The Russian genre chanson (шансон) is broad and sometimes ambiguous. Although it often refers to prison songs, here Yulya Zapol’skaya Whitney embodies another aspect of chanson—urban romance and the émigré experience. Imagine Yulya performing these songs on a snowy and quiet winter evening in a quaint apartment, not in Moscow but in the Russian émigré boroughs of New York. Yulya brings a new mood and context to these traditional songs about romance, youth, and war: nostalgia for the Motherland. The musical accompaniment consists of simple, delicate strokes on the piano. Liner notes include song lyrics in English and Russian.

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