The Military Band of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia performed Armenian folk music as well as music pieces by Armenian composers, included in the world treasury of classical music, while the Exemplary Band of the Belarus Armed Forces wowed the audiences with a variety of Belarusian folk songs for duda. The band from Belarus performed together with the Honor Guard Unit.
The Band of the Armenian Armed Forces General Staff performed a variety of music pieces composed by prominent and popular Armenian composers, bringing the warm motifs of their native country to the cobblestones of Red Square. The unique spirit of Armenia was recreated with the help of the traditional drum called the dhol and the national duduk flute, regarded to be the voice of the Armenian soul, its wisdom and sadness, love and joy. The piercing notes made the audience freeze in admiration.
As Colonel Hayk Grigoryan, the head of the Military Band Service of the Armenian Armed Forces General Staff-Chief Military Conductor, noted, the duduk was included in the performance of the ensemble for a reason—to demonstrate to the greatest extent the culture of Armenia.
He highlighted that it was a great honor for the band to take part in the festival at the highest international level. "This is very responsible, and every team that passes through the Spasskaya Tower Festival at least once can be proud of this experience," Hayk Grigoryan shared his emotions.
The Armenian musicians also performed the folk dance called Alashkert Kochari on the cobblestones of Red Square. They lined up in a circle that symbolizes life and protects the family from adversity. Then they formed the Roman numeral XV in honor of the Festival, which this year was celebrating its fifteenth anniversary.
The return to the cobblestones of Red Square of the Exemplary Band and Honor Guard of the Belarus Armed Forces was very well received by the audience. This time the musicians performed musical variations on the Belarusian folk songs for duda. The bagpipe, a traditional instrument for all military tattoos, was the star of the show.
According to Colonel Maxim Kochetkov, the artistic director and chief conductor of the band, every year his musicians prepare a new program, especially for the Spasskaya Tower Festival. For this anniversary run, all the music pieces were written by the conductor of the band himself. "This year we made a non-standard and non-traditional exit. We have moved away from all patterns. This time we present an integral show, working in unison with the Honor Guard Unit. Immediately after the exit, we get down on one knee, and the guests on the stands see the word Minsk," the conductor said.
He also mentioned that this year, the band members not only accompany the Honor Guard Unit, but also take part in the drilling defile. The conductor shared his plans: "We have already discussed that someday we will make a completely joint defile, that these will be common formations of musicians and soldiers with carbines".
The Honor Guard Unit of the Belarus Armed Forces is a distinguished hallmark of the country. Each and every performance is a breathtaking show full of unexpected surprises. This time, along with the already familiar elements, guests of the Festival witnessed several new figures, such as the Sun and the Wave.
The cobblestones of Red Square were literally conquested by the music paratroopers, who were the Combined Band of the Russian Airborne Forces. To the audience's standing ovation, the band performed the Orchestra Fantasy, while the dancers showed elements of hand-to-hand combat stylized as a dance. At the end of the performance, the cadets of the Honor Guard Unit of the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School, named after General of the Army Margelov, unfurled the flag of the Airborne Forces with an area of about 1200 square meters, which covered the entire stage. In 2020, in honor of the 90th anniversary of the troops, the flag was dropped from a light aircraft and deployed at an altitude of 2000 meters above the ground.
The third night of the Festival also welcomed the President’s Band and Honor Guard Unit of the Presidential Regiment, the Military Band of the Russian National Guard Forces Chief Department for the Krasnodar Region, the Panghat Performing Arts Group, the Merry Notes Children's Violin Ensemble, the Boonwattana School Marching Band, the Great Military Band of the Venezuelan Armed Forces, the Egyptian Military Symphonic Band, the Central Band of the Russian Navy named after Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (performing together with the Young Alexandrovs and Znamenskie Drummers ensembles), the Central Military Band of the Russian Ministry of Defense, and the Suvorov Cadet Band of the Moscow Military Music College together with the Girl Drummers Band of the All-Girls Boarding School (the Russian Ministry of Defense).
The Festival is carried out following the Order of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, under the aegis of the Public Council headed by Mr. Alexander Zhukov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, with the support of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Moscow Department of Culture.
Photo: Maria Moskvitsova, Georgiy Basalaev, Andrey Golovanov
