There’s a Myth. The Myth Is That “Russian” Is a Bad Word
There’s a myth. The myth is that “Russian” is a bad word.
Someone went so far as to say that the problem with PaTRAM™ is the ‘R’. But we are unabashedly the Patriarch Tikhon Russian-American Music Institute™.
The history of the Orthodox church is deeply interwoven with the history of Russia. The music of the church is profoundly intertwined with the rich and vibrant fabric of the Russian culture. The great Russian masters of music, such as Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Chesnokov and Bortniansky, dedicated their lives to composing music of the ages for the ages. These musical jewels must be preserved and shared with generations to come.
Sadly, the standard of church singing has been steadily declining throughout North America, and many of our churches have come to lack the critical element of beautiful and prayerful singing that helps draw people to the “right worship” (orthodoxia or pravoslavie) of the Holy Trinity.
While a small number of Orthodox parishes continue to have on their staff a trained and competent choir director, it is more common for parishes to be challenged merely to find a qualified leader of church singing. Thus, many Orthodox churchgoers today struggle through services marked by lackluster choral performances, often more mechanical than prayerful, rarely experiencing worship in the full beauty of the Eastern Orthodox musical tradition.
This is the problem we seek to solve, and it is a religious and spiritual problem, not a political one.
In this time of political conflict with Russia, Russian culture, traditions and even the Russian Orthodox Faith are being looked upon very negatively by the West. But PaTRAM is non-political and promotes our cultural and religious heritage for future generations.
If this resonates with you, please join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram and let your voice be heard! Comment on our posts and tell us what you love about the Russian Orthodoxy and the music of the Church.
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Tatiana Geringer
CEO, PaTRAM Institute
