Gregoryk, Joan - Kalinka

  
In teh Spring of 1991, the Chevy Chase Elementary School Chorus was invited to Russia as part of an exchange with the Yunost (Youth) Chorus of Moscow directed by Irina Utkin. The Yunost Chorus performed a wonderful four and five part arrangement of Kalinka, the well known Russian folk song. The children in the Chevy Chase Chorus returned to the United States with a deep fondness for the song and a desire to perform it. This arrangement is an adaptation of Ms. Utkin's original version, simplified to make it possible for school-based choruses to study and perform artistically.



Kalinka is about a young man sitting under a red berry bush (Kalinka), singing of his feelings for his sweetheart. The expressiveness of the song is achieved through the contrast between a lively and rhythmic chorus and the more legato and subdued verses. The expressive markings (i.e., dynamic markings, tempo markings, and fermatas) should be closely followed. These markings are integral to an authentic performance in the Russian tradition.

This arrangement of Kalinka was premiered at the 1995 National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association in Washington, D.C., by the Chevy Chase Elementary School Chorus, directed by Joan Gregoryk