The III International Festival of Orthodox Singing “Enlightener. Valaam festival of Orthodox singing "Illuminator" gathered several thousand guests

From July 28 to July 30, the III International St. Vladimir Festival of Orthodox singing "The Enlightener" will be held on the island of Valaam. The Valaam Festival is held with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and serves to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of Russia, to revive the traditions of Orthodox singing.

The religious, musical and cultural event, which has become a good tradition of the Valaam Monastery, will bring together groups and solo performers from Russia, Armenia, Georgia, Serbia, Belarus, Cyprus, and will allow listeners to enjoy the diversity of Orthodox culture and singing traditions.

This year, the Festival events will be held both on the territory of the singing field, located next to the Transfiguration Cathedral, the heart of the Valaam Monastery, and in the sketes of the Monastery, where the Festival performers will take part in divine services. One of the Liturgies, scheduled for July 29, will be dedicated to the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, after whom the Festival got its name.

During the days of the Festival, the Valaam Monastery will receive a large number of guests. Especially for the Festival, the Pilgrimage Service of the Valaam Monastery will organize ships from Priozersk and Sortavala; for those who will not be able to get to the Festival, an Internet broadcast will be organized.

Festival participants:

• Choir of the Valaam Monastery (Russia)
• Chamber male choir "Old Russian chant" (Russia)
• Chelyabinsk Chamber Choir. V.V. Mikhalchenko (Russia)
• Chamber Choir of the Orthodox St. Tikhon University (Russia)
• Sirin Ensemble (Russia), Khronos Ensemble (Russia)
• Basiani Ensemble (Georgia), Hover Chamber Choir (Armenia)
• Divna Ljubojevic and choir "Melody" (Serbia
• Festive choir of the Minsk St. Elisabeth Monastery (Belarus).

Soloists and special guests will be: Nicholas Karagiorgis (Cyprus), Hierodeacon German (Ryabtsev) (Russia), Elena Frolova (Russia). The Festival program will feature the Chamber Instrumental Ensemble conducted by Natalia Vysokikh. The artistic director of the Festival is Nikolay Yakimov, the director is Konstantin Ermikhin.

Organizers— Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Stauropegial Monastery, charitable foundation "Light of Valaam". Thanks to the support of the general partner of the Festival, the Rosseti group of companies, attendance at all events for listeners will be free.

More details can be found on the organizers' website.

On July 29-30, 2017, III took place on the singing field of the monastery. This year the event is dedicated to the memory of the events of 1917.

The festival of Orthodox singing, which has become a religious, musical and cultural event of the Valaam Monastery, is held with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and is designed to serve the revival of the traditions of Orthodox singing, the preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of Russia.

“The theme of this year’s festival is closely connected with the historical events of a hundred years ago – the revolutionary movement and everything that people had to endure over the course of all these years: emigration, the era of the war years, as well as the Gulag, persecution and the resurrection of faith. We all know that a person embarking on the path of churching asks many questions concerning the life of the Church, its traditions and teachings. Often the answers to these questions are found not even by the mind, but by the heart. One of the assistants in this matter is songwriting,” said the hegumen of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery at the opening of the song forum. Vladyka also noted the importance of holding such festivals, the main purpose of which is the development of spiritual chants.

Oleg Budargin, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Valaam Monastery, also spoke at the opening of the festival and read out the greetings of the President of Russia to the participants and guests of the festival.

“It is gratifying that your festival not only took place, but also clearly declared itself to the whole world. It unites the best choirs and solo performers from Russia and other countries on the territory of the ancient Valaam monastery,” the presidential greeting says.

The youngest participant of the festival was 14-year-old Nicholas Karageorgis (Cyprus). According to the young singer, he has been studying the Russian language for two years, "to get closer to the culture of the great people and to sing chants in their language."

Synodal department for monasteries and monasticism / Patriarchy.ru

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Once, Schema-Archimandrite Seraphim was a four-time champion of Georgia in oriental wrestling and a black belt. Now his life is a small monastery in the Assyrian village of Kanda, 25 kilometers from Tbilisi. True, people from all over the world come to listen to the schiarchimandrite. He is known for celebrating the liturgy in Aramaic, the same ancient, now dead language that Christ spoke.

Earthly success is not the lot of monks. But the performance of Schema-Archimandrite Seraphim - singing, similar to prayer and crying at the same time, became a sensation at the festival of spiritual singing "Illuminator".

Bishop Pankraty of Trinity, abbot of the Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior, admits that he was especially touched by this speech.

Vladyka himself is no stranger to music - he once sang in the regent's choir, sometimes he still sings. He explains the establishment of the Sacred Music Festival on Valaam as follows: “We are striving for Valaam to become a spiritual and educational center.

A few years ago, there was a wasteland in the place of the singing field on Valaam. Today, the festival is the pride of local residents and a subject of special interest to numerous pilgrims. Many people came this year specifically to “listen to how the monks sing.”

But not only monks sing. Among the 250 performers who came to the island is the completely secular boys' choir of the Moscow Choir School. Sveshnikov, groups and performers from Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Greece, Armenia, Georgia. For obvious reasons, groups from Syria and Ukraine could not come to the festival.

The artistic director of the festival is conductor Philip Chizhevsky, creator and director of the Questa Musica ensemble, guest conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre. He explains the task of the Enlightener Festival: “Interest in sacred music is only growing every year, but, unfortunately, the attitude towards it as a layer of professional musical culture has been lost. Our task is to revive the performance of sacred music.”

The most ancient traditions, of course, belong to Armenia, which in 301 became the first Christian state in the world. The youth choir "Spegani" (in Russian - "balm for the soul") performed spiritual chants of the 5th and 13th centuries. And the choir began with the fact that they united the children of the participants in the Karabakh war with music, says artistic director and conductor of the choir Sarina Avtandilyan.

— This is my first visit to Valaam. It may be naive to think so, but I am convinced that the more people around love music, the less the risk of new wars.

The participation of the Moscow Choral School in the festival is not accidental. Alexander Vasilyevich Sveshnikov himself was regent. It was he who kept the traditions of Russian church singing in those difficult years when the persecution of the Orthodox Church began. And he passed on these traditions to the students of the choir school he created in 1944.

When asked about the excitement before the performance, the young soloist of the Sveshnikov choir lowers his eyes:

— Yes, what is there? Used to.

The young man is flirting. The excitement showed up at rehearsal, when the boys huddled awkwardly on the stage.

- You are spectacular guys! But how do you get out? Brook! - the director-producer Anastasia Golub is in charge.

Finally, the brook becomes harmonious and sings: “I see mountains and valleys ...”

In ordinary life, angel-voiced youths are no different from their peers. They are tormented by thoughts about sore points: gadgets, breakfast, Wi-Fi. It's too early to think about the musical future, although some have already decided, like 14-year-old Seraphim. The fair-haired boy, the son of a priest, surprisingly suits his name.

- My parents decided to send me to the choir when I was 7 years old. But I don't regret it. I sang, was fond of conducting in kindergarten. My grandmother studied at the Conservatory, and so did my father. He is a great musician! Liturgical singing is responsible, beautiful, exciting,” the young man argues sternly beyond his years and admits: “I listen to modern classics, jazz, when I want to take a break from ... the outside world. Sometimes hip hop. I connect the future with music. There are many options. I don’t know how I’m embarrassing ... I really like Alexandra Pakhmutova’s songs.

In the choir of the Valaam Monastery, out of 16 people, almost half are soloists with rare voices (from bass profundos to countertenors). The band's concerts are a great success. Aleksey Zhukov has been directing the choir for 11 years and asks not to confuse his team with the choir of the monastery's brethren - he, of course, sings only at monastic services. When the monastic singing on Valaam began to revive, the brothers decided: since we are on Valaam, we must sing in Valaam. The surviving copy of the Valaam "Ubikhod", published in 1902, which contains the entire annual cycle of liturgical singing, became a guide for them.

Another discovery of the festival was the Greek nun Mariam Skorda - she sings in the old Greek manner. There are many of her records on the Web, but the organizers of the festival managed to contact Mariam only after three months of searching. Until the last moment, there were doubts whether the recluse would come. She sang with the ensemble Questa Musica.

But there were also quite secular guests at the festival. Like, for example, George, a lawyer from Tbilisi. He is 27 years old, since the age of 15 he has been singing in the Patriarchal Choir of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. He says: when he was offered a prestigious job, for which he had to sacrifice singing, he refused. As a true son of his homeland, he is naturally proud that the Georgian national polyphony has been recognized by UNESCO as a monument of intangible heritage.

Performances by singing groups alternated at the Enlightener with readings of Russian classics by artists Veniamin Smekhov and Victoria Isakova. And the festival ended with the performance of Alfred Schnittke's grandiose Concerto for mixed choir to the verses of the Armenian saint, poet and theologian Grigor Narekatsi, who lived a thousand years ago, from the Book of Lamentations.

"Hallelujah" is carried over the island. It sounds the same in different languages.

Text: Maria Bashmakova, Valaam

On July 29, 2017, on the singing field of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Stauropegial Monastery, the grand opening of the III International Festival of Orthodox Singing "Illuminator", dedicated this year to the memory of the events of 1917, took place.

The festival is held with the blessing of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill and is intended to serve the preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of Russia, the revival of the traditions of Orthodox singing.

“The theme of this year's festival is closely connected with the historical events of a hundred years ago - the revolutionary movement and everything that people had to endure throughout all these years: emigration, the era of the war years, as well as the Gulag, persecution and the resurrection of faith. We all know that a person embarking on the path of churching and drawing closer to God asks many questions concerning the life of the Church, its traditions and teachings. Often the answers to these questions are found not even by the mind, but by the heart. One of the assistants in this matter is songwriting., - said Bishop Pankraty of Trinity, hegumen of the Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior.

His Eminence also noted the importance of holding such festivals, the main purpose of which is the development of spiritual singing.

Oleg Budargin, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Holy Transfiguration Valaam Monastery, also spoke at the opening of the festival. He read out the greeting of the President of the Russian Federation to the participants and guests of the festival, which emphasizes the importance and significance for the development of society and the whole world of holding such events.

“It is gratifying that your festival not only took place, but also clearly declared itself to the whole world. It unites the best choirs and solo performers from Russia and other countries on the territory of the ancient Valaam monastery”, says the presidential greeting.

The youngest participant of the festival was Nicholas Karageorgis from Cyprus. Despite the fact that he is only 14 years old, he is already known far beyond the borders of his homeland.

His speech began with a hymn to the Mother of God, performed by him at the Liturgy in the main cathedral of the Valaam Monastery.

“Becoming a member of the Enlightener is a great honor. Before the opening of the festival, I was offered to sing several works in the Transfiguration Cathedral, I gladly agreed.” Nicholas said.

According to the young singer, he has been studying the Russian language for two years, "to get closer to the culture of the great people and to sing chants in their language."

“This is my third visit to the holy land of Valaam. Last time, at one of the services, I was allowed to sing "It is worthy to eat." The abbot of the monastery, Bishop of Trinity Pankratius, heard the chant and invited me to the festival,” said Karageorgis.

In the concert program of the festival, he performed "Our Lord and Bishop..." in Slavonic and was the first to perform in the gala concert with the hymns "To the King of Heaven", "Christ is Risen" and "Many Years".

Our hearts are filled with forgiveness, peace and love for each other

After Little Compline, Father Methodius said a short word and asked everyone on their knees for forgiveness:

“Beloved fathers, brothers and sisters, bless me on behalf of Vladyka Pankratii to ask for forgiveness. On this majestic day, the Lord gave us the opportunity to reconcile with God, with our guardian angel, our neighbors, especially with those people whom we really offend, seduce, and embarrass with our behavior. But the Lord gives us such days as the Holy Forty Day - the most beautiful time for the human soul, the golden time of repentance, which we can bring to our merciful and all-forgiving Lord.

Bless and forgive me, holy fathers, brothers, sisters, your most unworthy brother for sins, which I created in word, deed, thought and all my

In the Valaam Monastery, during this continuous Shrovetide week, many pancakes are also baked to treat the brethren and numerous guests. Every day, the monastery cooks with joy and love prepare 450 large pancakes for a fraternal meal, and many more - for addition and distribution to everyone. Pancakes with condensed milk and sour cream are a consolation for all the inhabitants of the monastery, because it is so necessary to refresh yourself before a strict multi-day fast.

On February 16, 2019, Abbot Methodius, a resident of the Valaam Monastery, has a birthday. The brethren of the monastery and numerous guests came to congratulate their beloved spiritual father and friend, who arrived on the island despite the winter and not the most favorable weather conditions.

Hegumen Methodius, who arrived with Bishop Pankratius to the dilapidated Valaam Monastery in 1993, made a special contribution to the revival of the monastery. His obedience and labors brought abundant fruit in the field of the church. Father Methodius, thanks to his boundless love, managed to unite a huge number of people around him, managed to help them come to God, to the Church, to faith. Communication with Father Methodius radically changed their lives. Through his labors, many have found firm hope in the will of God and embarked on the right path of salvation, ascending the rungs of the ladder of life to the Kingdom of Heaven.

On February 15, 2019, on the day of the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord, Abbot of the Valaam Monastery, Bishop Pankraty visited monk Anthony, who had recently been ill, and presented him with a commemorative commemorative medal in honor of the "30th anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan."

"Monk Anthony (Sergey Machulin) was then the commander of a special forces unit and participated in dangerous operations behind enemy lines," writes the hegumen of the monastery, Bishop Pankraty of Trinity.