Sunday evening listening. This is an aria from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s beloved work, Le Coq d’Or, sung by Dutch coloratura soprano Marianne Blok.
Russian Music
[Music] Āustras Laīwan – Māris Tensīlis
I have a deep interest in Old Prussian culture, as a thread of my own ancestry comes from the region now known as Kaliningard, though it was once East Prussia. I’m impressed to see that some bands are trying hard to preserve the culture.
All credit for the music of Āustras Laīwan goes to Aleks Āulaukis, ably assisted by Anna Dushkina on viola and vocals, and by Aleksey Stepuchev, who plays trumpet.
[Music] Rock in the USSR – New photos of the Leningrad underground during perestroika
Victor Tsoi
The Calvert Journal has a great blog post full of photos from the 80s and 90s underground rock scene in what was then Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia.
[Music] Larisa Sadikoeva – Caucasian Medley
A stunningly beautiful accordionist from the Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia, in Russia, Larisa Sadikoeva is seen here playing in several different styles from the Caucasian region.
[Music] Boris Tihomirov – Elektronnyi Budilnik (Electronic Alarm-Clock)
There’s something incredibly cheesy about this track, but it has the same charm that ‘Popcorn’ did in its heyday. As usual with these artists, there’s nothing I can find in English on Boris Tihomirov. Any information about him, of course, would be wonderful.
[Music] Bulat Gafarov – Ya JAleyka
I can’t say that I know much about Bulat Gafarov personally, other than he’s both a fine multi-instrumentalist and a friend on Facebook, but he’s really quite an amazing talent. An ethnic Russia, he’s comfortable with music from India, China and Central Asia, as well as the regional music of places like Tatarstan and Siberia.
[Video] Iraida Yusupova – Annunziatore Della Tempesta
A personal story about Iraida Yusupova.
Many years ago, I had run a record label (Falçata-Galia) which had a few releases. I was, and am, proud of every single one, though the label disintegrated thanks to many misunderstandings which the artists never had a part of. Iraida was one of the artists I desperately wanted to publish, and as it seems I’m drifting back into the trajectory of music again, it looks like a grand opportunity to work with one of my favorite modern composers.
This is a new work by her. Choral bliss.
[Video] Юлиана Кривошапкина (Juliana) – Sub-Yer (Water-Ground)
I know absolutely nothing about Juliana, who hails from the Sakha Republic in Eastern Russia, but this piece left me fascinated.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 