COSSACK SINGERS

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 260, 30 July 1937, Page 8

COSSACK SINGERS

Much-Travelled Choir Arrives INTERESTING HISTORY Russian male voice choirs have become a recognised institution in the world of music since the Great War. Long before the war it. was known that the Russians were a musical people, with a culture as high as any in the world within its scope, and no centre in Europe was more brilliant musically and socially than St. Petersburg, now Leningrad, during the season. But in those days the nation’s singers did not venture abroad to any extent; although their dancers did set out and managed to conquer all Europe and America by the astonishing grace and vivacity of their art. By the Rangitata on Wednesday, the General Plato ft Don Cossack Choir airived at Wellington from Panama to begin a tour of New Zealand and Australia. When seen by “The Dominion yesterday the conductor, M. Nicolas Kostrukoff, explained in answer to an inquiry as to the identity of General Platoff, that the choir was named after a very famous Russian general of 200 vears ago, a grand army man who was passionately fond of music,’and whose name is revered in Russia, just as is that of Napoleon in France, and those of Nelson, Wellington, and Marlborough in England. “There is something innate in Rus-

sinus which attracts them to music,” said M. Kostrukoff. "They love to hear almost any kind of music, and at different times all tlie great artists of the world visit Russia and are received with enthusiasm. Russians have a deep and abiding love of their own music—their beautiful operatic music, their traditional folk songs, and the wealth of music that was fostered over hundreds of years by the Greek Orthodox Church, music of a kind that never fails in its appeal to the spiritual in people. “The choir does not sing the operatic music, for the simple reason that the music of Tschaikowsky, Mousorrgsky, Rimsky-Korsakoff, and Glinka is not written for male voice choirs, and is not fitted for adaptation to the male voice choir as we understand it. It is very different with the lovely church music, witli its strange nuances and haunting harmonic beauty, and in that class of music the choir’ is beard to great advantage. “For that reason we divide our programme into three parts. The first is church music, which is largely based on the old Gregorian chants which are imperishably beautiful, and which have been kept alive through the ages by the Greek Church In Russia: then, in tlie second part we sing our folk songs, which are in many moods: and then we have as the third part bright songs, merry choruses and dances. We have five dancers with tlie company, and they have been very popular wherever the choir has been.” “And what of the history of the choir?”

“That, too, is interesting,” said M. Kostrukoff. “I was a student when the Great War broke out, and when T was old enough I served nine months in a Cossack regiment; but after the» revolution I went to Bulgaria and later to Prague, where I attended *iu engin-

eering school. It was while I was there that the seed of the choir was sown. I was always musically inclined, and we all liked to sing. There were other Russians in Prague among the students, and we used to get together and slug the songs ot our fatherland until wo gradually became rather proficient. Then occasionally we went out and gave concerts. These were such a great success, that once we went to Vienna and gave a concert. We found that we were a brilliant success. That was really the official founding of tlie choir, away back in 1926. The choir was founded properly under the patronage of the President of Czechoslovakia, M. Marsaryk. and M. Benes.

“From then to the present time we have been giving concerts all over the world. We toured Europe for five years on end, visiting every country. Then more recently we have visited India, Java, Egypt and South Africa. Lately we have been to South America,” continued M. Kostrukoff. “We have Just come direct from South America to New Zealand. We sang in Rio de Janeiro, then in Buenos Aires and other Argentine centres, after which we crossed the Amies mid gave a series of concerts in Chile, Peru. Ecuador and Colombia (we gave no fewer than 32 concerts in Bogota, the capital of that country), then wont on to Venezuela. Curacao (the Dutch Island), and Panama, where we j'oined flip Rangitata. "We enjoyed tbe voyage across tlie Pacific —the longest one we have taken by sea —very much. Wo rehearsed every day. and gave a concert, which was attended by x your Mr. Savage, and here we arc. ready to sing to you New Zealanders for the first time on Saturday. 1 only hope you will like us as do the people in other parts of the world recently visited. Your city is

very beautiful and your mid-winter weather is very lovely.” concluded M. Kostrukoff. At the conclusion of the New Zea-land-Australian tour the choir is to visit India. Java. Singapore, HongKong, Manila, China, Japan, Canada and the United States. Then it will go back to Europe to commence another tour of that continent in Paris.