ex-Soviet and modern Russian music

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Georgian Legend (Erisioni)


I found "Gandagana"-song occasionally but the magic music impressed me very much. "Georgian Legend" is modern export version of georgian folk music. Music is set on producing platform with some reasons: to keep and promote georgian culture, to earn money and to show the world former soviets can make cool show.
From the site:
"1999. During a performance in Tbilisi, Georgia by the Georgian National Ensemble "Erisioni", Jim Lowe and Pascal Jourdan discover a country, a soul, and a culture enriched by centuries of history. Amazed by the immense talent of these dancers, singers and musicians, they decide to introduce this jewel to the world.

2000. The first version of the show, then called "The Legend of Tamar," tours in the United States. American critics hail the production as "sensational" (The Los Angeles Times), "spectacular" (The New York Times), and "a feast of riches for eye and ear" (The New York Post).

2001-2002. GEORGIAN LEGEND debuts in Europe, with acclaimed performances in legendary Parisian venues such as the Palais des Sports and the Palais des Congres and a tour through France, Switzerland and Belgium in April 2002. With an audience of 150,000 and 100,000 CDs sold in few months, the success of Georgian Legend is only beginning.

2003. GEORGIAN LEGEND is the meeting between the Georgian people and the Western world. Consummate production values of technique, sound, light and staging showcase the performers.

GEORGIAN LEGEND is composed of breathtaking Georgian artists -- men, women and children (between 8 and 11 years old) -- who collaborated with four European musicians for a mixing of cultures and musical influences. It is also breathtaking jumps, saber fights, dizzying waltz, technical prowess, moving choirs, and stirring musical composition and conduction.

GEORGIAN LEGEND is about love and work, about invasions, wars and victories, about the pride and courage of a proud people of the Caucasus who, throughout centuries, have retained their own identity. The dancers are terpsichorean athletes, the only dancers in the world able to dance on toepoint while wearing supple leather ballet slippers. The height of their jumps, the variety, the rapidity and the synchronism of their movements are an astonishment of power and precision. The gracious and courteous ballerinas seem to glide on the stage, smiling and diaphanous. Despite their youth, the children have reached an impressive level of artistic rigor and maturity.

All the legends from Georgia come together in a performance that you and your family will never forget."

True.

Gandagana.mp3

Friday, May 12, 2006

Dina Vyerny (Verni)


Real name is something like "Vernikova" (as says Miroslav Nemirov in his article). She was born in 1919 and left Motherland with parend while social war. In 15 y.o. she met Aristid Maillol, French Catalan sculptor and painter. Maillol was 73. Dina became his young nimphet muse. She was acquainted with Matisse and Picasso.
After Maillol's death she turned his alone heiress - he bequeathed her all his collections, gallery and so on.
Dina Verni's songs appeared in 70th in USSR. Of course it was illegal.
Nobody knows why Dina decided to sing thieves' slang songs - songs of Goulag she had never been in. Many russian fans think she sang her own experience but it's mistake.
Dina appeared in Moscow only in 1959. Stalin was dead but USSR was still a very strong communistic country. Many creative people came back from Goulag camps. Yuz Aleshkovskiy wrote song "Okurochek" ("cigarette butt")... There were Alexander Galich and Bulath Ocudzhava...
Moscow impressed Dina Verni very much. But her imressions were negative. She got used to chic french salons. No liberty, no official art - she decided not to come back in USSR.
But sh decided to create new collection - collection of russian chanson songs. Afraid of KGB she had to learn all the songs by heart. And she did it: 24 songs were got abroad.
When we met
Don't wait for me mama
The new suit

Monday, May 08, 2006

Блестящие | Shining


Their start was in 1997. VJ's of MTV channel were smiling darkly while presenting some shots from music video.
Band "Shining" consisted of 3 beautiful girls: Olga, Polina and Varvara (then - Olga, Irina and Zhanna). Their music had function of a special bridge between pop music and club culture. They said something like: if you have no money for expensive moscow clubs and you would never pass ordinary facecontrol, you could be bright and you could dance all the same!
Girls were the heroins of new teen magazine "COOL" and soon Russia went mad about "Shining".
But russian showbusiness is a stupid thing like moss: soon "Shining" became a typical pop group: no dances, no clubs - only tits and shining lips.

Tam, tol'ko tam - There, only there (1997) or rapidshare

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