Rock opera of "Pesnyary" based on Kupala's words re-released on vinyl
A new vinyl record of the rock opera "Husliar" performed by the Belarusian vocal-instrumental ensemble "Pesnyary" has been released, reported the legendary Russian record company "Melodiya".
The work was based on Yanka Kupala's poem "Kurhan": the music was written by Ihar Luchanok, and the arrangement was done by Uladzimir Mulyavin. The rock opera was recorded in 1979, with Rafael Rahimau as the sound engineer.
For the re-release, the company carried out sound remastering and restoration, handled by Maksim Pilipau. Matrices for the records were produced from original analog master tapes. The annotation was prepared by Dzianis Bayarynau, and the edition included the full libretto text in Belarusian and Russian.
At the time, for this project, "Pesnyary" significantly expanded their instrumental lineup: adding wind and string instruments, as well as an additional rhythm section. In the music, traditional Belarusian instruments such as dulcimer (tsymbaly) and zhaleika are combined with a Hammond organ and Moog synthesizer, and the main character's gusli are rendered with the sound of an acoustic guitar with a flanger effect, which was an innovative solution at the time.