Dear friends, without waiting for professional concert videos, we've put together pieces of rehearsal videos to introduce you to a new composition in the repertoire of the Yale Russian Chorus-a memorial spiritual song from the Penza region (Russia) "Kukushechka" (Where are you flying, cuckoo?) arranged by Olga Shaydullina, a contemporary Russian composer ❤️
❗️ Interesting: Olga Shaydullina wrote this composition after the events of March 22, 2024 (the tragedy in Crocus City Hall) especially for this cast of performers.
The premiere performance of the spiritual song "Kukushechka" took place on April 19, 2024 at Trinity Church on the Green (New Haven, CT, USA) as part of a joint concert of the Yale Russian Chorus and three talented Russian musicians, Alisa Sadikova (harp), Elizaveta Ulakhovich (soprano) and Leonid Gurevich (piano)!
The concert was a close interweaving of choral, vocal and instrumental compositions, dedicated to the theme of choral resonances in instrumental music and cultural exchange ✨
Conductor: Gabriel Mesa.
Music directors: Leonard Gurevich, Gabriel Mesa.
Filming: Lewis Johnson.
#cuckoo
"Kukushechka" (Where are you flying, cuckoo?) is a spiritual song (folk songs on Christian themes) collected in the Kanayevka village, Gorodishchensky district, Penza region, Russia, during a folk-ethnographic expedition to the area.
Sergey Starostin, ethnographer, collector and performer of Russian folklore, said the following about this spiritual song: "On one of the expeditions to the Penza region, in particular to the Kanaevka village where I went, in addition to the secular genres we heard there, they sang a lot of spiritual songs. They had enough life sorrows, and they... sort of... these songs helped them overcome, in fact, very difficult life circumstances, the loss of loved ones...so. And I, when I heard 'Kukushechka', it was like what a light illuminated my soul!".
You can hear the original source and see the performers of this spiritual song in the plot of the 1998 TV program "World Village" by Sergey Starostin at 27:30: • Село Канаевка - праздн...
For several decades now, the spiritual song "Kukushechka", which came out of folk tradition, continues to live in different interpretations on large and small stages of Russia. This arrangement was written by Olga Shaydullina (July 17, 1983, Arzamas)-Russian composer, theater director, creator and head of the creative association "Taratumb", multiple winner of the Golden Mask theatrical award. Arranger, member of the Russian Composers Union, author of symphonic, chamber and vocal music.
📌 Lyrics:
Where are you flying, cuckoo?
I'm flying, I'm flying to that flight -
Where I can find peace for my soul.
Find it, find it yourself,
Seek, seek the Savior.
Pour before Him a spring of tears,
Ask Him for help
To give your soul rest.
#YaleRussianChorus #РусскийХорЙельскогоУниверситета
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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