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The Moscow Synodal Choir was founded in 1721 and is now the oldest professional choir in Russia. In fact, its origins can be traced further back to 1589, when the first professional church choir was formed, then known as the Patriarchal for it was the choir, which used to sing at the church services officiated by the Patriarch. Patriarch was the top position in the Church hierarchy in Russia well up to 1700 when the Russian reformist Tzar Peter the Great reformed the church’s administrative system.

Now, from the earliest days of the Church, music has always been an integral part of Christian worship and therefore the place of the choir was looked upon as an order of clergy.  There are hundreds of hymns in the Orthodox Christian Church’s services with many different musical versions for each. The Orthodox choir sings without instrumental accompaniment, which can be particularly demanding, since there are no instruments to ‘hide behind’.

Initially, the Orthodox choir was formed of adult clerics and performed chants, sung in unison, or plain singing – a vocal tradition, which was widespread at the Russian Orthodox Church services up to the middle of the XVII cent.

Later the plain singing was gradually substituted by part singing, that is, tunes written for several vocal parts, also intended to be sung a cappella, that is without accompaniment.  It was then that children’s voices appeared in its composition. The 19th century saw the formation of a church choral singing tradition that has remained more or less unchanged until today.

The choir trained its own singers. For this purpose, the Synodal School was established in 1830.  The educational system in it was organized in such a way that spiritual and musical education went in parallel with instruction in writing, reading, and other general subjects. The Synodal School was, consequently, the place where boys, or rather, young men, received a comprehensive, deep knowledge in various scientific and artistic fields. In addition, they could practice daily liturgical singing in the Holy Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

By 1890, the Synodal Choir consisted of 25 adult singers and 45 boys. It was at its peak form. The choir also began to perform secular music, and such famous Russian composers as Sergey Rachmaninov and Pyotr Tchaikovsky wrote specifically for it. It was also at that time that its tour of Western Europe turned into a triumph. On Easter 1918, however, the Synodal School was abolished, and the choir ceased to exist.

After the 1988 celebrations of the 1000th Anniversary of introduction of Christian Faith in Russia, church life, which used to be suppressed by the Communist regime, started to revive. The Moscow Synodal Choir was also brought back to life after a break that had lasted for 90 years.  In 2021, it celebrated its 300th anniversary.

Today, besides that the singers of the Synodal Choir sing in Orthodox churches on a daily basis, the choir also gives concerts in Moscow and other cities and countries. After the pandemic, the Choir once again went on its European tour, which was tremendous success. Its repertoire includes church music, classical works by Russian and European composers, and contemporary songs.

The choir director Alexei Puzakov believes, music is essential in easing away tensions. ‘The language of art is a language of universal communication, all the more so when modern Christians are communicating,’ he says. – ‘With the help of music, we can better understand each other and testify to the world about the immutable Christian values and truths’.

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