Album Notes

Russian song folklore is a rich treasure √ it houses the original culture of Russia. Professional interest in its preservation arose not more than a hundred years ago and has been developing more intensively with years. Composers began to turn to arrangements of Russian folk songs, often creating independent works in which the song appears enriched by the author.
"Ten Russian Folk Songs" for choir, soloists and piano, an arrangement by D. Shostakovich, was performed for the first time and recorded by the Leningrad M.Glinka Choir under V. Chernushenko in 1981. While the author was alive, this composition was not published and remained little known. The cycle consists of two parts, contrasting in genre. The first are marching songs in energetic march rhythm and present the genre of Cossacks song. The theme of the War of 1812 runs through these songs. The second part consists of five lyrical songs of a girls' fate and form a closed row. Its beginning and end are mournful stories of women's lot and the middle is a merry round-dance.
Extremely tactfully, Shostakovich uses piano accompaniment. It merges with the voices without distribing the natural flow of the melody.
The other songs are arrangements for choir a cappella, and that is more typical of the performing tradition of Russian folk song. Their authors are famous masters of this genre. "Dubinushka" by P. Tchaikovsky, put to the lyrics of L. Trefolev, occupies a special place in this program. It is an interesting example of an original work in which dramatic development is a background for the folk song.