Search - Songs of Old Russia (CD Edition) :: Songs of Old Russia

Mediochre sound, amazing contents

07/08/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I found this music in the form of a bargain cassette (not the CD shown here). While it said Russian text enclosed, there was no text at all. The sound, esecially of the orchestra, is quite distant, with the solo voices not much better. Nevertheless, this is an enchanting collection of Russian folk music. The soloists sing admirably, and the various orchestras play well (in what I could hear), if not all that distinguished. What's presented here is 14 mostly folk songs, arranged by various people (the only recognizable one being Sergei Prokofiev), sung by a bass or soprano aor what have you, and accompanied by a folk instrument orchestra or guitar. The songs are mostly slow, mournful meditations, and could make for some very relaxing music if it were not for the bad sound. There are three very enjoyable songs here which break that trend, all sung by Sergei Lemeshev, in which the singer runs through very difficult-sounding musical hoops, yet amazingly pulls it off very well. Perhaps the ability come with the language. Of these three songs (Dunya, the weaver; Song of the poor man; At the gate), the last will be familiar to you if you're familiar with the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky. I really wish this came with the text of the songs, though this may be included with the CD for sale here, and if not, you might find some texts on the internet. Overall, this music could be MUCH more enjoyable if the texts are included and if the sound is improved, and both things could be true with this CD. I doubt that you'll easily find a comparable compilation of these fascinating folk songs."