Retro FM Russia

Retro FM Russia:

Retro FM Russia lives broadcasting from Russia. Retro FM Russia is one of the most famous online radio station in Russia. With a great mix of Oldies, Classic, Pop music. Retro FM Russia has something for all discerning music lovers.

About:

Written documents exist that describe the musical culture of Rus’. The most popular kind of instruments in medieval Russia was thought to have been string instruments, such as the gusli or gudok. Archeologists have uncovered examples of these instruments in the Novgorod region dating as early as the 11th century. (Novgorod republic had deep traditions in music; its most popular folk hero and the chief character of several epics was Sadko, a gusli player). Other instruments in common use include flutes (svirel), and percussive instruments such as the treshchotka and the Buben. The most popular form of music, however, was singing. Bylinas (epic ballads) about folk heroes such as Sadko, Ilya Muromets, and others were often sung, sometimes to instrumental accompaniment. The texts of some of these epics have been recorded.

In the period of Muscovy, two major genres formed Russian music: the sacred music of the Orthodox Church and secular music used for entertainment. The sacred music draws its tradition from the Byzantine Empire, with key elements being used in Russian Orthodox bell ringing, as well as choral singing. Neumes were developed for musical notation, and as a result, several examples of medieval sacred music have survived to this day, among them two stichera composed by Tsar Ivan IV in the 16th century.