Ozorniye Naigrishi

Folklore Ensemble from Donietsk

The city of Donietsk is situated in the Donietsk basin in southern Ukraine. The presence of many coal-mines in the region has made the city one of the most important regional capitals of the Ukraine. In the 2nd half of the 19th century many men of different nationalities moved to this area in order to earn their living in the coal mining industry. Among them Tatars, Georgians but also many farmers from the poor agricultural areas in Russia. All these people of different origin could speak Russian more or less so Russian became the lingua franca of the new cities – melting pots of nationalities – originating around the coal mines. In contrast with these cities, only Ukrainian is spoken in the neighbouring agrarian villages.

Being the capital of the region, the city of Donietsk has its own symphony orchestra, opera, ballet, professional folk dance ensemble and more. However, it is also worth mentioning the amateur artistry of Donietsk, one example being the folklore ensemble "Ozorniye Naigrishi". The name of this ensemble is actually Russian and is translated as "Naughty Ditties". In Germany the ensemble is for years known under the name "Die fröhlichen Spielleute" (in English: "The Cheerful Minstrels") which is a rather loose translation of their name. The ensemble was founded in 1983. At that time the soviet state was still encouraging and subsidising amateur artistry. The founder of Ozorniye Naigrishi was a music teacher at the Kuzmichenko school of music. Since the beginning, the performing members of the ensemble have all been music teachers and students of this school. In the first years of their existence they were already a successful folklore ensemble, giving many concerts and taking part in regional and national festivals.

 

 

 

 

 

Vladimir Sett has been the artistic director of Ozorniye Naigrishi since 1989. He is one of the leading teachers at the Kuzmichenko school of music. Under his artistic leadership the ensemble has developed into one of the leading and most popular folklore companies of the Ukraine. Most of the present leaders of folklore ensembles and choreographers were educated and made their career during the period that soviet style, nationalistic pride, songs of praise for the party and the soviet system were more or less compulsory. Although the Soviet Union no longer was exist, one may still see this typical soviet style on the stages. It may seem obvious that a folklore ensemble leader should have enough knowledge of folk music and singing, but also a fairly well developed sense of taste and lots of creativity. Vladimir Sett possesses these qualities and as a result his ensemble clearly distinguishes itself from the many other existing ensembles still performing according to the soviet model.

Although Ozorniye Naigrishi reside in the Ukraine, they use a Russian name and not a Ukrainian one. In the cities of the Donietsk basin Russian is the main language although the inhabitants also love Ukrainian songs very much. Consequently the repertoire of Ozorniye Naigrishi contains both Russian and Ukrainian traditional and composed folk songs. In the Donbass region, the border region with Russia where Donietsk is situated, several groups of Cossacks live. Both Russian and Ukrainians love Cossack songs, so Cossack songs constitute an important part of the repertoire of the ensemble.

 

 

Here are some more facts about the ensemble:
1983: Foundation of the ensemble Ozorniye Naigrishi.
1986: First prize in the TV competition “Sonyachni Klarneti”.
The ensemble was awarded the title "Folk Ensemble".
1993: Participation in the international folklore festival “Berehinia” in the city of Lutsk (Ukr.).
1995: Participation in the festival “Slavic days” in the city of Krasnodar (Rus.).
Between 1985 and 1996: tours all over the Ukraine in connection with “Molodj
Ukraine” (Ukrainian Youth).
1987, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001: Concerts in Bochum (Ger.) which is
associated with Donietsk, many other cities in Germany, Expo 2000 in
Hannover and many stages in The Netherlands.
1998 and 1999: Tours to Cyprus.
1999: A number of concerts in Kiev as representative ensemble sent by the city of Donietsk. First prize at the “Ukrainian Presentation of Folk Creations” festival.
1999 and 2000: Graduation at the national festivals “Khorovod Druzhbi” and “Mega Jurti”.
2001: First prize at the festival held on the occasion of the 10 year independence of the Ukraine.
2002 and 2003: Tours in the Netherland and Germany.
2004: Tour in Finland including participation in the Kilhaus Folk Festival.