Tradition: There are 21 members in the State Academic Kuban Cossack Choir. -- File photo

Viet Nam News

HÀ NỘI – The State Academic Kuban Cossack Choir will perform at the Việt Nam National Academy of Music on Friday.

The choir, the oldest and the largest national group of the Cossack community, is Russia’s only professional group of folk artists and has a long history that can be traced to the beginning of the 19th century.

Twenty-one artists led by artistic director and conductor Viktor Zakharchenko will perform a repertoire, which includes Kuban Cossack, Russian and Ukrainian folk songs.

Zakharchenko, one of the choir’s soloists, has been honoured with the “People’s Artist of Ukraine” title.

He is also the author of more than 200 musical compositions, over 1,000 folk song arrangements and has published several works on folk music.

“Being a Cossack, I have listened to Cossack and spiritual songs since childhood,” Zakharchenko said.

While a student at the Novosibirsk Conservatory, Zakharchenko began work as a senior choirmaster at the State Siberian Chorus, a position he held till 1974. Since then, he has been working as the artistic director of the State Academic Kuban Cossack Choir.

The choir was established in 1811 for the Black Sea Cossack Army by founders Kiril Rosinsky and regent Grigory Grechinsky. After more than 190 years of performing, the choir believes its mission is to preserve, revive and popularise the Cossack culture.

Combining authenticity with a modern style of rendition, the choir’s creativity is an example of how it is possible to make appealing something that is so purely and singularly national.

The choir is recognised nationally and internationally. It has also received the Schevchenko State Prize of Ukraine, the Order of People’s Friendship and the title of the Academic Artistic Body.

The Kuban Cossack concerts are like family reunions and their songs are like a gulp of crystal clear spring water.

The choir has received great reviews.

"Through its brilliantly masterful art, Kuban Cossacks offers a precious glimpse of the multi-layered history of Russia," French Le Figaro reported.

“The miracle they create with their art puts them on par with world giants like the Bolshoi,” Japanese Asahi said.

Besides concerts, the choir also records and arranges Cossack songs that preserve and promote the group’s traditional culture.

The Hà Nội concert is being co-held by the Department of Performing Art and the Russian embassy in Việt Nam during celebrations to mark the 20th ASEAN-Russia dialogue partnership. -- VNS