Alexandrov Ensemble

Alexander Alexandrov

Born into a peasant family, Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov became the first artistic director of the ensemble, choirmaster, conductor, teacher and the public figure who wrote the music to the State Anthem of the Soviet Union.[4] He came from a musical background of hymns and folk songs, could play the viola and had perfect pitch, so he sang in the church choir and performed at festivals. He was heard singing at the village school by PA Zalivuhin, a soloist in the choir at Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg. Zalivuhin persuaded Alexandrov's parents to let the child go to St Petersburg to learn music. In 1898, the young peasant boy became a pupil of the Saint Petersburg Court Chapel.[4]

Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg, where it all started. Here A.V. Alexandrov, who would one day create the ensemble, began to learn his trade.

There are two recorded histories of the ensemble: possibly separate elements of the same history. The first says that the initiator of the ensemble was Felix Nikolaevich Danilovich, a theatre director. The first director of the ensemble was chosen from three of Moscow's conductors: Danilin, Chesnokov and Alexandrov. Seen in isolation this would signify that A. V. Alexandrov was not the creator of the ensemble. In this version the first troupe is named as follows. Singers: Tkachenko, Zyukov, Samarin, Rozanov, Koltypin, Tolskov, Golyaev, Charov. Dancers: Maximov, Svetlov. Bayanist: Surdin.[5]

The second version says that the ensemble was formed out of the Frunze Red Army Central House in 1928. There is also a story that Stalin then asked Alexandrov to relocate the choir to Moscow.[4]

During World War II, the ensemble gave over 1500 performances at both Soviet fronts, entertaining troops about to go into battle, at gun emplacements, airfields, and in hospitals.[4][6][7][8][9]

Following the death of Alexander Alexandrov, the ensemble was taken over by his son, Boris Alexandrovich Alexandrov. Under his leadership, the ensemble gained fame outside the Soviet Union, making extensive tours worldwide. Boris Alexandrov retired in 1987, and was succeeded by People's Artist of Russia Igor Agafonnikov the same year,[4] with Anatoly Maltsev as the ensemble chief. He retired as the principal conductor in 1994; he died that year and was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy Cemetery.[10]

Under B. A. Alexandrov, the ensemble was highly disciplined. Boris's party trick was to leave the stage and allow the ensemble to perform "En Route" alone. Members were positioned so that they could not all watch one orchestral leader, and this appeared to be a trick, but there was no trick at all. Leonid Kharitonov remembers:

The Ensemble members were so disciplined and experienced that they could feel the rhythm simultaneously and could sing and play together automatically, without the conductor... In Canada during one concert Alexandrov left the Ensemble to perform alone for half an hour.[11]

Alexandrov ensemble dancers, Budapest, 1951

Major Vladimir Alexandrov (1910–1978), brother of Boris Alexandrov, also composed for the ensemble.[12] He served as Orchestral Director and Conductor.[13] Vladimir Gordeev was the principal conductor on the 1988 UK tour.[14]

1948 peace concert at Berlin. Photo taken by member of choir from stage, probably using Boris Alexandrov's camera. Boris Alexandrov has posed for this, holding baton still.

In 1948 much of Berlin was still ruined after World War II, and the city was divided into four occupation zones, controlled by the USSR, France, the UK and the United States. This was before the Berlin Wall was built, and it was still possible to travel between zones. An American officer suggested a concert in the Gendarmenmarkt (in the Soviet zone at the time), and the French zone commander supported the suggestion. The musicians were to be provided by the USSR, and the Alexandrov Ensemble was chosen. A temporary stage was set up in the square, with flowers all along the front. 30,000 people came to stand and watch for three hours. In 1994, towards the end of his life, Boris Alexandrov said:

"The visit to Germany was unforgettable. It is dominant in the history of the ensemble. It was necessary to make a new creative leap – from wartime military music to postwar relaxing harmony. It was important, and the transition had to be managed on many fronts, including getting the Ensemble back into its original pre-war role, performing the classics and singing folk songs. Before the war the Ensemble had 200 professional singers; following the war it was down to 60."[15]

A previous tour to East Germany had been cancelled due to the sudden death of Alexander Alexandrov in 1946 in Potsdam, when in his bed was found an annotated copy of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, showing that A. Alexandrov had been preparing the final chorus for a performance. Now Boris, his son, was ready to follow his father's plan. The 1948 peace concert was to consist of German opera extracts and Russian folk songs (Nightingales, Zemlyanka and Roads); and after an intervention by the tenor Victor Nikitin, some German folk songs were also included. The people joined in, singing Heidenröslein, and Nikitin sang Kalinka three times in a row. The concert was very successful, and very moving.[16] [17][18] A sound recording of the concert was made, and pressed in 1985 under the Radio DDR 1 label. This is listed on the Alexandrov Ensemble discography page.

However the Berlin Peace Concert did not happen in isolation. It was part of a series of punishing yearly tours to war-torn areas. The main tour season during and just after World War II appears to have run from June to October – perhaps because the large troupe usually had to perform outdoors, to accommodate large audiences. The August 1948 Berlin concert occurred two-thirds of the way through a tour to (20 June to 18 July) Prague, Most, Brno, Bratislava, Ostrava, Žilina and Košice in Czechoslovakia; then apparently without a break (18 July to 10 October) Dresden, Weimar, Magdeburg, Stendal, Schwerin, Potsdam, Berlin, Rathenow, Leipzig, Halle, Lane, Erfurt, Chemnitz, Frankfurt an der Oder and Schwarzenberg in Germany.[19][20]

The Leningrad Cowboys

Today, the ensemble is led by Honoured Artist of Russia Vyacheslav Korobko, who has been leading it since 2003.[4]

Until 1969, the standard uniform for the ensemble choir, soloists and orchestra was the tunic and riding breeches. On 1 January 1970, this was changed to dress uniform,[21] and there have been further variations to the dress uniform as used by the ensemble since 1970.

In 2009, The Aleksandrov Red Army Choir took part in the Eurovision Song Contest when the contest was hosted in Moscow as part of a collaboration during the First Semi Final, as they get joined by 2003 Representatives t.A.T.u who performed "Not Gonna Get Us" as the final portion of the interval act.

On 25 December 2016, a Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 carrying 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble Choir went down 1.5 km (0.93 mi) off the coast of Sochi, Russia while en route to Latakia, Syria for a Christmas celebration with the troops deployed at Khmeimim military base. The plane crashed with no survivors.

After 5 weeks, the choir was reformed anew in time for Defender of the Fatherland Day celebrations on 18 February 2017. That first concert in weeks marks also the birth of a new era for the Ensemble, with its first international tour following the crash with concerts not just in Russia but also in select European countries. Most of the new members joined through auditions held on 15 and 27 January 2017 by the Ministry of Defense of Russia. Since June 7, 2016, Colonel Gennadiy Sachenyuk became Artistic Director then main conductor and Head of the Ensemble since March 24, 2017.[22]

On 12 October 2018, the Ensemble celebrated the 90th anniversary of its foundation at a special event at the Bolshoi Theatre.[23] Following this event, the leader of the Ensemble Colonel Gennadiy Sachenyuk announced a worldwide tour.[24] The Ensemble performed concerts produced by Thierry Wolf in various countries including France, Switzerland, Belgium, Serbia, the Czech Republic and China.[25] In December 2019, they celebrated Christmas in Montreal during a week of seven concerts at La Maison Symphonique.[26]

Following the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the tour Alexandrov Ensemble was supposed to have in the Czech Republic has been canceled,[27] while individual members of the choir have faced disqualifications from competitions such as Operalia.[28]

Leonid Kharitonov

Most notable soloists:

• Evgeny Belyaev
• Victor Ivanovich Nikitin
• Leonid Kharitonov
• Mark Reizen
• Georgi Pavlovich Vinogradov
• Vadim Anayev
• Ivan Bukreev
• V. Chetverikov

Current members of the choir are listed here.[29] The choir consists mainly of vocal sections of tenor, baritone, and bass. In some of the pieces they perform, these sections are divided into as many as eight different vocal lines. From the early 1950s until at least 1965 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.[30]

A Russian Domra

The orchestra, in what became a typical composition for later generations of military ensembles in the Soviet Union, has a mixed composition of Russian traditional instruments and western instruments, including the balalaika, the domra, the bayan, the double bass, woodwinds, brass, and percussion instruments. A great guest balalaika player was Boris Stepanovich Feoktistov (Борис Степанович Феоктистов) (1910–1988). In the West his most famous recording is Kamarinskaya (1963).[31] [32][33] A. Molostov is the trumpet soloist in "Dark Eyes" in vintage recordings.[34] The bayan-player Victor Gridin is a past member of the orchestra.[35]

Alexandrov Ensemble dancers

Among the dances staged by the ensemble are Zaparozhtsi Dance, Cossack's Cavalry Dance, Festive March, Dance of the Cossacks, Soldier's Dance, and Sailor's Dance. Some of these are performed by mixed dancers, while others, such as Cossack's Cavalry Dance, are performed by male dancers only.

The ballet is under the direction of Lev Nikolaevich Kulikov National Artist of Russia, the main ballet master, and maintains the heights of choreographic art with honour. The priority in its repertoire is taken by the military compositions: Matroskaya barynya, Kazachiya cavalry plyaska, Festive march, Invitation to dance and others. The ballet performs a lot of Russian folk dances. The classical repertoire contains Poloveckie plyasky from the opera Prince Igor written by Alexander Borodin. This is from our dance classics, but we always update the dance repertoire. (Leonid Ivanovich Malev, current Director of the Ensemble, interviewed by Russia Beyond the Headlines 1 Dec 2008)[36]

The song Bandura, a duet recorded with soloists I. Savchuk and V. Fedorov, refers to this instrument (photo ca.1925)

The artistic director was Valery Khalilov but he, and 63 other members of the Ensemble, were killed in an aircraft crash on 25 December 2016. The chief choreographer is People's Artist of Russia L. Kulikov; the chief administrator is Honoured Artist of Russia VG Kadin, the choreographer and coach is the Honoured Artist of Russia V. Ermolin; head dresser is Honoured Worker of Culture A. Kormilitsyn; soloists are VI Shtefutsa and EM Labkovsky; with SV Ivanov, PD Bogachev, VP Maystruk, AA Gvozdetsky, BM Mizyuk: all Honoured Artist of Russia.[4]

In the choir are YA Lysenko, Y. Shtrunov, IM Pirogov, IS Sobolev, IF Volkov, OV Filimonov, AN Savitsky, VA Nagorny, VP Kokarev, AA Hristachev, JN Deynekin, VM Bolonenko, VN Antonov, AN Stritenko, AA Toschev: all Honoured Artist of Russia; and VS Buzlov, SP Lapik, VF Orthodox, GU Razgasimov, V. Chekin, MD Mochalina.[4]

In the orchestra are AA Mogulkin, Y. Savkin, MG Chervov, PD Shchennikov, NI Diakov, AI Egorov, VM Predelin: all Honoured Artist of Russia. Vocal coaches are People's Artist of Russia, laureate of competitions, MI Glinka and PI Tchaikovsky, Professor KP Lisovsky. The Principal Concertmaster is Honoured Artist of Russia V. Brodsky.[4]

In the ballet are GD Pavlyuchenko, IV Konygina, P.U. Khmelnitski: all Honoured Artist of Russia. In 2019, the Ensemble touring all over the world with famous soloist as Valery Gavva [37] or Vadim Ananeev[38] but also young soloists such as Alexander Kruze or Maxim Maklakov,former soloit of Kraznodar Opera [39] or very young talent such as Sergey Kuznetsov.[40] Under the direction of conductor Gennadiy Sachenyuk[41]

• 1928–1946 - Major General Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov, People's Artist of the Soviet Union, founding Artistic Director and conductor of the Ensemble, awarded the Stalin Prize, composed the State Anthem of the Soviet Union and various other songs for the ensemble
• 1946–1987 - Major General Boris Alexandrovich Alexandrov, Hero of Socialist Labor, People's Artist of the Soviet Union, awarded both the Lenin Prize and the Stalin Prize, son of the founder, composer and led the ensemble on a number of national and international engagements
• 1987–1992 - Professor Colonel Anatoly Maltsev, People's Artist of Russia, led the Ensemble through the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the armed forces, served as Assistant Conductor until 1987
• 1992–1993 - Colonel Igor Germanovich Agafonnikov (until 1992 conductor and Artistic Director for the orchestra, also served as deputy and relief conductor)
• 1993–2002 - Colonel Dmitry Vasilyevich Somov
• 1994–2002 - Colonel Victor A. Fedorov, Choir Master and relief conductor
• 2003–2016 - Colonel Leonid Malev, Honoured Artist and Honoured Cultural Worker, responsible for the choir's renewed international tours including a memorable concert at the Vatican in 2004
• 2008–2012 - Prof. Colonel Igor Raevskiy, People's Artist of Russia, Honoured Artist of Belarus, awarded the State Prize of Czechoslovakia
• 2012–2016, 2017–present - Colonel Gennady Ksenafontovich Sachenyuk, Honoured Cultural Worker of Russia, current Artistic Director, Principal Conductor and Head of the Ensemble
• 2016 (May–December) - Prof. Lieutenant General Valery Khalilov, People's Artist of Russia, highest-ranking officer to serve as Artistic Director
• Second conductor, Lieutenant Colonel Nikolay Kirillov, People's Artist of Russia, Chief Conductor and assistant director of the ensemble
• Choirmaster- Sergey Sokolov.
• Present days - 13 September 2019, Gennadiy Sachenyuk, nicknamed the Maestro, Conductor and Director of the Ensemble since 2016, was honored with the highest level medal for Russian artist.[42]

• Kostiantyn Dankevych (1905–1984): a Ukrainian who was director of Songs and Dance of the Red Army Choir in Tbilisi, and wrote Poem of Ukraine.[43]
• Lev Knipper (1898–1974) who composed Polyushko Pole, and Viktor Gusev (1909–1944) who wrote the lyrics.
• Pavlo Virsky who was artistic director of the Alexandrov Ensemble dancers from 1942, for many years.
• Samuel Pokrass (1897–1939) who wrote White Army, Black Baron or Red Army is Strongest; lyrics by P. Grigoriev.

• 1989 "Red Army Ensemble Offers" etc.: J. Rockwell, New York Times
• 2008 "Russia Beyond the Headlines": Canada tour Archived 8 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
• Voce del leone webpage: Review of EMI Classics CD: Red Army Ensemble
• Musicweb International CD review of EMI Classics 3 92031 2