Session Topics

Singing Between the Lines: Two Centuries After Dimitri Bortniansky (1751-1825)

There are those who dismiss Dimitri Bortniansky as a composer who wrote purely Western European music entirely out of place in Orthodox liturgy, and yet, 200 years after his death, we still sing his music in our services. Some of it is so ingrained in our tradition that it is a given in the practice of our role as liturgical musicians of the Russian Church. This presentation argues that Bortniansky’s music is in fact fundamentally built on aesthetic principles that are entirely in line with other disciplines and traditions in the Orthodox liturgical arts, discussing why our perspective on his music is clouded today. We will look at how Bortniansky borrowed elements of Western European music to synthesize the foundation of a choral tradition for the Russian Church, and hear a perspective on how these observations interact with challenges we face today that posits how it might serve us to “read between the lines” of any liturgical music.

Presented by John Arlievsky

The Pedagogy of E.I. Evetz: The Paris Years-Conveying a Culture of Church Singing

Evgenii I. Evetz was an eminent choirmaster whose ensibilities influenced generations of Russian church musicians in emigration. Offering personal insights and firsthand experiences, Father Ioann will share how Evetz’s style and his devotion to educating young singers came to flourish in France, where he spent the final 28 years of his life.

Presented by Protodeacon Ioann Drobot

Boris Ledkovsky’s “Open to Me the Doors of Repentance, No. 1” (1945): A Newly Discovered Manuscript

The recently uncovered setting of “Open to Me the Doors of Repentance (Pokayaniia otverzi mi dveri) No. 1” by B. M. Ledkovsky presents a striking contrast to his more familiar No. 2 setting of the same hymn. Departing from his characteristic reliance on chant as a compositional foundation, this version is freely composed and adopts a more concert-like style. Its discovery offers fresh insight into Ledkovsky’s creative output and his compositional approach to setting this penitential text.
Presented by Katya Ermolaeva, Ph.D.

Workshop: A Study in Contrasts: Discovering The “Other” Boris Ledkovsky

50 years after his repose, Boris M. Ledkovsky remains among the most prolific composers of the emigration, with his contributions to liturgical music among the most widely sung across Orthodox jurisdictions using both Slavonic and English as their primary language. His work found favor in the latter half of the 20th century due to its “churchliness” and accessibility to the smaller choirs of the disapora, and has since been embraced by mission ensembles as well as larger choirs in the composer’s native land. While Ledkovsky’s best-known works are marked by their elegant simplicity and restrained allegiance to chant meolodies, recently discovered manuscripts reveal another side. Building on the musicological insights presented by Dr. Ermolaeva, participants in this workshop will have the opportunity to explore compositions never previously available, including a unique setting of the Great Doxology, though a voices-on sight-singing session.
Led by Vadim Gan & Elizabeth Ledkovsky

Dimitri Stepanovitch Bortniansky: Well-Known and Obscure

Commemorating the anniversary of his repose, this lecture (streamed from Moscow) will explore the life and work of one of Russia’s best-known choral composers — Dimitri S. Bortniansky, whose influence on sacred singing in the Orthodox church remains significant, 200 years later.
Presented by Dr Antonina Lebedeva-Emelina

The Homegrown Kliros: Perspectives on the Cultivation of National Identity in Orthodox Liturgical Music

In a “new world” that is increasingly receptive to a living “ancient faith” that immigrants from an “old world” established, what resonates as authentic? As recipients of a music tradition that evolved through wending cultural influences, church musicians have always faced the challenge of balancing that which is familiar with a yearning for something fresh yet true to an Orthodox ethos. What works? What doesn’t work? This lecture offers seasoned and emerging church musicians an informed point of view from a veteran of Orthodox choir lofts in America’s heartland. As one of the preeminent Orthodox composers of the 21st century, Professor Sander’s work has such universal appeal that it earns secular accolades (including a GRAMMY^® nomination), yet reflects genuine faith and deep understanding of the choir’s liturgical role.
Presented by Kurt Sander

Workshop: Solfege and Audiation

Everyone knows “that solfege song” from The Sound of Music, but does solfege actually mean anything? What is Do, other than a female deer? How is Re more than a drop of golden sun? This workshop will explore how to use this valuable tool to better your musicianship and your choir.
Presented by Timothy Morrow

The Earliest Forms of Slavic Polyphony: Troestrochie, Demestvo, Partes

Dedicated to the history, repertoire, and notation of the earliest forms of Slavic polyphony, this talk will contrast Troestrochie and Demestvo, native Russian forms of polyphony, with Partes, a Western-influenced, European style of polyphony that arrived in Moscow from Kyiv in the 1650s. How did these forms of polyphony build on the existing medieval znamenny chant tradition? And why did the European polyphonic style, partes, ultimately replace the native Russian styles? The lecture will feature a live performance by Demestvo, an ensemble that specializes in early Slavic chant and polyphony.
Presented by Anastasia Shmytova

**Roundtable: Herding Kittens — the Challenges and Joy of Cultivating the Next Generation of Church Musicians**

This discussion will provide a forum for dialogue and discussion about pedagogical and practical issues related to involving young people in the choir’s important role at divine services and in church life. Led by two experienced educators, the conversation will explore successes and failures of past events and invite the younger conference participants to share their ideas and questions about current and future projects.
Led by Protodeacon Serge Arlievsky and Laryssa Doohovskoy