Volga folk choir: history and repertoire

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The Volga Russian Folk Choir was created on the basis of the decision of the Government of the RSFSR in Kuibyshev (today it is the city of Samara), in February 1952, Pyotr Miloslavov became the founder of a new group. The basis of the creative activity of the Volga Folk Choir was the folk culture of the Volga region. The team was created as a professional association of performers. Today, many people know about him.

Founder

Petr Miloslavov is a researcher, connoisseur and collector of Volga melodies. In the state Volga folk choir, he carried out for his time a unique arrangement of artists on stage. His approach was aimed at ensuring that the entire choral palette could be heard from anywhere in the hall and merged into an integral choral sound. The soft semi-academic style of performance was also a feature.

History

The Volga Folk Choir was created as a collective of the Volga region, acting to promote the culture of various peoples,living on the banks of the Volga River. Many young people joined the team during its recruitment. Pyotr Miloslavov, having arrived in Kuibyshev, had his own ideas about how a folk choir should look.

It was in the future Samara that the researcher managed to bring his own theoretical developments to life. In 1952, the young Volga Folk Choir showed its first program to the audience. The test was better than any expectations, the audience enthusiastically accepted the performance. After 2 months, the choir was given the official status of the state, as well as the right to perform in public.

A year later, the choir won recognition at the national level, and five years later, the group conquered the stage of the Châtelet theater in France. Special people interacted with this choir. Their followers are still learning from their experience.

Pyotr Miloslavov, the founder of the group, organized a platform where the masters of folk art got the opportunity to experiment creatively and improvise freely. A team of talented musicians managed to gather in one choir. The fruits of their creative activity remain relevant today.

Songwriters Viktor Bokov and Veniamin Burygin, composers Grigory Ponomarenko and Mikhail Chumakov, Valentina Mikhailova worked here in different periods. Singer Ekaterina Shavrina began her singing career in this choir.

This environment has contributed to the emergence of many songs that have become folk. Among them is "Snow-White Cherry". Lyudmila Zykina took this composition to her repertoire.

BIn 1970, choreographer Vyacheslav Modzolevsky joined the team, who influenced the development of folk dance. After the appearance of this person in the team, the choir turned into an object to follow from the side of other folk creative associations.

Among the talented people who collaborated with the choir, let's separately mention the artistic director, Honored Art Worker of Russia Vladimir Pakhomov. Being a follower of Miloslavov, this man preserved the manner of singing the choir, created many arrangements, processed many folk songs, developed a program of spiritual songs, Vladimir Pakhomov greatly enriched the group's repertoire.

Dances and folk songs have become part of Russian culture. They have become cultural heritage. The choir has become a bearer of culture, preserving it, multiplying it and passing it on to the new generation. The Volga choir is a very bright phenomenon. The repertoire of this group contains dances and songs of the peoples of the Volga region.

Repertoire

Concerts of the Volga Folk Choir include the following programs:

• performance based on the musical and folklore song material "Legends of gray Zhiguli";
• "Volgari sing";
• "Oh, Samara town!";
• orchestral performance "Music Without Time";
• "Constellation of Soloists";
• "Concert dedicated to the activities of Pyotr Miloslavov";
• "Victory Concert Program";
• Spiritual program;
• "Concert dedicated to the activities of Ponomarenko";
• Russian Winter.

The repertoire of the group also includes programs for children: "Sadko", "The Frog Princess", "The Scarlet Flower".

Famous Artists

Veniamin Petrovich Burygin performed in the Volga Folk Choir. This songwriter, performer of folk songs, has created more than five hundred compositions. The team also included Grigory Fedorovich Ponomarenko - People's Artist, Composer and Bayanist.