XI regional festival of orthodox singing

XI regional festival of orthodox singing in memory of the most holy Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexius II became the key event of the Days of Slavic writing and culture of 2009.

Numerous performances of choruses and vocal groups were organized on the best concert stages of Vologda and Cherepovets for all lovers of orthodox singing before the festival. The city of metallurgists opened this musical forum with the big choral concert in the hall of the City Philharmonic Assembly. In Vologda, in the Southwest tower of the Kremlin there was a performance by the city academic chapel (art director - V.Sergeev).

Male chorus of the Vologda Kremlin - a recently created group (director - S.Serebrennik) - showed its art in the majestic St. Sofia cathedral. Singers and listeners enjoyed the magnificent acoustics of the temple.

The concert in the Picture gallery gave bright impressions due to the meeting with two everyday church choruses: the Temple of Dormition from Verkhovazhye (regent - mother Ariadna) and the Vologda temple of sacred prophet John the Forerunner in Roschenye (Regent Svetlana Gladkova). M.Nedzelskaya's popular chorus «the Vologda boys» also took part in this program.

Guests from Verkhovazhye - exemplary art group «Rainbow of songs» (director O.Shilova), united with the performing group of constant choristers of the Dormition temple, - sang prays and a number of melodious spiritual verses - «the sacred Earth», «Easter Song», a popular variant «Mnogaya Leta». In the Verkhovazhsky chorus sing only female voices, while the chorus of the Vologda temple of St. John the Forerunner is a mixed one.

The chorus of boys and ensemble of young men «Bravo» (art director - M.Nedzelskaya) showed a big program. In the concert spiritual church chanting and many favourite secular works by Tukhmanov and Ayedonitsky were sung (soloist Egor Hobotov).

The concert of the mixed chorus of the musical college (director Lyudmila Shuvalova) and the performers of the musical - pedagogical department of VSPU under the direction of Tatyana Brova was a success.

On May, 24 and 25 final concerts of the festival took place in the hall of the regional musical college. At the Gala concert mainly Vologda groups took part. A fine preamble of the choral festival was the performance of the Cherepovets city chamber chorus «Revival» (art director - Honoured artist of the Russian Federation Sergey Zuev), which powerfully and solemnly performed «Christ is risen» and «Patriarchal».

Vocal ensemble «Kantabile» from Kaduy (director - Elena Berezina) performed prayful church chanting by Arensky and Kalinnikov. Genuine interest of public was aroused by the youth chorus of the temple of Saint Procopy from Vilikii Ustyug (regent Lyudmila Fomina) who sang choruses by Arkhangelsky «to the Virgin diligently» and by Kosopovalov «Ratify My God», and also by the male chorus of the Vologda Kremlin. The well-known in Vologda chorus of the temple of the Intercession of the Virgin on the Torg (chorus master - Natalia Soboleva), as always, was marked by the complexity of the executed repertoire and euphony.

The choral marathon was closed with the performance of the winner of the All-Russia competitions the Moscow vocal group «Water color» (director - Anatoly Butusov). In general, the festival continues the tradition of acquaintance of our oblast population with the art of spiritual singing which's been so promptly developing.

Ella Kirillova