Religious Songs On Holy Mountains

Slavyanohorsk, a unique resort town on the scenic banks of the Siversky Donets River (Donetsk oblast) will host the first all-Ukraine music festival, Choral Assembly on the Holy Mountains, on September 12-14.

Ukraine’s modern choral art has experienced an unprecedented upsurge over the past several years. A number of talented composers and choirs have appeared and worthily represented Ukraine at some of the most prestigious international contests and festivals. Regrettably, this blossoming of choral talent passes practically unnoticed by most enthusiastic audiences in the eastern regions of Ukraine.

The Choral Assembly on the Holy Mountains is a religious show involving Ukraine’s best choirs, winners of prestigious international festivals (like Kyiv, Khreshchatyk — both from the capital — Blahovist of Luhansk, Sretenie of Kharkiv, etc.).

For centuries choral singing in Ukraine has been firmly attached to the Orthodox tradition. Most choral works of past epochs were composed precisely for the Church. World-renowned representatives of the Ukrainian baroque (Vedel, Berezovsky, and Bortniansky), Ukrainian and Russian classics (Tchaikovsky, Lysenko, Chesnokov, and Rachmaninoff) and modern Ukrainian composers (Dychko, Stankovych, Stepurko, Shukh, Havrylets, Polevaya, and Nebesny) wrote religious songs at different periods that are enthusiastically included in concert programs. What makes the Choral Assembly special is that the organizers placed these and other renditions in the unique atmosphere of the Monastery of Sviatohorsk [Monastery of the Holy Mountains], thus reviving the natural linkage between Orthodoxy and the choral art.

Naturally, the project would have never become a reality without help from the Orthodox Church and secular authorities. The Choral Assembly was blessed by Metropolitan Hilarion of Donetsk and Mariupol and is sponsored by Viktor Yanukovych, governor of Donetsk oblast. Another significant fact is that the gathering will take place in the Donbas, so even people remote from the Christian faith will hear the best choral compositions, thus partaking of their beauty, tranquility, and inner harmony.