Alexandrov Ensemble
The Alexandrov Ensemble, commonly known as the Red Army Choir in the West, is an official army choir of the Russian armed forces. Founded during the Soviet era, the ensemble consists of a male choir, an orchestra, and a dance ensemble.
The Ensemble has entertained audiences both in Russia and throughout the world, performing a range of music including folk tunes, hymns, operatic arias and popular music. The group's repertoire has included The Volga Boatmen's Song, Katyusha, Kalinka, and Ave Maria.
It is named for its first director, Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov. Its formal name since 1998 has been A. V. Alexandrov Academic Song and Dance Ensemble of the Russian Army, shortened to Academic Ensemble on second reference.
On 25 December 2016, its artistic director, Valery Khalilov, and 63 other members of the Ensemble were killed in the Russian Defence Ministry aircraft crash of a 1983 Tupolev Tu-154 into the Black Sea just after takeoff from the southern resort city of Sochi, Russia. The Red Army Choir singers and dancers were en route to Syria to entertain Russian troops there for Orthodox Christmas celebrations.
Name
At the establishment, in 1928, the choir was named Red Army Song Ensemble of the M. V. Frunze Red Army Central House. In 1935, it was renamed Red-Bannered Red Army Song and Dance Ensemble of the USSR.In 1949 the ensemble was officially named the A. V. Alexandrov Twice Red-bannered and Red-starred Song and Dance Ensemble of the Soviet Army. In 1978 the word "academic" was added to the title. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the ensemble received its present name in 1998. It is commonly known as the Red Army Choir in the West.
History
Early years
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. 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 Saint Petersburg to learn music. In 1898, the young peasant boy became a pupil of the Saint Petersburg Court Chapel.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.
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.
Development
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.Under Boris Alexandrovich Alexandrov
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, 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.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.
Major Vladimir Alexandrov, brother of Boris Alexandrov, also composed for the ensemble. He served as Orchestral Director and Conductor. Vladimir Gordeev was the principal conductor on the 1988 UK tour.
1948 Berlin Peace Concert
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, 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."
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 ; 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. 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 Prague, Most, Brno, Bratislava, Ostrava, Žilina and Košice in Czechoslovakia; then apparently without a break Dresden, Weimar, Magdeburg, Stendal, Schwerin, Potsdam, Berlin, Rathenow, Leipzig, Halle, Lane, Erfurt, Chemnitz, Frankfurt an der Oder and Schwarzenberg in Germany.
After 1991
Since 2003 the ensemble is led by Honoured Artist of Russia Vyacheslav Korobko.Eurovision Song Contest 2009
The choir were the interval act in the first semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, alongside t.A.T.u who performed "Not Gonna Get Us".2016 plane crash
On 25 December 2016, a Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 carrying 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble Choir went down 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. Of the 92 passengers and crew on board, 64 were members of the Alexandrov Ensemble.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 7 June 2016, Colonel became artistic director then main conductor and Head of the Ensemble since 24 March 2017.
2018 90th Anniversary
On 12 October 2018, the Ensemble celebrated the 90th anniversary of its foundation at a special event at the Bolshoi Theatre. Following this event, the leader of the Ensemble Colonel Gennadiy Sachenyuk announced a worldwide tour. The Ensemble performed concerts produced by Thierry Wolf in various countries including France, Switzerland, Belgium, Serbia, the Czech Republic and China. In December 2019, they celebrated Christmas in Montreal during a week of seven concerts at La Maison Symphonique.2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
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, while individual members of the choir have faced disqualifications from competitions such as Operalia.Composition
Soloists
Most notable soloists:- Evgeny Belyaev
- Victor Ivanovich Nikitin
- Leonid Kharitonov
- Mark Reizen
- Georgi Pavlovich Vinogradov
- Vadim Ananyev
- Ivan Bukreev
- V. Chetverikov
Chorus
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 was as follows: countertenors; first tenors; second tenors; baritones; first bass; second bass; basso profundos.