As an eccentric music listener I ran across Ivan Rebroff a few years ago while downloading various songs. I have to say, that to me, his voice was one of the most amazing in the world. I couldn’t believe the vocal range, and the power behind his voice. Many of the songs I heard are in Russian (which I know two words in) and German (which I used to be able to speak) but the music itself is timeless and has really no language barrier. The man was a legend, I mean, He would perform non stop for 14 days at a time, no breaks, and this was right before he died. Before that he did a whole two year stint of shows 7 days each week. 52 X 2 X 7. That’s how many.
I am in disbelief that he has passed away. A wonderful voice, and performer, has been lost to both the Germanic and Russian people. Although he did a lot of Russian and German folk music he did other stuff too. I think his voice could range four or four and a half octaves, giving him a range from a bass to a soprano. It just doesn’t sink in when one of your favorite artists has passed away, without warning. He was born on the 31st of July in 1931 (according to this) and passed away yesterday (the 27th of February, 2008).
May your voice live on forever.
1 response so far ↓
1 Andyvan // Mar 16, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Yes, he did have an amazing voice. However, little of it was left by the time he passed away. I went to see him (in Germany) in January of 2005, and his range was severely diminished.
See my web site for more information on him.
– Andy
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