Studio of Authentic Folklore
Èëüèíñêàÿ ïÿòíèöà
Name: Èëüèíñêàÿ ïÿòíèöà
meaning: Elijah's Friday
recommended transcription in English: Iljinskaja pjatnica
approximate pronunciation in English: Ilyinskaya pyatnitsa
Listen pronunciation in AU format (66 Kb)
Created: November 1989
Location: Riga
Leader: Sergey Alyonkin, Natalya Alyonkina
Number of participants: 12, of them by age:
younger than 14 years: 3
from 14 to 24 years: 6
from 25 to 44 years: 1
from 45 to 64 years: 2
and by gender:
males: 2
females: 10
Forms of activity: sing, dance, play roundelays
Description:
The history of the group is counted from the moment of the first expedition.
In 1990 on the base of Riga Russian gymnasium there was created a folklore
studio, which in 1996 got name of the Studio of Authentic Folklore Èëüèíñêàÿ ïÿòíèöà.
Folk group of studio took part in more than 40 folk festivals and
science conferences in Latvia, Estonia, Russia and White Russia (Belorus).
Three times it got the first places in All-Russian review-competition of
children folk groups (1998 - in Kovrov; 1999 - in Vladimir; 2000 - in
Pushkinogorye). In May 2000 ôâò 2004 members of folk group took part in competition
Dziesmu dziedu, kâda
bija and had got high rewards. In 1999 with the
support of Latvian Funds of Culture Capital CD and audio cassette with folk
group singing were publicized and the film "Morning in the brides house.
Russian marriage in Latgalia" was made.
The name has a symbolical meaning. Elijah's Friday is the Friday before the day
of Saint Elijah, whose image, as is generally known, has got the features of
ancient Slavic God - the Thunderer. In Elijah's Friday person are prohibited to
work with hay, and Russian peasants of Latgalia often tell us the story about
a man who ignored this prohibition: "... all hay took to the shed. The day was
nice, only at the evening there was one small cloud; then the lighting struck
and everything was burnt down". The man lost the faith in "reason of
tradition", ignored it and unexpectedly, inconceivably, in defiance of
all-powerful intellect, had got punishments. The culture of people is a
complicated thing, whose architecture is not trivial, whose laws are not
obvious. As the man's goul it has got irrational character, and in the answer
of neglects takes place where you wait for it least of all. Who can count the
hay burnt because of foolishness and haughtiness?
For modern postsovietic people a folk "tradition" is the Soviet
pseudotraditional culture. They are impregnated with it to the core.
Unconsciousness is the basic character of tradition. In the last ten years the
Western "sister" of this pseudoculture came: in the new clothes, under the
thick layer of euro plaster, but it is the same shit.
The word "authentic" is possibility to distinguish the real tradition from
its imitation. It is gigantic work, but it's our life.
In our repertoir there are calendar ceremonial songs, wedding songs,
ceremonial choreography, rituals of wedding, lyric, military, recruiting
songs, sacred verses and ballads of Russian old-believers, Russian orthodoxes
and White Russians (Belorussians) from Latgalia. We also sing Russian songs
from other countries and regions.
The traditional culture is involved on other values. Studding and mastering
it you've got a chance of dialogue. It is real and earnest dialogue. Dialogue
between promptly changing modern values of our life and eternal values of
past. Only such dialogue can give the hope that your own face will appear
under the layer of make up.
Sound sample: Äà òîé, Àâñåíü! (Song of New Year's mummers) (1997)
One couplet in AU format (615 Kb)
Full song in MP3 format (840 Kb)
Address:
in Latvian:
Sergejs un Natâlija Aïonkini, Aviâcijas 9-35, Rîga, LV-1057, Latvija
in English:
Sergey and Natalya Alyonkins, Aviation str. 9-35, Riga, LV-1057, Latvia
Phone: (+371) 7135035
E-mail: olen_N@N_lpc.lv
Date of presenting the information: 11 January 2003, 10 October 2004