Pesniary (also spelled Pesnyary, be, Песняры, ) was a popular

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

ian

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

VIA Via or VIA may refer to the following: Science and technology * MOS Technology 6522, Versatile Interface Adapter * ''Via'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Noctuidae * Via (electronics), a through-connection * VIA Technologies, a Taiwan ...

. It was founded in 1969 by guitarist

Vladimir Mulyavin Vladimir Georgievich Mulyavin (russian: Влади́мир Гео́ргиевич Муля́вин; be, Уладзімер Георгіевіч Мулявін (Uladzimer Heorhijevič Muliavin); 12 January 1941 – 26 January 2003) was a Belaru ...

. Before 1970, the band was known under the name Liavony (Лявоны).

Style

Pesniary combined various types of music, but mostly Belarusian folklore though often with various

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

elements and later rock as well. Several of Pesniary's songs were composed by

Aleksandra Pakhmutova Aleksandra Nikolayevna Pakhmutova (russian: Александра Николаевна Пахмутова ; born 9 November 1929) is a Soviet and Russian composer. She has remained one of the best-known figures in Soviet The Soviet Union ...

. The surprising influence of early

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

was also notable.

Biography

Pesniary was one of the very few Soviet bands (and possibly the first one) to tour in America in 1976. They toured the American South with folk band

The New Christy Minstrels The New Christy Minstrels are an American large-ensemble folk music group founded by Randy Sparks in 1961. The group has recorded more than 20 albums and scored several hits, including " Green, Green", "Saturday Night", "Today", "Denver", and " ...

. After Mulyavin's death in a car accident on 26 January 2003, the original Pesniary split. About five different bands claim to be the official descendants of the original Pesniary and tour and perform original Pesniary songs. These are: * Belarusian State Ensemble Pesniary – a state-produced band under the Ministry of Culture of

, consisting mostly of young musicians. * Belorusskie Pesniari – led by former Pesniary saxophonist Uladzislau Misevich. * Pesniari – led by former Pesniary vocalist

Leanid Bartkevich Pesniary (also spelled Pesnyary, be, Песняры, ) was a popular Soviet Union, Soviet Belarusian folk music, folk rock VIA music, VIA. It was founded in 1969 by guitarist Vladimir Mulyavin. Before 1970, the band was known under the name Liavo ...

. * Liavony – the band, which split from Bartkevich’s Pesniari in 2008, consisted of young musicians, none of whom participated in Pesniary until 1998. * Until 2006, the Liavony-Pesniary ensemble existed under the direction of the classical line-up drummer Alexander Demeshko. The band broke up in 2006 in connection with his death.

Discography

The band also released dozens of singles.

Lineup

The lineup of the band changed frequently. Among the most notable and long-lived band members were: * Lyudmila Isupova (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

,1968–2003) *

(

,1968–2003)Звание заслуженного артиста БССР Владимир Мулявин получил в Чувашии
/ref> *

Valery Mulyavin The French name Valery () is a male given name or surname of Germanic origin ''Walaric'' (see Walric of Leuconay), that has often been confused in modern times with the Latin name ''Valerius''—that explains the variant spelling Valéry (). The S ...

(guitar,

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, 1968–1973) *

Leonid Bortkevich Leonid (russian: Леонид ; uk, Леонід ; be, Леанід, Ljeaníd ) is a Slavic version of the given name Leonidas. The French version is Leonide. People with the name include: *Leonid Andreyev (1871–1919), Russian playwright an ...

(vocals, 1969–1980) *

Anatoly Kasheparov Anatoly (russian: Анато́лий, Anatólij , uk, Анато́лій, Anatólij ) is a common Russian and Ukrainian male given name, derived from the Greek name ''Anatolios'', meaning "sunrise." Other common Russian transliterations are Ana ...

(vocals, 1970–1990) *

Valery Dayneka The French name Valery () is a male given name or surname of Germanic origin ''Walaric'' (see Walric of Leuconay), that has often been confused in modern times with the Latin name ''Valerius''—that explains the variant spelling Valéry (). The S ...

(vocals,

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

, 1976–1992) * Igor Penya (vocals, 1980–1998) *

Leonid Tyshko Leonid (russian: Леонид ; uk, Леонід ; be, Леанід, Ljeaníd ) is a Slavic version of the given name Leonidas. The French version is Leonide. People with the name include: *Leonid Andreyev (1871–1919), Russian playwright an ...

(

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, 1968–1981) * Vladislav Misevich (

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

, 1968–1992) * Alexander Demeshko (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, 1968–1988) * Valery Yashkin (

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a vio ...

, 1968–1977) * Vladimir Nikolayev (

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

, 1971–1980) * Cheslav Poplavsky (

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

, guitar, 1972–1979) * Anna Bortkevich guitar, 1972–1979)

References

External links