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| still in constructionfulness. |
| I had the opportunity to study Russian Folklore at the Voronezh State Institute of the Arts, in Voronezh Russia. How did I end up there? Well, if you really, want to know...the full story is here. The short version is I was silly enough to talk a russian professor into letting me into school. We studied and collected the musical folklore of the Voronezh and Belgorade Oblasts. This involved recording, then transcription, and finally learning to sing them ourselves. Russian folk music is very beautiful and complex. There are no set parts, rather harmonies are improvised around a set melody. For some examples of this check here. Traditions are fast becoming lost as the oldest generation dies and the younger fails to continue them. The communist government had a hand in this by making it illegal to teach these songs, and other traditions (such as the making of costumes--see pic at left). Now only |
| the very elderly women, most over 90 years old, carry that traditional knowledge. So our goal was to record as much as we can before our source becomes extinct and the knowledge is lost forever. I love Voronezh. It's a wonderful city. It's where I came to love everything about Russia, even the minor inconveniences (especially those, actually.) It gave me an understanding of freedom, and alot of great stories, some of them involving flying pickles, and others running away from the police. Maybe you'll hear those sometime. For now, content yourselves with a few pictures from my international escapade. |
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