Est 1923

Songs of Old Russia

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Traditional

Label: Opus 111

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 64

Mastering:

DDD

Catalogue Number: OPS30-164

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: On the Wild Steppes beyond the Baikal Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: See Our Peasants Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Nothing but the Steppe all Around Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Hymn of the Slav Peoples Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: My Little Birch Torch Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Behind the Clouds the Winds Have Arisen Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: I Cannot But Think Back Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Splendid Sea Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: The Separation Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Upstream on the Volga Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Glory be to You, Kuban Cossacks Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: The Fog is Coming Down Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: The Twelve Brigands Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: He Alone Deserves to Live Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Driving the Waves of the Volga Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Snow, the Time has Come Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Through the Thick, Mysterious Taiga Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Song of the Noble Regiment Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Monotonously Rings the Little Bell Traditional, Composer
Anatoly Grindenko, Conductor
Moscow Male Voice Choir
Traditional, Composer
Anyone expecting unadulterated sentimentality from this disc (pace Anatoly Grindenko’s insert-note: “the songs most liked by Russians are the sad ones”) will be disappointed, for it includes some of the most vigorous, cleanly objective singing I have heard. And yet it does pull at the heart-strings.
The music, all sung in excellent a cappella arrangements, falls into three principal categories: firstly there are the stern military songs, of which the most impressive is Glory be to you, Kuban Cossacks. It is a strong, moving song, positively swimming in kvass and vodka, and some of the singing by the two soloists recalls Georgian folk music, as does the first track, Snow, the time has come. The second group is of ballads, some of which remind one of English Edwardian parlour songs (rather as one can sometimes be reminded of Stanford by early twentieth-century Russian sacred music). Amongst the most impressive are track 9 (beautifully harmonized, with a wonderful storm-in-a-teacup text) and the lovely track 4, Monotonously rings the little bell. Thirdly, two of the songs are a kind of miniature tone-poem: Behind the clouds and Upstream, on the Volga include highly effective musical representations of the wind and the waves respectively.
In a very personal (and very Russian) note, Vladimir Krupin observes that “the Russian folk-song is a miracle”, and “abroad, these songs would have reduced me to tears”. Indeed, but it is the technical precision and emotional restraint which Grindenko brings to these arrangements that best conveys their tremendous power.'

Songs of Old Russia

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: On the Wild Steppes beyond the Baikal

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: See Our Peasants

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Nothing but the Steppe all Around

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Hymn of the Slav Peoples

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: My Little Birch Torch

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Behind the Clouds the Winds Have Arisen

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: I Cannot But Think Back

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Splendid Sea

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: The Separation

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Upstream on the Volga

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Glory be to You, Kuban Cossacks

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: The Fog is Coming Down

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: The Twelve Brigands

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: He Alone Deserves to Live

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Driving the Waves of the Volga

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Snow, the Time has Come

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Through the Thick, Mysterious Taiga

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Song of the Noble Regiment

Songs of Old Russia, Movement: Monotonously Rings the Little Bell

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