There are two major skating rinks in Sergiyev Posad, both of them equipped with powerful and obtrusive sound systems.
This is not to say that the music played there is bad, if anything, I can bear with it most of the time pretty well, but the whole idea of having no choice makes me feel uncomfortable, and sorry for the people living nearby.
For some reason or another, yesterday’s night was a quiet one, only the sounds of blades scraping the ice, dry clickings of hockey sticks, odd voices, foul language and laughter, rude mothers and crying babies, happy couples and all the rest – a whole world packed into one single skating rink, cleared in a hurry and dimly lit.
Those night recordings come in two lengths. The first is somewhat long, lasting for about 16 minutes. You can skip it anytime (which I hope you won’t do), but it sounds pretty much the same during playback. What a wonderful toneless array of sounds!
The second recording is more emotional but way shorter, and I need to make a note on this for those who don’t speak Russian.
The baby can’t skate and she is begging her mother to come and take her by the hand. Subsequently, her mother walks away as the child bursts into tears once again. ‘Mama I don’t want you to leave me’, she says making a few awkward steps and falling down on ice. Her mother knows no better than telling off the poor child, and probably this is the way she’s been treated by her parents years ago.
Recorded January 5th, 2012 (CA-14 omni + STC-9000)
Published January 7th, 2012.
Thanks for this post, it give me idea.
Most of my post have very long sound files. I should probably publish both a long and short version in the future.
That would be a welcome addition Magnus. But at the same time long recordings make your blog special, it seems like not many people dare doing this.
What a great post. Beautiful clear sounds of the ice-skates, and then the voices and language of the people from your region bringing it all into life. No need to speak Russian to understand the story of the child. Great work!
Thanks a lot, it was worth spending some time standing still out in the cold.