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The 28th All-Russian Festival "Orenburg Down Shawl" Has Ended
Results of the 28th All-Russian festival "Orenburg Down Shawl", dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Victory: participants, guests and more than 4,000 spectators.
From 27 February to 1 March, the Orenburg region hosted the 28th All-Russian Festival of Professional Folk Art "Orenburg Down Shawl". This year it was dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
The festival's organisers are the Government of the Orenburg Region, the regional Ministry of Culture and External Relations and the Orenburg Regional Philharmonic.
A tradition that has not been broken
Welcoming the participants and guests, Viktor Batezhenko, acting Minister of Culture and External Relations of the Orenburg Region, said:
– It is wonderful that the tradition has not been broken. Great people stood at the origins of this festival. The first festival was attended by People's Artist of the USSR Lyudmila Zykina – she was the first participant of the "All-Russian Down Shawl" – as well as composer Grigory Ponomarenko, who wrote the song "Orenburg Down Shawl". This year's festival is interesting because for the second time we have invited ensembles from the national republics. This time it is the Vainakh ensemble from the Chechen Republic, which knows how to preserve its traditional folk art and demonstrates it with great skill.
By tradition, the folk art showcase was opened by the hosts of the festival – the Orenburg State Academic Russian Folk Choir (artistic director Vladimir Pozdneev) with the programme "Let Us Remember, Brothers, Orenburgers". The festival's guests were the State Academic Northern Russian Folk Choir (artistic director Svetlana Ignatieva) and the State Dance Ensemble of the Chechen Republic Vainakh (acting artistic director Gapirzhan Temirkhozhiev).
The Northern Choir concert and an online broadcast
On 28 February, the concert of the Northern Russian Folk Choir was broadcast online from the hall of the Regional Philharmonic. Along with Orenburg residents, the performance of the famous ensemble could be seen by residents of the Kvarkeno, Sorochinsk and Ilek districts, who gathered in district Houses of Culture.
After the performance, the artistic director of the Northern Choir, Honoured Artist of Russia and professor of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music Svetlana Ignatieva shared her impressions:
– To come to you, we travelled more than 2,000 kilometres. Here at the festival we received a huge charge of positive and creative energy. I would also like to say that I attended the anniversary concert of the Orenburg State Academic Russian Folk Choir at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow. It was a wonderful concert.
Young performers and a brilliant finale
One of the festival's main goals is to introduce the younger generation to the traditions of Russian folk art and pass on accumulated experience to young performers. This year, for the first time, the Orchestra of Russian Folk Instruments of the N. K. Kalugin Pedagogical College, conducted by Alexander Asabin, took part in the festival. The young musicians presented an extensive programme of instrumental and vocal arrangements of folk melodies.
The brilliant finale of the showcase was the performance of the famous Vainakh ensemble. The fiery drum rhythms and swift dances captivated the audience, and the hall gave the performers a standing ovation in gratitude. This year the traditional "Orenburg Down Shawl" festival attracted more than 4,000 spectators.
About the festival
The festival dates back to 1988. It was founded by People's Artist of the USSR Lyudmila Zykina, People's Artist of the USSR composer Grigory Ponomarenko and Honoured Worker of Culture of Russia Igor Golikov, director of the Orenburg State Academic Russian Folk Choir. The festival was named after Grigory Ponomarenko's song "Orenburg Down Shawl" to lyrics by Viktor Bokov, which is rightly considered the musical symbol of the Orenburg region.
