Kuban Cossack Choir
 Rospryhayte Khloptsy Koney.Harness Down Horses, Guys, a Cossack staple, performed by the Choir in Moscow, 2008. |
Kuban Cossack Chorus (Russian: Кубанский Казачий Хор, Ukrainian: Кубанський козачий хор) is one of the leading Folkloric ensembles in Russia. Its repertoire and performances reflect the songs, dances and folklore of the Kuban Cossacks.
The modern Kuban Cossack Chorus sets the date of its creation as 14 October 1811, when its predecessor, the Black Sea Host Singing Chorus (Черноморский Войсковый певческий хор), was formed. The founders of this choir were Kiril Rossinsky and regent Grigory Grechinsky. Over the next hundred years in addition to singing the Russian Orthodox Liturgy in Slavonic, the choir regularly gave public concerts throughout the Krasnodar Krai. These concerts would include classical works as well as folk songs in addition to sacred works.
In summer of 1921, under the Decossackization programme of the Bolshevik authorities, the Cossack Host was dissolved, being revived only in 1936. The choir was then headed by Grigory Kontsevich and Yakov Taranko, formally regents of the old Kuban Chorus. A year later, during the Purges, Kontsevich was arrested and then executed. The choir however continued to grow, and in 1939 with the addition of a dance group it was renamed the Ensemble of Kuban Cossack Dance (Ансамбль песни и пляски кубанских казаков). Such was the professionalisation of this and other such 'folk ensembles' under Stalin's regime that the group in effect consisted of professional musicians and dancers, graduates of Soviet music and dance schools and not necessarily of Cossack descent. During the Second World War, the group toured several fronts and performed for Red Army soldiers and particularly the Kuban Cossack regiments that served in the ranks.
...
Wikipedia