The Russian song "Dvenadtsat' razboynikov" (The Twelve Brigands) is performed by the Yale Russian Chorus and Alumni at the 70th Anniversary Concert.
Arranged by Denis Mickiewicz, founding conductor of the Yale Russian Chorus.
Conductor: Stephan Sveshnikov.
Soloists: Charlie Stone, Lewis Johnson, Richard Williams, Beau Birdsall.
Filming & editing: Emma Kazaryan.
September 9, 2023, Woolsey Hall, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
❗️ Interesting: The Yale Russian Chorus got this arrangement from Serge Jaroff's Don Cossack Choir. It illustrates the influence that the Serge Jaroff and the Don Cossacks had on the Yale Russian Chorus.
From Lewis Johnson's memories, "When I was a student in the Chorus, we paid a visit to Serge Jaroff in his home in New Jersey. He was getting quite old at the time, but he had the same energy and sparkle in his eye that he had as a young conductor. During our visit he conducted us in one of his songs, something that we all remember."
🎶 This song and the entire album "Mnogaya L'eta: 65 Years of the Yale Russian Chorus" are available for listening on any streaming platforms: band.link/Gtnqu
🎼 Download the score of "Dvenadtsat' razboynikov" on our VKontakte page or in our Telegram channel.
📷 Yale Russian Chorus Alumni Association on social media:
Facebook: / 129422890362
VKontakte: yrcaa
Telegram: t.me/YRCAlumniAssociation
#12Razboynikov
Dvenadtsat razboynikov (The Twelve Brigands) is song treatment by Nikolai Manykin-Nevstruev of the legend "About Two Great Sinners" from the unfinished epic four-part poem by Nikolai Nekrasov "Who Is Happy in Russia?" (1863-1877). The poem tells about the journey of seven peasant men across Russia in order to find a happy person. The legend "About Two Great Sinners" is included in the 4th part of the poem "The Feast for All the World". The Nekrasov text is based on a folk tale about an ataman named Kudeyar who, having abandoned robbery, becomes a monk and tries to atone for sins.
In the song versions that have become widely known, the legend "About Two Great Sinners" is known as "The Twelve Brigands" and is presented in a significantly shortened version. This legend is known among different ethnic groups, and is especially popular among the Eastern Slavs. In the case of Kudeyar, the legend is localized in the Volga region. In the Zhiguli mountains there are many toponyms associated with brigands (Kudeyar Mountain, Otvazhnoye village, Molodetsky mound, Voyevodino tract and others).
Nikolai Nekrasov died on January 8, 1878, leaving the poem unfinished, and not answering the question-Who Is Happy in Russia?
📌 Lyrics:
To the Lord God let us pray,
Let us proclaim the ancient legend!
As told to us in the Solovetskii monastery
By the honest monk Pitirim.
Once there lived twelve brigands
And their ataman, Kudear.
The brigands spilled much blood
Of honest Christians!
They plundered many goods,
They killed many people in the forest.
Kudear himself near Kyiv
Kidnapped a beautiful maiden.
By day he dallied with his paramour,
By night he went out on raids.
Suddenly, the Lord awoke
The conscience of the ferocious brigand.
He cast off his comrades,
He stopped his raiding;
Kudear himself entered a monastery,
To serve God and man!
To the Lord God let us pray,
Let us proclaim the ancient legend!
As told to us in the Solovetskii monastery
By Kudear himself, who is Pitirim.
#YaleRussianChorus #РусскийХорЙельскогоУниверситета
Friends, welcome to our channel!
The Yale Russian Chorus is the oldest singing group in the New World dedicated to the music of Russia and nearby countries. The YRC was founded 1953 at the height of the Cold War. Founders: Denis Mickiewicz and George Litton.
Singers join while students at Yale, and many stay active throughout their lives. Every year or so we hold a major concert in which students and alumni sing together. Many alumni also join the students on tours to Russia.
Without a doubt, each of us had our own motivation to join the Russian choir. But we offer you a quote from one of the members of our choir, which unites us to some extent and explains a little the meaning of the choir in our lives: "Singing the music of the YRC in the style we sang it, was an antidote to the intellectualism that got many of us into Yale in the first place, but that could be so restrictive to the heart and spirit".
The singers are not Russians, or emigrants from Russia, but are students and former students who share a passion for the music and a belief in the power of music to build connections between people of different countries.
Thanks to KZread, we are pleased to share these recordings with online audiences around the world who share our passion for this music 🌿
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