Page 32 - CJMarch_April25

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

adventures in the lives of ordi-
nary soldiers. The music is of-
ten punctuated with sounds of
loud whistling, raucous laughter,
and exuberant yells. The “Song
of Ataman [General] Platoff”
exemplifies the celebration of
a great victory against Napo-
leon. 41

Accessing the Arrangements
Unfortunately, hardly any
scores of Jaroff’s arrangements
are available for perusal or per-
formance, and the situation re-
garding them is complex. There
is an official successor choir in
Germany called the “Don Ko-
saken Chor Serge Jaroff,” led
by Wanja Hlibka, who was the
youngest of Jaroff’s choristers
during the last years of his ca-
reer. Hlibka now has custody
of hundreds of Jaroff’s manu-
scripts, and since he uses them
in concert, would have a propri-
etary interest in them. 42
Only two sets of Jaroff’s ar-
rangements appear to have
ever been published (listed be-
low), and these scores are rare.
According to the WorldCat
database, which shows library Photo 3. Song of Ataman Platoff manuscript from www.russian-records.com.
holdings worldwide, only about
fifteen libraries own copies. This author works in one Cossack Choir conducted by Serge Jaroff], ed. Issay
of these research libraries. Dobrowen. Berlin: Don Cossacks [sic] Choir, 1927.

1. Album of Russian folk songs, from the repertoire of It is revealing to compare the arrangements to extant
Don Cossack chorus under the direction of Serge Jaroff, ed. recordings. In print, the arrangements look far simpler
Constantin Shvedoff. New York: C. & C. Music than Jaroff’s complex performance practices suggest,
Printing Corp., 1938. with few dynamic or tempo markings. A few images of
his manuscripts are online and make it possible to listen
43
2. Популярныя русския народныя песни изъ репертуара with scores (Photo 3).
Донского Казачьяго Хора регент Сергей Жаровъ, [Popu- Such sparse written detail makes it clear that the nu-
lar Russian folk songs from the repertory of the Don ances of his interpretations, which were impossible to

30 CHORAL JOURNAL March/April 2025 Volume 65 Number 7