A Russian Song Book

Rating:
Summary: A Russian Song Book
Review: I got this book from the library. When I opened it, the first song I played was Farewell to Happiness. And I have to tell you how I felt- every shade of emotion. I felt a great love for the Russian people, and can see them singing these songs; as peasants in the fields, as families gathered around singing to the balalaika, and walking through the snow, alone. I think they must have a love of music, to have in their hearts through the hard times and this is something we all should have. I don't think people sing like this now but we should instead of dulling our minds with "entertainment".
I love singing and playing from this book. My favorite is 'Do Not Awaken My Memories', but recently I started to play 'In the Valley' and ended up playing it over and over, especially the first two lines. This is what I love about Russian music. It is so lyrical, and deep in it's simpleness. 'No Sounds are Heard from the City' tells the story of a prisoner. To me he is an exhile in Siberia, and his song echos the cry of thousands.
And I love this book because IT IS PURE POETRY and was so happy to find it on Amazon so I can have it.

Rating:
Summary: A sizable collection of Russian and Soviet folk songs- good
Review: I've been playing from this book for a while. It has quite a few songs in it, including Kalinka, Katusha, Moscow Nights and Meadowlands ("the Hits".) The nice thing is they have the English, Cyrillic, and transliteration with each verse. Sometimes the English seems to be stretching it to fit the meter, but that's okay. The piano arrangements are interesting, in lots of different keys, and guitar chords are generally shown.