A Russian choir from Novi Sad took gold in a competition in Serbia.
The Heritage Chamber Choir, led by Timur Musayev, won the 62nd regional competition of amateur groups in Brom. For the conductor, who left Russia four years ago, this is further proof that the musical environment can be rebuilt, even on foreign soil.
A blank sheet or "black square".
In immigration, everything has to start from scratch. Timur Musaev compares this experience to Malevich's "Black Square": first you have to look at it closely, go inside and "wander" there for a while.
In Russia he taught at the State University of Culture and Arts in Moscow, studied baroque music, conducted and engaged in music production. In 2022 he fled to Serbia and started building his life in a new place.
And apparently, he succeeded. Choirs and orchestras from all over Wivodina performed at the Brom review. The festival has been held for more than sixty years, and of course, it is surprising that a non-Serbian choir received gold.
Not only Kalinka and Katyusha.
When creating "Heritage", Musaev wanted to introduce Russian choral music to Serbs, but at the same time not to reduce everything to a familiar set.
"The Serbs love our three songs that start with "K" -. "Kalinka", "Katyusha" and "horse", he says. "But school and experience decided that we would not sing "drinking" songs.
The choir's repertoire is varied: Tchaikovsky, Bortniansky, Tanev, the Serbian composer Stefan Mukranjak and nearby Tuhmanov, Pugacheva and Grebenshchikov. This diversity helped bring together people with different voices, tastes and singing training.
Over time, the choir stopped being exclusively Russian: Serbs also joined it. Musaev sees this as an important part of the project. Music helps where words fail.
What distinguishes the Russian team from the Serbian team is its attitude to the common goal. The conductor is confident: an amateur choir should not turn into a "sing for the soul" circle.
"Strict discipline is needed to prevent a choir of amateurs from becoming amateurs.