The Optina Pustyn male choir was created at the Dormition Metochion Church of the Optina Pustyn monastery in St. Petersburg. The first znamenny notation liturgy was celebrated on 15 September 1996. Over time, the ensemble has become a creative laboratory for the return of the singing heritage of Ancient Russia from the manuscript collections of academic libraries to liturgical practice. Today, in addition to the Ancient Russian one-voice chants, different types of Russian church polyphony are heard at the services of the Metochion: strochnoe and partesnoe choral singing, as well as chants of Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Georgia. In addition, the choir performs both composer’s and own versions of church chants, as well as author’s compositions.
The founder of the ensemble and artistic director Aleksandr Semyonov graduated from the Conducting and Choral Faculty of St. Petersburg Conservatory where he additionally studied Ancient Russian notation and symphonic conducting. He is the author of a significant number of choral arrangements, concepts of research projects and concert programs.
The choir consists of professional singers: tenor Andrei Ivanushkin (since 1997), baritone and chior master Sergei Grigoriev (since 1999), profound bass, leading singer of State Academic Capella and Mariinsky Theatre Vladimir Miller, laureate of international competition, bass Dmitry Shishkin (since 2002), laureate of international competitions, baritone Boris Petrov (since 2012), tenor Ivan Egorov and tenor Nikita Chernikov (since 2019), tenor Danis Imamutdinov (since 2022), tenor Pavel Semagin and bass Pavel Andreev (since 2023). The ensemble consists of carefully selected voices: from the lowest profound bass to the highest tenor altino which allows to successfully solve performing tasks of any complexity.
As for the concert activities, the ensemble specializes in musical and historical themes and has a diverse repertoire from church music to chamber works of world choral classics. Continuously developing several large-scale projects at once, the musicians constantly replenish their research and performing experience with new musical scores. In 2006, a collaboration album with the I Solisti Veneti orchestra was released on the Warner Music label. In 2008, the project “Chants of an Ancient Church” was presented at the Regensburg Museum of History; Byzantine, Gregorian, Armenian and Georgian chants of the V-XVI centuries were performed in the original languages. The program “Ars Antiqua & Ars Nova” consisting of masterpieces of Western European polyphony of the Renaissance was first performed in 2011 under the direction of Paul van Nevel. In 2023, a creative reinterpreting of this program is being prepared for the next performance at St. Petersburg Philharmonia. The project “Chants of the Tsar Singers”, work on which began in 2013 with a concert of the same name at the St. Petersburg Philharmonia, is dedicated to the chants born in the depths of the most famous Russian singing corporation from the reign of Ivan III and to the era of Peter the Great.
The choir “Optina Pustyn” has toured more than 20 countries in Europe, Asia and America. The musicians performed concerts in the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, St. Sophia Cathedrals of Kyiv and Novgorod, in numerous cathedrals of Western Europe, in the halls of the St. Petersburg Philharmonia and Academic Capella, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall (Moscow), Moscow International House of Music, the Kyiv Philharmonia, concert halls Laeiszhalle (Hamburg), Temppeliaukio (Helsinki), Rikskonserter (Stockholm), Niguliste (Tallinn).
The ensemble constantly participates in international festivals. They include Moscow Easter Festival, Festival d’Auvers-sur-Oise (France), Musica Sacra International (Germany), Millennium Sacrum (Spain), BEMUS (Serbia), Ohrid Summer (Macedonia), Orientale lumen (Hungary), Muzyka w Starym Krakowie (Poland), Credo (Estonia), Moscow Christmas Festival, “Rostov Action” in Rostov the Great, “Transfiguration” in Yaroslavl.
In 2022-2023, the choir “Optina Pustyn” presented a solo program at the Saint Tikhon's Orthodox University (Moscow), Mirozhsky Monasery and the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda, gave several concerts at the St. Petersburg, Krasnoyarsk and Vologda Philharmonic, performed at the Moscow International House of Music.
The choir’s discography includes 15 CDs and SACDs. The music recorded by the ensemble is heard in many Russian and foreign feature films and documentaries.
Apart from the concert periods, the choir can be heard at the Dormition Metochion of Optina Pustyn monastery. A large choir sings on Saturday evening and at the late Sunday liturgy, also on the twelve-day and temple feasts and at the Holy Week main services. A small choir sings during the other divine services.
Divine services schedule
_400x0_50a.jpg "Optina Pustyn male choir. St.Sophia. Ohrid, Macedonia. Together with Milena Arsovska (soprano)")
_400x0_50a.jpg "Optina Pustyn male choir. Together with the women's choir of the monastery of St. Gerhard (Armenia). Shimey, Belgium")
CHANTS OF AN ANCIENT CHURCH (DIGITAL RELEASE)
THE CHRISTMAS SONGS (DIGITAL RELEASE)
THE SOUL LONGS FOR HEAVEN (DIGITAL RELEASE)
THE CHURCH MUSIC OF RUSSIAN COMPOSERS
THE EARLY RUSSIAN POLIPHONY
THE HYMNS TO SERAPHIM VYRITSKY
THE SOUL LONGS FOR HEAVEN
THE HYMNS ON THE ANNUNCIATION
THE CHANTS ON THE ASSUMPTION VESPERS
PIETRO MASCAGNI. MESSA DI GLORIA
THE RUSSIAN CHURCH SINGING
SAINTLY LOVE
THE MILLENIUM OF RUSSIAN CHURCH SINGING
THE EASTER. LIVE RECORD
THE HYMNS ON THE ASSUMPTION
CHANTS OF THE GREAT LENT
Sergei Skorokhodov, soloist of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theaters, and the Optina Pustyn Choir. Rehearsal for the Great Easter Concert to be held in the Smolny Cathedral. May 2024.
0:00 "The Angel is crying out" by Pavel Chesnokov
03:50 "Your Hall". Music by Alexander Kastalsky
0:00 Cherubic hymn (“Izhe cheruvimy tajno obrazuyuche”). Arrangement of the old Bulgarian chant by hegumen Siluan Tumanov (b.1971)
5:24 It is truly meet (“Dostojno est”). Strochnoy chant. In accordance with the manuscript of 17th century. Decipherment by Maxim Brazhnikov
Recorded in the Great Philharmonic Hall in St.Petersburg on April 26, 2011
Music by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908). Arrangement by Alexander Semyonov.
Recorded in the Petrikirche in St. Petersburg on January 7, 2007
"Kookoo". Folk song. Arrangement by Sergey Jarov.
Recorded in the Great Philharmonic Hall in St.Petersburg on April 26, 2011
Recorded in the Small Philarmonic Hall in St.Petersburg on October 27, 2016
00:00 “Plain and plain is all around”. Music by S.Sadovsky. Lyrics by Ivan Surikov (1841-1880). Arrangement by Alexander Semyonov. Soloist – Dmitry Pisarev (baritone)
04:26 “Blaze, blaze, my Star” (‘Gori, gori, moja zvezda’). Music by uncown author in arrangement P.Bulakhov (1822-1885) & Vladimir Miller. Lyrics by Vassily Chuevsky (1819-1868). Soloist – Vladimir Miller (bass profundo)
10:41 “Evening bell”. (Vecherny zvon). A Russian folk song. Music by K.Sidorovich. Lyrics by I.Makarov. Arrangement by Sergey Jarov (1896-1985). Soloist – Alexander Gorbatenko (counter-tenor)
Recorded in the Concert Hall in Nyíregyháza (Hungary) on May 21 2015
Lyrics by Dmitry Sadovnikov. Arrangement by Alexander Semyonov. Soloist – Vladimir Miller (bass profundo).
Recorded at St. Petersburg Records Studio in the Small Philharmonic Hall in Saint-Petersburg on November 8, 2019
A monastery narrative. Text by Nikolay Nekrasov (1821-1877).
Music by Nikolay Manykin-Nevstruev (1869-1920). Soloist – Vladimir Miller (bass profundo).
Recorded in the Small Philharmonic Hall in Saint-Petersburg on May 13, 2021
“O Lord , make me to know mine end”. Arrangement for a male choir by Alexander Semyonov (b.1975)
Recorded in the National Philharmonic Hall in Kiev on January 29, 2012
'Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace'. Himn of Simeon the Just.
Music by Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943). Arrangement for a male choir by Alexander Semyonov. Soloist – Alexander Gorbatenko (countertenor)
Recorded in the Small Philharmonic Hall in Saint-Petersburg on December 26, 2021
“Vseh skorbyaschih radoste”. Arrangement of the Bulgarian chant by Mikhail Popov-Platonov (1879-1942)
Recorded in the Glazunov Hall in Conservatory of St. Petersburg on April 03, 2006
Music by K.Sidorovitch. Lyrics by I.Makarov (1821-1852).
Arrangement by Alexander Semyonov.
Soloist – Alexander Gorbatenko (countertenor)
Recorded in the St. Petersburg State Academic Capella on July 13, 2009
Music by Lev Beloglazov (1966). Arranged for the male choir by Alexander Semyonov. Recorded in the Moscow Cathedral Chamber on May 10, 2021. The World Premiere
Bulgarian chant, XVI cent. Recorded in the Rostov Kremlin on August 3, 2019
“O tebe raduetsya”. Chant of Suprasl monastery. In accordance with the manuscript of 1601.
Recorded in the Small Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg on October 27, 2016
“Many, many years” for the Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich. In accordance with the manuscript of XVII cent.
Recorded in the Philharmonic Hall in Yekaterinburg on January 15, 2015
Arrangement for a male choir by Alexander Semyonov
Rehearsal in the St.Sophia Church in Ohrid on August 8, 2017
This Easter hymn is sung on the Bright Week. Recorded in 2003 in the Dormition cathedral in Moscow Kremlin
Recorded on June 6, 2021 at the Dormition Metochion Church of the Optina Pustyn monastery in St. Petersburg
00:00 ‘Corpus Christi’. Easter Eucharist. Early partes, XVII cent
02:50 ‘Your Resurrection’. Partes interpretation of the Znamenny chant. In accordance with the 18th century scripture from the Solovetsky monastery
03:50 ‘It is truly meet’. Partes interpretation of the Kiev chant. In accordance with the XVIIth century scripture from the Kirill – Belozersky monastery
6:30 ‘Your Hall’. Music by Alexander Kastalsky (1856-1926). Arrangement for a male choir by Georgy Smirnov. Soloist – Nikita Chernikov (tenor)
12:57 ‘Bless the Lord, o my Soul’. Arrangement of the Greek chant by Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943). Arrangement for a male choir by Alexander Semyonov. Soloist – Alexander Gorbatenko (countertenor)
Strochnoi chant (string polyphony). Transcription by Anatoly V. Konotop. Recorded on April 2, 2023 at the Transfiguration Cathedral (Mirozhsky Monastery, Pskov).
The fragments of Levon Nersesyan's movie "Theophanes the Greek's Frescoes in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Ilyin Street in Novgorod" were used in this video.
Recorded by St. Petersburg Records Studio in Uzhgorod Philharmonic, in October 11.
Soloists – Alexander Gorbatenko & Evgeny Mikheev.
In October 2010, Artistic Director of choir took a trip to the Orthodox shrines of the Byzantine Empire. Unfortunately, not much has survived to this day, but even what can be seen today on the territory of modern Turkey and, especially, in Istanbul, makes an indelible impression. Filmed in Hagia Sophia, videos and photographs have been waiting for their time for 10 years and now, at last, they have seen the light of day. The video is edited on the basis of the track of the Optina Pustyn male choir – “Cherubic hymn” of the old Bulgarian chant as presented by Abbot Siluan (Tumanov), recorded in 2013 for the CD “Chants of an Ancient Church”
"O Mother of God, rejoice". Music by Alexey Gvozdecky.
Recorded in the Cathedral of St. Sophia, Novgorod, 2006
“Evening on the Raid” (fragment of the recording for the game World of Warships). Music By V. P. Solovyov-Sedoy (1907-1979). Words by A.D. Churkin (1903-1971). Arranged for male choir by A.V. Semyonov. The soloists are Grigory Chernetsov (baritone) and Dmitry Shishkin (bass). Recorded in the in St.Petersburg Record Studio on November 15, 2018
Arrangement by Alexander Semyonov. Recorded in the Marble Hall of the Russian Ethnographic Museum on April 30, 2018
Blaze, blaze, my Star. Soloist – Vladimir Miller (bass profundo)
“Gori, gori, moja Zvezda”. Music by unknown author in arrangement P.Bulakhov (1822-1885) & Vladimir Miller. Lyrics by Vassily Chuevsky (1819-1868). Recorded in the Marble Hall of the Russian Ethnographic Museum on April 30, 2018
Music by S.Sadovsky. Lyrics by Ivan Surikov (1841-1880). Arrangement by Alexander Semyonov.
Recorded in the Marble Hall of the Russian Ethnographic Museum on April 30, 2018
Soyuz TV channel report about the Great Easter Concert in the Smolny Cathedral on May 17, 2024.
Report of the TV channel “St. Petersburg” about the Great Easter Concert in the Smolny Cathedral on May 17, 2024.
St. Petersburg Philharmonic. May, 2022.
The 20-th anniversary of the choir (St. Petersburg Philharmonic)
The choir presented a panorama of chants of Christian confessions. Some chants sound in their original unison form, others form polyphony, in which the top rises in jubilant melismas over long archaic fifths and octaves. The singers develop astounding loudness for this small cast and cover a wide audio range.
— Mittelbayerische, Von Gerhard DietelThe title fully conveys the musical stylistic diversity of church and spiritual works performed that evening. According to the rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, Archbishop Ambrose, the choir's works on restoring ancient singing traditions give listeners a unique opportunity not only to listen to a magnificently performed piece of music, but also to connect with the prayerful experience of our ancestors.
— St. Petersburg Theological AcademyThe Optina Pustyn male choir from Russia filled the Cathedral of Our Lady in Auvers-sur-Oise with a truly cosmic harmony. The ingenious Boris Petrov succeeded in “Eternal Council”. The glorious Bulgarian chant “Joy to All Who Sorrow” (“Vseh skorbyaschih radoste”) allows to hear each voice separately. The song “Save, God, your people” enabled us to immerse into euphony velvet voice of Vladimir Miller, endowed with one of the richest voices in the world.
— Classique d'aujourd'hui, Bruno SerrouThe Optina Pustyn male choir has been successfully touring the Swedish capital. On October 4 the ensemble held a concert in the one of the oldest churches in the country – the Storkyrkan (“Big Church”) in Stockholm. It was opened in 1306; the kings are crowned and married there. This is not the first meeting of Russian singers with Swedish audiences, but the huge church was still full of people.
— The Moscow PatriarchateI was able to feel the uplifting grandeur of music in the Temple of St. Gregory of Neokesaria in Derbytsi. The Optina Pustyn male choir treated us with masterpieces of singing art. An exceptional program was performed, featuring Christian chants of the 10th – 17th centuries. Nineteen songs formed a peculiar mini-anthology of church chant. This performance became one of the precious adornments of the X Easter Festival Choir program.
— Belcanto.ru, Igor KoryabinThe Optina Pustyn male choir gave a divine, spiritual and expressive concert in the Belgrade Cathedral. This famous Russian choir consists of singers with the highest vocal and artistic capabilities. Their voices range from countertenors to deep bass. The applause in the temple is inappropriate, but the audience was overwhelmed with such strong emotions that they gave the choir a long standing ovation.
— Saborna crkvaThe Sacred Music Evenings season at the St. Petersburg Philharmonic opened with chants of the Sovereign Singers performed by the Optina Pustyn male choir. The ensemble was conducted by Alexander Semyonov, the author of many transcriptions of church and secular works. Prayers and spiritual chants were performed. The concert was accompanied by information about Russian history and explanations of singing features.
— St. Petersburg Metropolitanate of the Russian Orthodox ChurchThe Optina Pustyn male choir gave its first concert in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. In the first part of the program Russian church chants of the 17th-20th centuries were performed. The second section contained arrangements of Russian folk songs and works by Russian composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Bishop of Yuzhno-Sakhalin and Kuril, Archimandrite Tikhon (Dorovskikh) expressed gratitude to the choir musicians for a Christmas present to the parishioners of Sakhalin churches.
— Sakhalin and Kuriles— SKR.SUThe ensemble's style features are calmness, depth and spirituality. The choir sounds crystal clear and harmonious. None of the soloists entered later or earlier, not one singer drowned out the other, the sound seemed to be monolithic. Ancient chants from Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece and Byzantium were performed with versatile differentiation, easy register change and precise tone. “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Rimsky-Korsakov arranged by Alexander Semyonov sounds fascinating.
— Merkur.de, Von dr. Bärbel SchäferThe Optina Pustyn male choir from St. Petersburg came on a concert tour in Sweden. The fact that they drove into little Vastervik looks like a miracle. The main concerts are held in Stockholm, Uppsala, Linkoping. The choir had performed on Swedish TV the day before. The choir is small. The leader, Alexander Semyonov, stands in the middle and seems to be writing music with his hands. He is not only engaged in conducting: about a third of the program consisted of choral arrangements created by him.
— Västerviks-Tidningen, Rune EngelbrektsonThe world famous male choir Optina Pustyn will come from St. Petersburg to Finland in November. This ensemble was created in 1996 to revive old church chants. In recent years, they have presented many pieces of music found in the monastery libraries. The program will also include famous Russian folk songs. The musicians also promise to perform something more familiar to the Finnish audience.
— KONTAKTThe concert of the male choir Optina Pustyn became a Christmas present for the Smolensk audience and left an unforgettable impression. The audience did not let the artists go for a long time, several musical pieces were performed as an encore in addition to the main program.
— Smolensk Metropolitanate of the Russian Orthodox ChurchThe Murom Annunciation Monastery will host a concert of one of the best choral groups in the country – the Optina Pustyn male choir from St. Petersburg. The choir's creative interests are not limited by the Old Russian repertoire. The musicians try to convey the great richness and diversity of Russian choral music.
— REGNUMAt the end of the concert, the House of Culture shook with applause for a long time. Priest Mikhail Chirkov, rector of the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Kyshtym, did not hide his emotions: “The Optina Pustyn сhoir is a precious pearl in the crown of the festival. What a palette of voices! What a consonance! No other feelings but delight and admiration! Thank you for such a wonderful gift, for coming so far to present us your magnificent art!”
— Ozersk.RuSingers of the Optina Pustyn male choir presented a panorama of Russian church music from ancient chants to modern monastic chants and brilliant compositions by Rachmaninoff. Its highlight was the performance of unique polyphonic compositions with virtuoso eccentric bass. This music has no analogues in Europe. The choir's brilliant singing manner allows to highlight a new direction in the choral art – Russian baroque singing.
— Blagovest-infoThe depth of the music combined with professional and meaningful performance made listeners cry regardless of their nationality or religion. The performance of folk songs was remembered for the presence of a real Russian style.
— Moles.ee, Valery Petrov
I was delighted with the performance of the choir: the school is amazing, the level is the highest. The ensemble showed an anthology of choral music from old compositions of znamenny chant to modern adaptations of folk songs. As a spectator, I received a huge aesthetic and spiritual pleasure from the contact with great music.
— Irina Bibeeva, Honored Artist of Russia, Professor of the Tyumen Academy of CultureAncient chants from Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece and Byzantium performed by the choir sounded differently. But each time the singing was harmonious and meaningful. No one was in a hurry or late, no singer drowned out the other. The style of this ensemble is characterized by calmness, depth and soulfulness; crystal clear, polished and holistic sound.
— Von Dr. Bärbel Schäfer, DeutschlandAs the rector of the Theological Academy, I would like our students to study such examples of singing collectives that have real experience of prayer and faith.
— Archbishop Ambrose, Rector of the St. Petersburg Theological AcademyFirst, the chorus is not anonymous but the talented Optina Pustyn male choir of St. Petersburg, here a group of eight that sound twice their number. This CD is of traditional folk songs, although several selections do have known composers. Second, these songs really are beautiful. You will not dance to these pieces, as they are nostalgic, sad, and romantic, and the mood and tempo are fairly consistant. There is the pathos of the lonely steppe, of patriotism, of religious desire.
— Dr. Debra Jan Bibel, USAMagnifique, intérieur et transcendant. Ces chants élevant nous transportent dans la Paix intérieure, dans la Reconnaissance et l'Humilité. Très belles interprétations par de grands professionnels qui aiment ce qu'ils font. Amateur des choeurs d'hommes et de chants orthodoxes soyez au rendez-vous de l'écoute de ce CD.
— Cyrille C., FranceWhat an exquisitely moving and beautiful recording. I could listen to this on continuous loop. The complex layers of sound in Orthodox chant are like nothing I have ever heard, especially the extremely low basso profundo.
— Seagull, USAWhen your heart is in the right place, this is ideal music to listen to, especially if you have a decent sound system. I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to hear this choir singing in a nice, big, open church, the music filling the space and the heart!
— RHeath, USAThis is one of my absolute favorite recordings of Slavic orthodox singing. The selection is inspired: one gets the more monophonic znamenny chant, which is closer to the Byzantine style, and the polyphonic Slavic singing which became popular in the 19th century… Often orthodox CDs originating in Eastern Europe sound muted with a degree of noise but this one is loud and clear. A must for every collection of orthodox music.
— Sofiaboy, USAWe sit on the benches, while six men in black suits and black shirts stand and look at us seriously, almost threateningly. “Mafia” – I have time to think. The tallest of them smoothly puts his big hand inside the jacket and pulls out a tuning fork. They sing “Venetian Night” so that I sigh with pleasure, they sing “Cherubic Hymn” so that they want it never to end, they sing the required number of verses in the folk song about Stenka Razin – exactly nine. The applause will never stop.
— Amber, Nacka – Stockholm, SEOnce I spent Christmas in St. Petersburg. The night service was held at Dormition Metochion of the Optina Pustyn monastery. I heard this choir, and their performance sounded amazing! This is great: harmonious and professional singing. When they sang, I felt like I was rising above the ground.
— Larisa Filyanina, Honored Cultural Worker of the Russian Federation, Ulyanovsk
The Optina Pustyn male choir. The Metochion of Optina Pustyn Monastery in St. Petersburg
27/2 nab. Leytenanta Shmidta V.O. St. Petersburg 199034 Russia
.jpg "Optina Pustyn male choir. St.Sophia. Ohrid, Macedonia. Together with Milena Arsovska (soprano)")
.jpg "Optina Pustyn male choir. Together with the women's choir of the monastery of St. Gerhard (Armenia). Shimey, Belgium")
