« Representatives of the Diocese of Sourozh took part in the Third International Congress of Choir Directors and Singers of the Russian Orthodox Church »

From October 16 to 18, 2023, the III International Congress of Choir Directors and Singers of the Russian Orthodox Church was held in Moscow. The congress was attended by more than 600 people from 52 regions of the Russian Federation, as well as from the countries of near and far abroad.

On October 16, the opening of the congress took place in the Hall of Church Councils of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Metropolitan Ambrose of Tver and Kashin, Chairman of the Church and Public Council under His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for the Development of Russian Church Singing, read out the greetings of the Primate of the Russian Church to the participants of the congress and addressed the gathering with an opening speech:

"I would like to make a brief excursion into the history of the Congress of Choir Directors and Singers of our Church. First Congress took place in November 2016, here in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. An event of truly historic proportions took place for the first time since 1917. In 2019, the Second Congress took place in Moscow. In total, the first and second forums were attended by more than a thousand choir directors, singers, choral conductors and artists, members of choirs performing Russian sacred music, as well as lovers of Russian sacred music from many regions of Russia, countries of near and far abroad. And then came the years of the pandemic and events that, as we know, have changed a lot in our world.

This year, by the grace of God, we are holding our third congress. Many dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church, stavropegic monasteries and specialised educational institutions are involved in this year's church meeting. Within the framework of the congress, it is planned to hold plenary sessions, thematic sections, a concert, master classes, performances by leading figures and specialists in the field of Russian sacred music.

The organiser of the congress, as in previous years, is the Church and Public Council for the Development of Russian Church Singing under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

I cordially thank the permanent working group of our Council for their efforts in organising the congress."

Olga Lyubimova, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, addressed the participants of the congress with a video message.

Further, the participants of the congress presented reports on the life and work of Sergei Rachmaninoff, a hereditary Russian nobleman, a brilliant pianist and composer, who became a symbol of Russian music around the world:

• "S.V. Rachmaninoff in the Discussions of Contemporaries and Descendants" — by V.B. Valkova, Doctor of Art History, Professor at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music;

• "The Church in the Life and Work of S.V. Rachmaninoff" — by Svetlana Zvereva, PhD in Art History, Senior Research Fellow at the State Institute of Art Studies (Moscow), Lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Glasgow);

• "On the Musical Language of Rachmaninoff's Sacred Compositions" — by Natalia Plotnikova, Doctor of Art History, Professor at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Leading Researcher at the State Institute of Art Studies;

• "Rachmaninoff's Sacred Music: Some Aspects of Problematics" — by A.B. Kovalev, Doctor of Art History, Professor of the Department of Music History and Theory of the V.S. Popov Academy of Choral Art.In the second part of the plenary session, the reports were devoted to the problems of choir singing in our time:

• "Contemporary Composer's Creativity on Canonical Liturgical Texts" — by Svetlana Khvatova, Doctor of Art History, Professor of the Department of Musicology of the Krasnodar State Institute of Culture, Chief Researcher of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of the Saratov State Conservatory, Honoured Artist of the Republic of Adygea, Member of the Union of Composers of Russia, Choir Director of the Church of the Resurrection in Maikop;

• "Contemporary Belarusian Composer Natalia Bogodayeva" — by V.I. Sobolevsky, laureate of international competitions, artistic director, senior conductor of the Minsk Metropolitan Choir of the Holy Spirit Cathedral, senior lecturer at the Minsk Theological School (Minsk);

• "The Importance of the Minsk International Festival of Orthodox Chants in the Revival of Orthodox Culture in Belarus" — by L.A. Gustova-Runzo, Doctor of Art History, Professor, Leading Researcher of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus, Professor of the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts;

• "Psychological Aspects of Choir Ministry" — by G.L. Safronov, President of the Federation of Male Choirs and Ensembles, Chief Conductor of the Festive Male Choir of the Moscow Danilov Monastery;

• "From the Life of Parishes Abroad. Divine Liturgy in the languages of the Catholic and Protestant worlds. A Musical Aspect" — by T. Shcherba (Vienna);

• "The Question of Translation of Divine Services into Russian, or 'Straightened' Church Slavonic in the Light of the Experience of Ministry Abroad" — by M. Sarni (Great Britain).After the break, there was a discussion of reports on the current stage in the development of church singing, life of S.V. Rachmaninoff, distribution of choir directors, etc.

This was followed by a presentation of the books "The Monophonic Liturgy" and "The Choir and Its Management" by P.G. Chesnokov, and "The Spiritual Testament to Those Who Serve in the Field of Liturgical Singing in Russia" by Archpriest Michael Fortunatto.

Phoniatrician G.M. Ulezko held a master class, during which participants could ask the doctor questions about proper singing and preservation of vocal cords.

The participants of the conference met with composer G.N. Lapayev, choir director of the choir of the Bishop's Metochion – the Cathedral of the Ascension of the Lord in Tver.

The first day ended with a large gala concert of the Patriarchal International Festival "The Light of Christ". The gala concert was opened by the Combined Choir of Moscow, which included:

• Moscow Synodal Choir, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor — Honoured Artist of Russia A. Puzakov;

• the “Artos” Choir of the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Solntsevo in Moscow, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor — Varvara Volkova;

• Choir of the Epiphany Cathedral in Elokhovo, Moscow, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor — Alexander Mayorov.

Other participants of the gala concert included:

• festive choir of the Danilov Monastery, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor — Georgy Safonov;

• vocal ensemble "Svetoch" of the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Nizhny Novgorod, Artistic Director and Conductor — Kira Moleva;

• the joint choir of the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius and the Moscow Theological Academy, directed and conducted by Hieromonk Nestor (Volkov);

• Bell Music Ensemble "Bells of Russia", Artistic Director — Galina Filimonova.

On October 17, leaders of children's choirs, teachers of church singing and choir directors of churches from Arzamas, village Severskaya in the Krasnodar Region, and Novosibirsk spoke at the Meeting Chamber of St. Tikhon's Orthodox Humanitarian University.

The participants spoke about modern practices and techniques of kliros singing, about singing rehearsals as an important means of developing vocal and auditory skills of a children's choir, about the revival of national liturgical singing, about the history of liturgical chants and about modern approaches to kliros singing. There was also a presentation of a textbook on Byzantine music, master classes and a concert "Byzantine and Old Russian chants".

The congress ended on October 18 at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow with celebration of the Divine Liturgy, headed by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, with the participation of the Combined Choir of Delegates to the Third International Congress of Choir Directors and Singers, as well as laureates and participants of the Patriarchal International Festival of Sacred Music "Light of Christ."

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