“Voices and Colours”

In the photo: a working moment of the film crew. Photo by the author.

Last December the people of Gorky could see in the TV schedule a new picture by Gorky “Telefilm”: “Voices and Colours”, with script and direction by Yu. Bespalov and cameramen A. Baryzhkov and V. Ternovoy. “Voices and Colours” is a colour musical film in which the visual and sound elements are intricately linked. The musical basis of the film consists of works of Russian and Western classics and Russian folk songs. The visual series consists mainly of paintings from our Gorky Art Museum. The a cappella choruses performed by the Gorky Chamber Choir and the Boys’ Choir Chapel sound magnificent; the artistic director and conductor of both collectives is L. K. Sivukhin. The recordings were made specially for the film by the State House of Radio Broadcasting and Sound Recording. “Voices and Colours” was shown on the local television programme, unfortunately in black and white (the colour film equipment of Gorky TV is only now being prepared to come into service). Yet it is precisely the combination of subtle colour shades and colour rhythms with the rhythms and shades of the musical sound that forms the basis of the film and its emotional power. These qualities could be appreciated by viewers who managed to see the film on a cinema screen. The film was shown at the House of Architects at a meeting with creative young people of the Union of Architects, and also in the popular programme “Nizhny Novgorod Gatherings”, held regularly at the “Oktyabr” cinema. On 21 May the film was shown at the All-Union House of Composers in Moscow at a regular meeting of the discussion club of choirmasters and composers “Kamerton”. The members of this club had come to Moscow from the most varied cities of the Union and warmly received the Gorky picture. The club’s host, Honoured Artist of the RSFSR G. A. Struve, introduced the conductor L. Sivukhin and the director Yu. Bespalov to those assembled. It remains to add that the film “Voices and Colours” has been accepted for duplication by television studios across the country and has been accepted by the film archive of Central Television.

R. Bogdanov. “Gorkovsky Rabochy”