massalitin, People’s Artist of the USSR (of Jewish descent), in 1966. Over the years, this ensemble won many international, all-Union, and all-Russian competitions, widely-known in Russia and in many other countries, too. The repertoire of the ensemble centres around Russian lyrical song in all its variety.

BMD

 

Sunday, 2 September 2012

2 September 2012. Some of My Favourite Things… Some Homemade Cossack “Down Home” Fun

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Here’s a bit of Cossack fun… home-made, not professional in the least… but it’s po-nashemu, and that’s all that one has to say on it… it’s time to smile and remember who we are. Oh… fatuous loudmouths like Rod Dreher can keep their condescending mouths shut (friends tell me how he and Freddie M-G talk… what do you expect from such ingrates?)… we’re not going to give up our non-Western culture, faith, and folkways, and if he doesn’t like that, well, there’s always the gate if he doesn’t like it in Russian Orthodoxy

BMD

Sunday, 27 May 2012

27 May 2012. VOR Presents… Buranovskiye Babushki Landed in Moscow After Winning Second Place at the 2012 ESC

On 27 May 2012, at waiting crowd at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport greeted the successful Russian contestants at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, which ended yesterday in Baku. The Russian entry, the Buranovskiye Babushki, took second place in the final competition and won much love and admiration from all over the world. Their fans met the Babas at the airport with flowers, songs, and dances.

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At an impromptu press conference, the Babas told reporters that the flight went by very quickly and effortlessly, as they sang Russian and Udmurt folk songs as the plane took them back to Russia.

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At home in Buranovo, their families and fellow villagers are waiting for them; on Wednesday 30 May, they’ll lay the cornerstone for their new parish church in the village and the local Orthodox clergy will bless the site. This has been a long-cherished project of the Babas.

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Answering journalists’ questions, the Babas noted that they really liked Baku… they found the people there very hospitable, they had time to visit the old town, they visited the Orthodox church, went to the seashore and hunted for shells.

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According to the Babas’ producer, they’ve received many queries about a world tour. In Moscow, on 12 June 2012, the Babas will take part in concert on Red Square honouring Russia Day {the buzz has it that VVP wants to award the Babas a state decoration at that time: editor}.

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President Putin sent his greetings to the Babas, praising their successful performance at the ESC, expressing his intent to go to their village to get to know the singers personally.

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27 May 2012

Voice of Russia World Service

http://rus.ruvr.ru/photoalbum/76158119/76158140/

27 May 2012. Videos. How ‘Bout Some Songs by the Buranovskiye Babas?

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The Babas come in at 0:32… this is a gas!

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Tuesday, 15 May 2012

“Buranovskie Babushki” Wow Journalists in Baku

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Even before they arrived in Baku, the “Buranovskie Babushki” aroused interest amongst the fans of the Eurovision Song Contest. However, after the first rehearsal, when journalists saw the live performance of the Russian group, the excitement increased. It’s traditional for the journalists to take an informal poll amongst themselves daily at the press centre, in the latest vote, Russia ranked first. Not only the sheer numbers testify to the favourite… the journalists like to hum the Babushki’s song Party for Everybody, and many use it as their ring tone.

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Meanwhile, according to their spokesman, Svetlana Syrygina, the Babas did a commercial for soft drinks for TV, in order to earn money to build a church in their native village. Syrygina said, “The ad with the Buranovskie Babushki will air during May and June, the TV will carry it during the contest. Besides that, the Babushki will appear on the bottle label, with a number given so that people can make a call to vote for them”. The Babas did the commercial in late April, shortly before they went to Baku for the ESC finals. The video is funny and a bit self-deprecating… the Babas ride around in a limo, act as DJs, and dance with actors in chicken suits to their hit Party for Everybody. Syrygina said that they wouldn’t publicise the fee for the ad, but that all the money earned from it will go to help build a church in their home village of Buranovo. The Buranovskie Babushki emphasise strongly that the only reason that they perform on stage and participate in contests is so they can help their local parish.

15 May 2012

Voice of Russia World Service

http://rus.ruvr.ru/2012_05_14/74697304/

Sunday, 19 February 2012

19 February 2012. Video. Svetilen Sings Old Russian Kolyadki in Unreconstructed Russian Peasant Style… GOOD STUFF!

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Kolyadki sung by the Ensemble Sirin, a broadly-similar group

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Svetilen sings the Lenten hymn By the Waters of Babylon in the Old Style…

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These days, the old traditional peasant kolyadki are often heard in citified “Ukrainified” versions… which leads to all sorts of wild and inaccurate claims by the usual sort of unhinged Galician nationalists. Well… Svetilen, a group that specialises in authentic presentations of Russian peasant song, gives us the real deal (there’s another authentic school of performance amongst the po-nashemu people from Carpatho-Russia). You can tell that they’re singing in Pre-Petrine Old Russian, not “Ukrainian”… another one of the “Ukrainian” myths bites the dust.

Pass the jug, and enjoy these for what they are… absolutely precise and stirring performances in every detail. God bless the musicians of Svetilen and Sirin! They bring our Tradition of Holy Rus alive and embody it for the whole world to see…

BMD 

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