The Moscow Synodal Choir gave a concert on November 23 2011 at the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The choir is conducted by Russia’s Honoured Artist A. Puzakov. The theme of the concert was “Russian church music through five centuries”. They sang both hymns of the Byzantine plain chant and modern choral music, including works composed by Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev).
The concert was given as part of the Year of Russia in Spain and Spain in Russia. Over one thousand and a half people gathered for it, among them Catholic clergy and pilgrims. Present at the event were Russian Ambassador A. Kuznetsov, Santiago de Compostela Mayor Gerardo Conde Roa, Rector of the University of Santiago de Compostela Juan Casares Long and other dignitaries.
The audience was addressed by the dean of the cathedral, Rev. Jose Maria Fernandez Dias, and the rector of the Parish of the Nativity of Christ in Madrid, Father Andrey Kordochkin, who said, “It is for the first time that the voices of the Synodal Choir resound in these walls sanctified by the presence of the relics of St. James. Today it is not only the listeners who have an opportunity to hear the richness of Orthodox liturgical music but also the singers themselves have become pilgrims to the great shrine of the undivided Church, the relics of St. James, Son of Zebedee”.
The concert took place with the support of the Russian Ministry of Culture and the Foundation for Promoting the Revival of the Synodal Choir.