Russian Gypsy Soul
$36.99

Another of the fine Network series of world music. Vertical format double CD pack with two and a half hours of recordings and a lavishly illustrated booklet.

From the record label:
Russian Gypsy Soul is the first anthology ever to present Russian Gypsy music so comprehensively in all its diversity. To listen is to plumb the depths of the Russian soul, for in few other countries has the music of the Gypsies gained such widespread popularity. This is hardly surprising, given that the Gypsies adopted so many Russian folk songs and melodies, and imbued them with unprecedented emotional intensity.

Unknown in the west, the Siberian Gypsies under Victor Busilyov perform a broad spectrum of nomad music, both elegiac and wild, that takes us back to a long vanished era. This double album also presents the consummate virtuosity of urban Gypsy music recalling the famous Romance Theater of Moscow, and runs the gamut of hybrid forms that have emerged between these two main poles of Russian Gypsy music. Painstakingly edited, the collection includes choirs singing Roma hymns, filigree violin performances by the famous group Loyko -- featuring some tracks released here for the first time -- and the sheer wizardry of fiddler Sergeij Erdenko paying homage to his friend Yehudi Menuhin, not to mention the groups Jelem, Ilo, and Arbat. There are also contributions by Sasha Kolpakov of the Kolpakov Trio, master of the seven-string guitar, the famous tenor Nikolai Erdenko with the ensemble Jung, and the delightful voices of Valentina Ponomareva, Lilya Erdenko, Natasha Bysilyova, Lilya Shishkova, Rosa Erdenko, Lilya Limanskaya with their respective ensembles Trio Romen, Jelem, Rosy na snegu and Jung.

Most of the tracks on this remarkable collection are released here for the first time. Like the other Network anthologies, this double album is in vertical book format and comes with a lavishly illustrated booklet.

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