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Module 1




Title of the piece: "Kalinka"
Performers: Yevgeny Belyaev & the Alexandrov Red Army Choir
Culture of Origin: Russia
Instrumentation: Male voice, chorus, russian traditional and western orchestral instruments (including the balalaika, the dorma, the bayan, the double bass, woodwinds, brass, and percussion instruments)

"Kalinka" is a traditional Russian folk song.  I chose this song because it is one of the most famous Russian folk songs throughout Russia and the rest of the world.  It has been performed many times.  This song in particular, could teach students how to feel the beat because each time the "Kalinka" refrain is performed, the tempo speeds up.  There is also a traditional "Kalinka" dance that goes with the song that we can teach the students.


Comments

  1. AmberdetteOctober 22, 2017 at 4:05 PM

    First of all, this was a great choice! There is so much to unpack from this piece for our students! There are immediate associations that could be drawn concerning possible instrumentation and vocal technique by middle and high schoolers in wind, string and vocal ensembles and a fun nature to the piece that would appeal to our young general music students. There is also a definitive metric pulse that would give clues to our young investigators about the cultural dance that could be associated with this piece. The cultural associations with Russian music from my youth in the 1980’s presented a much sterner and somber tone to represent the culture and this piece certainly opens a fun and lighthearted alternative to my early exposures to Russian culture during gradeschool. Thank you for sharing!

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