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.
Sounds of the Easter night recorded at the Trinity Sergius monastery in Sergiyev Posad (with a few bits just behind the outer wall). Priests and parishioners, tourists and beggars. Footsteps over the cobbled pavement. Bells, clocks and hymns from the crowded halls. Doors slamming right beside you and trains moving somewhere in the dark. No lighting apart from the hand held candles, a few lamps and the moon. Every church of the monastery stood open on that special night, I visited all of them – including those normally closed to the public.
Recorded April 24th, 2011 (CA-14 omni + SP-TFB-2)
Published April 26th, 2011.
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04/27/2011. And here’s another one Easter sound, recorded at the Chernigovkiy skit (skit can be roughly translated as the hermit’s monastery) located within a 30-minutes walk to the south-east from the Sergiyev Posad train station. Skit is known for its subterranean caves once used as a shelter for the orthodox hermits. Everyone is allowed to to walk up the stairs of the belfry to ring a bell this week. Recordist Alexander Arianov.
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These sounds are also worth mentioning. St Antony Siya monastery in the far North, made available online by the Arkhangelsk recordist known under the dooom_trooper moniker. This is one of those recordings, log on to his web page for more.
Birds sing in a different way this time of the year – Mikhail form Novosibirsk was absolutely right when he spoke about this in his recent letter to oontz.ru. He suggested recording some of those songs, so the next day I grabbed the recorder and went outside to hear some happy chirping. Alas, it was one of those rather uncomfortable transitional spring days, windy and overcast. Then, I heard trees squeaking. What an impressive sound, really worth spending some time out in the cold.
There’s a pretty old tree by the railroad, not far from where I work. It has lots of cracks and hollows. Two Church Audio mics have been placed inside those hollows and this is what could be heard by someone who is used to live there, like a squirrel or marten, on a day like this.
Here’s a one-minute non-binaural extract, recorded inside the trees pictured above. The trees are slowly moving, the wind is shaking the tops.
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And a full recording for the bravest of the brave:
Thanks Mikhail. You too can leave a request.
Recorded March 11th, 2011 (CA-14 omni)
Published March 13th, 2011.
Evgeny Murtola is originally from Pskov in the north of Russia currently living in Zürich, Switzerland. Thanks to him we are about to move to the Christmas Eve service at the Zürich’s St. Peter Church.
The priest is reciting the search-for-God story titled The God Is Where the Love Is by Leo Tolstoy, then the magnificent music is followed by the breathtaking pauses and rustles, the candle light is shared, the fund-raising begins, and a parishioner’s mobile phone sends out a distinctive plea for recharge.
Apart from providing us with this outstanding hour-long (!) recording, Evgeny has kindly made a second-by-second transcript of it. That’s just fantastic.
If you favour his debut effort – and I hope you do – then please drop him a line at exinocactus@gmail.com, he will certainly appreciate it. Otherwise, you may leave a comment at the end of this post.
TRANSCRIPT
01. [0:00 - 2:55] Music. Pipe organ. Stille Nacht, one of the most widely known Christmas carols.
02. [3:04 - 6:23] Priest. Excerpts from the Bible about the birth of Joseph and Mary’s son Jesus. ‘…and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them’, Luke, 2
03. [6:25 - 8:44] Singing. Vom Himmel hoch da komm’ ich her, a popular hymn
04. [8:50 - 10.42] Priest. Welcoming speech, and the prayer
05. [11:12 - 17:25] Music. Trio 1 – A. Corelli, Violinsonate in A-Dur. Largo-Allegro
06. [17:30 - 22.45] Priest. Reading of The God Is Where the Love Is, Leo Tolstoy’s Christmas story of Martin the shoemaker, who thought he had heard from God one day, tried to spot him in the window again but with no result. The next day brought him a bunch strangers such as an old man, an apple peddler and a boy thief – subsequently he offered his help to each one, with all of them turning out to be the divine incarnation, as it was later explained by the same voice at the end of the day. ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’, Matthew, 25
07. [22:59 - 26:15] Music. Trio 2 – J.S. Bach, Sonate A-Dur. Andante un poco 8
08. [26:46 - 38:01] Priest. Preaching a sermon, touchig upon the role and social significance of the Church in the modern society. The service is paused for a minute as the priest leaves the altar and goes up the elevated pulpit
09. [38:09 - 42:19] Music. Trio 3 – T. Albioni, Aus Violinsonate g-moll, Largo-Allegro
10. [42:37 - 44:34] Priest. The prayer. ‘Lord, You have illuminated our lives. Many people all over the world and in our country as well are starving. Many children are unhappy because they do not know that they are loved and welcomed. Please give us courage and strengh to speak up and share these words with each other’
11. [44:35 - 45:20] Silence. ‘Let’s make our silent prayers for our beloved ones’
12. [45:20 - 45:59 - 52:03] Candles are lit. As Evgeny puts it, ‘The priest has passed along the aisles with the candle lit with the altar candles, and then passed the fire to those at the aisles’ sides to pass it along to their neighbours. That made us feel warm and joyful )’
13. [45:59 - 52:03] Music. Trio 4
14. [52:17 - 53:36] Priest. Thanking the musicians and informing that all donations go to the construction works being held in Erithrea
15. [53:37 - 56:17] Singing. Kleiner Gott, a Christmas carol
16. [56:26 - 57:36] Priest. The prayer
17. [57:37 - 58:06] Singing. Stille Nacht.
Recorded on December 24th, 2010 at the Christmas Eve service in St.Peter Church with Soundman OKM II binaural mics and Zoom H1 recorder
Published on February 8th, 2011
Photo by dr.Jaus/Flickr.
For more information on St. Peter Church, Zürich
Valovaya street soundwalk, central Sergiyev Posad. Recorded at the Hronos local history club session hosted by Lidia Ghirlina (Sergiyev Posad State art and history museum). Speech is recorded in stereo, other sounds are binaural stereo. Headphones are required for better stereo image.
Take a tour along Valovaya street:
Recorded August 15th, 2010 (CA-14 omni + R09HR onboard mics)
Published November 2nd, 2010.
Walking in the St Patrick’s Day parade in Moscow.
Here’s a longer version of March 22nd post.
Waking up two hours earlier is really worth the effort if you’re heading for such a nice field recording walk as this one. I went to the northern part of Sergiyev Posad called Severny (The Northern, actually) which is a semi-rural area even these days. When in Sergiyev Posad, you can reach the place by the 1 and 19 minibus route.
The weather was fine and I had enough time to gather some sounds before work. First, sort of a sonic border between the urban and the rural. Busy traffic of the Krasnoy Armii avenue to the right and the first wildlife representative, a lively bird song ahead of me. Don’t forget to click on the photos.
