Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Peachtree City United Methodist will host quartet from Russia March 17The Peachtree City United Methodist Church will host a concert of Russian sacred music presented by the Konevets Quartet Thursday, March 17, at 7 p.m. in the worship center on Robinson Road. The Konevets Quartet was founded by graduates and students of the St. Petersburg Music Conservatoire in July 1992. The quartet takes its name from the Konevets Island and Monastery, some 160 kilometers northeast of St. Petersburg, on Lake Ladoga. It was there, over 600 years ago, that St. Arseny Konevsky founded a cloister in the honour of the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus. During Soviet years the island was occupied by the USSR military and was removed from all maps. The fabric of the monastery was almost completely destroyed, but now it is being reborn. During the early years of the Konevets Quartets association with the monastery, the group sang mainly for those working on the restoration, as well as for pilgrims, tourists and drop-outs who sought shelter in the restored buildings. Also, the quartet frequently sang in church services on Sundays and feast days. Members of the quartet studied at St. Petersburgs oldest musical conservatoire, the Municipal Choir School. Having been schooled in the Russian traditions, the quartets aim was to become a chamber choir with a common harmonic sound, rather than soloists, a spokesperson said. Their repertoire was therefore created especially for this purpose, and remains such to this day. The major part of the repertoire is of Russian sacred music, ranging from chants and hymns by twentieth century composers such as Chesnokov, Grechaninov, Stravinsky to ancient chants and hymns in original one-, two -, and three-part arrangements, and sometimes re-harmonized by the quartet. The second part of the repertoire is devoted to Russian folk songs based on ballads, dances and regimental songs and marches of the Tsarist armies, and from the old military academies, forbidden during Communist times. Some of these songs have been rearranged by the quartet in order to suit their concert style. The third portion of the repertoire comprises choir music by Russian composers, with lyrics by Russian poets such as Pushkin and Lermontov, and with music by Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Taneyev and other famous Russian composers. The quartet also has included some songs which are unknown even in Russia. With help from friends in Russia and others in Europe and the USA, the quartet constantly searches for new material from the past, the spokesperson said. This is a way of expanding the audiences knowledge of Russian choir music. Peachtree City United Methodist Churchs Worship Center is at 225 Robinson Rd, Peachtree City. The concert is free but a love offering will be taken. |
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