VLADIMIR MININ:
"CHORAL SINGING NOWADAYS IS NOT POPULAR... "
ACTUAL INTERVIEW
text - Eugenia Êrivitskaya
The glorified Moscow chamber choir under baton of Vladimir Minin celebrated its 35th anniversary. The repertoire of choir covers all possible epochs and styles: from one hand – the earliest samples of Russian choral music, from the other - compositions by S.Taneev, S.Rakhmaninov, G.Sviridov. Especially for Minin's choir such a masterpiece of modern domestic music as "The Bells" was composed by V.Gavrilin. Recently the choristers presented to the public the Russian premiere of Oratorio «Little Imber» by G.Kancheli. The jubilee concert in the Big hall of Moscow Conservatory broadcasted all over the country by the TV-channel "Culture" has reminded us of the choir cooperation with outstanding variety performers: Joseph Kobzon, Elena Kamburova... Conductor Vladimir Minin tells to our readers how the Moscow chamber choir lives today and what is the state of Russian choral music:
- Vladimir Nikolaevich, how could you characterize the creative "face" of the Moscow chamber choir?
- It seems to me that our specific feature reflects first of all in our singing manner in which choristers as if address directly to each person of the audience. I search for the sense intonation which should penetrate into the soul of each person. The approach to the choir as a team of personalities was always very important for me. All my life I had been aspiring to prove, that the choir which became during Soviet time the synonym of lack of talent, is a very fine art, especially if it is a chamber choir. I am not against big choirs: but these are two different organisms, each of which has its own repertoire, its own stylistic.
- Your choir was established in 1972 and then only students and teachers of Institute named after the Gnessins’ sang in it. If anybody from the first staff is still with you?
- No, during 35 years of Chamber choir activity three generations of musicians were relieved. Nowadays the professional vocalists and choir conductors sing in our choir, and such symbiosis yields good results.
- Do you complain sometimes regarding the choir performance: the pronunciation of words was not clear, they sang muffledly ?
- Let’s say, in the Taneev's composition where polyphony predominates, the music will be ahead of words. But in homophonic style where there is a vertical, the text must be understood absolutely. We have to work a lot to achieve the real choir ensemble. If one chorister has started earlier, another - later, in this case there is a feeling of muffled articulation. Long rehearsal work is needed to get so called "the feeling of neighbor’s shoulder".
- Your choir "made a name "first of all as the interpreter of Russian sacred music. How do you think, is it possible to perform spiritual compositions as samples of pure art?
- I think, yes. If music is performed with passion and conviction it will lose nothing, to the contrary, it will win. On the stage of concert hall music gets the greater space to sound, but in a church where liturgical canons are obligatory music is performed due to these limitations.
- Have your choir ever took part in divine services?
- Very seldom. In Europe we performed in cathedrals, sometimes we participated in Catholic service, performing the Orthodox Church chanting. Twice we performed at the Uspensky cathedral in Kremlin during the divine service served by the Patriarch of all Russia. That is all.
- What do you think regarding inclusion of orthodox music in concert programs?
- I do not see the big sense in singing it on the stage. When this music was interdicted then it was necessary to perform it. By the way, that time the public just rushed on such concerts. We aspired, that people realized, that they were not born on the asphalt in 1917 but they belonged to thousand-year old Culture of Russia which was born long before Mikhail Glinka. At all my respect for this composer, I should say that Russian music began long time before him! Now, when the Orthodox chanting freely sounds in any church, it is better to listen to it there.
- Yes, now all is authorized. But there are some voices insisting that there is no confidence in tomorrow's day. Do you get support from the state?
- Depends what you mean saying "the state". If you mean today's authority - no, we do not receive anything. In fact, if I understand it properly, the support is not only financial injections, but also the state understanding of the importance of national choir art today. To my regret the state is not interested in choral art. In the past the communist party wanted to demonstrate the mass character and general unity of Soviet people. On the "Red days of calendar" all sang patriotic songs. In general in the USSR the choral singing was considered being means of patriotic breeding for children and youth. How they sang it was of no importance, if only the words were "correct". Nowadays the choral singing generally is expelled from modern schools’ program. They teach letters and especially figures. I would like to stress that before the Revolution Russian children were taught not only with the letter and figure, but also with the note. Could you imagine, that in 1913 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Romanovs’ Tsar Dynasty, only the Perm' province had exposed 300 (!) amateur choirs who had sang according notes " Glorify! " from Glinka’s opera " Life for tsar "! No comments!
- Now they began to allocate the governmental grants.
- I applied with a request to include the Moscow chamber choir in the list of musical collectives submitted for the grant, but I have not received any answer. In fact in my letters I addressed to outstanding politicians of our country, to the Presidential Administration and another letter from the Patriarch of All Russia was submitted even to the President of Russian Federation! I am afraid, that his assistants have put this letter «under the cloth ".
- What seduce you to participate in operas staging?
- Choristers have got better skills, actors felt more liberated, and they can act now as characters in opera performance. And, when they come back to the usual academic environment, they sing already at a higher level.
We took part in staging of two operas "Demon" by Rubinshtein and "Khovanchina" by Musorgsky at the Zurich opera theatre. During 10 years we had been performing at the Musical festival in Bregenz (Austria) - in "Ball-masquerade" and "Troubadour" by Verdi, "Boehm" by Puccini, "The Golden Peacock" by Rimsky-Korsakov, even in the musical " Westside story " by Bernstein and in other operas. Whether it withdraws aside from singing a cappella? Yes, but I do not estimate it negatively.
- Many symphonic orchestras willingly cooperate with you.
- Yes, that is true. A cappella singing today is not so popular, and it is hardly possible to gather the full hall of public in Moscow on such a program. Our partners are as follows: the Vladimir Fedoseev's Big symphonic orchestra (one of our last work together - the concert performance of opera " The Tsar bride "); the Russian national orchestra under baton of Michael Pletnev with whom we have performed in one concert two cantatas by Taneev: "Joann Damaskin" and " After reading a psalm " (it was a lot of work!); the State orchestra under baton of Mark Gorenshtein; Vladimir Spivakov's the National philharmonic orchestra.
- I feel in your intonation, that your soul is given only to choir a cappella.
- Quite right you are. I am not attracted, for example, by the board of symphonic orchestra - for me the subtlety is important, which can be achieved more likely in a chamber choir. Frankly speaking I am happy with my work.
Source: newspaper "Cultura" No 20 (7581) of May 24-30, 2007
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