Tragic Choke Of The Alexandrov Choir Is A Big Loss For Russian Culture

Way besides many well-known people died inwards recent days. Physicist Sidney Drell too modern nighttime affair pioneer Vera Rubin. Fermilab co-father Edwin Goldwasser. George Michael. Carrie Fisher, Leia of Star Wars. Claude Jensac, Louis de Funes' motion-picture exhibit "wife" from Saint Tropez. Astronauts John Glenn too Piers Sellers. Russian drinkers of methanol-based bathroom lotion (cause of death: high ethanol taxation). Czech actress Luba Skořepová was another.

Vesna Vulović, a Serbian flying attendant, died on the same day, Dec 23rd. She's been a remarkable entry inwards the Guinness volume of records. In 1972, a Yugoslav aircraft exploded 10 kilometers to a higher identify a Czechoslovak hamlet miles from East Deutschland – hamlet that is paradoxically called Sorbian Chemnitz [Stoneville] (Sorbs were the "other", straightaway to a greater extent than ofttimes than non assimilated, Slavs who direct maintain lived inwards East Deutschland – inwards the Czech language, nosotros operate the word "Srb" for both Sorbs too Serbs). The bomb was planted past times the Croation Ustasche fascist displace – that for some argue failed to evaporate inwards 1945. Imagine that. An explosion followed past times a autumn from 10 kilometers. Vesna Vulović survived it because of her fortunate location inside the aircraft. She wasn't fifty-fifty shocked too didn't educate whatever phobia from flying. 46 long years of life were ahead of her.



By far the greatest catastrophe was the demise of a armed services Tupolev-154 aircraft nigh Sochi today. The passengers too crew weren't equally lucky equally Vesna Vulović too all 92 people – who were going to Syrian Arab Republic – were killed shortly afterwards the takeoff. 64 of them were members of the Alexandrov choir. In Czech, nosotros telephone shout out upwards them "Alexandrovci" or the "Alexandrov Ensemble of Songs too Dances". Except for 3 soloists, all the members of that music grouping are gone.

The ensemble was formed sometime inwards 1928 too equally the music wing of the Red Army, it energized the Soviet warriors during the Second World War. Aside from Katyusha above, you lot should hear to their version of Kalinka, the other war-like motivating Soviet song. The white-dressed soloists nicknamed Mr Kalinka, Mr Vadim Ananev, survived because a boy was precisely born to his wife. Let me remind you lot that the weapon was named Katyusha after the vocal that is all well-nigh the honey betwixt a homo too a woman, non the other means around.




But these soldiers – who were e'er selected past times an immensely stringent filter – direct maintain also shown their skills on religious music, including Ave Maria, too fifty-fifty jazz.

Although tightly associated amongst the Soviet army, the ensemble did endure too had to endure the dissolution of the Soviet Union too the arrival of the Russian flavour of democracy. I am confident that this sort of music precisely represents a much greater fraction of the music marketplace inwards Russian Federation than it does inwards the typical Western countries.




The Alexandrov choir was – too let's promise that afterwards the replacement of the deceased people, notwithstanding volition live – real active. In the get-go one-half of 2017, it has scheduled 75 concerts, including xiv concerts inwards 10 Czech cities. Pilsen was/is scheduled for May 22nd. Some folks precisely about my identify unit of measurement genuinely possess the tickets for that concert.

It's non clear to me whether at that spot was an explosion or an attack, or whether it was precisely some other sign of the relative inferiority of the Russian flying technology. (Do you lot call upwards the discussion of Howard Wolowitz amongst the 2 Russian cosmonauts well-nigh the leaking fuel? In ix out of 10 cases, at that spot is no problem. What well-nigh the remaining 10%? In the 10th case, at that spot is a problem.) Famous people – including the Polish political elite inwards 2010 (also Tu-154) too players of an ice-hockey lodge including 3 Czechs (Yak-42, 2011) – direct maintain ofttimes been victims of such crashes.

If I am afraid of imperfections inwards the investigation, I am afraid that fifty-fifty if this had been an attack, Russian government may shroud this fact because they don't desire to await vulnerable – they're used to other people's claims that they are to a greater extent than vulnerable than they genuinely are.

Given the frequency of the volume decease of the famous people inwards Russian aircraft, I would recommend Russian Federation to innovate a novel policy that solely a pocket-size fraction of such ensembles etc. may sit down at the same airplane. It's a policy that e.g. a top Czech commercial TV station applies inwards a real rigid form. Two tidings hosts were latterly punished for having taken the same flying – which violates the internal regulations of the TV. If the plane crashed, the pathetic TV would direct maintain to notice 2 novel talking heads at the same moment. Imagine that the Alexandrov choir genuinely has to notice 64 fantabulous singers – too rather quickly.

My condolences to the friends, families, too the Russian nation.



Unfortunately, the 2016 Christmas was George Michael's "Last Christmas", too.