PUSHKIN’S HOMELAND SONGS

PUSHKIN’S HOMELAND SONGS

Dear friends!

This CD «Sing me a song, about the maiden fetching water at the morning dew…»: Pushkin’s homeland songs», putting forward your attention, is created on the base of the rare records of the true traditional music of the territory of the poetic homeland and the true childhood of great Russian poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin (1799-1837) – of the Zvenigorod district of the Moscow province. This is the first scientifically-documentary, cultural-educational phono-edition, that is devoted to the original peasants’ songs and to the instrumental plays of that ancient intimate Russia’s region – Pushlin’s Zvenigorodje, the music, which little Pushkin could hear and, most likely, heard!
Thou the «official» Pushkin’s homeland is Moscow, but, taking into the account that his childhood has been spent in the half in Moscow province Zakharovo, his both natural and spiritual-poetic motherland one could regard Moscow with the inseparable unity with Pushkin’s Moscow province, i.e. Pushkin’s Moscovia.
This is, first of all, the village Zakharovo, as well as a nearby (2-3 km away) old big village Bolshie Vyazemy (since 2001 small town), known, at least, since XIV-XVI cc. In Zakharovo (40 km from Moscow), in blessed mansion of grand-mother Maria Alexeevna, in 1805-1810 years (6 years through!) since spring until autumn, Pushkin happened to spend his childhood, his fairily-playful tomfoolery (up to his departure in 1811 in Tsarskoselskiy Lyceum). In Bolshie Vyazemy the Pushkins’ family (on the reason of the absence of the church in Zakharovo) had attended services in a miraculous Preobrazhenskaya church (church of Transfiguration) (of XVI c.), and took books from the perfect Golitsins’ library.

This edition is created by the collective, leaded by the idea and project author, Moscow composer and ethnomusicologist I.A. Bogdanov and by folklorist N.V. Menshik, Moscow State Conservatory of P.I. Tchaikovskiy employee on the base of the records, made from the voices of traditional musicians – inhabitants of Zakharovo, Bolshie Vyazemy and of 4 villages of Odintsovo (before 1965 – Zvenigorod) district, in the places, connected with the infant years, first poetic and home theatric experiences of the ingenious writer and thinker.
Within the data collection and research process we’ve also got acquaintance with the records of native record libraries, recorded in 1940-90-es. All of these records were examined by our colleagues, and some of them were transformed into the digital, restored and included in this edition.

The composition of the CD-album comprised 53 records. These are 7 plays, perfected on the Russian traditional instruments (balalaika, accordion and Russian guitar), 43 russian traditional songs of the different genres (mainly wedding ones, also – lyrical, dancing, game songs, spring, winter, roundelay and the others) and 3 special examples (Povyazemye nightingale’s warble and sleigh-bell’s sound: № 1, 2, 53).
The phonograms successfully reproduces to us the natural beauty, life power, fertility and a wonderful charm of live sounds and breaths of the wonderful masterpieces in their virtual (not «updated» by pseudo-professional «remakes») traditional manner of perfection (among the everyday, technical noises, speeches etc). Since near all the records are recorded on the consumer tape recorders, the records’ sound quality is not of studio-standard; because of that sound-restoration as well as analytic and research had been required.
«Pushkin’s homeland songs» CD, being practical educational and cultural edition, as well as the important scientific-artistic document, shows original musical and poetic atmosphere, which surrounded Pushkin-child, as well as the historical and alive traditional music artifact not only of Moscovia, but of Russia at all, and of all the world. This CD should be very interesting not only for Pushkin’s genius esteemers’ wide round, for traditional art and for culture at all, but also for the specialists and students. We hope that our CD will be actual instrument, that could help Pushkin studies in actual problem solving, especially in discovering the folklore sources of Pushkin creation, in the period of his establishing as an oncoming creator of new Russian literature and a true miracle of the Russian and world culture.

Elaborated in 2004-2009 and issued in a small number of copies, «Pushkin’s homeland songs» CD is looking for his sponsor, and eager for worthy large-circulation edition. This CD is both the latest, 42nd disc in the «Singing soul of Russia» series, which had been released by I.A. Bogdanov during 1969-2005. In this series I.A. Bogdanov had already published 41 audio releases, among the others: «Russian traditional songs of Moscow region» (1989); a series of phonogram atlases of the music of 30 North peoples: «Northern lights music» (2 CD, 1990); Siberian music – of the peoples of tundra and taiga (1995) and «Fly, my deer!» (the music of deer-breeding north peoples of the 6 countries, 1997), Major phonogram atlas of Russian Federation folklore «Singing soul of Russia» (5 audio cassettes of 70 Russian Federation peoples music with total duration of about 8 hours of music, 1999) and many other records.

Dear listeners and readers! If you have any information related to this theme and edition, which is necessary to introduce into the cultural circulation or if you have an intention to contact with the compliers or with other creative collective members, our contacts:
109 316, Moscow, Russia, Volgogradskiy prospect, 17 ОПС 316, poste restante to; I.A. Bogdanov or N.V. Menshikh. E-mail: I.A. Bogdanov igarbogd@gmail.com
We will be sincerely grateful for each proposal, advice or remarks, for any support, without which the series releasing is impossible. We wish you and your relatives an interesting Pushkin’s musical odyssey!

Because this CD we happened to release for the limited benefit of the author, veteran of work, I.A. Bogdanov, all the series «Pushkin’s homeland songs» we had to overpower anyway! We announce our bank data for your charitable (even a small one) donation:

Bank data:
Сбербанк РФ ОАО, г. Москва. Офис № 6901/01658 Лефортовского отделения
ИНН: 7707083893. БИК: 044525225.
Correspond account: 30101810400000000225 в ОПЕРУ Московского ГТУ Банка РФ.
Current account: 30301810238006003812.
ОКПО: 00032537. ОКОНХ: 96130. КПП: 775003006.
Receiver: Богданов Игорь Аркадьевич (IGOR BOGDANOV).
Card account: 40817 810 3 38127 553696.

Main donators’ names would be immortalized together with annual accounts in my blog http://igarbogd.blogspot.com/
Thank you for your support! We wish you happiness, love, smiles and all the benefits!
Thank you for your attention and understanding!

Sincerely yours,

An International Federation of Russian-Speaking Writers (IFRW) member, European Seminar in Ethnomusicology (ESEM) member, 

The Union of Composers of Russia member, The Union of the Moscow Composers member, 

Ph.D. Igor Bogdanov (Russia, Moscow).

Content:

1 (0:41) Nightingale’s warble
2 (0:09) Sleigh-bell’s sound
3 (4:17) Along the sea (roundelay song)
4 (0:59) Russkaya plyasovaya (Russian dancing); (balalaika play)
5 (0:34) There is a green pin on the mount (wedding song)
6 (5:44) We have seeded many of flowers (wedding song)
7 (2:52) Girl’s wedding arrangements (wedding song)
8 (1:52) Oh, you, day-dawn, my day-dawn (wedding song)
9 (0:20) Druzhen’ka (Groomsman) (wedding song)
10 (2:24) Lebedin (wedding song)
11 (0:45) Kamarinskaya (wedding song)
12 (1:12) How on the court, on the court (wedding song)
13 (2:18) There is a birch in the field (wedding song)
14 (0:36) You are my child (cradle song)
15 (3:30) Oh, the valley, valley (game- and dancing song)
16 (2:08) Canary is a free bird (lyrical song)
17 (4:16) Oh, the dark night (lyrical song)
18 (0:55) Barynya (Lady) (balalaika play)
19 (0:58) Let’s go, girls, to curl the wreaths (spring song)
20 (0:47) Ah, godmother with godmother met (spring song)
21 (0:49) Father my dear, bless me (wedding wailing)
22 (0:29) Bless me, my own father (wedding wailing)
23 (0:51) Don’t cry, Tanushka, don’t grieve (wedding song)
24 (0:39) There is a spruce on the mount (wedding song)
25 (1:32) Stradaniya (Suffering) (accordion play)
26 (0:22) Lebedin (wedding song)
27 (0:48) By our the river, by river (wedding song)
28 (0:42) The candles shine bright in the palace (wedding song)
29 (0:49) In the fields, in the green fields (wedding song)
30 (0:42) Maria-honey was walking, was rambling (game song)
31 (0:36) The girls came, the beautiful ones came (wedding song)
32 (0:31) Russian dance (accordion play)
33 (2:22) It was in the mud room, in the mud room (wedding song)
34 (0:40) There is a rowan in the field (wedding song)
35 (0:53) In our vegetable garden (wedding song)
36 (1:25) Honey, don’t walk by the garden(game song)
37 (1:05) On the Petersburg’ glorious road (lyrical song)
38 (0:55) What I thought, what I guessed, young girl (lyrical song)
39 (1:11) Stradaniya (Suffering) (guitar play)
40 (0:55) You are my pin, my pin (wedding song)
41 (0:28) My mother married me, ordered me (wedding song)
42 (0:22) Our girls are courteous (winter song)
43 (1:20) Van’ka-kluchnik (ballad song)
44 (1:01) The birds sang in the arrow-wood grove (lyrical song)
45 (1:14) Russian dance (guitar play)
46 (0:47) There is a green pin on the mount (wedding song)
47 (1:33) By the court, by the court (wedding song)
48 (1:35) The grass dry, fade on the field (lyrical song)
49 (1:29) You are my river, my river (wedding song)
50 (0:59) The fir-the pin grew up from the roots (wedding song)
51 (0:36) Matchmaker comes (wedding song)
52 (0:26) Just the groomsman in the home (wedding song)
53 (0:32) Nightingale’s warble


The traditional songs and instrumental plays are performed by the Moscow province traditional musicians of Zvenigorod / Vyazma district (are recorded mainly in 1967-1978), on the local musical-folklore dialects. According with the musical genre specific of this CD and with the publishing conditions, all the phonograms are given in fragments.

Total time (with the pauses): 67: 56.

***

Location: All the 53 musical examples are situated in Pushkins’ Moscovia: # 3 – Zakharovo village Odintsovo district of Moscow province (recorded in Moscow); the other 52 – Moscow province. All the 7 instrumental plays (## 4, 11, 18, 25, 32, 39, 45) – from unknown villages of Moscow province (presumably of Naro-Fominsk district, near of Odintsovo district); other ## - proceeded from Odintsovo district. ## 1-2, 5-10, 15-17, 53 are from Bolshie Vyazemy; # 3 – from Zakharovo; ## 12 and 14 – from Zakharovo or Bolshye Vyazemy; ## 19-23, 27, 30-31, 36-38 – from Odintsovo; ## 24, 26, 28-29, 33-35 – presumably from Odintsovo or nearby villages; ## 40-44 – Iglovo village (north-west-ward from Zvenigorod); ## 46-48 – Ustye village (south-west-ward from Zvenigorod); ## 49-52 – Pionerskaya station (westward from Odintsovo).
Exponents: # 2 – sleigh-bell’s sound, produced in Valday town in 1817 (is kept in Pushkin’s GILMZ), was illustrated in 2007 A.M. Ryazanov; # 3 – Nislovskaya Lyubov Arkadyevna (born in 1954; Pionerskaya station) had recorded this song in Zakharovo in 1971 in three home-folks women-friends: velichalka Ignatova Agrafena Petrovna and two sisters Ryazantsevs (Anna Efimovna, Ignatova in marriage) and Pelageya Efimovna. Zakharovo village: Korolyova Klavdiya Alexandrovna (born in 1901), Ryazantseva Anna Fedorovna (born in 1903) and Sorokina Anna Mikhailovna (born in 1900); Bolshye Vyazemy village: Voevodina Tatiana Vasilievna (born in 1914), Volkova Evdokia Vasilievna (born in 1903), Kruglova Daria Egorovna (born in 1914), Matyuhina Anna Alexandrovna (born in 1913), Ovsyannikova Evdokia Tihonovna (born in 1913) (# 6 was perfected without Volkova E.V.). There are only birth years of these 8 performers noticed in one of the Russian scientific editions of 1997, other live dates are absent. ## 22, 30, 38: Kordyukova Darya Andreevna, # 36 – she, together with Pichkurova Maria Sidorovna back-vocal; ## 21, 23, 31, 37: Pichkurova Maria Sidorovna; ## 19-20 and 27 – duet of Pichkurova M.S. and Kordyukova D.A. # 24 – Monakhova Anna Pavlovna; ## 26, 29, 33 – Monahova A.P., Novikova Zinaida Timofeevna and Pohl’ebkina Evdokia Gavrilovna; # 28 – Vyvozilina Pelageya Fedorovna, Starostina Pelageya Alexandrovna, Stepanova Olga Gavrilovna and Sukhanova Evdokia Ivanovna; ## 34-35- these are, without Sukhanova E.I.; ## 40-42 – Nyrkova Evdokia Prohorovna; ## 43-44 – Feoktistova Daria Ipatovna; ## 46-48 – a group of unknown she-performers; ## 49-52 – unknown she-performer.
The collectors and years of records: All the phonograms of this CD is recorded by Moscovia inhabitants: # 1-3 and 53 are recorded in 2007: 1-2 and 53 – by I.A. Bogdanov; # 3 – by him and N.V. Menshikh. The bigger part of the rest ones was recorded in 1967-68 generally by RAM students. We thank Traditional music’ problem Labarotary of Gnessins’ RAM for the access to the important folklore materials and for its research and publishing availability. ## 5-10 and 12-17 were recorded in 1977-78 by Maria Vasilyevna Guseva, conductor-choir RAM faculty student, who kindly allows her phonograms’ publication. The songs ## 19-24, 26-31 and 33-38 were recorded in 1967 by Moreeva and V. Skorobogatov. The songs ## 40-44 and 46-52 were recorded in 1973 by N. Illarionova and I. Smirnova. ## 4, 11, 18, 25, 32, 39, 45 – were recorded in 1973 by Feodor Andreev. (Unnoticed collectors’ initials are unknown). We couldn’t find out the collectors and get acknowledge with them until this time, but we still keep our searching and believe, that we will obviously found them thanks to the help of our listeners and readers and Pushkin’s genius and folklore culture esteemers.