33MBikel T1
Theodore Bikel
Songs of Russia Old and New
Elektra Records...EKL-185...(1960)...33 1/3 LP...Stereo
Cover: VG (*) with original sleeve
Record: VG++...tracks well...NO noise...$10.00
SIDE 1
SONGS OF OLD RUSSIA
1)
POMNYU YA (I Remember) - Not Given...NTG
2)
YAMSHCHIK GANI-KA K YARD (Coachman, Away to the Fair) - Not Given...NTG
3)
NOCH TIKHA (Quiet Night) - Not Given...NTG
4)
POLSO BYLO LYUBLYATSE (I Never Meant To Love) - Not Given...NTG
5)
GARI GARI MAYA ZVYEZDA (Twinkle, Twinkle, My Star) - Not Given...NTG
6)
CHUPCHIK (Curly Forelock) - Not Given...NTG
7)
VYECHERNY ZVON (Evening Bells) - Not Given...NTG
SIDE 2
SONGS OF NEW RUSSIA
1) AT VOLGI DA DONA (From: the Volga to the Don) - Not Given...NTG
2) TALYANOGHKA (The Concertina) - Not Given...NTG
3) PADMASKOVNIYE VYECHERA (Moscow Evenings) - Not Given...NTG
4) PADRUSHKA MILAYA (My Old Pat) - Not Given...NTG
5) KATIUSHA - Not Given...NTG
6) PRAVAZHANYE (Parting) - Not Given...NTG
7) TYOMNAYA NOCH (Dark Night) - Not Given...NTG
ON THE BACK OF THE JACKET:
Theodore Bikel
Songs of Russia Old and New
Songs of New Russia arranged & conducted by
FRED HELLERMAN
Each side of this album presents — musically — a different face of Russia: The Old and
the New; that is to say, Russia before the revolution and after.
By and large, we in the Western Hemisphere are better acquainted with the music of Old
Russia. Despite the fact that the Soviets are always eager to disseminate their cultural
output, even to the extent of subsidizing its distribution in the West, there has been a
remarkable dearth of available recordings of Russian folk or contemporary popular music,
until quite recently. On the other hand, the Russian emigre circles in Paris, London or
New York have been keeping alive the performers of Old Russian music, so that Gypsy tunes,
ballads, "romanzas," Cossack melodies, etc. have come to be accepted as part of the
international "cafe society" and night club repertoire.
It is a pity, of course, that not enough attention is ever paid to the lyrics, for they
can be quite exquisite; at times they indicate in one stroke of the brush the picture a
Dostoievsky novel might painstakingly build for our imagination through many pages. For
the "Russian soul" is not an empty phrase; it exists in all its splendour and misery, in
its grandeur and humiliation, in its joyful pain and its doleful gaiety.
Unlike my previous Russian album, which was almost entirely Gypsy, the first side of this
album contains a varied collection of songs, all old to be sure, but different from each
other in character and background. The first, Pomnyu ya, is a peasant song, or rather two
such songs strung together. Yamshchik gani-ka k yarn is a Gypsy song, as is Polso bylo
lyublyatse, the latter partly in Gypsy dialect. Noch Tikha and Gari Gari Maya Zvyezda are
the "romanza" type of ballad that has always been a typical form of Slavic lyricism.
Chupchik is a whimsical, sad-happy story of a fellow's misfortune; it is perhaps the
newest century. Finally, Vyecherny zvon is the epitome of nostalgia; a choir piece really,
with a solo part—1 am grateful to Messrs. Belostozky, Lashevich, Bajanoff and Ledkovsky
from the Russian Orthodox Church in Manhattan for their assistance.
Regarding the second part of the album, the songs of New Russia, a curious fact emerges.
One has often wondered to what extent a people's music is influenced by changes of regime
and in what manner, if at all, material or ideological factors are apt to play their role
in shaping the folklore and music of a nation. It is undeniable that changes have indeed
taken place, as evidenced not only by the lyrics—which one expected to be in a different
tenor—but also by the pace of the music, its attack and sometimes its newly-found polish.
Withal, there is one thing that seems to undergo no change, for it is never fashioned
by surroundings or living conditions; these, being outside its gravitational centre,
barely touch it. Russkaya dusha, the Russian soul, nurtured as it is from within,
preserves its characteristics through all changes; and since it exerts its greatest
influence in the realm of poetry and music, we seem to find again in the new song what we
thought had perished with the old. No matter how many tractors cut furrows or how large
the power stations loom or how high the Sputniks soar, today's Soviet citizen may speak
with proud arrogance, but he still sings with the tender nostalgia of yesterday. I expect
that is the reason for my being entranced by this music. While I have grave misgivings
about Communism as it is preached, and am even more bitterly opposed to it as it is
practised, the Slavophile in me is nonetheless charmed by the wealth of music which
emanates from behind the Iron Curtain. Should you doubt the power of the Russian soul,
then take a closer look at the song of the old droshke driver (Padmshka milaya); the new
Subway with its glittering bannisters has driven all his customers away—and*'! bet you
that even the most hard-boiled dialectical materialist will not say, "Hurrah for the
Subway!" but will shed a tear for the cabbie.
Theodore Bikel
Musicians featured on this recording are:
HAROLD KOHON / GIOVANNI VICARI / LEONID I. KALBOUSS / MARTIN GRUPP
RAY SCHWEITZER / BERNARD ZASLAV / TED TYLE / JOHN R. BARROWS / MIRKO
MARKOE / SASHA POLINOFF / ALEXIS HRAMOFF / GEORGE GREENBERG / SERGIO
KROTKOFF
production supervisor - JAC HOLZMAN mixing & editing - MARK ABRAMSON
COMPLETE TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS ENCLOSED
This fine ELEKTRA recording will never become obsolete. Should you purchase a stereo
phonic phonograph in the future it will play superbly on your new equipment and will
continue to give many hours of musical enjoyment.
(*) Dingy with some fraying of the back cover sheet from the board
We clean and put our sleeve with those platters that do not have one
or that needs replaced
Old one will be with album
NO REPAIRS ARE MADE TO ALBUM COVER
Album placed in clear sleeve.
YKTC assumes no responsibility for misprints or claims
and actions by it's advertisers.
Neither
YKTC nor it's agents assume any responsibility
for the accuracy or authenticity
of any description or item advertised, and makes no warranty as to either.
YOUR KEY TO COLLECTIBLES
