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SERGE JAROFF’S DON COSSACK CHOIR: A TREASURE FROM THE RUSSIAN DIASPORA

Photo 1. Screenshot from the 1956 German movie Das Don Kosaken Lied showing the choir in concert.

Once he became a famous conductor, his strict con- sical music. A beloved example is Grigory Lvovsky’s
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trol of his Cossack giants fascinated concertgoers. The “Господи, помилуй” [Gospodi pomilui], “Lord Have
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choristers always dressed in austere Cossack uniforms mercy.”
like the ones they had worn in battle, and they always Next came Russian folk and traditional music, which
took the stage in strict military formation.Master show- Jaroff arranged in the style of art songs. Their lyrical

men, they made this setup very popular (Photo 1). beauty was moving, and over the years several be-
came popular in concert and on records. “однозвучно
гремит колокольчик” [Odnozvuchno gremit kolokol-
The Choir’s Repertoire chik], known in English as “Monotonously Rings the
and Technique Little Bell,” is one of the best loved. 17
In their concerts and recordings, the Don Cossacks Last on the program were Cossack military songs.
always sang in Russian. Their repertoire would have Some were serious and others light-hearted, but all were
been familiar in Russia, but to their international au- highly energetic and sometimes included wild Cossack
dience, it was something new. The initial concert for- dances. They provided a rousing finale to their per-
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mat worked so well that it never changed. First came formances, and audiences demanded encores. It is re-
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Russian liturgical music that Jaroff adapted for classical markable in the annals of reception history that such
performance by making it far more emotionally expres- unusual musical programs captivated large audiences of
sive than would have been considered appropriate for professional musicians, music critics, and ordinary citi-
church services. Some devout Orthodox worshipers zens worldwide for over half a century.
found fault with him for presenting their sacred music The Don Cossacks’ profound expressiveness and tech-
in such a manner, but in concert it was effective as clas- nical brilliance combined to render barriers of language

CHORAL JOURNAL March/April 2025 Volume 65 Number 7 27