In this program of the Dmitry Pokrovsky Ensemble you will see and hear: folk songs, dances, rituals of different regions of Russia of the spring-summer calendar cycle, as well as author's music to folklore texts (fragments of A. Raskatov's suite "Voices of the Frozen Earth").
Morning-day-evening-night ... Spring-summer-autumn-winter ... Childhood-Youth-Maturity-Old age ... Closed and unchanging, this circle is the circle of the year, the circle of human life - a symbol of constancy, harmony and eternal continuous movement - was embodied in ritual ornamental and playful round dances ...
A round dance is a reflection in the movement and sound of the cycle of nature; this is a dance-game to a song or a tune, and a ceremonial movement with obligatory figures; these are those who participate in the round dance and those who watch it; this is both a fun company and a place outside the suburbs where people gather for fun. Here they looked out for brides and tried to ensure a good harvest with special ceremonies.
The round dance has absorbed a variety of song genres - calendar, wedding, lyric, and, of course, dance.
Saying goodbye to the annoying cold and gloomy winter, the girls "call out" the coming of spring, call upon the birds carrying it on their wings with special songs-spring flowers. Then you need to enlist the help of St. Yegor, the protector and patron of livestock, to protect domestic animals from diseases and wild animals. For him and other saints, helpers to the peasants in the household, special "Yegoryevsk" songs were sung. And soon the guys will go through the villages, thoroughly bypassing all the courtyards with congratulatory "wolf" songs, glorifying Easter and the risen Christ ...
The border between spring and summer was called Green Christmastide. In their center is the Trinity - the main spring-summer holiday. He, having a deep Christian meaning, was also genetically related to the most ancient cults of the earth, water and the souls of ancestors. The main decoration and "heroine" of all Trinity games and round dances is a young birch tree. Her bridesmaids "wrung", curled, dignified, under her idolized, becoming "sisters" secretly from the guys who were trying to destroy their union ... After Trinity, on Rusal Week, we said goodbye to spring. With special songs and rituals, girls and boys chased the mermaid (making a stuffed animal in the form of a horse) into the field - after all, she had to transfer her life-giving moisture to the earth.
And finally - a short summer with its bright holidays dedicated to the union of earth, water and fire. Kupala night became the culmination and the most attractive symbol of its mysterious energy.
The Dmitry Pokrovsky Ensemble, created in 1973 by Dmitry Pokrovsky (a great musician, artist, scientist and researcher), became the first ensemble in the world to combine a truly scientific study of folklore with its professional performance, and the traditions of folk music with modern musical culture.
The school for mastering folk singing that has developed in the Ensemble, based on the study of the traditional technology of sound production, is still the only one of its kind. Virtuoso mastery of various folk singing styles, organic combination of traditional and original music using the principles of live improvisation are the calling card of this group. Each program of the Ensemble is a kind of musical performance, whether it is about classical pieces, sacred or song-ritual music.
Authentic folk costumes, songs, games and rituals brought by artists from numerous folklore expeditions across Russia allow the viewer to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of real folk culture.
Musical director - Maria Nefedova
Director - Olga Yukcheva.
