A Life in Music from the Soviet Union to Canada [Sound Files]

One of 13 items in the series: North Texas lives of musicians series available on this site.

Description

The musical career of Alexander Tumanov extends from Stalinist and Soviet Russia through contemporary Canada, and as such provides an inspiring portrait of one person’s devotion to his art under trying circumstances. Tumanov was a founding member of Moscow’s Madrigal Ensemble of early music, which introduced Renaissance and Baroque music to the Soviet Union. The Ensemble enjoyed tremendous popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, despite occasional official disapproval by the Soviet bureaucracy. At times the compositions of the group’s founder, Andrei Volkonsky, were banned. Volkonsky eventually emigrated to escape the oppressive conditions, followed soon after, in 1974, by Tumanov, and … continued below

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Tumanov, Alexander & Tumanov, Vladimir May 2019.

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Author

  • Tumanov, Alexander ALEXANDER TUMANOV was born in the Soviet Union and earned degrees in Slavic philology and music before joining the Madrigal Ensemble in Moscow. He emigrated to Canada with his family in 1974, where he completed a Ph.D. and joined the Department of Slavic and East European Studies at the University of Alberta. The author of the biography of Maria Olenina d’Alheim in both English and Russian, he currently lives in London, Ontario, Canada, with his wife Alla.

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  • Tumanov, Vladimir Translator and editor VLADIMIR TUMANOV holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Alberta and teaches modern languages at Western University in London, Ontario, where he lives.

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  • Tumanov, Alexander

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  • Main Title: A Life in Music from the Soviet Union to Canada [Sound Files]
  • Series Title: North Texas lives of musicians series
  • Added Title: Number 12 in the North Texas Lives of Musicians Series
  • Parallel Title: Zhiznʹ v muzyke ot Moskvy do Kanady
  • Parallel Title: Жизнь в музыке от Москвы до Канады

Description

The musical career of Alexander Tumanov extends from Stalinist and Soviet Russia through contemporary Canada, and as such provides an inspiring portrait of one person’s devotion to his art under trying circumstances. Tumanov was a founding member of Moscow’s Madrigal Ensemble of early music, which introduced Renaissance and Baroque music to the Soviet Union. The Ensemble enjoyed tremendous popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, despite occasional official disapproval by the Soviet bureaucracy. At times the compositions of the group’s founder, Andrei Volkonsky, were banned. Volkonsky eventually emigrated to escape the oppressive conditions, followed soon after, in 1974, by Tumanov, and the Madrigal Ensemble continued in a changed form under new leaders.

The story of the author's subsequent life and career in Canada provides a poignant point of contrast with his Soviet period — at the musical, academic, and political levels. These 7 sound files are located in different pages of the book:

1. p. 169: after “an explosion of applause”
Title of piece: О страстях (Bicinium De Passione)
Performers: Karina Lisitsian (contralto) and Ruzanna Lisitsian (soprano)
Composer: Erhard Bodenschatz
Year: 1968
LP title (translation from Russian): Thousand Years of Music (Vol. 3): Madrigal – Germany. Renaissance and Early Baroque.
LP title in the original Russian: Тысяча лет музыки (Выпуск 3): Мадригал ‎– Германия. Эпоха Возрождения и раннее Барокко.

2. p. 179: between “Of course we did not have mimes” and the photo of Madrigal
Title of piece: Сцена Из Мистерии "Представление Души И Тела” (Rappresentatione di Anima e di Corpo)
Performers: entire ensemble
Composer: Emilio de’ Cavalieri
Year: 1966
LP title (translation from Russian): Thousand Years of Music (Vol. 2): Madrigal – Italy. Early Baroque 16-17 c.
LP title in the original Russian: Тысяча лет музыки (Выпуск 2): Мадригал ‎– Италия. Раннее Барокко XVI-XVII ВВ.

3. p. 189 bottom: below “even while on tour”
Title of piece: Duélete de mi, señora
Performer: Alexander Tumanov – soloist
Composer: M. de Fuenllana

Year: 1968
LP title (translation from Russian): Thousand Years of Music (Vol. 4): Madrigal – Spain. Renaissance.
LP title in the original Russian: Тысяча лет музыки (Выпуск 4): Мадригал ‎– Испания. Эпоха Возрождения.

4. p. 200 bottom: after “filled with the music of Madrigal!”
Title of piece: Песнь Адвенты (Adventslied)
Performers: entire ensemble
Composer: : Johannes Eccard
Year: 1968
LP title (translation from Russian): Thousand Years of Music (Vol. 3): Madrigal – Germany. Renaissance and Early Baroque.
LP title in the original Russian: Тысяча лет музыки (Выпуск 3): Мадригал ‎– Германия. Эпоха Возрождения и раннее Барокко.

5. p. 210 bottom: between “However, the film never ap¬peared in movie theaters” and photo
Title of piece: E La Don Don
Performers: Alexander Tumanov – soloist with entire ensemble
Composer: Unknown Artist
Year: 1968
LP title (translation from Russian): Thousand Years of Music (Vol. 4): Madrigal – Spain. Renaissance.
LP title in the original Russian: Тысяча лет музыки (Выпуск 4): Мадригал ‎– Испания. Эпоха Возрождения.

6. p. 246: below “flashes of genius.”
Title of piece: Токката № 7 (Toccata Settima)
Performers: Andrei Volkonsky, harpsichord
Composer: Michelangelo Rossi
Year: 1966
LP title (translation from Russian): Thousand Years of Music (Vol. 2): Madrigal – Italy. Early Baroque 16-17 c.
LP title in the original Russian: Тысяча лет музыки (Выпуск 2): Мадригал ‎– Италия. Раннее Барокко XVI-XVII ВВ.

7. p. 409 top: after „performers were referred to as “well-formed singers“
Title of Piece: "Nun laßt uns den Leib begraben"
Performers: Cantilena Consort, Alexander Tumanov – artistic director
Composer: Franz Schubert
Concert date: Nov. 5, 1999
Recording location (live performance): Knox Evangelical Free Church, Edmonton Canada

Notes

Link to source of information for all Madrigal recordings: https://www.discogs.com/artist/2138208-Madrigal-3

Translation of: Zhiznʹ v muzyke ot Moskvy do Kanady: vospominanii︠a︡ solista ansambli︠a︡ "Madrigal." Originally published by Aleteĭi︠a︡, Sankt-Peterburg in 2015.
Translation of: Жизнь в музыке от Москвы до Канады: воспоминания солиста ансамбля "Мадригал." Originally published by Aleteĭi︠a︡, Sankt-Peterburg in 2015.

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A Life in Music from the Soviet Union to Canada: Memoirs of a Madrigal Ensemble Singer (Book)

A Life in Music from the Soviet Union to Canada: Memoirs of a Madrigal Ensemble Singer

The musical career of Alexander Tumanov extends from Stalinist and Soviet Russia through contemporary Canada, and as such provides an inspiring portrait of one person’s devotion to his art under trying circumstances. Tumanov was a founding member of Moscow’s Madrigal Ensemble of early music, which introduced Renaissance and Baroque music to the Soviet Union. The Ensemble enjoyed tremendous popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, despite occasional official disapproval by the Soviet bureaucracy. At times the compositions of the group’s founder, Andrei Volkonsky, were banned. Volkonsky eventually emigrated to escape the oppressive conditions, followed soon after, in 1974, by Tumanov, and the Madrigal Ensemble continued in a changed form under new leaders. The story of the author's subsequent life and career in Canada provides a poignant point of contrast with his Soviet period — at the musical, academic, and political levels. This book is a valuable resource for those interested in the history of music and intellectual life in Russia, Ukraine, and the Soviet Union in the twentieth century and is the first published book on the Madrigal Ensemble.

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A Life in Music from the Soviet Union: Memoirs of a Madrigal Ensemble Singer, ark:/67531/metadc1506233

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  • May 2019

Added to The UNT Digital Library

  • June 13, 2019, 7:27 a.m.

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  • March 31, 2021, 1:02 a.m.

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Tumanov, Alexander & Tumanov, Vladimir. A Life in Music from the Soviet Union to Canada [Sound Files], book, May 2019; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1506223/: accessed May 22, 2025), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.

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