International Festival of Sacred Music - CREDO
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| Country and Region | Estonia — Harjumaa |
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| Type of Festival | Music |
| Location of Festival | Tallinn, Harjumaa, Estonia |
| Festival Address Information | International Festival of Sacred Music - CREDO |
| Festival Description | The International CREDO Festival of Orthodox Sacred Music has taken place in Estonia since 1994. The festival is scheduled around the Orthodox feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God (21 September according to the “old style” calendar). The festival’s goal is the preservation, development, and popularization of Orthodox musical culture. In an effort to nurture an interest towards Christian culture among the youth, the festival has also invited serious-minded children’s and youth choirs, giving these young musicians the opportunity to perform alongside real masters. Over twelve years, the festival has witnessed some of the finest examples of Orthodox music, from early Christian liturgical chants to compositions by modern-day composers. The participants of the festival have included outstanding choral groups from Estonia, Russia, Georgia, Latvia, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Ukraine, Romania and Lebanon: among them, the Chamber Choir of the Moscow Patriarchate “Drevnerussky raspev” (Anatoly Grindenko, Artistic Director); the Festal Choir of the Danilov Monastery (Georgi Safonov, Director); the Mixed Choir of the Estonian Radio (Toomas Kapten, Conductor); the Estonian Early Music Ensemble “Hortus musicus” (Andres Mustonen, Artistic Director); the “Blagovest” Sacred Music Ensemble of Moscow (Galina Koltsova, Artistic Director); the Male Choir of St. Petersburg (Vadim Afanasyev, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor); the “Blagovist” Soloists’ Ensemble of the Lavra Gallery, Ukraine (Tatyana Kumanovskaya, Artistic Director, Mikhail Gulkovsky, Conductor); the “Rustavi” State Male Ensemble, Georgia (Anzor Ergomayshvili, Artistic Director); the “Anastasis” Choir of Romania (Dan-Milan Mengeshi, Conductor); the Chamber Choir of Hedwig-Eleonora, Sweden (Par Friedberg, Conductor); the St. Petersburg Chamber Choir (Nikolai Korniev, Conductor); the Choir of St. Nicholas Cathedral, Kuopio, Finland (Anita Lintu, Director); Performer of traditional Middle Eastern songs Ghada Shbeir, (Lebanon) and many others. |
| Festival Dates | September 19 - 23, 2007 |
| Festival Links |
Festival Events:
Program 2006:
- September 21, 7:00pm
Venue—St. Nikolas Church, Tallinn, Estonia
Opening: The Vocal Quartet of Raifa Bogoroditsky Monastery(Russia)
The program: Hymns to Virgin Mother Of God.
- The Vocal Quartet of Raifa Bogoroditsky Monastery was founded in 1992 on the very day of Monastery’s revival. The repertoire includes Orthodox liturgy chants as well as Russian folk songs, romances and songs of their own composition, performed “a capella”. The Quartet combines participation in church services with various concert activities. The Quartet issued 5 compact disk with Orthodox liturgy chants and Russian folk songs and romances.
Ticket price: €10
- The Vocal Quartet of Raifa Bogoroditsky Monastery was founded in 1992 on the very day of Monastery’s revival. The repertoire includes Orthodox liturgy chants as well as Russian folk songs, romances and songs of their own composition, performed “a capella”. The Quartet combines participation in church services with various concert activities. The Quartet issued 5 compact disk with Orthodox liturgy chants and Russian folk songs and romances.
- September 22, 7:00pm
Venue—Kaarli Church, Tallinn, Estonia
The program: Estonian and Contemporary Orthodox Music.
The ensemble Orthodox Singers ( Tallinn, Estonia), Conductor Valery Petrov; and Chamber choir “RU:NEKUND” (Tallinn, Estonia), Conductor Mareks Lobe.
- Founded in January of 1989 by Valery Petrov, the ORTHODOX SINGERS vocal ensemble has, over the past 15 years, established a reputation as one of the finest professional choral ensembles in Estonia. It has received awards at several international competitions and participates frequently in various European music festivals. The primary creative focus of the choir is early Orthodox chant, which is rarely heard in concert performances. In the last several years, the ensemble’s repertoire has also come to include the music of contemporary Orthodox composers, among them Sir John Tavener, Valery Kalistratov, and Arvo Part. Arvo Part’s music from the Kanon Pokajanen serves as the basis for a musical mystery play The Passion According to Andrew, which features an artistic representation of a secret night-time liturgy of early Christians in the Roman catacombs.
- Valery Petrov (b. 1960), Conductor and Artistic Director of the “Orthodox Singers” vocal ensemble. Specialist in the area of early Slavic church singing and Medieval music. Composer of a collection entitled All-Night Vigil (1999), based on original chants of the Valaam Monastery, which draws upon Orthodox music from different historical periods and styles.
- Chamber choir “RU:NEKUND” is gave debute concert at the “CREDO”-2005 festival. The choir is established by Mareks Lobe, who is also artistic director. The singers have choral music as part of theirs everyday life, in one way or another. The initiating idea of the project and the reason to keep going on has been an effort to please audience with high level and different in kids music experience.
Ticket price: €10
- September 23, 7:00pm
Venue—Kaarli Church, Tallinn, Estonia
The vocal ensemble “The Seven Saints”( Sofia,Bulgaria)
The program: “There is a land…” Orthodox chants by great Bulgarian composers.
- The” Seven Saints” vocal ensemble was founded in 1903 by Marin Drianovski (1882-1965) at “The Seven Saints” (“Sveti Sedmotchislenitzi”) cathedral—one of the most significant churches in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The ensemble is called after the seven Bulgarian saints, Cyril and Methodius and their five disciples Climent, Naum, Sava, Gorazd and Angelarij, who created Cyrillic alphabet in IX century (862).
- Since 1912 to 1928 the conductor of the choir is the “Patriarch of the Bulgarian music culture” - the composer Dobri Hristov. Especially for the choir he writes his largest sacred work - Liturgy N. 1 (1924), as well as some individual choir pieces. These years are of a great significance, because then the choir leveled up with the best ensembles in Bulgaria. In 1927, under Hristovs’ leading the ensemble makes its first records for the labels Pathe-Marconi, Columbia and His Master’s Voice and its first concert tour abroad in Germany.
- Since 1992 conductor of “The Seven Saints” vocal ensemble is Dimitar Grigorov (1968). He is a graduate of the State Music Academy “P. Vladigerov”-Sofia (1994) specializing in choir conducting. He has worked as conductor of various Bulgarian choirs.
Ticket price: €10
- September 24, 7:00pm
Venue—Estonia Concert Hall, Tallinn, Estonia
GALA CONCERT
- The Vocal Quartet of Raifa Bogoroditsky Monastery(Russia)
- The ensemble Orthodox Singers (Tallinn, Estonia), Conductor Valery Petrov
- Chamber choir “RU:NEKUND” (Tallinn, Estonia), Conductor Mareks Lobe
- The vocal ensemble “The Seven Saints”( Sofia, Bulgaria), Conductor Dimitar Grigorov
- The Children Choir “RADUGA” (Tallinn, Estonia), Conductor Natalya Kuzina.
Ticket price: €10
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