RMU implements the project entitled “The Golden Fund of Russian Choral Music a cappella. XX – XXI centuries.”

“The Golden Fund of Russian Choral Music a cappella. XX – XXI centuries.” is a unique project of the Russian Musical Union (RMU) aimed at preserving and popularizing outstanding works of Russian choral music of the 20th – 21st centuries. The aim of the project is to revive the forgotten works of Russian composers of the 20th century, to get acquainted with new composers, our contemporaries, as well as with music that has not been published or performed. Among the names are: M. V. Antsev, V. A. Bulychev, A. T. Grechaninov, N. N. Dranitsyn, V. S. Kalinnikov, A. D. Kastalsky, A. V. Mikhailov, A. V. Nikolskiy, Y. S. Sakhnovsky, N. N. Sidelnikov, S. I. Taneev, Y. A. Falik, N. N. Cherepnin, P. G. Chesnokov, A. G. Schnitke, M. O. Steinberg and others.

Today, interest in a cappella music in general and spiritual music in particular, is reviving, but Russian choral music of the 20th century is still the least studied and rarely performed. The reason is the lack of professional musical material. Many works of the above named composers were not published in the USSR, remaining banned due to their spiritual themes.

The project partner, “Composer • Saint Petersburg” Publishing House, based on archival manuscripts creates modern choral scores that form an electronic library, which is unique and the only one in the world. All music materials, fully ready for performance, upon request will be given free of charge to be used by domestic concert organizations and choral groups.

The idea of ​​the project belongs to S. E. Tairova, a member of the Board of Russian Union of Composers, a member of the Russian Musical Union (RMU) Board, CEO and editor-in-chief of “Composer • St. Petersburg” Publishing House.

From 2019, it is planned to add up annually the library of “The Golden Fund of Russian Choral Music a cappella. XX – XXI centuries.” with 5-6 new scores.

Thanks to the project, numerous Russian choirs will be able to replenish their repertoire with original, previously unknown works by Russian composers.