On a Personal Note (3)

Dear reader,

I know it’s been awhile since I last wrote (over two weeks), but I don’t think I need to explain how life can get busy and one can slip away from commitments and get sucked into mundane daily activities! So I slipped – no need to make excuses about it. But there was something really wonderful that happened during this time that I want to share with you.

I heard an announcement on my favorite local radio station, classical KUSC, about a concert. A concert of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery Choir. It caught my attention immediately, because I am familiar with the liturgical chants of the Orthodox church, my native Bulgaria also being Christian Orthodox. And it is beautiful music! So I immediately decided to go.

What I wasn’t prepared for was all the Russian folk songs and popular war songs from the 20th century. Songs I grew up listening to (like most socialist countries of the Eastern block from 20 years ago). It wasn’t just that the music was amazing, which it was! And it wasn’t just that the performance was stunning – oh, so full of passion! And it wasn’t just that it brought me memories from childhood. It was also that it reconnected me with something I didn’t know I missed – a song tradition, an expression of the Russian soul – so close in many ways to my Eastern temperament.

So I’d like to share some of it with you. I don’t have audio or video here yet, but here are two YouTube clips that I found. The first one is the traditional church chant and singing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyREJRz8wNI&feature=related

The second one is a famous Russian song, that became a favorite of mine after hearing them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOneK7tJWEc

I hope you enjoy them as well.