This is an alphabetical list of the

basso profondo Basso profondo (Italian: "deep bass"), sometimes basso profundo, contrabass or oktavist, is the lowest bass voice type. While ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' defines a typical bass as having a range that is limited to the second E below ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing thr ...

and

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

soloists who have performed with the

Alexandrov Ensemble The Alexandrov Ensemble ( rus, Ансамбль Александрова, r=Ansambl' Aleksandrova; 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 e ...

(under its various titles) since its establishment in 1928. It is difficult to differentiate between regular and guest soloists, since many have alternated between the one category and the other during their careers, so they are all listed together. Soloists of whom no recordings have yet been found have been listed below as "other soloists".

Introduction

Until April 2009, when this article was created, little or nothing was generally known outside Russia about these fine soloists: as a group, or (in most cases) as individuals. People in the West could read a few of their names on current

CDs and DVDs, and perhaps hear a few old

78rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...

recordings on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

, but could not Google in English for their images or musical biographies. Since April 2009, to a certain extent, they can. Therefore this article is part of the soloists' history. In 2004, Max Loppert said of Georgy Vinogradov: "How is it possible for any singer of this caliber to have been (outside Russia) this unknown?". One could say the same of the whole group. Before April 2009, almost all online resources on this subject were in Russian and Japanese, and even these were limited in content, so far as the biographies of most soloists were concerned. The dearth of information in the West could be partly attributable to the

language barrier A language barrier is a figurative phrase used primarily to refer to linguistic barriers to communication, i.e. the difficulties in communication experienced by people or groups originally speaking different languages, or even dialects in some ...

and the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. One could speculate that scandals such as those 1951 rumours surrounding Vinogradov could have pressured the

to exercise particular discretion regarding publicity of their valuable star turns. Even so, there is almost no online information about the

Victor Nikitin, who made a beautiful

78 rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove ...

recording of ''Cold Waves Lapping'' in the 1940s, and his last traceable recording appears to have been made in 1951, the same year as the rumours of a bar-room brawl and the end of Georgy Vinogradov's career. One can draw no conclusions, but – outside Russia at least – an air of mystery surrounds some of these great singers.

Status of soloists

Apart from guest soloists, there are two ways of contracting a soloist in the

: * A ''soloist of the choir'' is a constant member of the choir and only sometimes has one or two solo performances with certain songs specially selected for their personal vocal capabilities. * ''Soloist of the Ensemble'' is a higher grade, meaning that the singer is a soloist on a constant basis and never – or no longer – takes part in the choir.

A to Z list of soloists

Georgi Abramov

Born in Moscow 12 April 1903; died in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

1 November 1966 (Russian: Георгий Абрамов).

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

soloist.

Honoured Artist of Russia Merited Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: link=no, Заслуженный артист Российской Федерации, ''Zasluzhenny artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii'') is an honorary title in the Russian Federation. The title is ...

(1944). From 1918 to 1928 he worked as a mechanic or plumber in

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

. In 1930 he entered an operatic singing competition on

All-Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Radio. As a result of this, from 1931 to 1966 he was soloist of the

Radio and television, taking part in opera productions. He was a concert singer, promoting the works of Soviet composers, and became the definitive singer of songs such as ''Roads'' (by

Novikov Novikov, Novikoff (masculine, russian: Новиков) or Novikova (feminine, russian: Новикова) is one of the most common Russian surnames. Derived from '' novik'' - a teenager on military service who comes from a noble, boyar or cossack ...

), ''Treasured Stone'', ''Single Accordion'' (by Mokrousov), and especially ''Bryansk Forest'' (by Katz). From 1954 to 1958 he was a music teacher at

Gnessin State Musical College The Gnessin State Musical College (russian: link=no, Государственный музыкальный колледж имени Гнесиных) and Gnesins Russian Academy of Music (russian: Российская академия музык� ...

. He toured in Poland, Hungary,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. With Georgy Vinogradov and Vladimir Zakharov he recorded ''For those who are in Transit'' (S. Katz – A. Fatyanov), and the beautiful folksong ''Already as the Sea''. With the

he recorded ''A Bryansk Forest'' (recorded 1948) for the

Radio Committee.

Nicolai A. Abramov

(Russian: Николай А. Абрамов),

soloist. With the

he recorded: ''

Smuglyanka "Smuglyanka", "Smuglianka", or "Smugljanka" (russian: Смуглянка "the dark girl", from смуглый "dark, swarthy"; also , romanized: ''Smugljanka-Moldovanka'' "the dark Moldovan girl" (swarthy)) is a Russian song written in 1940 by Y ...

'' duet with Nikolay Savchuk (music:

; lyrics: Ya Shvedov), unknown duet with A. Kusleev, ''Praying'', unknown duet with L. M. Kharitonov, ''Here's the Deal'' (1963), ''Black Crow'' duet with A. Eisen (1956), ''Nut Brown Maiden'' duet with I. Savchuk (1953, 1956),CD: EMI Classics: Red Army Ensemble, 0946-3-92030-2-4, "Nut Brown Maiden". ''The Little Bells'' (1956) Unfortunately, Nicolai Abramov's name was frequently incorrectly attributed on recordings, notably on the Kultur video of 1965 that is available in the West.

Vadim Petrovich Ananyev

Current soloist in the Ensemble. Ananyev was one of the very few soloists of the ensemble who did not board the plane to Syria later lost in the

2016 Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 crash On 25 December 2016, a Tupolev Tu-154 jetliner of the Russian Defence Ministry crashed into the Black Sea shortly after taking off from Sochi International Airport, Russia, while en route to Khmeimim Air Base, Syria. All 92 passengers and crew on ...

. He stayed to care for his recently born child.

Georgy Yakovlevich Andryushchenko

Georgy Yakovlevich Andryushchenko (born Aravan,

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

, 1933; died 12 January 2011). (Russian: Георгий Яковлевич Андрющенко); also spelled "Andryushenko";

soloist of the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

People's Artist of Russia People's Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: Народный артист Российской Федерации, ''Narodnyy artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii''), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the Russian Federation, is an h ...

(1973). He studied at

, and joined the

as a soloist in 1958. He performed at the Bolshoi Theatre 1963–1979, had a wide repertoire and was one of the leading tenors in a troupe which toured the world. From 1974 to 1976 he was the supervisor of the trainee group of Bolshoi Theatre soloists. From 1979 he was director of the Moscow Ice Ballet Ensemble. In the late 1980s he worked as general director of GosTsirk; he was the head of all circuses in Russia, and he published an article in ''Dei/Disillusionist'' magazine about a circus tour to the Vatican in 1982. Within the Bolshoi Theatre his recorded operatic arias include the following: as Prince Andrei Khovansky in

Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...

's opera ''

Khovanshchina ''Khovanshchina'' ( rus, Хованщина, , xɐˈvanʲɕːɪnə, Ru-Khovanshchina_version.ogg, sometimes rendered ''The Khovansky Affair'') is an opera (subtitled a 'national music drama') in five acts by Modest Mussorgsky. The work was writte ...

'' (1979); as Mikhailo Tucha in ''Pskovityanka'' (or A Girl from Pskov); as Alexey in ''Optimistic Tragedy'' by Kholminov; as Masalsky in ''October'' by Muradeli; as Marquise in ''The Gambler'' by

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

from the story by Dostoyevsky; as Semyon in ''

Semyon Kotko ''Semyon Kotko'' (russian: Семён Котко), Op. 81, is an opera in five acts by Sergei Prokofiev to a libretto by Sergei Prokofiev and Valentin Katayev based on Katayev's 1937 novel ''I, Son of Working People'' (russian: Я, сын труд� ...

'' by Sergei Prokofiev.

Valentin Ivanovich Anisimov

Valentin Ivanovich Anisimov (born 1937; died 26 August 2002). (Russian: В.И. Анисимов),

soloist (of the

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

Opera House).

People's Artist of Ukraine People's Artist of Ukraine is an honorary and the highest title awarding to outstanding performing artists whose merits are exceptional in the sphere of the development of the performing arts (theatre, music, dance, circus, cinema, etc.). Establ ...

and

(1973). In 1962 he graduated from the Urals State Conservatory. From 1962 he was a soloist at

Sverdlovsk, Ukraine Sverdlovsk ( uk, Свердловськ, translit. ''Sverdlovs’k''; russian: Свердловск) is a city in Luhansk Oblast (region) of south-eastern Ukraine on the border with the Russian Federation. Serving as the administrative center of ...

and from 1967 at the Odessa Opera and Ballet Theatre. He gave 40 performances at the

and gained a fine reputation throughout the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

for singing in

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's opera

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...

. From 1980 he was soloist of the

Moscow Philharmonic The Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Moscow, Russia. It was founded in 1951 by Samuil Samosud, as the Moscow Youth Orchestra for young and inexperienced musicians, acquiring its current name in 1953. It is most associated wit ...

. He also taught at the Institute of Contemporary Art in the

. With the

he recorded ''Veterans'' (music: Boris Alexandrov; lyrics S. Bencken).

Georgiy Ivanovich Babaev

(Russian: Г.И. Бабаев; also translated George Babayev),

soloist,

Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...

Laureate. With the

he recorded ''Song of the Young Soldiers'' duet with V. Puchkov (music: P. Akulenko; lyrics: Ya Shvedov), ''Song about Klim Voroshilov'' duet with Yuri Louth (music: Alexander Alexandrov; lyrics: O. Kolychev), ''Aside Native'' (music: A. Alexandrov; lyrics: S. Mikhalkov), ''Seasoned Cook'' (music: Z. Компанеец; lyrics: I. Lakshin), ''Song about Blyukher'' duet with V. Pankov (music: Alexander Alexandrov; lyrics: S. Alymov), ''I Myself'' (Slovak song).

Kim Ivanovich Bazarsadaev

(Russian: Ким Иванович Базарсадаев),

soloist.

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significan ...

(1981).

Evgeny Belyaev

Soloist of the Ensemble. (Russian: Евгений Михайлович Беляев). Outside the USSR, one of the most celebrated

soloists under Boris Alexandrov was

Evgeny Belyaev Evgeny Mikhailovich Belyaev, also written as Yevgeny Belyayev (Russian: Евгений Михайлович Беля́ев) (Klintsy, 11 September 1926 – 21/22 February 1994), was a Russian tenor soloist of the Alexandrov Ensemble under Boris ...

or Evgeny Mikhailovich Belyaev (1926–1994) . He was born 11 September 1926 in the

Bryansk Oblast Bryansk Oblast (russian: Бря́нская о́бласть, ''Bryanskaya oblast''), also known as Bryanshchina (russian: Брянщина, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is th ...

, and served in the subdivision of zenith troops during World War II. He then graduated from

. In 1947 he was a soloist of the Ensemble of Song and Dance of the

Carpathian The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

military district, and in 1952 a Member of CPSU (

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

). In 1955 he was a soloist of the Ensemble of Song and Dance of the Soviet Army of Alexandrov. In 1967 he was made

, and in 1978 he won the

State Prize of the USSR The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...

. He died in 1994 ( 21 or 22 February). Two of his most famous performances are ''Oh the Rye'' and ''Nightingale''. The lyric of ''Nightingale'' asks the nightingale to be quiet as the soldiers are sleeping; i.e. they have died. One of his most popular recordings with The

is ''

Kalinka Kalinka may refer to: Places *Kalinka, Kardzhali Province, Kardzhali Municipality, Bulgaria *Kalinka Temple, a temple in northern India *Kalinka, Lublin Voivodeship, a village in the Lublin Voivodeship, Poland *Kalinka, Russia, the name of several ...

''.

Pyotr Dmitrievich Bogachev

(Russian: Петр Дмитриевич Богачёв),

soloist.

. With the

he recorded ''In the Ocean Gave'' duet with S. Ivanov (music: B. Korostylev; lyrics: B. Bezhaev), ''It's a Long Time Since We Were Home'' duet with S. Ivanov (music: V.Solovev-Sedoy; lyrics: A. Fatyanov), ''We, the Army People'' duet with S. Ivanov (music: G. Movsesyan; lyrics: Robert Rozhdestvensky), ''Listen, Beauty'' duet with S. Ivanov (music: E. Martin; lyrics: M. Plyatskovsky), ''Your Soldiers'' duet with S. Ivanov (music: B. Gamal; lyrics: A. Sofronov), ''We go, We Go Into the Army'' duet with Ivan Bukreev (music: B. Aleksandrov; lyrics: V. Tatarinov), '' Smuglianka'', duet with S. Ivanov (music: A. Novikov; lyrics: Y. Chvedov),''The Samovars'' duet with S. Ivanov (music A. Novikov; lyrics: S. Alimov) (1982/92) , ''Nut Brown Girl'' duet with S. Ivanov (1989/92, 2003), ''Endless Sea'' duet with S. Ivanov, ''We Protect the Country'' duet with S. Ivanov, ''Afield'' duet with S. Ivanov (1992), ''Evening on the Roads'' duet with S. Ivanov (1992), ''Distant Northern Town'' trio with V.S. Buzurov and S. Ivanov (1992), ''Dixie'' duet with S. Ivanov 1992, ''Greetings from the Troops'' duet with S. Ivanov, ''Our Army'' duet with S. Ivanov (1984).

Ivan Semionovich Bukreev

Soloist of the Ensemble. (born 1924; died 1998). (Russian: Иван Семенович Букреев), lyric

soloist,

. In World War II he was in the Air Force, and was seriously wounded in battle. In 1944 he graduated from the

, and became a soloist in the Air Force ensemble. It has been suggested in the West that he was overshadowed by E. Belyaev, but Leonid Kharitonov remembers the following:

"Bukreev didn’t have any specific reaction to Belyaev's success. Actually, he was glad for his colleague. Besides, it would be quite strange to compare them since they were different kinds of tenor – Belyaev was ''lyric'' tenor (higher voice) and Bukreev was a ''lyric and dramatic'' tenor (deeper voice). Bukreev never performed as a soloist abroad. Belyaev sang only three songs abroad and was mainly famous for the ''
Kalinka Kalinka may refer to: Places *Kalinka, Kardzhali Province, Kardzhali Municipality, Bulgaria *Kalinka Temple, a temple in northern India *Kalinka, Lublin Voivodeship, a village in the Lublin Voivodeship, Poland *Kalinka, Russia, the name of several ...
'' song. In Russia they had equal popularity. Bukreev was teetotal and was a good husband and father to his wife and daughter."

Kharitonov only ever sang duets with one person, and that was Bukreev. With the

from 1953 to 1987/88 Bukreev gained a high reputation and recorded: ''Take Soldiers'' (music: Y. Milutin; lyrics: M. Lisyansky), ''Submariners' Waltz'' (music: V. Alexandrov; lyrics: Igor Morozov) (1965), ''Rides the Border'' (music: B. Muradeli; lyrics: A. Annual), ''We Go, We Go Into the Army'' duet with P. Bogachev (music: B. Aleksandrov; lyrics: V. Tatarinov), ''The Soldier'' (music: B. Mokrousov; lyrics: C. Islands), ''Our Soldiers'' (music: L. Lyadov; lyrics: A. Zharov), ''Good Guy'' (music: A. Doluhanyan; lyrics: Nekrasova L.), ''Song of Prague'' (music: M. Blanter; lyrics: Anon) (1960), ''At Least'' (music: A. Doluhanyan; lyrics: M. Lisyansky), ''A Wave'' (music: A Doluhanyan; lyrics: M. Lisyansky), ''Soldier's Ways'' duet with Edward Labkovsky (music: B. Aleksandrov; lyrics: B. Dubrovin), ''Russian Accordion'' (music: B. Muradeli; lyrics: E. Savinov), ''I Took You into the Tundra'' (music: M. Fradkin; lyrics: M. Plyatskovsky) (performed 1982), ''Bird Cherry'' (music: M. Blanter; lyrics: M. Isakovsky), ''South-West Region'' (music: Yu Milyutin; lyrics: E. Dolmatovskaya), ''I Will Never Forget You'' (music: E. Kolmanovsky; lyrics:

K. Vanshenkin Konstantin Yakovlevich Vanshenkin (russian: Константин Яковлевич Ваншенкин; 17 December 1925 – 15 December 2012; born Konstantin Weinschenker) was a Soviet poet and lyricist from Moscow. During the Second World War ...

) (ca.1965), ''

Moscow Nights __NOTOC__ "Moscow Nights" ( rus, Подмосковные вечера, r=Podmoskovnyje večera, ), later covered as "Midnight in Moscow", is a Soviet Russian song. Composition and initial success Composer Vasily Solovyov-Sedoi and poet Mikhai ...

'' (music: V. Soloviev-Sedoi; lyrics: M. Matousovski) (1958), '' Bella Ciao'' duet with P. Slastnoi (Italian partisan song; arr. B. Pogrebov) (ca.1966) , ''Bucharest Love'', ''Homeland Night'', ''Wait a Day to Return'' (1956), ''Song of the Border Defence Troops'', two unknown solos, ''Spring of 1945'' duet with Boris Shemyakov, ''Sky Blue Eyes'' (1978), ''Near the Garden'' trio with I.I. Savchuk and E. Belyaev, ''American Soldiers'', ''That Soldier Heads Up'', ''Far Away'' (1978), ''The Girls I Cry'', ''Early Apple Blossom'', ''Regiment Polka'' duet with V.P. Gorlanov, ''Ready Rocket Forces'' duet with V.L. Ruslanov, ''City of Rostov'', ''In Our Company'', ''Vasya-Vasilyok'' duet with L. M. Kharitonov (ca.1965), ''I'll Always be a Soldier''.

Vladimir Abramovich Bunchikov

Bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing thr ...

soloist. (born in

Yekaterinoslav Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

21 November 1902; died 17 March 1995).

(1944). From 1934, he recorded songs. With V. Kandelaki he sang jazz, and he sang with the popular orchestra directed by B. Knushevitsky, and with Boris Alexandrov's Song and Dance Ensemble of

Radio and band. His main repertoire was the songs of Soviet composers. From 1942 to 1967 he was a soloist of the All-Union Radio. For 25 years he performed fine duets with the lyric

Vladimir Nechaev (1908–1969) whom he had met during World War II. With the Ensemble of the

Radio Committee under Boris Alexandrov he recorded ''Evening in the Roadstead''/''Night on the Road'' duet with P. Mikhailov (recorded 1942). This is a baritone-tenor duet, and the choir includes women sopranos. He also recorded ''Nightingale'' in the 1940s as a baritone-tenor duet with

Georgi Pavlovich Vinogradov Georgy Pavlovich Vinogradov (russian: Гео́ргий Па́влович Виногра́дов, ; 12 November 1980) was a Soviet and Russian tenor: a popular World War II singer on Radio Moscow, recording artist, and soloist with the Alexandr ...

, ''It's a Long Time Since We Were Home'' duet with V. Nechaev.

E. Burchak

(Russian: Е.Бурчаков),

soloist. With the

he recorded ''Not a – Do Not Know'' (music: S. Tulika; lyrics: V. Malkov).

Victor Sergeievich Buzurov

(Russian: Виктор Сергеевич Бузлов).

Tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

soloist. Joined the Ensemble ca.1970. Since 1990 he has recorded with the Don Cossack Choir and V. Gavva, singing religious songs. With the

he has recorded ''The Birch Tree'' (1987), ''Distant Northern Town'' trio with S. Ivanov and P. Bogachev (1992), ''Moscow''.

Vladimir Chernykh

(Russian: Черных, Владимир), tenor soloist. With the

he recorded ''Jet Pilot'', ''Ballad of the Red Army'', ''Loyalty'' duet (possibly with G. Andryushchenko), ''Hail to the Infantry!'' with V. Shkaptsov (1978) and unknown song. * Critical commentary on a music video featuring Chernykh and Bukreev: They sing ''The Grey Cuckoo'' on ''Soviet Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble'' This screenshot illustrates the sheer lack of public ego among the tenors of the Ensemble. In the West, a duet or trio of lyric tenors is always something of a competition for audience attention on the part of the singers – but here it is always a matter of humility to the music: blending; complementing; adjusting of the voice for perfect harmony of dynamic and musicality. The duettists always behave like the army choristers, whom

Boris Alexandrov Boris Viktorovich Alexandrov (russian: Борис Викторович Александров; November 13, 1955 — July 31, 2002) was a Soviet and Kazakh professional ice hockey player. Boris Alexandrov competed for Torpedo Ust-K ...

famously described as being so well-disciplined due to regular square-bashing. This, of course, was a joke as they are clearly as exhaustively rehearsed as any

Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-servin ...

choir. This screenshot shows them not showing off, but simply working. It helps to illustrate that this army choir was really born of the Kazan Cathedral choir where Alexander Alexandrov learned his trade all those decades ago. The choir was never a sport of the operatic stage where Boris was trained.Important: Before editing this critical commentary, please read the section "Critical Commentaries" on the article discussion page.

Ivan Alexandrovich Didenko

Ivan Alexandrovich Didenko, soloist of the choir. (russian: link=no, И.А. Диденко);

soloist. With the

he recorded ''Lights Black Sun'' (music: A. Doluhanyan; lyrics: M. Lisyansky), ''The Birch Tree'' (1956)CD: EMI: Soviet Army Chorus & Band, CDC-7-47833-2 DIDX-1015CD: EMI Classics: Red Army Ensemble, 0946-3-92030-2-4 ''Snowflakes'' (1956)

V. Dmitriev

V. Dmitriev, (Russian: В.Дмитриев),

soloist. With the

he recorded the beautiful and dramatic ''Halt, Who Goes There!'' (music: B. Muradeli; lyrics: E. Dolmatovskaya).

Arthur Arturovich Eisen

Arthur Arturovich Eisen (Russian: Артур Артурович Эйзен),

soloist. (b. Moscow 8 June 1927; d. Moscow 26 February 2008). Soloist of the

(1956),

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

(1971),

(1976),

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...

(1988). With the

he recorded: ''Elegy'', ''Oh No John'' (1956), ''Cold Waves Lapping'' (1956), ''Black Raven'', duet with N.A. Abramov (1956), 4 unknown solos (1956), ''

Song of the Volga Boatmen The "Song of the Volga Boatmen" (known in Russian as Эй, ухнем! y, ukhnem!, "Yo, heave-ho!" after the refrain) is a well-known traditional Russian song collected by Mily Balakirev and published in his book of folk songs in 1866. It was s ...

''.

Vasily Eliseev

Soloist of the choir. Born 1931; died 1982. (Russian:Василий Елисеев),

with

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a s ...

capability, i.e. with smooth transition to upper range, and good tone and projection throughout. There is a long tradition of countertenors in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

; this tradition continued during the Soviet era. With the

he recorded: ''Listen''. On the Kultur video from which the screenshot is taken, Eliseev is incorrectly named as Nicolai A. Abramov. ;Critical commentary on a music video featuring Vasily Eliseev: Eliseev sings ''Listen'' on the music video ''Soviet Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble''D1106. . B0013N3LIG, published by Kultur, ca.1960, dir: I. Jugashvili. Musical dir: Boris Alexandrov, filmed in the USSR. See

Alexandrov Ensemble discography This is a list of recordings made by the Alexandrov Ensemble (under various titles) since 1928. Within each section (CDs, LPs, 78s etc.) they are in alphabetical order of record labels. DVDs Facets: ''Leningrad Cowboys'' - '' Total Balalaika S ...

for further details. The song, ''Listen'', takes full advantage of Eliseev's

capability. According to Eliseev's apparent age in the screenshot, he was probably born in the 1920s and spent his early career in World War II: a time of great hardship for the general populace. Music was a great solace for the troops and the people, and the Alexandrovs felt the need to produce a full range of

compositions Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature * Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

. They needed

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

s for their choir and soloists, but were not permitted them. Eliseev filled a need for a beautiful and highly trained voice, to allow not just extended chords for drama and pathos in the video, but chords to provide a beauty and spiritual dimension in the arrangement of ''Listen'', in which a political prisoner voices his dreams of Outside. Just as the spiritual dimension of the song appears to reach through the music to beyond the studio, so this singer appears to be conscious of a level beyond himself, as seen in the screenshot, and as heard in his ethereal upper register.

Vladimir Fyodorov

The only

that the Ensemble ever had. With the

he recorded: ''Bandura'' duet with Nikolai Polozkov (1956).CD: EMI: Soviet Army Chorus & Band, CDC-7-47833-2 DIDX-1015, "Bandura".CD: EMI Classics: Red Army Ensemble, 0946-3-92030-2-4, "Bandura".

Stanislav Ivanovich Frolov

Stanislav Ivanovich Frolov (Russian: Станислав Иванович Фролов), magnificent Russian

(from GABTa). Ten years after graduation he worked as a film camera operator. He was then admitted to the State Music School in the

Komi-Zyryan Autonomous Oblast Komi-Zyryan Autonomous Oblast ( Komi: Коми (Зыряна) асвеськӧдлан обласьт, ''Komi (Zyryana) asves’ködlan oblas’t'') created on 22 August 1921. It is one of several autonomous oblasts that existed in the Russian SFS ...

. From 1960 to 1962 he was employed by the

Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people *Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...

Academy Theatre, then from 1964 to 1967 by the Belarusian Opera and Ballet. He joined the

in Moscow as soloist, and in 1970 joined their tour to Japan. He joined the

in 1976, and was part of its tour to Japan in the same year. With the

he recorded ''Great October Holiday'' (music: Boris Alexandrov; lyrics: S. Bencken), ''Song of the Dnieper'' (music: M. Fradkin; music: E. Dolmatovskaya), ''The Red Cavalry'' (Civil War song: D. Pokrass), ''Song of the Fatherland'', ''Song of the Golden Calf'' from the opera ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

'' (1995), ''Soldiers' Song'' (1983).

Valery Gavva

(Russian: Валерий Гавва), fine Russian

. (b.

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: Names of European cities in different languages (C–D), cities' alternat ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, 1947). He is descended from an old

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

family. He attended the Industrial University of

Rostov Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population: While t ...

, and did military service in the

Ural Ural may refer to: *Ural (region), in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural Mountains, in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural (river), in Russia and Kazakhstan * Ual (tool), a mortar tool used by the Bodo people of India *Ural Federal District, in Russia *Ural econ ...

s. After that, he studied music at the University of

in Ukraine. After graduating, he became an operatic soloist. In 1987 he joined the

Ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus * ''En ...

as a

soloist, and became

. He did a 1996 tour to Japan with the National Opera Theatre of

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, singing in

's opera''

Boris Godunov Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...

''. He broadcast with the Don Cossack Choir, and recorded in 1994 and 1995. In 2002 he performed with the Moscow Radio and Television Choir in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. With the

he recorded ''Treasured Stone'' (music: B. Mokrousov; lyrics A. Zharov), ''Poem of the Ukraine'' (music: Alexander Alexandrov; lyrics: O. Kolychev), '' Dark Eyes'' with A. Molostov, trumpet (trad; arr. Dmitri Oleg Yachinov). He has made many more recordings.

Konstantin Grigorievich Gerasimov

Soloist of the Ensemble. (born 1912). (Russian: Константин Григорьевич Герасимов).

(1962);

soloist. After graduating from the College of Light Industry he studied singing while working as a clerk in charge of plant management. In 1936 he enlisted as an army sniper so as to be allowed into the

to get musical training and experience. In 1969 he became a leading baritone soloist. With the

he recorded ''The Death of Varyag'' (music: A. Turischev; lyrics: R. Greynts; E.Studinskaya) (1959/63), ''Barrow'' (music: V.Solovev-Sedoy; lyrics: E. Dolmatovskaya), ''Marine Guard'' (music: Y. Milutin; lyrics: V.Lebedev-Kumach), ''Moscow-Beijing'' (music: B. Muradeli; lyrics: M. Vershinin) (1950), ''We Are For Peace'' (music: S. Tulika; lyrics: A. Zharov), ''Song of the Ballistic Missile'' duet with A. Sergeev (music: S. Tulika; lyrics: M. Andronov), ''

It's a Long Way to Tipperary "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" (or "It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary") is an English music hall song first performed in 1912 by Jack Judge, and written by Judge and Harry Williams, though authorship of the song has long been disputed. It ...

'' (1956), ''Song of Japan'', ''Our Bodyguard'' duet with V.V. Puckkov (1951), ''Near the Border'', ''Song of the Military Alliance'' (1960), unknown operatic aria, ''Song of Russia'' (1960/63).

Pyotr Gluboky

Pyotr Gluboky (born

Volgograd Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

, 1947),

soloist. From 1967 to 1973 he studied at

. In 1972 he began working as a soloist at the

. He was a Glinka Competition winner in 1973, and in 1974 he won the grand prize in the

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

International Competition. He was also professor at the

. He became

. He performed as a guest soloist for the

on tours to Japan. He recorded with the

company.

Vladimir P. Gorlanov

(Russian: Владимир П. Горланов),

soloist from mid-1950s until 1960. With the

he recorded: ''Virgin Land'' (1960), ''Song of the Defence'', ''Regiment Polka'' duet with I.S. Bukreev.

Nikolai Timofeyevich Gres

Soloist of the Ensemble. Born 28 December 1920 in

Kobeliaky Kobeliaky ( uk, Кобеля́ки, ) is a city in Poltava Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kobeliaky Raion. Population: History During World War II, Kobeliaky was under German occupation from 15 September 1941 until 2 ...

; died 25 March 2003 in

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, ...

. (Russian: Николай Тимофеевич Гресь),

soloist.

(1966). During World War II he sustained an injury resulting in a brain contusion. From 1946 he was a soloist of the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

Ensemble. From 1955 to 1963 he was a soloist of the

, and his debut with the Bolshoi was 11 February 1956 in Moscow. He then joined the

until 1973. After leaving the Ensemble he worked briefly in Moscow teaching automobile engineering, then moved to Simferopol in the Ukraine, where he became an administrator in the Simferopol Philharmonic Society. In his last years he suffered poor health and died suddenly in hospital at Simferopol. Some newspaper and magazine articles about Gres are listed at Slovari Yandex. In 2001 in the Crimea a biography of Gres was published under the title ''The whole life with a song'' (Всю жизнь – с песней), by I.Turchin (И. Турчин). With the

he recorded ''I was going back from Berlin'' (music: I. Dunaevsky; lyrics: L. Oshanin) (1966), ''The Birch Tree'' (1965) , ''Truth of the Century'' (1970), ''The River Flows'' (1963), ''French Marching Song'' (Походная) lyrics by E.Mugel (1963), ''My Friends'' (duet with A.S. Sibirtsev), and ''Let us remember, comrades'' (duet with A.S. Sibirtsev 1960s, music A.V.Alexandrov, lyrics S.Alymov), ''When I go to the quick river'' (Как пойду я на быструю речку) (1955), ''The Grey Cuckoo'' (1965), ''Obelisks'' (music: Smolsky; lyrics: Yasen) or Обелиски (Д. Смольский – М. Ясень) (1966), ''The Song of the Headman'' from the opera ''The Night of May'' by Rimsky-Korsakov or Песня про Голову из оперы "Майская ночь" (Н. Римский – Корсаков) (1955; 1967), ''I Have Travelled the Whole Universe'' (1969), also known as ''I wandered through the world'', the part of Sobinin in ''Ivan Susanin'' (Life of the Tsar) opera by Glinka. He also recorded ''Soviet Flag'' (music: B.A. Alexandrov; lyrics: P.Arsky (П. Арский)) (1969), and ''Fanikuli-Fanikula'' (1969).

Critical commentary on a music video featuring Nikolai Gres

(see screenshot right): Gres sings ''The Birch Tree'' on the music video ''Soviet Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble'' This is a

late medieval The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

composition about a man sitting under a birch tree, whittling and thinking of women. It is usually categorised as a

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

as the name of the composer has been lost. However it is clearly a professional composition of a quality comparative to those of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

Northern European composers of

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

songs, such as Dufay and

Binchois Gilles de Bins dit Binchois (also Binchoys; – 20 September 1460) was a Franco-Flemish composer of early Renaissance music. A central figure of the Burgundian School, Binchois and his colleague Guillaume Du Fay were deeply influenced by the ' ...

. This performance is part of the history of the

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...

revival movement. In the 19th century, rediscovered

, along with

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

, was usually arranged to be performed in the grand orchestral or Italian operatic style. However, such music had always survived in

church music Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The onl ...

, in one form or another, and people were used to hearing it performed in the style of traditional European church

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

s: no

vibrato Vibrato (Italian language, Italian, from past participle of "wikt:vibrare, vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch (music), pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. ...

; pure and clear tone; adjusting the voice production to the

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

of the building. In

, the building was always the secondary

soundbox A sound box or sounding box (sometimes written soundbox) is an open chamber in the body of a musical instrument which modifies the sound of the instrument, and helps transfer that sound to the surrounding air. Objects respond more strongly to vibr ...

for the vocal instrument (the

nasal cavity The nasal cavity is a large, air-filled space above and behind the nose in the middle of the face. The nasal septum divides the cavity into two cavities, also known as fossae. Each cavity is the continuation of one of the two nostrils. The nasal c ...

being the first). From the 1950s, early music performance reverted to this

ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor