Vocal ensemble was founded in 1982 in Moscow by Ekaterina Dorokhova and Evgenia Kostina. The ensemble constitutes a creative laboratory for the study, acquisition and practice of folk traditions, mainly from the South and south-east of Russia; these are regions where the ancient songs related to the life-cycle and the calendar festivals have remained alive. Thus the members of NARODNYI PRAZDNIK (PESEN ZEMLI) often engage in fieldwork in remote and relatively isolated villages. Whenever possible, they learn these songs in a purely oral fashion during common session with the village singers. The interpretive approach of the ensemble in recreating each song without alteration or arrangement, by endeavoring to preserve entirely its characteristic timbre and intervals and the traditional manner of performing it in its original setting. The ensemble performed in Russia, Germany, Switzerland and France. In this fashion, the singers of the ensemble hope to change the stereotyped image of Russian folk singing stage-sponsored choirs. They aspire to leave their listeners with an impression of the exceptional beauty of these traditional Russian songs.

1. Pesen Zemli. Polyphonic Wedding Songs. AIMP XXXVIII. Musee d'ethnographie. GENEVE. VDE CD-837
2. NARODNYI PRAZDNIK. MOSCOW FOLK ENSEMBLE. Song of the Earth. RCD 17001
3. Polyphonies populaires russes. Ensemble Pesen Zemli. NOTA BENE NB 9301

CONTACT

telephone: (095) 369 54 47 Tatiana Zimenkova
fax: (095) 229 03 92 (night time)
fax: (095) 229 36 65 (Nadezhda Zhulanova)