In the 18th and early 19th centuries, thousands of German-speaking people established major German settlements in Russia, first along the Volga River in the north, and secondly along the Black Sea in South Russia and nearby Bessarabia. Eventually, many migrated yet again, this time to North and South America. Throughout their travels, these Germans now Germans from Russia maintained their traditional religious music, their lullabies and folk songs, their vocal and instrumental music alike.
A Soulful Sound, Music of the Germans from Russia blends expert commentary with performances of traditional music from regional talent, including St. Andrew’s Lutheran Centennial Choir (Zeeland, ND), University of Mary Concert Choir (Bismarck, ND), Jamestown College Concert Choir (Jamestown, ND), Young People’s Hutterite Singers (Hawley, MN), Alive Gospel Choir (Kulm area, ND), James Valley Singers (Jamestown, ND), Centennial Men’s Choir (Harvey area, ND) and the Napoleon area folk singers. Singers featured in the program include Maria Appelhans (Fort Collins, CO), Rosalinda Kloberdanz (Fargo, ND), John J. Gross (Napoleon, ND), Tony Wangler (Kintyre, ND) Robert E. Erbele (Lehr, ND) and Ron Volk (Harvey, ND).
Enjoy Marv Zander (Mandan, ND), Victor Schwahn (Bismarck, ND) and their bands as they perform accordion music and recreate a traditional wedding reception in the Blue Room in Strasburg, ND; and take a trip to Torrington, WY, to partake in an evening of “Dutch Hop” music.
A Soulful Sound, Music of the Germans from Russia was produced by Prairie Public Television in partnership with the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, North Dakota State University Libraries, Fargo; and the Germans from Russia Cultural Preservation Foundation. It is the fourth in a series of documentaries about the Germans from Russia produced by Prairie Public Television.
Includes 40 minutes of bonus performance footage.
Production funding provided by the North Dakota Council on the Arts, The North Dakota Humanities Council, Roger and Bernadine Lang Kuhn, Clarence and Marilyn Bauman, Thomas and Janice Huber Stangl, Michael M. Miller, the Germans from Russia Heritage Society, and the members of Prairie Public Television.
2006 Aurora Award
"A Soulful Sound Music of the Germans from Russia" produced by Prairie Public Broadcasting in cooperation with the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, NDSU Libraries, Fargo, and The Germans from Russia Preservation Foundation with additional funding from the The North Dakota Council on the Arts, The North Dakota Humanities Council, Roger and Bernadine Lang Kuhn, Clarence and Marilyn Bauman, Thomas and Janice Huber Stangl, and Michael M. Miller has won a 2006 Gold Aurora Award in the Documentary-Cultural category. The program has been distributed nationally to PBS stations by NETA.
The Aurora Awards recognizes individuals in the film and video industries who have achieved that same ability to captivate their audiences with the displays produced from their own creative forces. Competitors come from private and corporate production groups, advertising agencies and television stations throughout the country.
The Aurora Awards is also an international competition designed to recognize excellence in the film and video industries. Entries have come from across the US, and abroad, such as Canada, Hong Kong, Denmark, Mexico, etc.
The judging functions are performed by panels of working film and video professionals that are set up in major cities across the country. Most are writers, producers, or directors who are previous award winners. Judges with specific proficiencies are matched with specific categories; for example music composers sit on the original music panels. The basic premise of the judging structure for the Aurora Awards is receiving the endorsement of your peers that your work is outstanding. Programs are judged on a fixed scale in areas of creativity, message effectiveness and technical excellence. Added together this provides a score that is measured against an absolute scale to determine if the program is award worthy or not. Using this method there could be several winners in one category or none at all. Overall scores from each panel are also compared to a statistical model to see if there is a consistency and fairness in each panel. Less than 2 out of every 10 entries receive an award."
Bob Dambach
Director of Television
Prairie Public Broadcasting
Fargo, North Dakota
Comments about the documentary:
"We watched the documentary last night. It is an excellent production. You have preserved another important piece of the German-Russian culture for this generation and those to come to appreciate. We enjoyed having the opportunity to be a part of the music for it. My wife, Lucinda (Schmitt), is from a German -Russian family. Her father and his siblings grew up in the sacred music tradition. Her grandparents had one of those beautiful pump organs and her grandfather played it and the children sang with him. One of her cousins still has the organ."
--- Jeff Malm, rural Kulm, ND
Member of the ALIVE Gospel Choir
