Alexandrov Ensemble- Song and Dance of the Soviet Army

The Alexandrov Ensemble, previously known as the Red Army Ensemble/Choir, has been one of my favorites to post since I started this blog.  This album was $1.00.  It should be noted that it was originally bought at the State-owned Russian store Beriozka which sold goods for hard currency, which was illegal for most Soviet citizens to carry.  Go figure.  Anyway, the album is mostly in Russian and the record does not fit in the cover.

It was a great tragedy both for Russia and the world of music last December, when a plane carrying 64 members of the Ensemble crashed on route to Syria to entertain troops.  No auditions were held in January and by February 18, a new Ensemble was able to perform for Defender of The Fatherland Day.  With a series of concerts scheduled for Russia and Europe, this marks a new chapter for the storied Ensemble.

The chapter of this record, however, goes back a ways.  The band on this record was led by Boris Alexandrov, who took over as director after the death of his father in 1946.  Boris’s father, Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov, was the first director as well as the Ensemble’s name sake.  However, under Boris, the the group’s prominence spread outside of Russia.  He was known for his strict discipline and a result, the Ensemble became a highly disciplined unit.  Under Boris’ direction, the group played the historic 1948 Berlin Peace Concert as well as a series of events with Finland’s The Leningrad Cowboys.  Boris retired in 1994 and died the same year.

I do not know much about this record as it is mostly in Russian.  It has 1976 and 1978 on it so I imagine it came out around then, although one would think it was from the 1950’s due to the artwork .  It is a good album.  I like it.  A bunch of Russian tunes.  There were none that I could recognize and they sounded less folksy than other Ensemble records I own.  Plus there was none of that bird call sound that I like.  But despite these things, it is still a good record.  If anyone knows Russian and can tell me anything about this record, plus note I have a comment section.

As I do not know any of the names of the songs, here this is as a sample.  Enjoy.

Satisfactory Record.

 

 

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