The Alexandrov Ensemble choir (established Moscow 1926) is the choir of the Alexandrov Ensemble.
It has for most of its history been a male-voice choir of tenors and basses, based in Moscow and directed and conducted by Alexander V. Alexandrov from 1926 to 1946, by his son Boris A. Alexandrov from 1946 to 1987, and by various directors up to the present. It has always consisted of Soviet and then Russian Red Army personnel, and has been held to represent that army at home and abroad. [1] Since the 1990s, female army personnel have occasionally been included in the choir as sopranos. [2] Since 2007 boy sopranos and altos from the associated choir school have joined the choir for some of the time. [3]
On December 25, 2016, a plane containing 92 people, including over 60 members of the choir, crashed while en route to Latakia, Syria. [4] [5] [6]
Before he died in 1946, Alexander Alexandrov made it clear to his son Boris that the choir was central to the Alexandrov Ensemble, and that without the choir there would be no Ensemble. [7] There are several possible reasons for this:
In an ideal world any composer, considering arrangements on such a grand scale as many of those recorded by the Alexandrov Ensemble, might reasonably demand the full set of basses, tenors, altos and sopranos, to allow the full range of tonal effects. Alexander Alexandrov, its first director, began his training at Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg, [11] which no doubt had a choir with the full vocal range.
However, for most of its history, the choir has consisted only of basses and tenors. Alexander Alexandrov several times applied to his superiors for permission to include boy singers, but was refused.[ citation needed ] There are several possible reasons for this refusal:
There are also several positive reasons for a male-voice choir in this Ensemble, especially in those decades when it was establishing its identity at home and abroad:
Thus, during the Ensemble's second tour to the United Kingdom in 1963, The Times reviewer shows his astonishment at his first experience of this choir:
"What Verdi would have thought of the full-throated chorus from Ernani with an orchestral accompaniment consisting largely of balalaikas and accordions is worthy of contemplation." [13]
– and at the same time he declares: "Their singing and dancing is of a spectacularly high standard". [14]
In the early 1950s a typical full division (which varied from song to song) was as follows: (1) countertenors; (2) first tenors; (3) second tenors; (4) baritones; (5) first bass; (6) second bass; (7) basso profundos. It was of course a great luxury for B. A. Alexandrov to be able to do this, but the Ensemble numbered 475 people including 220 in the choir before the mid-1950s. They all used to go on tour abroad worldwide at the beginning. But in 1955 Krushchev decided to cut the choir to 80 people and prohibited them to go on tour to capitalist countries from that date; only to domestic tours and visits to the Warsaw Pact countries, as well as to countries with strong relations with the USSR. [15]
The choir appears to function most successfully with a minimum of 80 singers. Most of the films and photographs of the Ensemble in its heyday, including the 1948 Berlin Peace Concert, [16] and during the directorship of Boris Alexandrov, show a choir of at least 80 singers. [17] This size allows the characteristic massed-voices effect of the Ensemble, plus the opportunity for the composer or arranger to score for several parts, in both bass and tenor sections. For example, in Song of the Dnieper, a basso profondo line suddenly appears in the chorus two-thirds of the way through, giving a powerful effect. [18]
By contrast, during the UK 1988 tour, the Ensemble had a choir of up to 36. [19] Professionalism and the characteristic discipline of the Ensemble maintained good performance standards, but the small choir lacked the powerful, massed-voiced sound that its audience remembered from 1956 and 1963. [20]
Many of these are listed here [18] and here [22] in Russian. Listed below are some of the notable ones. More are listed on the Alexandrov Ensemble discography page.
In alphabetical order:
In alphabetical order:
Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov was a Soviet and Russian composer and founder of the Alexandrov Ensemble, who wrote the music for the State Anthem of the Soviet Union, which in 2000 became the national anthem of Russia. During his career, he also worked as a professor of the Moscow Conservatory, and became a Doctor of Arts. His work was recognized by the awards of the title of People's Artist of the USSR and two Stalin Prizes.
The Alexandrov Ensemble is an official army choir of the Russian armed forces. Founded during the Soviet era, the ensemble consists of a male choir, an orchestra, and a dance ensemble.
"The Sacred War", also known as "Arise, Great Country!" is one of the most famous Soviet songs of World War II. The music is by Alexander Alexandrov, founder of the Alexandrov Ensemble and the musical composer of the State Anthem of the Soviet Union. The lyrics are by Vasily Lebedev-Kumach.
Polyushko-polye is a Soviet Russian-language song. Polye means "field" in Russian, "polyushko" is a diminutive/hypocoristic form for "polye". It is also known as Meadowlands, Song of the Plains, Cavalry of the Steppes or Oh Fields, My Fields in English.
"Kalinka" is a Russian folk-style song written in 1860 by the composer and folklorist Ivan Larionov and first performed in Saratov as part of a theatrical entertainment that he had composed. Soon it was added to the repertory of a folk choral group.
Alexander Kuzmich Vustin, also Voustin or Wustin was a Russian composer. His works, including the opera The Devil in Love, were played and recorded internationally.
Georgy Pavlovich Vinogradov was a Soviet and Russian tenor: a popular World War II singer on Radio Moscow, recording artist, and soloist with the Alexandrov Ensemble. Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1949).
Evgeny Mikhailovich Belyaev, also written as Yevgeny Belyayev, was a Russian tenor soloist of the Alexandrov Ensemble under Boris Alexandrov. He is remembered in the Soviet Union as the Russian Nightingale and in the West as one of the definitive singers of Kalinka.
This is a list of recordings made by the Alexandrov Ensemble since 1928. Within each section they are in alphabetical order of record labels.
This is an alphabetical list of the basso profondo, bass, bass-baritone and tenor soloists who have performed with the Alexandrov Ensemble since its establishment in 1928. It is difficult to differentiate between regular and guest soloists, since many have alternated between the one category and the other during their careers, so they are all listed together. Soloists of whom no recordings have yet been found have been listed below as "other soloists".
Boris Alexandrovich Aleksandrov was a Soviet and Russian composer and, from 1946 to 1986, the second head of the Alexandrov Ensemble which was founded by his father, Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov. Aleksandrov reached the rank of Major-General and was awarded the order of Hero of Socialist Labour, the Lenin and Stalin Prize, and named People's Artist of the USSR.
Vladimir Bunchikov was a Soviet singer, a baritone. Honoured Artist of Russia (1944). In Simferopol he was a scenery operator at the Drama Theatre. After graduating from the Dnepropetrovsk Music College, he studied in Leningrad. From 1929 he was a soloist at the Opera in Dnepropetrovsk, and from 1931 at the Nemirovicha-Danchenko Musical Theatre in Moscow.
Victor Ivanovich Nikitin,(Russian: Виктор Иванович Никитин), was a Soviet tenor soloist of the Alexandrov Ensemble, born in Syzran 12 February 1911 and died in Moscow 6 January 1994. He is notable for being the first Mr Kalinka, and for being called "Ambassador Kalinka" by Erich Mückenberger after singing at the 1948 Berlin peace concert. He was buried at Pyatnitskoye cemetery in Moscow.
Leonid Mikhailovich Kharitonov was a Soviet and Russian bass-baritone singer. He was honored with People's Artist of the RSFSR and Honored Artist of RSFSR. In the West he was noted for his 1965 video of The Song of the Volga Boatmen.
"V put'" is a song written in 1954 by Soviet composer Vasily Solovyov-Sedoi and poet Mikhail Dudin. It was originally written for the film Maksim Perepelitsa starring Leonid Bykov. The movie itself was released in 1955, and the song has achieved fame and popularity independently of it ever since. To this day it is still used as a so-called drill song. In 1959, Vasily Solovyov-Sedoi received the Lenin Prize for this song.
"My Army" is a Soviet marching song written in the Russian language, performed by the Alexandrov Ensemble. The lyrics were written by Soviet musician and composer Rafael Moritsovich Plaksin. The music was composed by prolific Soviet composer Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Abramov, in 1970.
Artur Arturovich Eizen (Russian: Артур Артурович Эйзен;, was a Soviet and Russian bass singer, actor and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR.
The Song of the Soviet Army or Invincible and Legendary or known recently as Song of the Russian Army is a famous World War II song written and performed at the war's end. Its performance was done by numerous artists, including the Alexandrov Ensemble. The original 1945 is highly triumphal with its brass fanfares and ecstatic chords extended upward with the aid of trumpets, as part of the V-E Day celebrations. That arrangement by A. Alexandrov is very much in the tradition of final choruses in 19th-century Italian grand opera, and shows how he originally envisaged this composition. There are many versions of the song.
Anatoliy Solovianenko was a Ukrainian operatic tenor, People's Artist of the USSR (1975), People's Artist of Ukraine, and State Taras Shevchenko prize-winner.
Igor Vladimirovich Ivanov is a Soviet and Russian pop singer. The first performer of the songs Farewell, I Can Not Dance, Of Vagant.
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