Cossack Goes to the Danube ( Їхав козак за Дунай) 1988, sung by Anatoly Solovyanenko.
Alexandrov Ensemble 1988 UK tour. Playlist of 10 items:
http://www.youtube.com/user/riverhouse2007#g/c/7C5247F76125C45B
Conductor: Oleg Reshetkiin.
Principal conductor: Vladimir Gordeev.
Choirmaster: Grigori Novikov.
Choreographer: Lev Kulikov.
This was filmed in London 1988. The video shows a choir of up to 36; orchestra and dance troupe are the usual size, though. This was originally planned as an Alexandrov Ensemble tour including a 28-piece orchestra, 27 dancers, a choir of 56*, and 12 excellent soloists, and a soundtrack of these was recorded at the Albert Hall, London, 24-26 March 1988. However this may well have been a year of low morale for the Ensemble, between 1987 when their director B.A. Alexandrov retired, and 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell. Perhaps the Ensemble was suffering a funding crisis.
When the tour reached Leicester, the tiny but supportive audience talked of rumours of 20-25 defections by Ensemble members, and of V. Kuleshov and his own choristers stepping in to partially fill the gap. It was said that all of the Alexandrov Ensemble choir and soloists remaining after the defections had been recalled to the USSR.
* Some interesting names listed in the original choir (not seen here) were: Oleg Nikolaevich Vinogradov; Sergei Vladimirovich Nikitin; Nikolai Sergeevich Polozkov, but it is not known whether they were related the famous soloists.
The only soloist to appear at Leicester on the evening when I attended was Alexandr Berezniak, a comedian. He was warmly received by the audience.
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Much of the above information was taken from the packaging of the 1988 recordings, as sold in the UK. However these were printed before the defections, and I understand that the performances were given by the Academic Song and Dance Ensemble of the Moscow Military District (MBO).
LYRICS
The song refers not to the real River Danube but to a mythical river symbolic of the transition between life and death. A Cossack soldier bravely contemplates his last battle, in which he may have to die.
UKRAINIAN LYRICS
Їхав козак за Дунай,
сказав: "Дівчино, прощай!
Ти, конику вороненький,
неси та гуляй!
"Постій, постій мій козаче,
твоя дівчина плаче,
На кого ж ти покидаєш,
тільки подумай!".
Приспів:
Лучше було б, лучше було б не ходить,
Лучше було б, лучше було б не любить,
Лучше було б, лучше було б та й не знать,
Чим тепер, чим тепер забувать. (весь куплет 2)
Вийшла, руки заломивши
I тяженько заплакавши:
"Як ти ж мене покидаєш,
тільки подумай!"
"Білих ручок не ламай,
ясних очей не стирай,
Мене з війни із славою
к собі ожидай".
Приспів
"Не хочу я нікого,
тільки тебе одного,
Ти здоров будь, мій миленький,
а все пропадай".
Свиснув козак на коня:
"Оставайся здорова!
Як не згину, то вернуся
через три года!"
ENGLISH LYRICS
The Cossack rides to the Danube
He says: "My Sweetheart, good bye!"
I ride my horse,
And go forward."
"Wait, wait, Cossack,
Your girlfriend is crying,
How can you leave her,
Just think about it."
Refrain:
Maybe, maybe it's better not to leave,
Maybe, maybe it's better not to love,
Maybe, maybe it's better not to know each other
And now, and now is time to forget each other. (x2)
She waves her hand
And tears begin to fall
"How can you leave me?
Just think about it."
"Don't let your snowy hands get wet,
Don't rub your bright eyes.
From the glorious war
I shall return."
"I do not want anyone
But only you.
Take care, my sweetheart,
I wish you luck. "
The riding Cossack whistles:
"You must take care!
Wait for my triumph;
I return in three years! "
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