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I've recently managed to add several early Russian operas to my collection and, though I am not particularly fond of Russian music on the whole, I found some of the pieces truly enchanting and, in context of the musical tradition that was developing in Europe at the time (at the end of the eighteenth century), both authentically Russian and yet incorporating ideas that would not seem out of place in a European opera. The present upload is a compilation of my personal selections from one such work, “The Coachmen at the Horse Stage-Post“ by one of Russia's first classical composers, Yestignei Fomin. The narrative of the work (which barely lasts more than half an hour) is simple: the coachmen are eagerly awaiting the Tzarina's passage of their post, only the virtuous Timofei is saddened, as he is concerned over his quiet life with his wife, as the no-good Vachrush has been heard saying that he would occupy himself with bringing Timofei's downfall. This plan is quickly brought into action when the former approac
