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Founded in the Soviet Union in 1928, the Red Army Choir, one of the world's oldest music groups, is a large ensemble that includes choirs, orchestras and dance groups, even though it only refers to choirs.

The Red Army Choir is also known as the Aleksandrov Ensemble, dedicated to Vasilyevich Aleksandrov. From a poor family, Aleksandrov became the first conductor, art director, conductor and teacher of the choir. He is also the composer of the national anthem of the Soviet Union.

Growing up with Russian folk tunes, Aleksandrov's relationship with music directly influenced the line of the Red Army Choir. In the repertoire of the choir, even the people who have nothing to do with today's familiarity, such as Katyusha, Kalinka, Volga River and Ave Maria are actually Russian traditional songs dating back centuries.

Did you know?
One of the most popular pieces of the Red Army Choir, Korobeiniki was transferred to the electronic environment and used as the music of the video game Tetris.

First, St. The Red Army Chorus, which came together in St. Petersburg, moved to Moscow on the orders of Josef Stalin and gained great popularity in a short time. Founded to motivate soldiers in essence, the community also provided an opportunity for soldiers who are interested in music to spend their free time productively. So much so that in 1928, only 12 people joined the community in a few years.

During the Second World War, the group toured all the fronts of the Soviet Union and gave more than 1500 concerts in order to reassure soldiers with Russian folk songs.

1948 Berlin Peace Concert
Berlin, which was shattered after the Second World War, came under the rule of four major countries: the USA, Britain, France and the Soviets. To soften the post-war atmosphere, a US official proposed a concert in a Soviet-controlled area of Berlin and was supported by the French government.

Who will perform the concert is left to the Soviet Union. As you can imagine, this was a concert of the Red Army Choir, which was held in front of 30,000 people in 1948, and was remembered by Boris Aleksandrov, the conductor of that period:

“I can't forget the Germany concert. We gave a concert worthy of the post-war period, and it was much more difficult than it appeared. In the past, when we were 200 people, we suddenly fell to 60 and there was no chance of making mistakes. ”

At the concert, Russian operas were accompanied by German operas and a sense of unity was needed to cover the traces of a devastating war.

After the Berlin concert, the choir performed in different cities of Germany and organized a small tour.

Today's Red Army Choir

The Red Army Choir has always maintained its military brand identity, but has become more integrated into the popular culture over time. The band held joint concerts in 1990 with world-renowned musician Roger Waters, in 1993 with the Finnish band Leningrad Cowboys and later with different popular figures.

Unfortunately, there were no survivors in an accident on 25 December 2016 by the aircraft carrying 60 choir members. Five weeks after this painful event, new auditions were held and the Red Army Choir received a bruised new member.