Sretensky Monastery Choir: The Power of Russian Music

Friday, September 14, 2007; Page C10

Working from both sacred and secular texts, Moscow Sretensky Monastery Choir filled the Library of Congress’s Coolidge Auditorium on Wednesday night with a vocal luster that extended as far as the expression of reverence and human passion can reach. And the auditorium was filled to the rafters with listeners, the audience including many religious dignitaries in colorful ritual dress.

Cheers and applause erupted throughout the evening, one stop in the group’s first American tour, which marks this year’s reunification of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia with the Moscow Patriarchate.

The choir regularly sings for services at its home, a medieval monastery within the Kremlin’s walls. The monastery was taken over by Soviet authorities in 1917 but was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1994, when the choir was established.

The concert opened with four sacred Russian and Byzantine chants, the voices reverberating with powerful but unforced ardor. This sonorous quality dominated even in delicately hushed pianissimos.

Much credit is due to artistic director Nikon Zhila’s bold, definitive conducting, which won the choir’s instant response and tonal splendor with the slightest flick of his fingers.

Before the program began, the 41-member ensemble offered a solemn succession of Russian Orthodox chants in a tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The evening continued with Russian, Cossack and Ukrainian songs, followed by romances often in light opera style. Both texts and music centered on themes of nostalgia and yearning, whether for a distant homeland, absent lover or fallen comrade. Among the many fine soloists joining with the choir was the luminous bass Dmitry Beloselsky, whose dark, savory voice often reflected mournful longing for the Russian steppes.

Cecelia Porter

Washington Post

9/17/2007

See also
Festival of Religious Music to be held at the Moscow Church of “Joy to All the Afflicted” Icon of the Mother of God on October 14 – November 6 Festival of Religious Music to be held at the Moscow Church of “Joy to All the Afflicted” Icon of the Mother of God on October 14 – November 6 Festival of Religious Music to be held at the Moscow Church of “Joy to All the Afflicted” Icon of the Mother of God on October 14 – November 6 Festival of Religious Music to be held at the Moscow Church of “Joy to All the Afflicted” Icon of the Mother of God on October 14 – November 6
The Festival of Religious Music will begin at the Moscow Church of the “Joy to All the Afflicted” icon of the Mother of God on 14 October, the feast day of the Protection of the Mother of God.
And the raven shall scatter your bones … And the raven shall scatter your bones …
Luke Harding
And the raven shall scatter your bones … And the raven shall scatter your bones …
Luke Harding
“There is a sacred aspect to Russian folk songs – they are often about death and suffering,” Father Tikhon explains, over a pot of tea in his comfortable residence. “One piece, The Black Raven, is a sort of dialogue with death. It’s about a Cossack soldier going off to battle knowing he is going to die. He speaks of how a bullet will pierce his chest, how his comrades will leave him, and how his wife will marry his best friend. His bones will be scattered across the steppe by wolves and ravens.”
Sacred Sound And Sheer Beauty Sacred Sound And Sheer Beauty Sacred Sound And Sheer Beauty Sacred Sound And Sheer Beauty
Fred Kirshnit
On the occasion of the reunification of the Orthodox Church within Russia to the greater Russian Orthodox Church, the 41-member choir is touring the world, singing primarily in sacred spaces but also taking some time out for public concerts. On Tuesday evening at Avery Fisher Hall, there was no room left for procrastinators, and the management had to provide seats on the stage to accommodate the overflow crowd.

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