Don Cossack Choir Russia
The name “Don Cossacks” in itself reveals the origin of these very special men. The homeland of the Cossacks is situated on the banks of the Don which formed the birthplace of a great musical tradition with a history spanning more than 500 years. Although today the Don Cossacks seem inseparable from their music, the original Cossacks were not exclusively artistically inclined. The term Cossacks can be translated as “free warriors” and these legendary horsemen lived, settled and fought not only on the banks of the Don, but also on the Black Sea, in Siberia and on the banks of the Volga in the fifteenth century. The sole written records of these people have been preserved in song literature: around 4,000 songs provide evidence of the lives and suffering of these horsemen. During the last five hundred years, the Don Cossacks have exerted a significant influence: firstly on the Moscow Principality, later on the Russian Tsardom and finally on the entire Russian Empire. The Russian Revolution of 1917 brought the proud tradition of the Don Cossacks to a sudden end due to the brutal suppression of every form of cultural independence after the Bolsheviks came to power.
This also resulted in the dispersal of the Cossack community. A significant proportion of these proud people went into exile, but others stayed and were almost completely exterminated in 1919. This period also saw the birth of the legendary Don Cossacks Choir which was founded in 1921 by the unforgettable Sergey Jaroff, who had been exiled in Turkey; he conducted the choir without interruption until its disbandment in 1979. When the new political freedom under Gorbachev permitted the Don Cossacks to return to their homeland on the banks of the Don following decades of persecution, the Don Cossacks Choir was established in 1992.
The leading Dutch choral director Marcel Verhoeff was appointed to bring the choir swiftly up to top international standard, and he soon revived the bloom of the choir as in ancient times. This choir is officially known under the name Don Cossacks Choir Russia and is entirely made up of professional singers principally originating from old Cossack families from the Don, the Kuban and the Terek. All members of the choir are committed to recreating the venerable culture and traditions of the proud Cossack people.
This letter is to confirm that Don Cossack’s Chorus (Don KosakenChor Russland) is the only official Chorus at Cossack’s Society “Vsevelikoye Voisko Donskoye” by appointment of the President of Russian Federation on June 17, 1997 N 612. The aim of creating the Don Cossack’s Chorus is propagandizing of Russian and Cossack musical heritage both in Russia and abroad. Don Cossack’s Chorus (Don KosakenChor Russland) is registered in Moscow Register Chamber on December 2, 1997.
