What is the name of the conductor of a church choir?

Who is the regent

Since church services in Orthodox churches are accompanied by singing, a person is needed who will manage the choir so that it sounds coherently and correctly. The regent is such a person. During the service, he sets the tone of the chant, regulates the tempo and helps the choir achieve harmony.

The word "regent" comes from the Latin regens

- ruler, ruler, or
regere
- to manage, direct, correct.

The term "regent" has two meanings:

Director of the church choir;
A guardian for an incapacitated sovereign, the de facto ruler of the state.

Historical reference

The first mention of this profession appeared in the 1850s in the Court Singing Chapel of St. Petersburg, where regents were choristers with extensive experience who were temporarily assigned to manage the choir in the churches of the court department.

Regents were also considered graduates of the chapel music schools that were transformed in 1884, which became known as regency classes. They studied elementary music theory, solfeggio, harmony and counterpoint, as well as the history of church singing and playing the piano or violin.

Graduates could receive a regent's certificate of three categories, which gave the right to teach “non-note singing,” partes singing, or “composition.”

In the 1970s, the first special “regency class” for Orthodox girls appeared at the Leningrad Theological Academy. After this, such classes began to appear in almost all Theological seminaries.

Choir conductor.

The Regent knew Hamilcar, Hamilcar knew the Regent - both studied at Cambridge, but the Regent was in his senior year.

Somewhere in the feverish crowd there was her unoccupied place, but by Weekend the meager bunch of willow was already at home, and the fate had befallen, there was no escaping, and so the three of them walked: the guest lightly, falling on his feet and amused that they had waited for him, and kept asking the regent, who was carrying his things, whether he knew Abbess Margarita from some desert, and the regent, who had become gloomy, nodded his head, but did not answer, and Father Agapius, on the contrary, became more talkative and, walking quickly, ran under serious The eyes of the regent only calmed down at the bus stop.

The woman, visible in the twilight from the hallway, looked tearfully at the regent and even attempted to fall at his feet, asking not to leave her son, but the regent restrained her, saying that he was not a god.

“The woman... looked tearfully at the regent and even attempted to fall at his feet, asking not to leave her son, but the regent restrained her, saying that he was not God.”

However, in the city castle they do not believe the rumors: the regent’s wife, Duchess Maria Augusta, is slowly burning from unrequited love, the regent is busy hunting, and Count Hausburg is the duchess.

All of Paris knew about the scandalous dinners in the Luxembourg Gardens, hosted by the regent's daughter, the Duchess of Berry: by the end of the meal, their participants, including the regent himself, were completely naked and staged real orgies.

... , always the first, and with them to be regent until the age of seventeen ... about an unreliable inheritance, then he, the regent, must, in advance, with the cabinet ministers, and the Senate, and field marshals, and so on ...

But he knew what the regent would answer: he would explain to Hamilcar that Liulta Lucy did not wait for a groom from the war, because she turned out to be a frivolous French bitch, who just wanted to have fun with bananas and chocolates and let herself be sniffed by the nimble court dogs, and not think about freedom and the independence of Africa, and that he, the guardian and regent, had to remove Lyuska from power with a headache, organize a palace coup and other nonsense.

Fyodor Petrovich, a passionate virtuoso violinist, conductor and outstanding church regent, graduated from the conducting class of the Court Singing Chapel in St. Petersburg, where conductors, choirmasters and high-class regents were trained.[1] The artist’s nature, surrounded by fans, was burdened by the modest way of the family.

Duties of a Church Regent

The conductor in the church has a fairly wide range of responsibilities, related not only to his direct appointment, but also to organizational issues of the choir entrusted to him - the choir at the church.

preparation for divine services;
selection of repertoire;
conducting rehearsals (at least 1-3 times a week);
compiling a music archive;
distribution of parties;
conducting during worship;
preparation for concert performances;
training for beginning singers.

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Pros and cons of the profession

Due to the constant growth in the number of churches, the demand for musicians who are able to organize or lead an already created choir is very high. Some churches even require several regents if services are ongoing.

Other benefits of being a choir leader include:

high position in the hierarchy of church service - after the clergy;
this profession is very respected;
emotional component: serving God and properly performing one’s duties brings joy and satisfaction.

However, this profession also has its vital disadvantages.

irregular working hours;
low wages.

Profession: regent

Now the Bishop's Choir has reached such a professional level that it can perform almost any church hymn corresponding to the divine service. This is largely the merit of its regent, Mother Elena Kravets, who has led the Bishops' Choir since its founding in 1990.

Elena Nikolaevna graduated from a music school in violin class, then entered the regency department of the then Leningrad Theological Academy. Returning to Belgorod, she graduated from the socio-theological faculty of BelSU.

“I always liked to sing. I think my path was predetermined from childhood, because I myself come from a priest’s family. I was four years old when I asked my parents if there was an institute for mothers. I remember that I wanted to be educated and at the same time a musical mother. And so it happened. I am a very happy person in my profession, I live this and cannot imagine my life without a church choir.”

Matushka compares the current choir to one big family, which also has its own traditions. For example, they organize tea parties for singers’ birthdays, hold meals after nightly festive services, when the choir gathers for their own holiday: many prepare concert numbers, delight each other with poems, perform romances, and share personal stories.

How to become a church choir director

Orthodox services can last from a few minutes to 8 hours, and the main task of the regent is to be extremely focused on the actions of the clergy all this time.

Therefore, in order to become a choir leader, you need to have three very important qualities:

strong nervous system;
self-confidence;
the ability to quickly respond to external stimuli.

You will also need to go through several more important steps.

Blessing of the Priest

First of all, you need to get into the choir. This can only be done with the blessing of the parish priest or the bishop heading the diocese.

Despite the fact that any large church choir always has professional musicians on its staff, the specific nature of singing in the choir means that a secular musician cannot lead such a choir. This requires appropriate training and experience in the choir for at least 2-5 years.

Getting an education

The specialty “Church Choir Director” can be obtained after completing training in regent schools, departments or courses.

Anniversary of the conductor of the church choir: 90 years of Elite Sokolovskaya

I’ll start with an obvious and therefore trivial truth: Latvia is rich in interesting, talented, extraordinary people who have given their lives to serving people and art. This year Elita Alfredovna Sokolovska, a famous conductor, choirmaster and teacher, turns 90 years old. She is the founder and director of the choral groups “Gloria” (Russia), “Lauda” (Latvia) and “LAUDAMUS” (Crimea). She devoted seventy years of her creative activity to music. These two significant dates encourage me today to remember this wonderful man.

Elita Sokolovskaya was born in the small Latvian town of Cesis in the family of the clergyman Alfred Mednis. Faith, Church, worship were inextricably linked with music, which shaped not only the emotional, but also the religious and aesthetic world of the girl. From early childhood, Elita showed great interest in music and extraordinary musical abilities. She had a wonderful voice, and at the age of twelve she first performed as a soloist in a church choir.

During her school years, during the occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany, she was forced to take private music lessons from various teachers. But after the liberation of Riga from the invaders, in just two years she completed a seven-year music school program and passed the exams. Then she brilliantly entered the music school, but was not enrolled because she was the daughter of a clergyman (“enemy of the people”!), sentenced for her faith to 10 years under Article 58, in fact, like many other priests of that period. Despite these terrible years and experiences, Elite continued her studies, taking private lessons, including from the famous pianist and composer Arvid Yanovich Zhilinsky. There is no doubt that the knowledge of this great teacher and his colossal experience turned out to be extremely important for the development of a young musician.

Meanwhile, soon the difficult years of open atheism and persecution gave way to a thaw and relative calm. Elita Alfredovna devoted herself to church choral conducting in various cities of the Soviet Union: Kirovograd, Mukachevo, Odessa. In 1981, she was invited to Tula and settled with her family in Skuratovo. With her husband Jan Sokolovsky, Elita Alfredovna creates the Gloria choir, directs it and teaches students of the semi-underground Tula seminary the basics of church music and choral singing techniques.

In the late 80s, more precisely, in 1988, the team was invited to the opening of the Zaoksk Theological Seminary. The grand opening of the educational institution coincided with the 1000th anniversary of Christianity in Rus'. The dedication ceremony was attended by leaders of the World Church of Adventist Christians, representatives of government and public organizations. Among the guests was the famous children's writer, chairman of the Russian Children's Fund, Albert Likhanov, who invited the Gloria choir to give charity concerts in favor of the Children's Fund. This proposal opened the doors of the best concert halls and stages of the Soviet Union. “Gloria” gave dozens of concerts from Brest to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. recorded a vinyl disc of church hymns performed by the choir. The recording took place in the Smolensk Cathedral with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, then still the chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Russian Church and the rector of the cathedral. High performance skills and charitable goals allowed the Gloria Choir to sing on the stages of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), on the stage of the Kremlin Palace of Congresses and in many other memorable places. At this time, the choir’s repertoire consists of works not only by Russian classics, but also by modern authors, such as Just Liepins, Modris Zakis, Karl Jenkins, John Rutter, etc., as well as Russian folk songs.

The Gloria Choir also performed in Poland, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

Until 2004, the Gloria choir gave more than 100 concerts.

In 2010, having moved to Crimea, Elita and Jan Sokolovsky organized the Crimean combined choir “LAUDAMUS”, the leader and conductor of which is to this day Elita Alfredovna Sokolovskaya. Despite her very advanced age, she continues to give concerts with the choir in Sevastopol, Yalta, Simferopol, Feodosia and other cities of Crimea. Today her daughter Anna, a pianist and accompanist, helps her with this.

E. Sokolovskaya's choir, as a rule, had a rich and varied repertoire. Each piece sounded somehow special, soulful, meaningful, penetrating the soul of the listener. Elita Alfredovna devoted a lot of time to the artistic image of the performance work. Everything was important to her: the word, the musical and poetic phrase, so to speak, the form of the work, which in itself is meaningful. The bright, original performing style of the Sokolovskaya choir was determined not only and not so much by the singing style of the participants or the timbre sound of the voices, but also by the choirmaster’s own spiritual and aesthetic vision, as well as an intuitive attraction to styles already established in world practice. This explains the precisely calibrated choral structure, ensemble sound and, of course, the development of one’s own musical language, a unique sound palette, and performance techniques.

In fact, the personality of a conductor is not limited to her skill and professionalism. It is obvious that we need to talk about Elita Alfredovna as a wife, mother, and a sensitive person. She is, without a doubt, a person of amazing charm. Aristocratic, noble simplicity, cheerfulness, elegance are the main traits of character and behavior. You admire and admire her while working. As a rule, choir rehearsals lasted more than one hour; her inexhaustible enthusiasm and infectious energy supported and fueled this many hours of exhausting work. For everyone, he found the right word (sometimes strict, but restrained), a pedagogical nod or a smile, seeing each person individually in the choir. The choristers reciprocated with love, and I was one of them: during my student years I sang in the choir of the Tula community. I have no doubt that many choir members will join my words, will be united with me in recognizing their love for this, not only sensitive, extraordinary, but also, I am not afraid of this word, a great man and conductor.

Lyakhu Victor, senior researcher at the Institute of Bible Translation named after. M.P. Kulakova

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Training for Church Choir Leaders

To manage a church choir, musical knowledge and conducting skills are not enough. Understanding Orthodoxy, knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and active involvement in church life are important.

Admission Requirements

It is important to have a musical education, the ability to read music and sight sing. In some educational institutions, this condition is not mandatory, but is highly desirable. In any case, it is worth preparing for the audition, which determines the musical abilities of the future student.

The following requirements must also be met:

obtain a recommendation from a parish priest;
pass an interview,
confirm knowledge of basic Orthodox prayers and Holy Scripture;
learn to read in Church Slavonic, since the vast majority of books for worship are compiled in it;
provide a certificate or diploma of education (minimum - full secondary education).

Singers or psalm-readers with at least 1 year of experience in choir obedience will have an advantage in admission.

Learning process

The training of future regents consists of spiritual and musical parts and lasts from 2 to 4 years. During this time, it is necessary to acquire knowledge in the field of church canons, liturgics, church life, liturgical regulations and the Church Slavonic language.

The regency training program includes both general subjects related to music theory and church disciplines:

liturgical singing;
everyday life of church singing of the Russian Orthodox Church;
history of Russian sacred music;
liturgics;
catechism;
liturgical regulations;
comparative theology;
basics of Church Slavonic literacy;
fundamentals of Orthodox doctrine;
Biblical history;
Holy Bible;
solfeggio;
harmony;
conducting;
music theory;
reading choral scores;
choir dance;
piano;
arrangement.

During your studies, you must undergo mandatory practice on the choir in the temple.

Silence! Recording in progress!

Over the course of 30 years, the Bishop's Choir, with the blessing of Metropolitan John and with the assistance of the rector of the Transfiguration Cathedral, Father Oleg, managed to record seven musical discs. All of them are very different in composition, sound and level: from spiritual chants, lullabies and carols to secular songs in the Ukrainian and Belarusian languages.

“We recorded our first disc in 1995. Twelve hymns dedicated to Saint Joasaph,” says Mother Helen. – We recorded in the cathedral at night. It was very difficult. The slightest extraneous sound is overwritten. The work was so delicate that it was even necessary to negotiate with the then State Traffic Inspectorate to block the Kommunisticheskaya Street, now Preobrazhenskaya, adjacent to the cathedral, at night. Because the sound of passing cars was disturbing.”

During the recording process, other problems arose: the floor creaked, or due to the specific acoustics, the sound floated and the words became incomprehensible. But we coped with all the difficulties. Now the Bishop's Choir plans to record a live service. Parishioners have made such a request to the rector of the cathedral more than once. This became especially relevant during the pandemic, when visiting the cathedral was limited.

Professionogram "Choir conductor"

Choirmaster (from “choir” and German meister - “master”, “chief”) - leader of the choir, choral conductor .
The choirmaster guides the choir in learning, rehearsing and performing new and old choral parts. Choral singing was very popular in Ancient Greece. Not a single ancient Greek performance was complete without the participation of a choir. The leader of the choir in ancient drama was called a luminary. He delivered the opening recitative, announced the arrival of a new character, summed up the monologues of the characters, and established contact between the actors and the choir. Corypheus tapped the rhythm of the song with his foot.

Conductors did not always stand on stage with their backs to the audience. Until the mid-19th century, this was considered undignified, so they had to manage their teams without seeing them. The first who turned his face to the artists was Richard Wagner and thus introduced a new fashion in conducting.

The choirmaster must be well versed in the theory and technique of singing, and know the peculiarities of the formation of a particular voice. He must himself have good vocal training and be able to master his own voice and various vocal techniques.

Directing a choir during performances is only a small part of a choir director's job. Most of the time is spent on rehearsing and learning pieces. Before any important events, classes are held especially intensively.

The choirmaster most often selects the repertoire for the ferret himself. In order to choose the most suitable and successful works, he must be well versed in the variety of classical and modern musical material. In addition, he knows the theoretical foundations of recording and reading choral works.

The choirmaster, when recruiting new members to the group, auditions them and determines their singing voice and range. The choir director places the participants by part (soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, tenor, baritone, bass). In addition, the voices of the artists standing nearby should be organically combined with each other in timbre and strength.

Before starting work on a piece, the choirmaster explains the tasks facing the choir members.

The choirmaster is well acquainted with conducting techniques. Choir directors rarely use the conductor's baton. They conduct with their hands, complementing the movements of their hands and fingers with movements of their head and body. Thus, the choirmaster indicates to the artists the tempo and rhythm of the piece, changes in volume, sound strength, visually reproduces the melody, and shows where to take breath.

If the choral group consists of people who do not have musical literacy, the choirmaster introduces them to elementary concepts from music theory

Characteristics

Types of work: Education / Creativity. Prof. focus: man is an artistic image. Areas of activity: Culture. Fields of work: Human / Art.

Must know an extensive musical repertoire, the theoretical foundations of recording and reading choral works, the basics of choral studies, pedagogy, and psychology.

Leader of the Russian church choir.

The Regent knew Hamilcar, Hamilcar knew the Regent - both studied at Cambridge, but the Regent was in his senior year.

“The woman... looked tearfully at the regent and even attempted to fall at his feet, asking not to leave her son, but the regent restrained her, saying that he was not God.”

What is the name of the conductor of a church choir?

Depending on the gender and age of the singers, choirs can be classified as follows:

mixed choir
(the most common type of choir) - consists of female and male voices. Women's voices make up the parts of sopranos and altos, while men's voices make up the parts of tenors and basses. Within each part there is usually a division into first (higher) and second (lower) voices: sopranos I and II, altos I and II, tenors I and II, basses I and II;
choir of boys and young men
- consists of the same four main parts as the mixed one, but the soprano part is performed by boys - treblets, the alto part - countertenor - by young men singing in falsetto; the tenor and bass parts in such a choir, as well as in a mixed one, are performed by men;
male choir
- consists of tenors and basses, with each part divided into two voices: first (high) and second (low) tenors and first and second basses. The part of the first tenors can be expanded by countertenor singers singing (in falsetto) an even higher part, tessitura located outside the normal male vocal range;
female choir
- consists of sopranos and altos, with each part divided into two voices: first and second sopranos and first and second altos;
children's choir
- consists of two parts: sopranos (trebles) and altos, sometimes of three - sopranos (trebles) I and II, and altos; Other options are also possible.

The minimum number of singers in one choir is 3 people.

From the point of view of singing style, there are:

academic choirs
- singing in an academic manner, based on the standard of European academic (opera-concert) singing tone;
folk choirs
- singing in a folk style.