"There are some glorious voices on this CD, mostly bass/baritone, with a few marvelous turns by a tenor (track # 9, ""The Lonely Bell"" by Glinka is exquisite !).
The first few songs are a cappella, with the balalaika and organ accompaniment starting at track # 8, and it includes one instrumental (# 10, ""I Met Her""), which is beautiful.With the exception of ""Kalinka"", all the songs are slow, melodic, and very moving...with many having a religious feel to them. The highlight for me is the medley of ""Song of the River Dnjepr"" and ""Song of the Volga Boat Men"". It's an emotional rendition, with the baritone giving us some lovely pianissimos. There are no liner notes that come with this CD, which is a pity. I would have liked to know more about these extraordinary voices, and also to know why the solo voice on the first track, ""Prayer Litany"", sings in what sounds like German...perhaps a future more knowledgeable reviewer can tell us why.
This is a terrific CD for any Russian music collection, and at a nifty price for 54 minutes of great singing." |
