"Near the Dnipro bay, in Kyiv "Venice" – Rusanivka, four men were singing aloud. Over the white houses, over the waves, far, far away the song floated. Evhen Ihnatov, Mykola Humenyuk, Volodymyr Didukh and Valentyn Reus. The joint biography of the male vocal quartet, which afterwards adopted the poetic name "Yavir", meaning the silver-leaved sycamore tree glorified in folk songs and legends, started on August, 8, 1966. It is clear enough that a good singer should have, foremost, a strong, beautiful voice. But for a true artist the voice alone is not enough. Artistic conduct, the manner of performance, high artistic taste for selection of the repertoire, love to folk art and its tactful use – without these qualities, even a possessor of a very strong voice cannot be considered a true singer.
Now, "Yavir" is 43, this quartet performs in lots of concert halls of our country and beyond its borders. Always – masterfully, always – with success.
The first composition of "Yavir" can be heard on this disc, recordings of 1967-71"
(from materials of the official press-release)
