Lyubov Khainitskaya: “The regent is a sentry at his post”

The service of those who sing in the church, and, of course, the service of the director of the church choir, is very high and is not easy work.
It is necessary to sing in such a way that with your clear and beautiful singing you will attract those praying to God. Of great importance in this is the skill of the leader of the church choir - the regent, who must not only have professionalism, but also realize that his obedience is not just work, but also service to God, the Church, and people.

The regent of the right choir of the Church of St. Innocent, Lyubov Fedorovna Khainitskaya, told us about choir singing, about the difficulties and joys of her service.

— Lyubov Fedorovna, please tell us about how you came to the choir?

— As a child, I was engaged in a different type of creativity: despite the fact that my dad dreamed of buying me a violin, from the age of 7 I studied in a dance club and danced on stage as a soloist for 10 years.

Later, after becoming a church member, when the Lord, in His great mercy, brought me to the Church, I had a great desire to be in church all the time and serve God in some way. It was not easy, because at that time I had a sick mother in my arms. Soon the Lord vouchsafed me to work as a psalmist in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign in Khovrin, next to which I lived.

Before that, I had never sung or read, but my soul was burning with the desire to learn everything, so with God’s help I gradually began to master this skill. I read the Six Psalms, the canons for Matins, the hours. I practiced a lot at home, marked stressed syllables in books; I came to the church in advance, looked at what canons I should read at Matins, made bookmarks, at the same time getting used to the Church Slavonic language and studying the Divine Service Rules.

The feeling of gratitude to God still does not leave me, because without His help and grace I would not have been able to cope. Then there was a period in my life when I was regent at the Zaikonospassky Monastery.

Why am I not a head guy?

Why am I not a head guy? Because, unfortunately, a different system of singing reigns in the modern Church.

Headmen were in the Orthodox Church at a time when:

liturgical singing was a very harmonious system and included not only audible singing, but also knowledge of the exact laws of connecting the movement of the heart with the movement of the voice;
when liturgical singing was declared a special discipline of the body, soul, and spirit;
when the right spiritual life was proclaimed to be the cause and condition of a rightly constructed melody, and the singer was to become a kind of instrument of the Holy Spirit, and singing was to become theology in sounds;
when liturgical hymns were not composed by composers, but were the fruits of the prayerful feat of monastics (for example, many people know the miraculous hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos “Agni Parthene,” which angels sang in a dream to Saint Nektarios of Aegina, who recorded the melody and all 24 verses of this hymn).

As a result of the breakdown of traditions, much has been lost today, and the system of liturgical singing has turned out to be supplanted by music, mostly composed, which is observed even in many monasteries; and people often come to the choir and church choir who are not churchgoers, which affects the quality of services.

— And then you ended up in the Church of St. Nicholas at the Straw Gatehouse?

- Yes, finally, the Lord led me to the Church of St. Nicholas to our Father Michael.
In this temple, I presided over everyday services and, together with the parish, shared the delight and jubilation of the gradual transformation and construction of the temple. Together we rejoiced at how radiant the temple became, filled with splendor, and how the new iconostasis shone. I remember I wanted to tell everyone what an unusually beautiful temple we had. — What is especially dear to you from your memories of the first services in the Church of St. Innocent?

— Firstly, I was incredibly happy when the rector Fr. Michael blessed me and entrusted me with the obedience of leading the festive choir in the Church of St. Innocent. I did not expect such great mercy from God. The first thing that comes to mind is the strong unity of everyone.

I remember with what joy everyone was waiting for the completion of construction, waiting for the temple to live a full life, there would be a Divine Liturgy, Communion, that it would always be crowded, and prayers of gratitude would be offered to God.

In the Church of St. Innocent, we all experienced cold winters, since there was no heating. At that time, all of us together, with the priesthood, were called “Chelyuskinites.” Now the church is as beautiful as the church of St. Nicholas. These two temples are very dear to me.

{From Dmitry Sivers. In Moscow I went quite often to the Church of St. Innocent. The temple is of one extreme, but surprisingly gracious, full of holy silence. Very nice temple.}

A famous Moscow regent reveals the secrets of his profession

Why does a church choir need a choir director if there is a lead singer or in the church it is customary to sing “with the whole world.” Should choristers be parishioners or should professional guest singers be better? The famous Moscow regent Evgeny Kustovsky, head of the Moscow Orthodox regent courses, answers these questions.

Were your parents musicians?

Hard to say. What is a musician nowadays? A musician now is the owner of a “crust”, a diploma. My parents weren't musicians in that sense. But they knew music very well, better than many modern musicians. Post-war time. 50s. My parents studied at an ordinary Soviet technical school and went to the conservatory several times a week. They had a friend, a young conservatory student Seryozha Dizhur, who later became a great organist and teacher at the conservatory. He used his student card to take my parents to concerts. Yes, my parents were not able to reproduce music, but they had musical memory, hearing - they had it all. They knew all of Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Verdi... and through them I knew, because at home we often listened to the record player; we had mountains of classical music records. Music accompanied our life. My father and I are going to the bathhouse, he sings: “Gi-ilda-a...” I answer: “My father-oh!..” (G. Verdi, “Rigoletto”).

What memories do you have from studying at the famous Sveshnikov School?

The very idea of creating our choir school was kept in the strictest confidence during my studies there. Only now can we talk about it freely. And the idea was this: to create a Soviet ideological version of the Synodal School. In 1918, it was dispersed for well-known historical reasons; in 1944, during the evacuation, Alexander Vasilyevich Sveshnikov, who was already a fairly well-known choral figure, created a choir school in which only boys studied. And the teachers were former teachers of the Synodal School, and Sveshnikov himself was a Synodal member. At one time, Chesnokov, Kovin studied at this school... Sveshnikov was “from the family of a rural conductor,” as they say in his biography, in other words, he grew up in the family of a regent, and he spent a lot of time in the choir. There is a film “Singing Conductors” from 1974, where Sveshnikov says: “Some choir members are offended when they are called singers, I don’t see anything wrong with that. Songbird - is that bad? One can see how he is being cunning in order to justify his special respect for the word “choirboy.” The choir school of the 1950s and 60s had a very clear, professional methodology based on classical choral culture. We sang Bach, Stravinsky, Pergolesi. We had general education subjects - chemistry, physics, literature, geometry... - and training in a special course at a music school. There was a lot of work to do.

What was Sveshnikov like as a person and as a teacher?

First of all, he was very inventive. He also played with the students. Secondly, I have never met a teacher who paid so much attention to breathing, vocal apparatus, and articulation. As a person, he could be different, he could be tough, he could yell at a student, but only for one reason: if he saw indifference to his subject. At the same time, the following situations arose: the second hour of class was going on, Sveshnikov asked: “Who is in favor of studying further?” All children raise their hands. “Who is in favor of going for a walk? - He alone raises his hand. “Well, since I’m a leader, let’s go for a walk!” He felt with some sixth sense what state we were in, whether we were tired or lazy. I don’t remember whether we were afraid of him or not, but yes, we loved him. We called him "Grandfather". We wouldn’t call an unloved person that; Sveshnikov was truly like family to us. He was a passionate man, a fanatic of his work. This fanaticism had to be either accepted or not studied there. In general, we were all fanatics about our work.

Why does a choir need a choir director? In some provincial choirs, his role is sometimes played by the “lead singer” - the one who knows the motive better and leads... Does every choir need a regent?

A choir is an organism consisting of different people, so that they sing equally, harmoniously, in a single tone and tempo, for this we need a person who will ensure this unity. This requires one person. But here’s the thing: during Soviet times, there were very few professionals left in the choir. Therefore, the function of such “unifiers” was taken by people who know that they need to manage, but no one taught them how. That is why the function formulated by M. A. Bulgakov in “The Master and Margarita” as a “regent singer” appeared. This results in a twofold situation: a person sings in a church choir, on the other hand, he uses folk singing techniques. In folklore there is no need to regency. You need to lead with your voice, your voice replaces your hands. But then it will be a solo with a choir. After all, it is necessary for the leading voice to always dominate.

You also studied folklore... Did that help you in the choir?

I tried to write a dissertation on folklore, went on expeditions, collected records, analyzed them. But, roughly speaking, they didn’t let me write my dissertation. The graduate school teachers “caught” me in the choir, it was 1982, and I had to give up my dissertation. I became a singer two months after I was baptized and met my future spiritual father, Father Vladislav Sveshnikov. My wife and I were introduced to Father Vladislav by her friend; he was then serving not in Moscow, but in the wilderness, in Churilovo. We arrived there. Father Vladislav was the first priest I met. He asked me who I was and where I was from. I replied that I was a musician. And he says to me: “Well, if you’re a musician, then sing in the choir.” I thought then: “Well, pop!” This is the first time he’s seen me, and he’s already decided what I’m going to do! I don’t even go to church...” I had a scientific career ahead of me, I worked at the Composers’ Union, and studied in graduate school. But then the choir still “took me away”. It happened by accident. One of my friends asked me to replace her brother, who was going on vacation. But I needed a part-time job: I received a small stipend, my wife was expecting a second child, and a graduate student was not allowed to work officially... When my graduate school period ended, I was not very upset, then I already knew that the choir was the only place where I could apply all the knowledge and skills that I had, combine the different specialties that I received: I was a conductor, graduated from a choir school and a conservatory, then studied folklore in graduate school at the Gnessin Institute, I could hear this or that tune, understand it and then sing with any text, and this is the basis of church life, voices. Therefore, the path that people go through for years took me only a few months. Father Vladislav turned out to be right: I really became a regent.

Did meeting Father Vladislav influence your churching?

The apartment meetings of our community gave me a lot. Father Vladislav served in the Tver diocese, but was a Muscovite. And we often gathered in his apartment, he analyzed the Gospel, we read a lot of spiritual literature, served services - prayers, akathists... But, I must say, I read the Gospel even before I met Father Vladislav. And my friend Maria Karpova, a parishioner of Father Vladislav, encouraged me to be baptized. It was like this: I was getting ready to baptize my daughter, and when we were going to the christening, my daughter’s future godmother said: “It’s somehow not good. You baptize your daughter, but you yourself are unbaptized! Maybe you should be baptized at the same time?” Well, I agreed. And he was baptized.

What do you think an ideal singer should be like?

The ideal singer is not only a professional. This is a person who participates in worship with his soul and heart. This is a person who expresses his prayer through professional musical qualities. However, professional singers are not always involved in ministry. Very often on the choir, the word “pro” becomes a label denoting a person with a higher musical education, but at the same time detached from everything that happens in the church. He simply serves his working hours and earns money, while he may have some reverent feelings and a completely prayerful appearance.

I remember such a critical time for the choir - 1990-1991. Then a monstrous inflation occurred, churches suddenly stopped paying good money, but in Soviet times they paid a lot. At this time, more than half of the singers left the church, the “right”, professional choirs simply burst like soap bubbles. Because the only thing that kept people in the choir was their salary. One priest responded to the financial inspector’s exclamation, “How you must hate us!” We are taking so much money from you...” replied: “No, no, nothing! You are the very iron that burns all the bugs out of the Lord’s robe.” The choir has lost quality, but the most faithful remain.

How creative is the profession of a kliroshan? Is self-realization possible in the choir?

I would draw a long, thick line between the regent and the choristers. Managing a service and, I would even say, creating a service is creativity. The same service in different churches, under different conditions, can sound differently. Not only in the composition of the chants, but also in the way they are sung, in the rhythm of the service, in the placement of accents. It's a very creative act, but it's about running a service. The regent is both a composer and a director. He hears the sound of the service in advance. This is the authority of the regent, even his duty. But this is not allowed for singers. What will happen if each choir interprets the service in his own way? The result will be the same as for the Donkey, the Goat and the clubfooted Bear, led by the mischievous Monkey. The singer is required to do only one thing: stand and sing. But at this time you can pray, for example.

In many churches, “nationwide” singing is now practiced, “by the whole world,” when, for example, the entire parish sings the liturgy... Maybe then no special singers are needed?

The service implies that there are some “national” elements such as “Our Father” or the Creed. It is unreasonable to take these chants away from parishioners. And other chants are better performed by those who are better at it - the choir. The singer is not a stranger from nowhere, but also one of the parishioners who realizes his prayer where he does it better than other people standing in the church - on the choir. Some other parishioner may be the ideal altar server or the ideal icon painter, and they express their prayer and service differently.

So, hired choristers, non-parishioners, are worse? Where did this tradition come from - calling “professional” singers into the festive “right” choir?

This developed even before Soviet times: in some parishes they began to invite outside singers to join the choir. The mercenaries did not become mercenaries on their own, they were made by priests who believe that it is easier to buy a choir than to educate them - to look for capable people among their community. But to do this, you first need to create this community, and this is a lot of work. It’s much easier to “order” a choir from outside, if you don’t like it, you can kick it out, change it to another one...

You often conduct master classes abroad, in Europe, in America... Are foreign singers somehow different from Russian ones?

Yes, they are radically different. Only in Russia is singing and rectoring considered work for which you have to pay something. In most parishes in Europe and America and even Australia, singing, precentoring, altar service, and even rectorship are voluntary, unpaid work, in addition to the main secular work. At the same time, there were wonderful composers abroad who actually saved Russian church music in Soviet times, when it did not develop in Russia at all. Abroad, she continued to live and develop in the Harbin and European diasporas. This is evidenced by the famous London and Rome collections. Modern choir members continue the traditions of those emigrant regents who inherited the synodal tradition of the court singing chapel. In America this is the classic of American church music Ledkovsky, in Europe - Osorgin, Mironositsky, father and son Kedrov, Zhavoronkov.

What do foreign regents lack? Why do they need master classes?

They lack education. In Russia there are various centers for training regents; in Europe there are none. Not a single educational institution. Therefore, our master classes are essentially the only stable center for training regents and singers. In America there is an annual summer school in Jordanville, headed by Father Andrei Papkov. The best teachers teach there. But this is not enough for all of America...

What qualities do you value in church music?

I will not be very original in answering this question. Whatever church music is - simple, complex, modern or ancient, archaic - it should have the main thing: it should help to hear the words of the hymns for which it is written. It is important that the music at least does not interfere with prayer, and even better, helps. And when the original music begins to reinforce the words of the hymns with sensual, overly emotional shades, it gets in the way. Music in worship is not self-sufficient; it serves the words.

How did you decide to compose church music?

I realized that everything in church music had already been written a long time ago, and I just needed to take and reveal this or that word in a certain style that had long been established. What I'm doing is essentially styling. If there are three main chants in a service, and only two of them have music in the same style, and the third one is out of place, I compose this third one so that it corresponds to the first two and creates a single image of the service.

Interviewed by Julia Linde

https://www.foma.ru/izvestnyij-moskovskij-regent-raskryivaet-sekretyi-professii.html

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.

What then does the word “clear” mean?

Who is a Candidate of Sciences and how to become one

The clergy consists of all the ministers of the faith. That is:

priests (popular priests),
deacons (ministers who help the priest, but cannot yet lead the services on their own),
subdeacons (assistants to deacons),
readers (that is, clerics),
sextons (officially these are gatekeepers, as well as bell ringers - they also serve at divine services and sing in the choir),
senior singers (regents, that is, choir leaders),
treasurers, as well as elders (in the old way - ktitors) of churches.

The word “clergy” has an even lesser-known synonym: “clergy.”

In the old days, singers were also considered among the clergy, but today they are not. Now only people who are dedicated to this are officially members of the clergy.

But what is a choir? In Orthodox churches this is the place where the readers and choristers stand. This is the embodiment of that part of heaven where angels sing the glory of God.

And at the end we traditionally offer a video - short, but very informative. It was recorded in the Holy Spirit Cathedral. This is a sermon that talks about the miracle of faith, as well as the blind cleric:

Antiphonal view

"Antiphon" translated from Greek means "opposition." The choir is conventionally divided into two parts - left and right. The performers sit on opposite sides of the iconostasis and begin to sing. Vocal parts are performed in turns. The antiphonal type of religious vocals is excellent for performing stichera. Thus, a dialogue between singing groups is obtained, aimed at the highest quality performance of long works.

Nowadays the principle of duality is extremely rare. This type of temple singing almost disappeared after 1917. If you want to hear people sing antiphonally, go to Greece.

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.

Choosing a place to study

Let's find out what church singing courses currently exist in Moscow, and under what conditions they accept new participants into their ranks.

Krutitskoe Compound, Church of the Resurrection of the Word. We are recruiting people aged 18 to 50 years. Students are divided into groups: those with a musical education and those without. The first undergo training for one year, during which they will study the structure of the liturgy and all-night vigil. The basics of musical literacy are taught to beginners. People are accepted after auditions, which take place every Sunday. Upon completion, a certificate is issued.
Church of the Three Saints on Kulishki, Regency Courses. Those wishing to enter here must meet three conditions: musical education, the blessing of a confessor, and a year of practice in participating in the choir.
School of church singing at the Orthodox. The organization was founded in 2004 and is designed to train adults of all skill levels. You can get the necessary skills here for free, and upon completion of the course you will be issued a certificate.

In the Western branch of Orthodox Christianity, that is, in the Byzantine and Greek churches, unison singing is more common. Courses of performance in the Byzantine style, that is, in unison, can be taken at the School of Byzantine Chant. Located in the building of the publishing council of the Russian Orthodox Church on the 4th floor.

Studying here lasts from one to three years, depending on the initial preparation of the applicant. It offers free training in church singing, as well as learning the basics of musical literacy and Greek church syllable.

It is worth noting that the principle of singing according to the Byzantine pattern is fundamentally different from the Russian one. The difference lies not only in unison and the lack of polyphony, but also in the texts themselves, as well as in the music. In Moscow, this is the only place where names are taught in this manner of church chant.

Change of activity

The demand for regency labor is always high. Many people devote most of their lives to this activity, without the opportunity to acquire additional education. At the same time, a very valuable, but narrow specialization is acquired.

Unlike clergy, church choristers and regents are free to change their profession and occupation. Having left work for various reasons, you can contact the diocesan administration with a request to provide a teaching position in a Sunday school or in regency courses.

Often the former regent has to master simple working skills. The Church does not see anything shameful or unworthy in this.

How to become a church choir director?

Regent means "ruling" in Latin. This is the name given to the leaders (conductors) of church choirs in the Russian Orthodox Church.

Currently, the demand for musicians capable of organizing or leading an already created church choir (choir) is very high. This is explained by the constant increase in the number of operating churches, parishes and dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church. This article contains complete information on how to become a regent.

Church obedience

You can get into a church choir only with the blessing of the parish priest or the bishop heading the diocese (metropolis).

The regent, permanent choristers and charter director are paid a salary. Beginning choristers do not receive payment. Since the regent is responsible for the choir, all organizational issues are decided by him.

Regent's responsibilities:

If possible, a charter member is appointed to assist the regent. He is directly responsible for preparing the choir for daily church services, and in the absence of the regent he leads the choir.

How to become a regent?

The staff of any large church choir currently always includes professional musicians:

However, due to the specific nature of singing in the choir, a secular musician cannot lead a church choir. This requires appropriate training and experience in the choir for at least 2-5 years.

The specialty “Church Choir Director” can be obtained while studying at regent (singing) schools (departments, courses). Below is a list of the most prominent educational institutions that train future regents.

Admission requirements

Education

The training time for psalmists (readers) and singers is usually 1 year or more. The training of regents takes at least 2 years.

During their studies, future regents receive both musical and spiritual education. In 2-4 years it is necessary to master the knowledge of church canons, liturgics, church life, liturgical regulations, and the Church Slavonic language.

The regency training program includes both general musical subjects and church disciplines (singing and general):

During their studies, cadets undergo mandatory liturgical practice in the choir in the churches of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Story

One of the first singing groups were the ancient Greek choirs, used during tragedies. But unlike modern drama and theater, he himself was not a character, but played the role of public opinion, which determined the choice of other characters. The ancient Greek choir always sang in one voice, either unaccompanied or to the cithara, which also played in unison with the choir.

Early Christianity adopted the ancient tradition, and until the 10th–12th centuries, choirs sang only in unison or octave. Then began the division of votes into low and high and the emergence of different parties for them. Until the 15th century (and in church chant until the 17th century), only men were in the choir (with the exception of choirs of nuns).