The Russian Children's Folklore Ensemble
“Gudochek” was created in 2010 in Seattle, based
on PAVA
led by singer and ethnomusicologist Juliana Svetlitchnaia.
The word "Gudochek" means "a little
gudok", ancient Russian fiddle. Initially, it consisted of PAVA members and their children who
performed at school concerts and festivals devoted to ethnic
culture. Later, more children joined “Gudochek” and now it has
more than 20 participants of age 5-9 years.
Repertoire of the ensemble consists of Russian
folk songs and dances, and children's play songs. Some of the
dance songs are accompanied by percussion instruments, such as
rattles, wooden spoons, washboard, bells, and others. Children
perform in traditional folk costumes, some of which were
gathered in ethnographic expeditions to Russian villages. The
ensemble's mission is to preserve and perform
traditional Russian folk songs. However, they also perform contemporary children's favorite Russian compositions.
