The choir is a special place in an Orthodox church where the singers of the church choir are located. As a rule, the choir is located on the sole - this is a small elevation on which the altar is located, the priest stands during the sermon.
The choir is located to the left and right of the altar. It is customary to place the most experienced singers on the right choir (they are also called “festive”), and on the left those who perform simple chants (“everyday” singers). This is a place of worship where any believer is not allowed to go. To visit the choir, like the bell tower, you need to receive a special blessing from the rector of the temple.
The church choir itself, which performs chants in the church, is also called the choir.
From the history
Photo: My-credo.ru
Singing in church began in early Christianity. However, in those days there was no division between those who prayed and those who sang: everyone who was in the temple could sing chants. This was important for additional unity among those gathered.
Gradually, division began, and the first church choirs, called kliros, began to be formed from believers.
When the Christian faith was divided into Catholic and Orthodox, the difference in the manner of church singing became especially noticeable. If Catholics gave preference to chorales performed to the accompaniment of some instrument (usually an organ), then in Orthodoxy there was predominantly hook or znamenny singing.
“The choir is an organism that pronounces the words of prayer for each person praying in the church.”
REFERENCE: Bukhanets Irina Petrovna. Regent of the St. Innocent Church in Khabarovsk - the oldest parish in the Khabarovsk Territory. Work experience: 16 years (since September 2000). Education: conducting and choral department of the Khabarovsk State Institute of Arts and Culture.
The beginning of the way
“What is a temple? I imagined it then, as they showed in European films: a large door opens, and there are rows of benches, and in the center is a man on his knees in a red cap.”
— Ira, before moving on to the discussion of choir service, tell us, first, how and where did your choir path begin?
— My friend and I came to the St. Innocent Church somewhere in early September 2000. Like all students, we then asked each other where we could earn extra money? Yes, we were already in our second year, and we were allowed to work! And then one day a friend at the institute shared: “Well, for example, I sing in church...”. What is a temple? I imagined it then, as they showed in European films: a large door opens, and there are rows of benches, and in the center is a man on his knees in a red cap. This was the end of my understanding of the Church. I was not baptized, I had never been to any church, I did not know about Orthodoxy at all. What it is?
And so, my friend and I came - and it turned out that everything was completely different. I remember our first visit. She and I didn’t know then that there was an entrance to the temple on the other side, so we began to climb up from below. The gate was open, but there was no road - just gravel. And my friend and I are climbing the mountain in heels and tight skirts. I was then indignant in my heart: “So what, walk like this every day?” In general, we somehow got up, met with the regent, she listened to us and decided that we should take it.
The regent in the temple at that time was Ksenia Kudlay (now nun Seraphim). She was very strict, I would even say orthodox. She explained to us that “the choir is a very high service, it still needs to be earned.” They didn't let everyone in there. At the first rehearsal, she told us a parable about how, during the service, angels go around the entire temple and give ordinary worshipers a silver coin, and the singers a gold coin.
At first we were not even allowed into the choir itself. At that time it was not fenced in any way; there was not even a pulpit. The pulpit was made just when we were baptized - a month after our first visit, at the end of September. I remember it well, it was hard to hear the priest: renovations were going on. Everything was in the woods, there were carpets below, and there was not even a floor. The altar had just been painted, and a small step was made in front of it, where the choir was located. We stood next to it; it was impossible to climb it. The priest came up to us: “Are you a choir member?” “Yes, we are learning.” They will also show us off separately and move on. This is how we existed for about seven months. There were separate rehearsals for us where we studied voices. It was strict then. They learned the dogmatist by heart, “Lord, I cried,” they set the tone for themselves, sang, and passed. Before this we were not allowed in. We studied for a long time.
And then one day the choir, a fairly large group of people, went on some kind of trip. I don’t know what happened, but when everyone returned, massive layoffs began. The staff was disbanded, many were fired, and almost no one remained. Our regent Ksenia, now nun Seraphima, had already gone to the monastery by that time. We hired a girl as regent who had just graduated from a psalm-reading course and knew only the rules and notes at the “do-re-mi-fa-sol” level. And then we were urgently called to the choir. There were five singers in total, then another girl left us to make pies - they paid more there. And there are four of us left. But it was then that we were finally fully accepted into their ranks. Before this, the abbot simply came out: “Are you singing? Well done!” And on April 1, we were officially accommodated, these were just the days before Easter. We sang our first Easter from sight. Our regent took out some notes, in my opinion, it was “The Lady” - something simple.
So we sang everything from sight, everyone liked it, and the usual workdays began, which went like this: the two of us came to the service, two new girls who knew nothing in terms of the rules, who had just been formalized, who had been learning voices for seven months, and to whom notes were served from the choir. They came, but there was no one on the choir. There is no psalm-reader, no regent, and the bedside table with books is locked. Our sexton came out, broke open the bedside table with a crowbar, took out a book of hours for us, opened it and, as I remember now: “It’s nine o’clock - read and sing everything.”
I remember we read the ninth hour, looked at each other, read Psalm 103, then some exclamation, well, we knew the litanies - we sang, “Lord, I cried,” then we sing-sing-sing everything in a row - all the prokemeny for Monday-Tuesday- Wednesday-Thursday, until the sexton comes out: “So, you don’t need to sing this...”. In general, our first service was very original. Then I immediately realized that I needed to learn the rules, there was no one to rely on.
— But before there were no Divine service instructions...
— There wasn’t, there was a calendar, Rozanov’s Liturgical Charter and the Typikon. And also Octoechos and the old, very complexly written Menaion. There were very few notes. And there was no schedule. We opened the calendar, in which it was written what service, looked at what sign, what was being sung: Octoechos or Triodion, or combination - and off we went.
— By the way, how did you understand the Church Slavonic language? Along the way?
— Very fast. We came together with a friend (she is now the regent in Fokino), took a book of hours and a Psalter from the library - one copy in Church Slavonic, the other in Russian. One read, the second checked. We learned how to fly in about two weeks. We didn’t have such a thing that we sat, crammed, read it once - and immediately began to read it at services.
Regency everyday life
«What does every child who comes to music school dream about? Get to the “Voice” project! He absolutely does not dream of owning any instrument, and does not want to practice choral singing, because this way he will not be able to show his timbre, its beauty. Choral singing, in principle, is not cultivated now.”
- So, now you are the regent yourself...
“But I didn’t intend to be one.” We worked in the choir for about a year, when our regent got married and suddenly, together with her husband, she urgently got ready to leave for the west to visit relatives. We were then told not to worry and were promised a new regent. They left, but there was still no replacement. It turned out that no one warned the girl who was promised to us as a replacement. And, in general, she is not going to visit us. And we have a service with the bishop. Who will lead? Well, anyone. Everyone managed it somehow, including me. Bishop Mark comes out after the service and says: “You will be regent.” “Yes, I can’t, I don’t know anything...” "You'll learn." All! Nobody asked: do you want it or not, can you do it or not, do you have an education...
- Let's talk about our time now. What does a person need now to become a singer, specifically in our church? What requirements do you have?
— I have high demands, but I don’t really have anyone to set them to, to be honest. There is a shortage of personnel not only in our church, but in Khabarovsk in general. Because young people don't want to learn music.
– Why do you think?
- I know specifically. What does every child who comes to music school dream about? Get to the “Voice” project! He absolutely does not dream of owning any instrument, because it is not necessary, because there is a program that can reproduce any instruments for you. He doesn’t want to study choral singing, because this way he won’t be able to show his timbre, his beauty. Choral singing, in principle, is not currently cultivated. If before it was everywhere, even in Soviet times every factory had its own choir, but now - alas. And the musical, professional choirs were huge, and they really were professional, but now even the level of our choirs that perform, the same chapels, is much lower. They are half made up of amateurs, so in this situation, for us now, every person is valuable. We try to train every capable person and appeal to his conscience that since you came to the choir, you must conform.
- Well, okay, when a man comes to the choir - take me, I want to sing!
— Want? Okay, I’ll listen to you, what can you do?
- Well, I know a little music...
- Do I know the notes? Fine! What note is this? I immediately give the simplest notes to any person who comes. That is, first I’m wondering if you have any experience of singing in the choir, or experience of attending services in a church? Some have it, some don’t have it at all - students come for the first time, like I once did. I take elementary notes, where the text is in Russian. I explain that we will sing not only from notes, but also from books, but first I need to listen to the level of knowledge and musical education. If a person cannot immediately sing the specified line from a sheet of paper, I ask him to sing any song. He sings, and I determine whether he has hearing and a voice. Then I ask, is there a desire to learn? Because it’s easy to just stand on the choir... we already have so little space. If a person has a desire, he begins to study - go to rehearsals, listen. If there is a great desire, it begins to educate itself. He goes to college, learns basic music theory. Because without knowing the notes on the choir it is very difficult.
— Are there any requirements besides musical ones?
- Well, it is clear that a person must be baptized and, of course, it is desirable that he also be a member of the church. But this is an ideal if a church-going singer comes to you, with a higher choral conducting education, a desire to sing, to work every day, but... This happens very rarely.
— Does it happen that maybe a talented person comes, but for some reason he is unable to join the team? Could this be?
- Maybe. Most often this does not happen because of the level of his musicality, it is a matter of character. Basically, as practice shows, if you yourself have a quarrelsome disposition, or you, for example, think that you sing better than Vasya, and Vasya interferes with your singing... Such a person will never join the choir, because he does not understand that the choir – I’m not the one who came to sing. This is a team. If one person sings differently from others and wants to show off, it usually ends in tears. A person does not understand that here, in principle, people are not realized through this. And he hears only himself.
— How many singers are in your choir now?
- Now, in my opinion, there are about ten people walking steadily. In principle, if you look at it, we don’t even have a choir, but a vocal ensemble. Because the minimum choir is 24-32 people. Well, at least 24. We have a vocal ensemble, plus there are restrictions on weekdays - 3-4 people. It is impossible to even create a vocal ensemble. That is, these are trios and quartets. Based on this, we are trying to sing choral music that is written for the choir, and adapt it somehow. The church acoustics, which, thank God, are still pre-revolutionary, help a lot - and this saves. We have a properly made dome. Previously, temples were built, this was taken into account. This was clearly stated. In other churches, if you sing without a microphone, the sound is terrible.
—Can you assess the professional level of the singers in your choir?
Different, very different. People are diverse, with different levels of talent. Some people are really talented but lazy. You tell him, you can do better, you even suggest how to do better, but they don’t want to. And there are people who were told somewhere that they would never sing. They have problems with hearing, voice and in general it’s better... to cook pies. But they came anyway. And we started to study a little bit. Now they are already holding the party. They have both willpower and desire, so there is a result. And we have very capable people who write music. All people are talented, you just need to give them a hint about it, give them the way, and there will be a desire.
Continuation…
Modern hymns in church
Photo: Hramnagorke.ru
Nowadays, according to tradition, the church choir is placed on a sole or on a specially built elevation above the gathered believers. This was done to improve the sound quality of the choir members: when they sing from above, the sound becomes larger and better. This is especially noticeable in intimate, cozy churches with good acoustics.
In modern churches, the choir predominantly performs partes (polyphonic choral performance) singing. Works by specific composers are performed extremely rarely, since most rectors are convinced that such chants have no place in the church, they should only be performed in concert halls.
Znamenny (single-voice choral performance) singing has been gaining popularity lately. Priests give preference to it, since the chant in this case becomes more prayerful and stricter. It is much more difficult to perform, as it requires specific singing skills and absolute pitch.
So how can you learn to sing well in the choir?
I will not mention prayer here, since reciting the liturgical text even by a person who is not a church member will be partly a prayer, and you, my dears, are probably all very believers and have been church members for a long time. I think you're okay with this.
But to learn how to sing competently and correctly in the choir, prayer or musical skills alone are not enough. Here, like an iceberg, the entire depth is hidden from view. It is not enough to just have knowledge of musical notation. You need to understand the essence of worship, at least know roughly what this or that chant or liturgical action is about or for.
But just knowing all the church fundamentals of Orthodox worship will not give you complete knowledge of church singing. Because this is just one side of that same iceberg. To start singing well on the choir, you just need to start... singing (on this very choir).
Of course, not a single regent or psalmist will allow you to sing in the choir right away. First, you stand and be silent, mentally singing your part with one voice or another. Then, after several lessons (if the choir director conducts rehearsals), you will be allowed to sing simple voice chants that you have managed to learn or, for example, Litany.
Literature
- Anisimov A.I.
Conductor-choirmaster. Creative and methodological notes. - L.: “Music”, 1976. - 160 p. - Asafiev B.V.
On choral art: Sat. articles / Comp. and comment. A. Pavlova-Arbenina. - L.: Music, 1980. - 216 p. - Vinogradov K.
Work on diction in the choir. - M.: Muzyka, 1967. - Dmitrevskaya K.
Russian Soviet choral music. Vol. 1.— M.: Soviet Composer, 1974. - Dmitrevsky G.
Choral studies and choir management. - Muzgiz, 1957. - Evgrafov, Yu. A.
Elementary theory of manual choir control. — 2nd edition. - St. Petersburg: Lan publishing house; publishing house "Planet of Music", 2018. - Egorov, A. A.
Theory and practice of working with a choir / A. A. Egorov. - L.; M.: Gosmuizdat, 1951. - Zhivov, V. L.
Performing analysis of a choral work. - M.: Muzyka, 1987. - Zhivov V.L.
Choral performance: Theory. Methodology. Practice.— M.: Vlados, 2003. - Ilyin V.
Essays on the history of Russian choral culture. - M.: Soviet Composer, 1985. - Kazachkov S. A.
Choir conductor - artist and teacher / Kazan. state Conservatory. - Kazan, 1998. - 308 p. - Kazachkov S. A.
From lesson to concert. - Kazan: Kazan University Publishing House, 1990. - 343 p. - Krasnoshchekov V.
Questions of choral studies. - M.: Muzyka, 1969. - Lokshin D.
Wonderful Russian choirs and their conductors. - M.: Muzgiz, 1963. - Nikolskaya-Beregovskaya K. F.
Russian vocal and choir school: From antiquity to the 21st century - M.: Vlados, 2003. ISBN 5-691-01077-8 - In memory of A.V. Sveshnikov. Collection of articles ed. S. Kalinina.— M.: Muzyka, 1998.
- In memory of N. M. Danilin. Letters, memories, documents.— M.: Soviet Composer, 1987.
- Pigrov K.
Choir leadership. - M.: Muzyka, 1964. - 220 p. - Bird K.
Masters of choral art at the Moscow Conservatory. - M.: Muzyka, 1970. - Working with the choir. Methodology, experience. - M.: Profizdat, 1972. - 208 p.
- Sivizyanov A.
The problem of muscular freedom of the choir conductor. - M.: Muzyka, 1983. - 55 p. - Romanovsky N.V.
Choral dictionary. - L.: Music, 1980 - Samarin V.
Choreology. - M.: Muzyka, 2011. - Sokolov V.
Work with the choir. - M.: Muzyka, 1967. - Teneta-Barteneva L. B.
Lebedev Konstantin Mikhailovich. (Essay on the life and creative path of an outstanding choral conductor and teacher). - M.: 4th branch of Voenizdat, 2002 - Chesnokov P.
G. Choir and its management. A manual for choral conductors. Ed. 3rd - M., 1961. - Shamina L.V.
Work with an amateur choir. - M.: Muzyka, 1981. - 174 p.] - Sadovnikov V.I.
Orthoepy in singing. - M., 1958. - 80 p. - Riemann, Hugo.
Musical Dictionary: CD-ROM / trans. with him. B. P. Jurgenson, add. rus. department - M.: DirectMedia Publishing, 2008.
Choir
A church choir is called a choir; this word is also used to describe the place where the choir stands in a church. Those people who often visit an Orthodox church know that the basis of the service is church singing. One can hardly imagine any church service without it. A lot depends on singing in church; poor singing disrupts prayer and makes you distracted. Too pretentious “operatic” singing also distracts from prayer. Correct singing in church should humble a person and put him in the right prayerful mood. That is why priests attach such importance to the selection of singers.
Church choir
Choir
(ancient Greek χορός “crowd”), also
choral/singing group
- a musical ensemble consisting of singers (choristers, choir artists); the sound of human voices together.
A choir differs from a vocal ensemble (vocal trio, quartet, quintet, etc.) by the presence of at least two (according to P. Chesnokov, three) or more people performing the same part.
The choir is led by a conductor or choirmaster. The leader of a church choir is called a regent.
Types of choirs
Under the name of the choir type
understand the characteristics of the performing group by the constituent groups of singing voices. It is known that singing voices are divided into three groups - women's, men's and children's. Thus, a choir that combines the voices of one group is called homogeneous, and a choir that has combinations of female (or children's) and male voices or singing voices from all groups is called mixed. In performing practice, four types of choirs are common: women's, men's, children's, mixed.
The minimum number of singers in one choir is 3 people.
From the point of view of singing style, there are:
