Sts Cyril and Methodius Orthodox Institute
16 Jun 08: Choir of Danilov Monastery – First Time in Australia – Direct from Moscow
THE CHOIR OF DANILOV MONASTERY
For the First time in Australia – Direct from Moscow
After acclaimed performances throughout Europe and the US, the celebrated choir from the ancient Danilov Monastery will launch an unprecedented Australian Good Will Tour this July. The Choir of Danilov Monastery will make its Australian debut in a one-afternoon only engagement at St James’ Anglican Church (King Street, Sydney CBD) on Sunday, July 6th at 3:00 p.m. Under the direction of Artistic Director and Conductor Georgy Safonov, the 12-man a cappella chamber choir will offer a program of Byzantine and Russian chants, folk songs, patriotic songs and Russian romances.
Following the Sydney engagement, the choir will be performing in Melbourne at All Saints Anglican Church St Kilda (cnr Chapel Street and Dandenong Road East St Kilda) on Thursday 10th of July at 8pm.
The Choir is undertaking this tour of Australia in celebration of the reunification of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia, the enthronement of Archbishop Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand as the Metropolitan and First Hierarch of Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the restoration of Danilov Monastery.
HISTORY OF DANILOV MONASTERY & CHOIR
The Danilov Monastery was founded in 1282 by the son of Alexander Nevsky, Prince Daniil Alexandrovich who was the Prince of Moscow from 1276-1303, and founder of the Rurik Dynasty. Prince Daniil was cannonized in 1652 and the monastery was renamed in his honor.
Although, after the October Revolution the monastery was officially closed, it survived as the last working monastery in Russia until 1930, when the monks were expelled and it was used for a children’s home and as a reformatory for young offenders. From the time of the monastery’s closure, many of the original buildings were either demolished or fundamentally altered, and the monastery graveyard – which included the tombs of Nikolai Gogol and the great Moscow pianist and composer Nikolai Rubinstein – was destroyed.
In 1983 the state handed the monastery back to the Orthodox Church, which restored it fully. The four church buildings now show forth in all their ancient splendour and quite a few new buildings have been constructed, including the Patriarch’s residence, the administrative wing of the Holy Synod, and accommodation for the monks.
In 1988, on the occasion of the celebrations in honour of the millenium of the birth of Christianity in Russia, The patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, together with his holy synod, moved his seat from the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Zagorsk to the Danilov Monastery in Moscow.
Outside of its participation in the Divine Services, the Choir has an active concert life both in Russia and abroad, in which it performs Russian folk songs, Patriotic songs and Romances that reflect old cultural traditions and a “great Russian soul”. The choir’s creative and concert life is under the constant patronage of the monastery’s Abbot, Archimandrite Aleksei (Polikarpov). The choir’s artistic director and conductor is Georgy Safonov, a graduate of the Russian Gnessin Academy of Music and laureate of the 1st All-Russian Conductors’ Competition in Nizhni Novgorod. The Choir frequently provides music for services led by Alexei II, Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, at the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Kremlin. In addition, Safonov and his singers pursue an ongoing project to research, arrange and perform older Russian sacred music, from ancient chant to liturgical works composed — and suppressed — during the Communist era.
LISTINGS INFORMATION FOR SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE ENGAGEMENTS
SYDNEY: St James’ Anglican Church (King St, Sydney CBD) on Sunday, July 6th at 3:00pm.$30 -$20. Tickets are available at the door and bookings and Enquiries may be made on (02) 9660 6218
MELBOURNE: All-Saints Anglican Church (cnr Dandenong Rd and Chapel St East St Kilda) 8:00pm. $30 -$20. Tickets are available at the door and bookings and Enquiries may be made on (03) 9802 0357