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Saturday 26th February 2005

Concert by the Valaam Monastery Singers

at the Cathedral, it starts 7.30 p.m.

Tickets: £8 (£6 concession) at the door

Valaam is an island or rather group of islands in the Ladoga Lake, northern Russia. The archipelago covers an area of approximately 36 sq. km and consists of 50 islands.
Cliffs rising out of the rough Ladoga waters, peaceful inner lakes and harmony. But there is more to Valaam than purely a natural beauty. Here the material word is a reflection of that of the spirit. It was for many centuries the spiritual center of Russian Orthodoxy and known in Russia as the Northern Athos.

It is not known exactly when the first monks came to Valaam but it is thought that St. Andrew the First-Called, the apostole of Christ who believed to have brought Christianity to the Slavs and the Scythians, visited the island in the first century. According to popular belief he erected a cross on one of the cliffs. Nine centuries later, yet before the Baptism of Russia in 988, two monks, St Sergius and St Herman the Miracle-Workers, came to Valaam and founded the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour. Many Russian Saints either took their vows or spent some years at Valaam and later became founders of monasteries all over Russia. St Herman of Alaska, the first Orthodox saint of North America, who brought Orthodoxy to the American continent in the 18th century, had also been a monk at Valaam.

The purpose of their tours is to present to the audience the rich and distinct tradition of Russian Church and folk singing. The ensemble was organized in 1993 by 5 enthusiastic professional male singers and it is managed by Anastasia Goryanina.

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Mikhail Ruzanov Director and second tenor

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Dmitry Shmelev Bass

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Mikhail Kronglov Bass profundo

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Dmitri Popov First tenor

The concerts feature rich voices of the singers, without any instrumental accompaniment. The repertoire consists of liturgical singing and many Russian folk songs, in the rich musical tradition of the Northern Russia. The ensemble has produced several CDs that will be available for sale after the concert. This sale helps to raise funds to cover some of their traveling expenses and financially help the singers for their work. Almost throughout summer the singers can be found on Valaam singing at the Monastery services and performing for the many thousands of pilgrims, tourists and honoured guests when they visit the island.

You can hear samples of their music, by visiting the ensemble's website (you must have RealPlayer installed in your computer)

Full programme and further details will be published on this page early in the New Year.