Finding Aids to Collections in the Archive of Folk Culture

RUSSIA COLLECTIONS
IN THE ARCHIVE OF FOLK CULTURE

Compiled by: Natalya V. Gasilina
Series Editor: Ann Hoog
Revised: September 2011

AFC 1940/001: W.P.A. California Folk Music Project Collection, 1938-1940
Two hundred thirty-nine discs and numerous photographs, drawings, transcriptions, correspondence, and manuscripts documenting 17 ethnic groups recorded in northern California folk music by Sidney Robertson Cowell for the Northern California Work Projects Administration (WPA). The project was sponsored by the University of California, Berkeley, and co-sponsored by Library's Archive of American Folk Song. [catalog record] [online presentation]

AFS 3831-3838: Eight discs containing portions of a service at a Russian Molokan Church. Recorded in Potrero Hill, San Francisco, California, September 14, 1938. (90 minutes; tape copy on LWO 4872, reels 249B-250)

AFS 3831A: Isaiah 53:1-2. [audio]

AFS 3832A: Preaching by William S. Loscutoff. [audio]

AFS 3832B1: Isaiah 40:1-2. [audio]

AFS 3832B2: Comments on the Russian Molokan congregation. [audio]

AFS 3833A: Preaching by J. D. Sanoff. [audio]

AFS 3833B: Ezra 3:42-43. [audio]

AFS 3834A1: Preaching by William T. Schetinin. [audio]

AFS 3834A2: Announcement by Sidney Robertson. [audio]

AFS 3834B: Revelation 7:9-11. [audio]

AFS 3835A: Preaching by J. P. Susoeff. [audio]

AFS 3835B: Psalms 52. [audio]

AFS 3836A: Preaching by William Fetesoff. [audio]

AFS 3836B: Preaching by A. P. Sarakoff. [audio]

AFS 3837A: Matthew 11:28. [audio]

AFS 3837B: Psalm 27:1-4. [audio]

AFS 3838A: "Our Father Who Art in Heaven." [audio]

AFS 3839-3842: Four discs containing Russian Molokan hymns sung by Mrs. Popoff and Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Susoeff. Recorded in San Francisco, California, October 7, 1938. (50 minutes; tape copy on LWO 4872, reel 250)

AFS 3839A1: Kings 2:7-18. [audio]

AFS 3839B1: Psalm 95:2. [audio]

AFS 3839B2: Matthew 24:42. [audio]

AFS 3840A1: Matthew 11:28. [audio]

AFS 3840A2: John 20:11. [audio]

AFS 3840B1: Paralppamenah 29:10. [audio]

AFS 3840B2: Ephesians 4:13. [audio]

AFS 3841A1: Acts 13:46. [audio]

AFS 3841A2: Psalm 56:2. [audio]

AFS 3841B1: Psalms 145:17. [audio]

AFS 3841B2: Psalm 32:1. [audio]

AFS 3842A: Matthew 18:1. [audio]

AFC 1942/020: Roy Mitchell and Seamus Doyle New York City Recordings
Six 12-inch discs of four Armenian, one Mexican, and three Russian songs sung by Alex Emilianov, Maria Michaelow, Jay Martinez, and Artin L. Shalian. Recorded in New York City by Seamus Doyle and Mr. and Mrs. Roy Mitchell, 1941. The collection includes 1/4 linear inch of correspondence and textual transcriptions. (AFS 6496-6501) (preservation tape LWO 4872 reel 414) [catalog record]

AFC 1944/007: Four Freedoms Quartet Recordings
Two 16-inch discs of songs sung by the Four Freedoms Quartet of the Army Specialized Training Program at Georgetown University. Recorded at the Library of Congress by B. A. Botkin, John Langenegger, and Arthur Semmig, November 13, 1943. Recorded through the courtesy of Dr. Gosovski. (8 minutes; tape copy on LWO 5111, reel 5) [catalog record]

AFS 7060A6: "Tri derevni, dva sela" (Along Kazanka River).

AFS 7060A7: "Battle of Borodino" (beginning only).

AFS 7060A8: "Battle of Borodino."

AFS 7061A1: "Poliushyko-pole" (Meadowlands) [Red Army cavalry song].

AFS 7061A2: "Battle of Borodino."

AFS 7061A3: "Tri derevni, dva sela" (Along Kazanka River) with two additional verses.

AFS 7061A4: "Tri derevni, dva sela" (Along Kazanka River).

AFS 7061A5: "Slava, slava nashei shkole" (class song).

AFC 1951/039: Cooperative Acquisitions Project / Russian Folksongs
Five discs of Russian folksongs transferred to Archive from Cooperative Acquisition Project. Acquired June 1951. (AFS 10,282-10,285; 10,289)

AFC 1951/040: Cooperative Acquisitions Project / Bashkirs Russian Folksongs
Three 10-inch discs of Bashkirs' (Russia) folksongs transferred from the Cooperative Acquisitions Project. Accessioned June 1951. (25 minutes; tape copy on LWO 5111, reel 297).

AFS 10,286A: "Iskender."

AFS 10,286B: "Taftilan."

AFS 10,287A: "Zeki-Validi."

AFS 10,287B1: "Tuhfat Kantun."

AFS 10,287B2: "Iel-gildi" (unfinished).

AFS 10,288A: Song listed as "Armee" on the label.

AFS 10,288B: ["The Beautiful Girl."]

AFC 1954/008: Irwin E. Lawton Recordings of Jewish, Russian, and Hebrew Folk Music
One 5-inch tape of old Jewish folk songs from southern Russia and more recent songs in both Hebrew and Russian sung by the grandfather and father of Irwin Lawton. Recorded by Lawton, September 1953. The collection includes three pages of correspondence. (AFS 10,835) (LWO 3528)

AFS 11,919: John Panamarkoff Alaskan Promyshlenniki Recordings
One 3-inch tape of a 28- verse song written by Russian settlers concerning their arrival and subsequent experience in Sit'ka, Alaska, ca. 1808-10. Sung by John Panamarkoff. Acquired June 1958. (6 minutes; LWO 3541)

AFS 14,385-14,386: Alfred Swan / Russian Wedding Rite and Folk Songs
Two 12-inch discs (pressings made by RCA Manufacturing Co. "for private use only") of "Four excerpts from Russian wedding rite" and nine Russian folksongs "from Pskoff District - now in Esthonia." Labels include: "Copyright by Alfred J. Swan. Recording supported by American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia." Acquired December 1970. (18 minutes)

AFC 1976/014: Jack Manischewitz Duplication Project
Six 10-inch tapes of Yiddish, international, and urban children's folksongs recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; New York, New York; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; West Orange, New Jersey; and elsewhere by Jack Manischewitz, 1957-61. The collection includes 32 pages of notes. [See also AFC 1996/080: recordings by Manischewitz of Harry Rudman and Rachel Marshak.]

AFS 18,053B3: One tape containing "Spi mladenets moi prekrasnyi," a Russian lullaby sung by Eli Epstein. Recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio, ca. 1957. (1 minute; LWO 8692 reel 1B)

AFS 18,053B4: One tape containing "Ty poedesh' Misha v Rigu" sung by Eli Epstein. Recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio, ca. 1957. (1 minute; LWO 8692 reel 1B)

AFS 18,054B11: One tape containing "Razluka" sung by Mr. Elvov. Recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio, ca. 1957. (2 minutes; LWO 8692 reel 2B)

AFS 18,054B13: One tape containing "Ochi chernue" sung by Mrs. Elvov. Recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio, ca. 1958. (3 minutes; LWO 8692 reel 2B)

AFS 18,054B29: One tape containing "Kupi moi bublichki" sung by Mrs. Schwartz. Recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio, ca. 1958. (2 minutes; LWO 8692 reel 2B)

AFS 18,054B30: One tape containing "Dubinushka" (tune only) sung by Mrs. Schwartz. Recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio, ca. 1958. (3 minutes; LWO 8692 reel 2B)

AFS 18,055A2: One tape containing "Kazatskaia" (tune only) sung by Mr. and Mrs. Schwartz. Recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio, ca. 1958. (1 minute; LWO 8692 reel 3A)

AFS 18,056A8: One tape containing "Krutitsia-vertitsia" (tune only) sung by Mrs. Langer. Recorded in West Orange, New Jersey, 1960. (2 minutes; LWO 8692 reel 4A)

AFS 18,057A28: One tape containing "Molodaia devchinitsa" sung by Max Bograd. Recorded in West Orange, New Jersey, ca. 1960. (5 minutes; LWO 8692 reel 5A)

AFS 19,289: Dutch-Russian Mennonite Church Funeral Service
One 10-inch tape of a funeral service for Katherina Goosen Teichroew at the First Mennonite Church of Mountain Lake, Minnesota, a Dutch/Russian Mennonite congregation. Recorded originally on six 9-inch discs, April 1950, and loaned by Allan Teichroew. Includes a funeral service for Mrs. Katherina Goossen Teichroew at the First Mennonite Church of Mt. Lake, Minnesota in April 1950. The service is conducted in both English and High German. A capella hymn singing is by a women's quartet.

AFS 20,167-20,169: Gordon Bok / Khalmyk Duplication Project
Three 10-inch tapes of songs and instrumental performances (dance tunes, children's songs, love songs, epic songs) by Khalmyk and Khalmyk-American people. Includes traditional and popular orchestral arrangements of Russian, Bulgarian, Yugoslavian, and Asian folk music. Recorded by Gordon Bok in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey before 1979, with other selections from field and studio recordings from the Friends Neighborhood Guild in Philadelphia, including older recordings from the former Soviet Union. Also spelled Kalmyk in some places.

AFS 20,198: Steven Barr Yiddish Song Project
One audiocassette of Yiddish songs sung by Rose Cohen, a woman of Russian Jewish descent, who learned them in a socialist school in Baltimore, Maryland, ca. 1914. Recorded by Steven Barr in Bethesda, Maryland, in April 1980.

AFC 1981/018: Ethnic Broadcasting in America Collection
Eighteen 7-inch tapes, 2 5-inch tapes, and 117 cassettes of 164 ethnic radio broadcasts recorded for the Ethnic Broadcasting in America Project of the American Folklife Center. Recorded mostly off the air in various locations throughout the United States by Elena Bradunas, Theodore Grame, Alan Jabbour, and others, 1977-78. Documentation includes Theodore Grame's Ethnic Broadcasting in the United States (Washington, D.C.: American Folklife Center, 1980) and extensive manuscript materials. The following recordings contain religious radio programs of the Russian Orthodox Church in America and religious songs, sermons, and explanations. [catalog record]

AFS 23,047A: One tape containing a Russian Orthodox religious program "Golos spaseniia" (The Voice of Prophecy) recorded from KTYM, Inglewood, California, April 22, 1978. (30 minutes; RYA 2912)

AFS 23,141B: One tape containing a Russian Orthodox religious program "Blagaia vest'" (Good News) recorded from WTEL, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 5, 1978. (30 minutes; RYA 2989)

AFC 1981/004: Chicago Ethnic Arts Project Collection
Ninety-nine 7-inch tapes and 245 audiocassettes,13 linear inches of contact sheets, eight and three-fourths linear feet of field notes and logs, 3080 slides, 210 photographs, and 2 videos from the Chicago Ethnic Arts Project Collection, a field survey of ethnic artistic expression including dance, foodways, neighborhood gatherings, religious celebrations, and instrumental and vocal music. Recorded in the Chicago, Illinois, area by various collectors under the direction of Elena Bradunas, February-November 1977; under the joint sponsorship of the American Folklife Center and the Illinois Arts Council. The collection includes a 561-page report on the project published by the American Folklife Center in January 1978. [catalog record] [finding aid]

AFS 20,683-20,684: Two tapes containing a wedding service recorded at St. George Russian Orthodox Cathedral, May 28, 1972. (55 minutes; RXA 1050-1051)

AFS 20,859: One audiocassette containing Eastern Russian Orthodox religious singing recorded at Vespers Holy Trinity Church, July 8, 1977. (1 hour and 30 minutes; RYA 0841)

AFS 20,860: One audiocassette containing conversations with Fr. Kuberski, G. Trubokhovich, and others in English and Russian, and a religious song "Mnogaia leta" sung in Russian. Recorded July 8, 1977. (15 minutes; RXA 0842)

AFC 1983/013: Basil Fomeen Collection
Two-manual 120-bass piano accordion from the Basil Fomeen Collection acquired by the Library of Congress in June of 1983 after Fomeen's death. Fomeen was a Russian-born composer, accordionist, and orchestra leader who performed in both mainstream and Russian emigre communities of York City and the eastern seaboard between the 1920s and the 1950s, recording for the RCA Victor, Standard, Seva, National, and Decca labels. The collection, which included sheet music and music manuscripts, photographs, diaries, scrapbooks, correspondence, and instruments, was dispersed to the Music, Recorded Sound, and Motion Picture divisions within the Library of Congress. The Archive of Folk Culture retained only the accordion.

AFC 1987/031: Nicolas G. Schidlovsky Old Believers Collection
Twenty-six 10-inch tapes of Old Believers' services and religious singing and copies of a published recording of Russian church bells and religious chant. Recorded in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C., by Nicolas G. Schidlovsky, 1972-85. The collection includes 11 pages of a list with comments on the congregations where the recordings were made and the services recorded. (AFS 25,956-25,981) (52 hours; RWB 6101-6126)

AFC 1991/004: Gregory Gladkov Collection
One audiocassette of a demo tape and publicity information on Russian folk performer and singer-songwriter Gregory Gladkov. The collection includes one black-and-white publicity photo of Gladkov and John McCutcheon, correspondence, and publicity.

AFC 1991/046: Folklife Study in the Soviet Union
One 10-inch tape of a discussion held in the West Dining Room of the Library of Congress on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 1991, 4-6 p.m. Three Russian folklorists accompanied by a translator and by Andrew Wiget spoke on the status and directions of Russian folklore research and education. (RWC 6929).

AFC 1991/048: Dimitri Pokrovsky / Russian Folk Song
One 10-inch tape of a lecture on collecting Russian folk song by Dimitri Pokrovsky with demonstration/concert by members of the Pokrovsky Ensemble. Sponsored by the American Folklife Center, December 2, 1991. The collection includes flyers and press releases.

AFC 1991/049: Dimitri Pokrovsky / Russian Ethnographic Expeditions
Lecture by Dimitri Pokrovsky titled "Russian Ethnographic Expeditions." Includes film footage made during expeditions to rural areas of Russia to collect traditional folksongs. Sponsored by the American Folklife Center, December 3, 1991.

AFC 1995/031: North Dakota Council on the Arts / "Faces of Identity, Hands of Skill" Collection
Two audiocassettes of ethnic folk music and dance of North Dakota for use in an exhibition entitled "Faces of Identity, Hands of Skill: Folk Arts in North Dakota," assembled by the North Dakota Council on the Arts. Performers include Bryan Akipa playing the Sisseton Sioux "Siyo Tanka" flute, John Gross Jr. singing German-Russian "Volkslieder," James LaRoque playing "Metis" ("mixed") French/Chippewa/Cree fiddle tunes, Luqman Maii playing Kurdish music on the tambour (a form of lute), and Sokhom and Bun Sun You playing and singing Khmer dance music of Cambodia. Recorded in Bismarck, Fargo, Napoleon, Sisseton, and Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation, North Dakota, by Troyd Geist, 1994. The collection includes twenty-six pages of descriptions, information about performers, and sections of newsletters.

AFC 1996/062: Alexander V. Medvedev / Folk Ensembles of the Former Soviet Union Video Collection
Six videotapes [PAL format] of folk art performance groups recorded at various locations in Southern Russia and North and South Ossetia; and of professional dance theater at the State Institute of Theatrical Art (Gitis), recorded in Moscow. Donated April 1, 1991, and June 13, 1992, by Alexander V. Medvedev; brought to the Archive by Michail Levner. The videos feature male ensembles, folk choirs, and solo performers singing Ukrainian and Russian songs, some with balalaika accompaniment. One video features a series of wedding rituals. Another video features traditional folk dances accompanied by hand clapping in time with the dance movements.

AFC 1996/080: Jack Manischewitz / Rachel Marshak and Harry Rudman Collection
One audiocassette containing songs by and conversation with Harry Rudman (originally from the Ukraine) and Rachel Marshak (originally from Minsk, Russia). Recorded at their retirement residence, Ring House in Rockville, Maryland, on June 17, 1995 by Jack Manischewitz. Songs in Yiddish, English, Russian, and Ukrainian. This cassette is an addition to a collection of songs performed largely by Jewish-American immigrants from Eastern Europe donated by Manischewitz in 1976. See also AFC 1976/014.

AFC 1997/006: Antoni Sledziewski / Wycinanki Ludowe Collection
Two monographs and 16 original paper cut-outs. The first monograph, Wycinanki Ludowe (Folk Cut-Outs), was written by Antoni Sledziewski, 1989, in Polish, English, and Russian, 24 pages. The other is Wycinanka Ludowa (Folk Cut-Outs), (Siedlce, 1987), in Polish, 40 pages. The paper cut-outs were created by various Polish artists.

AFC 1997/027: David Kresh / Esther Korshin Yiddish Songs Collection
One audiocassette of recordings made in 1946 of Esther Korshin, originally of Ukraine, singing in Yiddish and Russian. Korshin was born ca. 1887 and came to the U.S. shortly after 1906. Lullaby medley. The song known to the family as "Der Sim" is actually "Di Zin" (the sun), the first words of the song. Originally recorded on home disc recorder. (10 minutes)

AFC 1998/011: Edward Keenan / Old Believers Collection
The collection consists mainly of materials related to religious music and belief among the Old Believers sect of the Russian Orthodox faith. Among the items in the collection are a spiral notebook which delineates a musical notation system which is used to interpret the music in the collection, several small booklets of hymns written in Cyrillic, some Russian language lessons, and a small booklet of catechism of the Greek Old Orthodox faith. Most of the material is either mimeographed or dittoed, and much of it is in Cyrillic script. The items were largely produced in the 1950s in Erie, Pennsylvania, by Rev. V. Smolakov. Additionally, there is a resource book for Russian Old Believers in Oregon produced in 1976.

AFC 1999/003: Traditional Music of Russian Poozer'ye: Material from the Expeditons of 1971-1992
Published book and cassettes of Russian folksongs from the Poozer'ye region in Russia. Book is entirely in Russian language. Cassettes include music transcribed in book.

AFC 2000/013: YAR International Russian Folk Concert Collection
YAR International, Inc. donation of three videocassettes and one compact disc containing performances by Russian folk groups, Ptitsa Troyka, Irtysh, the Omsk State Russian Folk Chorus, and the Omsk State Russian Ensemble of Singing and Dancing. [catalog record]

AFC 2000/026: Sergei Zhirkevich Photograph Collection
The photographic prints, sound recording, and manuscript material were produced during an ethnographic study conducted by Sergei Zhirkevich in which he documented the enduring folk and religious traditions of regional provincial life in the former Soviet Union. Zhirkevich spent over a decade interviewing local people, recording music, and photographing in the Pskov Region of Russia, the former Baltic states, the Leningrad region, Kazakhstan, and the region north of the Caucasus Mountains. The resulting monograph, Ot Zamogil'ia do Blagodati (From Beyond the Grave to Blessed Grace), was published in 1999. [catalog record]

AFC 2003/031: Svetilen Concert and Lecture Collection
Audio and video recordings of a lecture and performance by Svetilen recorded at the Library of Congress as part of the the Beyond Borders series, November 19, 2003. Svetilen performs early Russian sacred choral music, secular folk songs, and modern authored compositions, some selections are a cappella, others accompanied by the Russian instruments, gusli and koliosnaya lira. The collection includes publicity for the Svetilen concert, including a copy of an interview with Svetilen produced for "Performance Today" and hosted by Fred Child on National Public Radio, November 19, 2:30 p.m. (30 min.). There is a Hi-8 recording of an additional Svetilen concert sponsored by the Slavic Cafe, at 8 p.m. on the same day. [catalog record]

AFC 2004/004: Alan Lomax Collection
Eight hundred forty-five linear feet (appx. 150 linear feet manuscripts; 10,000 sound recordings; 5,500 graphic images; 5,000 moving images) of material created and collected by Alan Lomax and others in their work documenting song, music, dance, and body movement from many cultures. Includes field recordings and photographs Lomax made in the Bahamas, the Caribbean, England, France, Georgia, Haiti, Ireland, Italy, Morocco, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Spain, the United States, and Wales, 1930s-2004. [catalog record]

AFC 2008/025: Empires, Multiculturalisms, and Borrowed Heartsongs: What Does It Mean to Sing Russian / Mennonite Songs? Lecture by Jonathan Dueck
Video recording and photographs of a lecture delivered by Jonathan Dueck in the Mary Pickford Theater, Library of Congress, on May 21, 2008, as part of the Benjamin Botkin Folklife Lecture series sponsored by the American Folklife Center. As "colonists" in 19th-century Russian Ukraine, Mennonites sang German diasporic choral musics and borrowed Russian choral musics; when war drove many to North America, Mennonites drew on this repertoire and borrowed new repertoires to forge links to classical choral singing groups. Dueck's talk is illustrated by sound recordings of Russian Mennonite choral music in German. [catalog record] [event flyer and webcast]

AFC 2010/041: Sibirskaya Vechora Concert Collection
Sibirskaya Vechora Concert of traditional songs from Siberia, Russia,in the Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, October 12, 2010. Concert was produced by Open World Cultural Leaders Program, hosted by CEC ArtsLink and the National Council for Traditional Arts (NCTA). Collection includes audio recording of the concert; plus an audio recording of the group titled "Music, My Scrapbook" (2008) (39:28 min.), plus a poster (map case) depicting members of the full performing group in traditional dress in an outdoor setting. Sung in Russian. Vladimir Dudinsky, accordion, vocals; Alexander Trofimov, gusli, hurdy-gurdy, flute, vocals; Anna Trofimova, vocals; Larisa Raspopova, vocals.