Home

Tour of SlavyankaChorus Recorded Concert Music

Slavyanka Chorus

Musical History

Slavyanka Chorus has since its founding in 1979 has been known by several names. It was originally known as Slavyanka Russian (or Slavic) Men's Chorus, an all male chorus. Its repertoire consisted mostly of Russian sacred and secular folk songs. In 2011 the Chorus became Slavyanka Russian Chorus with men and women singers and a new artistic director/conductor. Later, upon expansion of the repertoire to include music from all eastern European Slavic countries, the chorus name was officially changed to Slavyanka Chorus. Over the years, singers and concert audiences have consistently been struck by the rich and unusual tonalities of these musical traditions. Initially repertoire from the Yale Russian Chorus, but over the years we have developed additional sources for its music -- including music from the Don Cossacks repertoire and from the archives of Alexei Shipovalnikov. We have also premiered works of contemporary Russian composers.

In 1986 and again in 1990, we were invited performers at the Western Regional Conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, where we received standing ovations.

The Chorus toured the former USSR in 1986 and 1989. During our first tour, we were the first American chorus ever invited to sing in Leningrad's (St. Petersburg's) historic M.I. Glinka Kapella Hall and over 900 Soviet choral musicians gave us their standing ovation. Other highlights from that tour included singing for the Catholicos (the head of the Armenian Church) near Yerevan, Armenia, and joint concerts with Georgian and other Russian choirs. During our second tour we performed sold-out concerts in Moscow, Kiev, Leningrad, and Vladimir. Our first Leningrad performance was a return visit to the Kapella which was followed by a sell-out performance at the Grand Philharmonic Symphony Hall, the USSR equivalent of America's Carnegie Hall. In 1988, the Chorus temporarily expanded to over 100 male and female singers and presented Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil (Vespers) in San Francisco and in Palo Alto. In 2015, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the All-Night Vigil with a series of three concerts that featured an augmented chorus of 100 voices, special soloists, and a full-sized set of Russian church bells.

The Chorus has released several recordings and all have been well received. We are also featured in other recordings and provided some of the music for the PBS documentary Spirit of a People, A New Portrait of Russia. A few selections are provided below.

Prayer for Peace

Slavyanka Response to the Russia-Ukraine Crisis

We deplore the horror of this war and of all war. We call on the international community and all governments to do everything they possibly can to end the violence, bloodshed and suffering.

For more than forty years Slavyanka’s mission has been “to perform music from the varied choral traditions of Russia and Eastern Europe (including Ukraine); to understand and share the cultural history behind these traditions; and to contribute to international and intercultural understanding between East and West through the special language of choral music.”

At the heart of this music we continue to find the deep and universal themes of human life that we share and that connect us all, made richer by the many colors of cultural expression different than our own. Even in times as difficult as these – particularly in times as difficult as these – we have a responsibility to sustain that deepest level of human and spiritual connection with each other. That is our mission as an organization, and we will continue to do so.

We performed concerts on June 4th in Saratoga & June 5th in San Francisco.

Artistic Director and Conductor - Irina Shachneva

Concert Program

Mixed Choir

1. Pilgrim Song

2. Pomyshl’aju D’en’ strashnyj

3. Cherubim Song

4. No v’echnym snom

5. L’ubov’ Sv’ataja

6. Bogoroditsa, Sergey Khalikulov -Soloist

7. Ja pokinul rodimyj dom, Rene Minneboo and Sergey Khalikulov -Duet

Men’s Choir

8. Sov’et Pr’ev’echnyj

9. Otche nash

10. Nyn’e otpuschaeshi

Mixed Choir

11. Bogoroditse Devo

12. Ang’el vopijashe

13. Reve ta sogne

14. Vniz po matushke, po Volg’e

Concert Recording - June 5, 2022 at Star of the Sea Church - San Francisco

Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

Op. 40: Vidyekhom Svyet Istinny - Da ispolnyatsya usta nasha...

Russian Choral

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff
(1 April 1873 - 28 March 1943)
Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. He was one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, the last great representative of Russian late Romanticism in classical music.