TRADITIONAL FOLK SONGS IN THE REPERTOIRES OF MEZEN CHOIRS

This study focuses on the singing practices of village communities, which were the object of the author’sfi eld observations during expeditions to the Mezen River and its tributaries in the Arkhangelsk region from 2007 troughthe 2010s. The research was conducted through participant observation, which led to the identifi cation of two distincttypes of singing practices in this area: public and private. The primary goal of this research was to explore the uniquecharacteristics of these practices, with fi ndings partially presented in this article. It highlights the role of traditional songfolklore within the repertoires of rural choirs. By examining singing as a communal activity, this approach offers a freshperspective on the subject. In Russian philological folkloristics, the analysis typically focuses on song texts, leavingthe practical aspects of singing relatively unexplored. Given the anthropological shift in the humanities, this study isparticularly relevant. The fi ndings suggest that the continued presence of traditional song folklore in the repertoires of rural choirs, even a century after the decline of the peasant class, underscores its enduring signifi cance for both local residents and the authorities supporting these folk groups.