Merchen Ensemble of Tolbazy Village – Avărkas: Chuvash Music from Bashkortostan (Antonovka Records, 2024)
The Aurgazinsky District, known in Bashkir as Awırğazı rayonı and in Chuvash as Avărkas rayonĕ, occupies a distinct position among the 54 districts of the Republic of Bashkortostan, situated within the storied southern Ural region of the Russian Federation. The district is home to the Chuvash people, particularly the Lower Chuvash, an ethnographic group that comprises nearly one-third of the local population.
At the heart of this district, in the village of Tolbazy, resides the Merchen Ensemble. This is a venerable Chuvash folk group under the leadership of Nikolai Vasilyev, from Novye Karamaly in the Miyakinsky District. Indeed, Vasilyev, at the remarkable age of 90 during the time of recording Avărkas: Chuvash Music from Bashkortostan, continues to uphold and transmit the musical heritage of his people. T
The ensemble’s repertoire is grounded in traditional Chuvash songs and features the shapar (shӑpӑr), a distinctive Chuvash bagpipe played by Vitaly Zakharov, a master of the shapar.
The ensemble comprises a talented group of musicians: Nina Petrova, Nina Fedorova, Maria Petrovna Krasnova, Tamara Afanasyeva, Ilgiz Nasyrov (Button Accordion Player), Nikolai Vasilyev (Leader), Zoya Larionova, Elizaveta Fedorova, Alena Fedorova, Vitaly Zakharov (Bagpiper), and Nikolai Orlov.
This recording, captured on July 20, 2023, at the House of Culture in Tolbazy, not only documents the ensemble’s profound connection to their cultural roots but also captures the nuanced details of their performance. Notably, the faint sound of coins, a characteristic ornamentation on the khushpu (headdress) and necklaces worn by the female performers, adds an authentic layer to the album.
Buy Avărkas: Chuvash Music from Bashkortostan.
Author: Tyler Bennet
