Singing in the tradition of the world famous Don Cossack Chorus directed by Sergei Jaroff, The Optina Pustyn Male Choir presents Russian traditional songs including favorites such as the "Volga Boat Men" and the "Legend of the Twelve Robbers" and others.
The male choir of the Optina Pustyn Monastery Department in St. Petersburg, Russia, was established in 1996 with the blessing of its Father Superior, Hieromonach (Senior Presbyter) Rostislav. The choir consists of between six and nine professional singers who are all graduates of the St. Petersburg conservatoire. The main goal of the formation of the choir was the cultivation of the heritage of the old Russian Church singing, its sources and different styles, such as: Znamenny, Bulgarian, Greek, Byzantine chants, and the study of the different types of early Russian polyphony and to introduce them into modern Church practices.
