Most musical cultures seem to embrace the accordion in their folk tradition: the Polish Polka, the French Musette, the Argentinian Tango, the Bulgarian Horo – the list goes on. For my part, while enjoying all of the various traditions, I feel a strong connection to the accordion folk music of Russia. It was in Russia that the first accordion instruments were invented, and, through the following century, improved – gradually evolving into the most advanced instrument of the accordion family, the “bayan“ (a word known from ancient Russian legends, meaning “troubadour”).

The bayan holds a great place in Russian musical life. The first concertos were written in Russia, and some of the most prestigious composers in both folk and contemporary music have written important works for the instrument.

As early as the 19th century Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky used the instrument in his Orchestral Suite No.2 (1883), including four accordions in the scherzo movement. The instrument of that time, however, had a very poor sound, was technically primitive and could add only a little colour to the orchestration.

Half a century later, the great Russian composer Sergey Prokofiev made a similar attempt, including a bayan ensemble in his Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution.

Being perhaps the most lyrical of all chord instruments, the accordion/bayan seems naturally suited to solo arrangements of melancholy Russian folk songs. Many of the most gifted composers and arrangers of folk music in Russia have contributed to a huge quantity of arrangements and pieces based on or inspired by Russian folk songs. On this CD I have collected a selection of these works, mixed with my own transcriptions of miniatures by musical giants such as Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev.

Tracklist:

TRAD. arr. IVAN YAKOVLEVICH PANITSKY (1906 -1990)
Fantasy on Oi da, Snowball Tree

TRAD arr. PYOTR PETROVICH LONDONOV (1928-1981)
Two Russian Folk Songs

VLADISLAV SOLOTARYOV (1942-1975)
Chamber Suite

ALBIN REPNIKOV (1932-2007)
Capriccio

PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) arr. BJARKE MOGENSEN
Russian Dance
Nocturne

VYACHESLAV SEMYONOV (b.1946)
Kalina Krasnaya

MODEST PETROVICH MUSSORGSKY (1839-1881) arr. BJARKE MOGENSEN
In the Village

SERGEY SERGEYEVICH PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)
March
Scherzo

ALEXANDER NA YUN KIN (b.1954)
Fantasy on Two Russian Themes

TRAD. arr. VYACHESLAV GERASIMOVICH CHERNIKOV (1947-1994)
Ei Ukhnem!

ANATOLY IVANOVICH KUSYAKOV (1945-2007)
Winter Sketches