Singing Guitars

"Singing Guitars" were born in the mid 60-ies, . When Anatoly Vasilyev (graduate choir conductor department of the Leningrad Conservatory, . last known jazzman, . in 1957-65 guitar ensemble "Friendship" by Alexander Bronevitsky) decided to develop their interest in pop music and bring the Soviet music to Western standards,
. Prospective members of the group, he selects among the graduates of music schools, and among amateur musicians. Rejecting - after a little hesitation - from the traditional pop Crooner Anatoly Korolyov, . "Singing Guitars" (Anatoly Vasiliev - guitar, . vocals; Eugene Bronevitsky, . bass, . vocals; Vladimir Kalinin - guitar, . vocals; Leo Vildavsky, . piano; Galina Baranova - vocals and Sergey Lavrovskii - drums) have tested the program on the visitors of the Black Sea holiday camps, . and in November 1966 formally presented it to one of the most popular areas of the city - in the Mechanics Institute,
. The success persuaded the young musicians that they are on the right track.

Program "The Singing Guitar" at this stage consisted of instrumental numbers and guitar arrangements of popular tunes (Polyushko-field Tachanka and t. etc) made by Vasilyev, songs by various authors, including Andrew Smith, as well as the BEATLES and other stars of beat music, and their strengths were spectacular vocal polyphony and witty theatricalization many songs. Next year and a half there was intensive formation of the repertoire of the group and its composition: Galina Baranov changed consistently Tatiana Kalinina and Elena Fedorova, . added a second keyboardist Oleg Moshkovich and trumpeter Edgar Bernstein, of the "Forest Brothers" in early 1968 came the singer Alexander Fedorov, . place Vildavskogo the summer of 1968 became a pianist and arranger Algis Paulavichus.,

. In 1968, the Moscow firm "Melody" introduced the first record of the ensemble - in fact, the first artifact of the domestic bit of music, . where the "Singing Guitars" is not so much as "singing", . but as a "game": it was based were instrumental pieces in the manner Vasilyeva and SHADOWS VENTURES and several vocal numbers, . including their first hit Twilight.,

. The summer of 1969 place Moshkovich (later worked at VIA cheerful voice ") took the keyboardist and singer, Yuri Antonov, . whose songs (I have no more beautiful than you, and others) helped to "Singing Guitar" to renew their repertoire, vocal group supplemented Valery Stupachenko and Bogdan Vivcharovsky (ex-"Friendship").,

. Changing the political and cultural climate in the Soviet Union at the turn of 60-70-ies was reflected in "The Singing Guitar"
. Group no longer recorded and performed in capitals for months touring the province. Members continued to change: in 1970, "Singing Guitars" one after another left Paulavichus, Antonov and Lavrovski (last organized frankly conformist VIA Kalinka). At the same time the group appeared strong keyboardist Gregory Kleymits, and from VIA "same age" came to a powerful rhythm section (Yuri Ivanenko - bass guitar, and Yuri "Tomato" Sokolov - drums). In creative terms, this was not the best period in their history: the only interesting number in the group's repertoire was a cover version of the song Salaspils amateur "Argonaut" in interpreting the arranger "Singing Guitar" Edward Kuzinera.

. In general, this period "Singing Guitars" retreated farther and farther from the original concept - to perform their own music or original treated
. Repertoire with time circumstantial and filled with faceless many crafts artisans from the stage, seeking to earn interest on the youth to a new genre. In essence, it is "Singing Guitars" gave an example of how the elements of rock and pop music can be used in arrangements of traditional song material. The team created a universal formula for the hundreds of VIA that appeared in the late 60's and first half of the 70-ies. Save - purely formal - the trappings of a rock band (instruments, composition, sound amplification, the collective vocals, arranger, some methods), most of VIA is hardly of interest from the artistic point of view.

. In an effort to escape from routine and their own stamps, . "Singing Guitars" in the mid 70-ies addressed the major forms, . who had returned to their success by placing first in the country's history Zong-opera "Orpheus and Euridice" (1975, . music by Alexei Zhurbina, . libretto by Yuri Dimitrina) and Flemish legend "(music by Roman Grinblat, . libretto Dimitrina and Yulia Mikhailova Kim),
. To participate in the theater group has been radically updated: came vocalists Albert Asadullin, . Valery Tcakadze and Irina Ponarovskaya, . guitarists Simon Schneider and Valery Brovko, . bassist and drummer Vladimir Vasilyev Arkady Gerstein,
. "Orpheus and Euridice" was recorded and released a double album (1980).

By the beginning of the 80-ies the popularity of "The Singing Guitar" has dropped substantially. The next theatrical experience (musical "Race") was unsuccessful, . Care of the leading performers and chronic turnover of the detrimental impact on the artistic level of performances, . attempt to return to the stage with song program did not add to the group's popularity,
. In the early 80's my baby left himself Vasiliev. In 1986 the ensemble (with the new artistic director of A. Fedchenko) has put its own version of rock opera by Alexei Rybnikov and Andrei Voznesensky "Juno and Avos", and in 1988 based on "The Singing Guitar" was created musical theater "Rock Opera" with a focus on setting the major works (operas, musicals and t. n.). The first experience in this new capacity has become the Russian-language version of the rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's "Jesus Christ Superstar" (1989).

. Many members of the band later achieved individual success as a singer, composer, arranger and conductor (S
. Antonov, A. Asadullin AND. Ponarovskaya, A. Paulavichus, D. Kleymits IN. Brovko, etc.).

In spring 1997 "Singing Guitars" the surprise of many reunited and given a series of enthusiastically received by the public concerts with his repertoire of thirty years.