Scotland and Russia: Song in Translation with Thomas Beavitt
Presentation by translator/bard Thomas Beavitt of songs translated from (Scots-) English to Russian and vice versa between 2008-2015
- Burns & Vysotsky | Бёрнс и Высоцкий – Translations into English by T. Beavitt; into Russian by I. Golovina and M. Feygin
- Saints & Sinners | Святые и грешники – Poems by B. Petrov and the late A. Zyryanov, translations into English by T. Beavitt; into Russian by M. Feygin
- The Bard is Not Dead! | Жив поэт! – Poems by Lermontov translated into English by T. Beavitt; Romance of Thomas the Rhymer translated into Russian by M. Feygin
- Songs of the Great Patriotic War | Песни Великой Отечественной войны – English translations of Soviet songs from the wartime period by T. Beavitt commissioned for the ‘Cultural Crossroads’ memorial event held in Volgograd in September 2015
Performer
Thomas Beavitt (Scottish singer, songwriter, translator and poet) has been working in the Russian cultural milieu since first being invited to perform at the Moscow City Day festival in 2008. His Global Village Bard project consists in an “attempt to revitalise the traditional role of the village bard in the context of the present globalised situation.” Bards were part of an oral culture, which began to die out with the advent of writing. However, sung and recited language continues to play a vital communicational role. Thomas currently lives and works in Ekaterinburg, Russia, where he teaches English and translates, as well as developing and performing his bilingual repertoires in collaboration with Russian musicians, singers, poets and translators.
This event took part on the 9 October 2015 as part of the ‘Scotland and Russia: Cultural Encounters Since 1900’ project.