Bill, Liz, Russell, Terry, Brian

It is truly a privilege for me to be able to make a comment on the occasion of the release of this new album by the Pepin family. Firstly, I am not talking about strangers. The Pepins have been lifelong neighbours and friends, co-participants in various Doukhobor cultural activities, and even (in the case of Brian, Terry and Russell) students in my Russian-language classes. Furthermore, since our society operates a Bookshop which stocks all of the records produced by people in the local area, we have witnessed, at first hand, that one or the other of their members of the Pepin family has participated in a total of no less than seven* of these albums! And that's not all - because everyone of these LPs is among the best-selling ones which we have ever stocked in the store!

Clearly, the Pepins are a talented family indeed - and they have not come by such talent accidentally. In chapter 35 of his book Tanya, Eli Popoff talks about the excellent singing ability of the Popoff family (no relatives to the author or this writer) in the Doukhobor community at Kylemore, Saskatchewan, in the 1920's. Elizabeth Pepin is a descendant of this very same family, and with her rare soprano voice, she forms the cornerstone of the singing Pepins. William's family were also wellknown as ardent supporters of Doukhobor traditions, and with this background, and with his strong bass voice, it was inevitable that William Pepin's marriage to Elizabeth Popoff would result in a fine singing family. And so it has. Each with his own individual talent, Brian, Terry and Russell, blend in with their parents to form a harmonious quintet.

But not only are the Pepins excellent exponents of modern Doukhobor singing, they are also a fine example of the strong family tradition of the Doukhobor organization, the Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ (Orthodox Doukhobors) and to their community of Grand Forks, British Columbia.

I am confident that this album will give as much pleasure to its listeners, as have the previous albums in which the Pepin family has participated.

Jim Popoff
Mir Publication Society

* U.S.C.C. Youth Choir Album [William & Elizabeth in the second formal choir of the Doukhobor Community in Canada], 1963; Expo '67 Choir [sang at Expo '67 in Montreal], 1967; Vocal Six [1st album by William, Elizabeth and two other couples], 1969; Vocal Six [Tribute to BC Centennial], 1971; Friends [all the Pepins featuring Brian and Terry and four "Friends"], 1975; U.S.C.C. Friendship Choir [William & Elizabeth in U.S.C.C. Youth Choir under new name], 1975; U.S.C.C. Union of Youth Choir of Grand Forks [Brian & Terry participating in the album], 1975.

Recorded at Demosky's Recording Studio, Grand Forks, BC. Recording Engineers: Bill Dergousoff and Jim Thieven
Photography by Bill Astofooroff.

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