Osipov State Russian Folk Orchestra – Balalaika Favorites (180g LP)

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Vinyl lovers like those from Speakers Corner can lament about how difficult it can be to dig up audio treasures and enhance them to make them as fresh and new. A good master tape and precise cutting is of prime importance, of course. But a collector’s heart will also miss a beat when taking a look at the original cover. Record dealers know this only too well and demand a high price for rare original recordings, as though they were dealing in gold.

The rarer the recording, the more expensive it comes. In order to close the gap between the demand for coveted LPs and the potential for speculation with such productions, Speakers corner are re-releasing a number of first-class recordings by Mercury and Decca. All the titles appeared in their catalog but were sold out years ago.

Romantic Russian melodies are conjured up on their instruments by excellent balalaika players in the recording “Balalaika Favorites” – this is a recording which has achieved cult status and it is hard to find a better choice of music or performance.

The balalaika is not a difficult instrument to describe: it has a triangular body, three strings and a fretted neck. It is far more difficult to describe the inherent values of this national instrument, of which there is a whole family with sizes ranging from the piccolo and alto to the bass and double bass. Accordingly a wide variety of timbral colouring can be achieved, which together with a broad repertoire is exploited to the full by a traditional ensemble such as the Osipov Orchestra.

With their performances of arrangements of well-known, romantic Russian pieces, popular adaptations and waltzes, this professional orchestra gives us an insight into the spirited and highly entertaining world of a living musical culture. No different from a classical orchestra, the arrangements are rich in soloistic interludes. Alongside the domra, an instrument with three or four strings, we hear a xylophone, ancient wind instruments and the sonorous, rippling bajan (button accordion).

This recording goes back to the roots of Russian music and rightly occupies an important position in Speaker Corner’s Russian Edition.

Features:

• 180g Virgin Vinyl
• High Quality Pressing
• Pure Analogue Audiophile Mastering

ID: Mercury – SR-90310, Mercury – SR 90310, Speakers Corner Records – SR 90310