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	Vip Design The Choir of the Don Cossacks of Russia has spawned many imitators.

The Harmonies of a Distant Frontier

Led by a Dutchman and better known to audiences abroad, the Choir of the Don Cossacks of Russia comes back to Moscow for a charity concert.

By Anna Malpas
Published: December 9, 2005

After Marcel Verhoeff began conducting the Choir of the Don Cossacks of Russia 12 years ago, the group made its name internationally with performances of traditional Russian music. This success did not go unnoticed, and the choir leader now knows of 60 Cossack choirs in Germany alone -- although none of them is genuine, he says.

The conductor came to Russia this week to lead rehearsals for a Saturday concert in aid of Downside Up, a charity that helps children with Down syndrome and their families. Although based in Moscow, the choir spends much of its time touring abroad. It will perform in Slovenia and in the Netherlands, Verhoeff's native country, later this month.

The choir, which is made up men from Cossack families, formed in Moscow in the early 1990s. Its artistic director, Vladimir Chibayev, asked Verhoeff to head the choir after the Dutchman conducted a concert tour by another well-known Russian choir. The two have worked together ever since, as have six of the singers, Verhoeff said in a Monday interview.

The conductor speaks only a little Russian, but he said that communication was not a problem within the choir, which tours as an ensemble of 16 singers, selected for each tour from a larger troupe. "You can do so many things without any words," the conductor said. "If you have an expressive face, you can do something with your eyes."

A frontier people renowned for their riding skills, the Cossacks were employed by Russian tsars to guard the empire's southern borders. After most of them sided with the Whites during the Civil War, Cossacks were repressed by the Soviet regime. Since the collapse of communism, however, they have revived their traditions with state support.

Controversial aspects of Cossack history include their role in anti-Semitic pogroms during the tsarist era and the recent involvement by some Cossacks in violent conflicts with Muslims. The choir steers clear of these issues and picks its members carefully, Verhoeff said. "We don't want to be involved in the political side."

Each concert begins with four or five Russian Orthodox religious songs, before moving on to secular songs that have been handed down from generation to generation. Choir members ask their families for songs, which they write down and give to Verhoeff and Chibayev to arrange.

Most songs begin with a single vocalist, then others join "in a very natural way," the conductor said. Each Cossack has his own songs about his family, and the music also varies from region to region. If one Cossack meets another, they don't ask each other where they come from, he said. Instead, they sing songs from their respective regions.

He called the atmosphere within the choir "wonderful," with plenty of frank discussion. Discipline is strict, however, and alcohol is banned during tours. "I hate it," Verhoeff admitted. Drinking was a problem when the choir started out, but this is not the case anymore, he said. "It's a professional choir, so they stay clean."

Although the choir has registered its Dutch name, Don KosakenChor Russland, there are plenty of imitators who want to cash in on the group's renown by using similar names, Verhoeff said. "When there is a success, someone wants a piece of the tort [the Russian word for cake], if you know what I mean."

Ironically, none of the choir's albums have been released in Russia, due to the danger of piracy. "In two seconds, there will be thousands of copies on the black market," the conductor said. Despite these precautions, the choir's recordings have been featured on one CD issued in Russia -- with the name of another choir on the sleeve.

The Choir of the Don Cossacks of Russia performs Sat. at 6 p.m. at the International Fund of Slavic Literature and Culture, located at 9/13 Chernigovsky Pereulok, Bldg. 2. Metro Novokuznetskaya. Tel. 951-2631, 953-1360.

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