Narspi Ensemble – Bird Cherry Blossom: Chuvash Songs from Orenburg Region (Antonovka Records, 2025)
The Narspi Ensemble, founded in 1978, represents the musical heritage of Verkhneignashkino, a Chuvash village in the Grachevsky district of Orenburg, southwest Russia. Established by Chuvash settlers in 1709, the village, known in Chuvash as Şirĕklĕ, sits near the historical reach of Volga Bulgaria, from which the Chuvash people are believed to descend.
This collection features joyful traditional Chuvash folk songs recorded at the Verkhneignashkino House of Culture on November 19, 2024. The repertoire includes haymaking, lyrical, round dance, wedding, and recruitment songs, along with a humorous song and a guest song. Track 10 was traditionally used for fortune-telling with rings. Two original songs, composed by Raisa Maksimova with lyrics by Boris Brisker, celebrate the village, with Track 12 serving as its anthem.
Most songs are performed in Chuvash, except Tracks 7, 12, and 15, which are in Russian.
Ensemble members: Lyubov Maksimova, Nina Shemyakova, Lyubov Shatalova, Valentina Rybakova, Lyudmila Egorova, Elena Erofeeva, Nadezhda Egorova, Irina Klochkova (leader), Roza Sovetnikova, Lyubov Martynova.
Buy Bird Cherry Blossom: Chuvash Songs from Orenburg Region.
Author: JGurski
