Valentina Levko Star of the Bolshoi
Valentina Levko was another in the glorious line of Russian 20th-century contraltos who in some ways defined the sound of Russian opera for ears, both Eastern and Western, which were often discovering the rich tradition of Russian opera for the first time through recordings. Levko's name, however, unlike compatriots such as Elena Obratzova, never travelled as far or as well. Committed to her contract at the Bolshoi, she spurned several opportunities to make a name for herself in the West, with the lucrative recording contracts that would surely have followed. And yet hers was, as this important set reveals, a voice and dramatic presence firmly in the mould of greats of the past such as Zara Dolukhanova.
The set is carefully curated by themes, thereby revealing Levko's remarkable versatility. Arias from Bolshoi classics by Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky sit alongside Western operas by Ponchielli, Verdi and others; her ability to scale her voice to an intimate environment results in warmly idiomatic recordings of art song by Schubert, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. The pleasure she took in the popular song of her own country also resulted in many recordings with the Ossipov Folk Orchestra, but her facility extended to folk songs of many languages, as the last CD reveals. Perhaps most remarkably of all, the first CD reveals a natural interpreter of Bach and Handel.
An extensive booklet note discusses her life and career; for anyone interested in Russian voices, this set will be essential.
Other information:
- A true discovery for many western ears: Valentina Levko, star contralto of the Bolshoi!
- This set features an unrivalled breadth of recordings: Levko in a wide variety of repertoire, ranging from moving Baroque arias by Bach and Handel, through the art songs of Schubert and Brahms, towards great opera scenes from Prince Igor, Ruslan & Ludmilla, Ivan Susanin, Queen of Spades, Rossini, Verdi, the songs of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, and a superb collection of Russian folk songs.
- "In a career of 50 years, I have rarely encountered such a voice, rounded, youthful, with an uncommon timbre and astonishing warmth" , thus said the legendary Sol Hurok, one of the most famous American Impresarios, who introduced Valentina Levko in the New York Met. Although she frequently toured the world, her real home was Russia, where she reigned for more than 40 years, and 25 years as the star contralto of the Bolshoi Theatre.
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Kategorie:
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Filmy i muzyka
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Język wydania:
angielski
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EAN:
5029365940627
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Wymiary:
13.0x13.0cm
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Waga:
0.30kg
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Nośniki:
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#1: Songs
(CD Audio)
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1. No.2 Seguidilla Murciana (01:17)
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2. Geistliches Wiegenlied Op.91 No.2 (06:23)
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3. Gretchen am Spinnrade D118 (03:39)
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4. No.4 Jota (03:14)
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5. No.5 Nana (01:53)
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6. No.2 Ay, majo de mi vida, no, no, tu no has muerto (02:36)
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7. Im Frühling D882 (04:05)
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8. Ave Maria D839 (05:10)
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9. Ouvre ton coeur a l'amour (02:35)
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10. Die Forelle D550 (02:22)
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11. Echo (03:12)
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12. Elégie (03:30)
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13. No.7 Polo (01:44)
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14. Gestillte sehnsucht Op.91 No.1 (06:43)
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15. Tango (02:50)
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16. Si vous amez (04:17)
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17. No.1 Oh, muerte cruel! (02:47)
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18. No.1 El pano moruno (01:26)
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19. Aufenthalt (04:02)
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20. No.6 Canción (01:23)
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21. No.3 Asturiana (02:29)
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22. E se un giorno tornasse (03:04)
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23. Erlkönig D328 (04:23)
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24. No.3 De aquel majo amante (03:52)
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#2: Baroque Arias
(CD Audio)
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1. Henry Purcell When I am laid in earth (03:57)
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2. Du lieber Heiland du...Buss und Reu (06:06)
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3. Dignare (03:06)
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4. Johann Sebastian Bach Erbarme dich (07:42)
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5. Giovanni Battista Bononcini Vado ben spesso (03:36)
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6. Ombra mai fu (04:17)
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7. Qui sedes (05:44)
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8. Agnus dei (07:07)
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9. Alessandro Parisotti Se tu m'ami
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10. Lascia ch'io pianga (06:07)
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11. Degg'io morir, o stelle (07:01)
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12. Bereite dich Zion (05:29)
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13. Alessandro Stradella Pieta (08:32)
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14. Andrea Falconieri Bella rosa (02:30)
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15. Leonardo Vinci Confusa, smarrita (04:54)
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#3: Russian Opera Arias
(CD Audio)
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1. Ratmir's Aria (Ruslan and Ludmila, Act 3) (11:19)
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2. Romance of Ratmir (Ruslan and Ludmila, Act 5) (07:28)
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3. Lyubasha's Song (The Tsar's Bride Act 1) (04:39)
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4. Is that you, my Vladimir? (Duet of Konchakovna and Vladimir) (05:46)
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5. The daylight dies (Konchakovna's Cavatina) (06:01)
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6. O mysterious forces (Marfa's Prophecy -- Khovanshchina, Act 2) (05:29)
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7. Third song of Lel (The Snow Maiden) (03:34)
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8. Vanya's Aria (Ivan Susanin, Act 4) (07:30)
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9. Countess's Scene (The Queen of Spades, Act 2) (07:10)
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10. Lyubasha's Aria (03:23)
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11. Scene of Lubasha and Gryaznoy (The Tsar's Bride Act 2) (08:35)
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12. A girl went out walking in the fields and marshes (Marfa's aria -- Khovanshchina, Act 3) (04:08)
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13. Varangian Ballad (Rogneda, Act 4) (03:12)
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#4: Opera arias and songs
(CD Audio)
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1. Ah, quel giorno ognor rammento (Semiramide, Act 1) (07:01)
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2. Habanera (Carmen) (04:10)
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3. Stride la vampa (Il trovatore, Act 2) (03:04)
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4. Shepherd Boy (02:48)
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5. Amour! Viens aider ma presence (04:22)
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6. Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix (05:56)
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7. Printemps qui commence (05:21)
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8. Quella fiamma che m'accende (05:04)
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9. Voce di donna o di angelo (La Gioconda, Act 1) (04:07)
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10. Plaisir d'amour (de Florian) (04:12)
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11. Amour! Viens aider ma presence (04:49)
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12. Song of the Rose (06:04)
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13. Ombra felice K255 (07:40)
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14. O Mensch, gib acht (Symphony No.3 -- Nietzsche, in Russian) (08:21)
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15. Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix (05:51)
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#5: Songs by Rachmaninov
(CD Audio)
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1. You took all I had away Op.26 No.2 (Tyutchev) (01:15)
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2. For long there has been little consolation in love Op.14 No.3 (Fet) (01:42)
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3. The Waterlily Op.8 No.1 (Heine, trans. Plescheyev) (01:45)
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4. The migrant wind Op.34 No.4 (Balmont) (02:56)
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5. Twilight Op.21 No.3 (Guiot, trans. Tkhorzhevsky) (02:12)
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6. Oh, do not grieve Op.14 No.8 (Apukhtin) (03:14)
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7. Night is mournful Op.26 No.12 (Bunin) (02:31)
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8. Oh no, I beg you, forsake me not Op.4 No.1 (Merezhkovsky) (02:06)
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9. Brooding Op.8 No.3 (Plescheyev, from Taras Shevchenko) (03:33)
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10. Before the Icon Op.21 No.10 (Golenischev-Kutuzov) (04:03)
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11. A Prayer Op.8 No.6 (Heine, trans. Plescheyev) (03:25)
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12. The Isle Op.14 No.2 (Balmont, after Shelley) (02:21)
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13. Believe me not, friend Op.14 No.7 (Tolstoy) (01:49)
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14. The Ring Op.26 No.14 (Koltsov) (03:35)
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15. In the silence of the secret night Op.4 No.3 (Fet) Songs by Rachmaninov (02:49)
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16. Night (Rathauz) (03:41)
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17. She is as lovely as the noon Op.14 No.9 (Minsky) (02:54)
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#6: Songs by Tchaikovsky
(CD Audio)
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1. The sun has faded Op.73 No.4 (Rathauz) (02:11)
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2. Reconciliation Op.25 No.1 (Scherbina) (05:13)
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3. Does the day reign? Op.47 No.6 (Apukhtin) (03:21)
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4. Night (The candle is flickering) Op.73 No.2 (Rathauz) (03:40)
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5. The cornfields yellow Op.57 No.2 (Tolstoy) (03:20)
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6. No, only one... Op.6 No.6 (Goethe, trans. Mey) (03:10)
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7. If only I had known Op.47 No.1 (Tolstoy) (04:54)
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8. Amid the din of the ball Op.38 No.3 (Tolstoy) (02:21)
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9. He loved me so Op.28 No.4 (Girarden, trans. Apukhtin) (03:21)
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10. Serenade Op.63 No.6 (Romanov) (03:14)
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11. Not a word, Oh my friend Op.6 No.2 (Gartman, trans. Plescheyev) (03:30)
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12. We sat together Op.73 No.3 (Rathauz) (02:59)
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13. Was I not a blade of grass? Op.47 No.7 (Surikov) (06:05)
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14. A Gypsy's song Op.60 No.7 (Polonski) (03:15)
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#7: Popular Russian songs
(CD Audio)
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1. I loved you (Pushkin) (03:27)
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2. The Old Husband (Gipsy song after Pushkin) (02:21)
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3. And this world has no eyes (02:13)
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4. Girl's Sorrow (Koltsov) (04:30)
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5. Russian Carriage-and-Three (Viazemsky) (02:36)
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6. Reminder (05:56)
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7. Song of Ilinichna (Music for a Tragedy by Nestor Kukolnik 'Count Kholmski') (01:53)
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8. Red Sarafan (Tsyganov) (03:31)
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9. Oh, do not kiss me (01:33)
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10. Oh, if I had known (Gypsy Song -- Dmitriev) (04:57)
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11. I loved him (Koltsov) (02:56)
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12. I feel sorry for you (03:09)
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13. Do not scold me (Razorenov) (03:54)
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14. Do not stir up memories (Davidov) (04:23)
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15. The Little Bell (F. Glinka) (03:11)
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16. Embrace me, kiss me (Koltsov) (02:36)
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#8: Old Russian romances
(CD Audio)
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1. Elegy (Delvig) (04:21)
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2. Stars in the sky (Diterikhs) (03:45)
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3. Bright is the night (Prigozhy) (03:57)
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4. Morning's fog (Turgenev) (03:53)
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5. I remember the evening (Zhandr) (01:52)
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6. Prayer (Lermontov) (03:23)
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7. Why does the heart beat so loud? (03:30)
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8. I shall tell you nothing (Fet) (02:35)
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9. No, not you ardently I love (Lermontov) (04:53)
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10. All is quiet (Tolstaya) (03:07)
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11. Not for nothing I was afraid meeting you (03:32)
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12. Step away (03:12)
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13. Gate (Obukhov) (04:22)
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14. No, he didn't love me (04:04)
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15. The plane-trees are slumbering (Meisels) (03:45)
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#9: 20-th century Russian songs
(CD Audio)
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1. Song of Love (03:50)
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2. Song about the Beaver (03:23)
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3. Be the One (03:41)
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4. May I tell you something (04:36)
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5. The Motherland readied its son (03:06)
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6. No.1 Sufferings of love (02:50)
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7. Song of Words (03:07)
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8. Ancient Russian Fortress (03:38)
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9. Sleeping mountains (04:37)
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10. In deep dark woods (03:00)
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11. Vocalise (02:17)
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12. No.4 A smoke of Fatherland (02:50)
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13. Serenade from Ruy Blas (02:27)
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14. No.3 Exile (03:11)
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15. Russian Song (03:28)
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16. Snowfall (03:04)
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17. Song of a young mother (05:56)
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18. No.2 Be afraid of black eyes (02:11)
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19. Three Octaves (Gamzatov) dedicated to Valentina Levko (06:27)
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20. The Years Fly (03:16)
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21. Reminiscence (03:04)
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22. Incantation of Water and Fire (02:28)
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23. Ocean -- Sea (02:48)
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#10: Russian folk songs
(CD Audio)
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1. Green Grove (03:54)
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2. Belilitzi, rumyanitzi (04:05)
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3. Lost roads (03:35)
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4. My sweet dreams (03:37)
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5. Over the fields (Roslavlev) (02:11)
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6. Lost among high wheat (04:53)
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7. Walled till dark (03:19)
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8. A dark cherry shawl (04:17)
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9. Why do you sit up until midnight? (03:29)
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10. Don't blame me (03:36)
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11. The Old Lime Tree (04:51)
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12. Remember as I a young girl was (04:54)
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13. Matushka-matushka (02:41)
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14. Across blue skies the clouds drift (05:16)
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15. Why are you looking at the road? (04:01)
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16. Oh, you wide steppes (04:22)
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17. Bush of a guelder-rose at a valley (04:36)
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#11: Folk songs from aroun the world
(CD Audio)
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1. Neapolitan tarantella (02:13)
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2. Havana Song (03:41)
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3. Marosh (02:32)
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4. Malaguena (03:08)
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5. Waters ripple and flow (03:03)
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6. On Alpine slopes Austrian folk song (03:10)
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7. Il bacio (03:17)
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8. The Hunter (02:25)
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9. La spagnola (03:58)
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10. Cranes fly (03:25)
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11. Black fan (01:38)
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12. Tirol tango (03:11)
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13. No, I regret nothing (03:47)
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14. Lorsque tout est fini (03:54)
