Belarusian music combines a strong heritage of folk song and dance with choral, classical, rock, and popular traditions shaped by the country’s place between Eastern and Central Europe.
Belarus is an Eastern European country with a rich tradition of folk and religious music. The country's folk music traditions can be traced back to the times of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania. In the 20th century, the Soviet control of the country somewhat limited musical development because nationally oriented music was considered subversive and dangerous to the Soviet authority. The country's musical traditions spread with its people to countries like Russia, Canada, United States,Kazakhstan, Latvia and Ukraine [1]. The people of Belarus were exposed mostly to Russian pop music during this period and also after independence in 1991. In 2002, however, Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree requiring 50% of all FMbroadcast music to be Belarusian in origin, and since January 1, 2005 the rule was made even stricter (75% of daily broadcast music must be Belarusian). Though it doesn't regulate songs language, so most of broadcast music is still in Russian.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia’s “Music of Belarus” article.
Pesniary’s “Belorussiya” reflects the ensemble’s influential fusion of Belarusian folk melody, close vocal harmony, and Soviet-era popular music.