Founded in 1973 in Moscow by Dmitri Pokrovsky, the great musician and ethnomusicologist, the Pokrovsky Ensemble's repertoire encompasses more than 2000 songs, including medieval Russian village music, music of the country's old and new faiths, and modern works of Russian composers. The Russian nation has many different ethnic groups separated by geographical regions. Each small group has its own customs, traditions and lifestile. This is reflected in their songs, which are in an oral improvisational tradition handed down from generation to generation. Dmitri Pokrovsky was the one of the first musicians in Russia who felt the need to bridge the gap between the old and new musical vocabulary. He formed the Ensemble as a 'living laboratory' with the aim of keeping folk music alive.