Choirs on Red Square on May 24. Patriarch Kirill will open the concert on Red Square

MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/. A combined choir of a thousand people opened a concert on Thursday on Red Square in honor of the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture. The song marathon on this day, according to an already established tradition, will unite all regions of Russia, as well as some other Slavic countries.

“We have been gathering for six years in a row. The holiday has outgrown its boundaries: today all of Russia, all 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, about one million, are singing with us,” noted Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Olga Golodets, addressing the audience. “The holiday unites all Slavic peoples and we are eternally grateful to the patriarch that he became the founder of a wonderful tradition,” she added.

Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill also took the stage and congratulated all those gathered on the holiday - the Day of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, educators of the Slavs. “It has become a wonderful tradition to gather on Red Square on this day to think a little about the origins of that wonderful huge path, dramatic and at the same time victorious, that the Slavic peoples, our Russian people, have traveled: from the origins of writing to the latest knowledge,” the patriarch said.

“We always need to remember our beginning: the parents who gave us life, remember the history of our country and, of course, we need to know the beginning of the culture of our culture. We recognize ourselves as a people, a single whole, when we are bonded by a common language, culture and common moral spiritual values. This is the basis on which the edifice of human life develops and is built,” he added.

Song Festival

The participants of the concert are the best performing groups in Russia - the "Masters of Choral Singing" choir of the Russian State Musical Television and Radio Center, the Popov Big Children's Choir, the Sretensky Monastery Choir, the Moscow Synodal Choir, the Pyatnitsky Folk Choir, the ensemble "Pesnyary", "Domisolka" and others. Together with them in the combined choir are student groups from the Moscow Conservatory, MEPhI, Moscow State University, MIIT, and Russian State University for the Humanities.

Several thousand spectators gathered on Vasilyevsky Spusk. Today they, together with a professional choir, sing their favorite songs of different generations, which are included in the concert program entitled “When my friends are with me!” Compositions of Russian sacred music, popular songs by Soviet authors, including A. Alexandrov, A. Babajanyan, A. Pakhmutova, I. Dunaevsky, E. Krylatov, and others, as well as famous Belarusian and Russian folk songs will be performed.

In a live broadcast from Krasnodar, the marching song of the Black Sea Cossacks “Unharness your horses, lads” will be sung by the State Academic Kuban Cossack Choir; from Bulgaria the Hymn to Saints Cyril and Methodius will be performed, and from Serbia a combined national choir will perform the song “Tamo Far Away”. The gala concert will end with the patriotic anthem “Glory” by Mikhail Glinka.

In Russia, the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture has been celebrated at the state level since 1863 - the 1000th anniversary of the creation of the Slavic alphabet by Cyril and Methodius. During the Soviet years they tried to revive it, and in 1991 the holiday was given state status.

Every year on May 24, the Church remembers the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles brothers Cyril and Methodius, the creators of Slavic writing. This year the celebrations will take place in the format of a large choral festival and will cover the entire country - from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok.

The main stage of the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture will be Red Square, where a combined children's choir of 2 thousand voices will perform. He will be accompanied by the Central Military Orchestra of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the ensemble of Russian folk instruments “Russia” named after Lyudmila Zykina. The program includes children's songs by Pakhmutova, Dunaevsky, Basner, Krylatov, Shainsky, Gladkov and other Soviet composers. The holiday will be opened by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'.

— Are the Day of Slavic Literature and the Festival of Music inseparable?

— Since music is eternal and events of this kind are great at attracting attention, why not celebrate in this form? How else is it possible? Imagine, Red Square - and the whole country sings along with the children's choir. During the concert, the Culture channel will broadcast live from the walls of the Kremlin with periodic inclusions from similar celebrations in Kaliningrad, Kazan and Vladivostok.

— The scale is impressive - except that Eurovision can be compared in scale to the Day of Slavic Literature.

— If you compare these musical events, it will probably turn out that the first is more famous. This is hardly a fact worth being proud of. This is a characteristic of our reality and our assessment of what is more important and what is less.

A friend of mine recently spoke with schoolchildren. I asked one boy what river St. Petersburg is on. And he answered: “On the Don.” That is why I want the Day of Slavic Literature to become a true holiday of culture and knowledge.

— If it’s a holiday of writing, maybe it’s worth checking literacy?

- I assure you, a literacy test is not a holiday. Maybe when you wrote a dictation it was always a holiday, but for me it was not. And another question: how to show holiday dictation on TV? Well, people sit and write. Nothing special.

— But does dictation improve literacy?

“I’m afraid literacy will soon have to be created anew.” The Day of Slavic Literature and Culture is an excuse to think and work so that our children know the Russian language better. The Patriarch in his opening speech speaks every year about the importance of this holiday. Now the Society of Russian Literature, which he headed, has been recreated.

— Writing is also the art of writing. Since beautiful handwriting is a rarity in the computer age, maybe it’s worth holding a calligraphy competition?

— The holiday is celebrated everywhere. And perhaps somewhere they will do something similar. We have not discussed this option at the federal level. But I know that there are calligraphy schools at some churches. In a courtyard near the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, for example. Children and adults who study there say that after several classes their consciousness begins to change. After all, there they learn to write beautifully not even with a pen, but with a pen.

— The Day of Slavic Literature and Culture is held with the support of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. Will he attend the celebration?

- We count on it. In the morning he will serve Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. And then His Holiness will open the holiday.

— Can anyone come to Red Square or will there be invitations?

- No invitations. Anyone who wants can come and sing with the choir.

Patriarchy.ru

Today, May 24, 2018, in connection with the celebration of the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture, traffic will be blocked in the center of Moscow. A traditional concert dedicated to the holiday will take place on Red Square. A service will be held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in honor of the memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius, who invented the Slavic alphabet.

On May 24, 2018, traffic in the center of Moscow will traditionally be blocked in connection with the annual festive event dedicated to the Day of Literature and Culture.

Traffic restrictions are expected on the section of Ilyinka Street until 15:00. Representatives of the Information Center of the Transport Complex reported that travel will be prohibited from Birzhevaya to Red Square. Drivers are asked to take alternative routes.

Due to the celebration, visitors to the Moscow Kremlin will not be able to exit through the Spassky Gate. The Mausoleum of Vladimir Lenin and the necropolis near the Kremlin Wall will also be closed to visitors.

Festive concert on Red Square

On Thursday, May 24, 2018, residents and guests of Moscow will be able to attend a concert on Red Square dedicated to the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture. Compositions of Russian sacred music, popular songs by Soviet authors, as well as famous Belarusian and Russian folk songs will be performed at the gala event. This was reported on the website of the press service of the Patriarch of Moscow.

Today we also celebrate the Day of Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, who are considered the founders of the Slavic alphabet and writing. In honor of the memory of these saints, a service will be held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

The concert in the center of Moscow will traditionally begin at 13:00 on Red Square. The organizer of the festive events is the Russian Orthodox Church, the Moscow government, the Federal State Budgetary Institution "ROSCONCERT" and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

Festive events will take place in all regions of the country, but the main celebration will take place in the capital.

The concert, called “When my friends are with me,” will feature dozens of children’s and youth academic choirs: the Academic Big Choir “Masters of Choral Singing” of the Russian State Musical Television and Radio Center, the Moscow Synodal Choir, the Choir of the Sretensky Monastery, the State Academic Russian Folk Choir named after M. .E. Pyatnitsky, as well as VIA “PESNYARY” and others.

Modern celebration of the Day of Slavic Literature

In 1985, Slavic countries celebrated the 1,100th anniversary of the death of St. Methodius. For the first time, May 24 was declared a holiday in the USSR. Since 1991, all state and public organizations began to hold Days of Slavic Literature together with the Russian Orthodox Church.

Since the same year, the annual spiritual and cultural expedition “Slavic Movement” has traditionally been held in many Russian cities.

During the celebration, church services are held in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin and other churches in Russia, religious processions, conferences, exhibitions and concerts.

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It is already known which streets will be blocked on May 24, 2016 in Moscow for the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture.

Day of Slavic Literature and Culture 2016 in Moscow: on May 24 a concert will be held on Red Square

On May 24, 2016 at 13.00 a festive concert dedicated to the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture will take place on Red Square in Moscow.

This holiday is widely celebrated in Slavic states. It was installed in memory of the Slavic first teachers, Saints Cyril and Methodius.

From the stage of the country's main square you will be able to hear famous Soviet songs intkbbach cinema and animated films and compositions based on poems by Russian poets. The Composite Choir will take part in the festive concert on Red Square on May 24, 2016 in honor of the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture, which will include the children's choir of the Voice of Russia Radio Company, the choir of the school named after. Sveshnikov, the choir of the Sretensky Monastery and many others.

Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill will address the participants of the festive event.

The concert will be held in the format of a collective song festival. All spectators will be able to become performers: lyrics will be projected on large screens, and the entire area will be able to sing along with the artists.

Day of Slavic Literature and Culture VIDEO concert

The organizers of the concert in honor of the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture on May 24, 2016 are the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Moscow Government.

Please note that the passage to Red Square will be open to spectators from the Historical Museum (metro station "Okhotny Ryad").

In the center of Moscow on May 24, 2016, due to the celebration of the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture, traffic will be blocked. This was reported by specialists from the information center of the capital's transport complex.

“Closings for the period of celebration of the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture, May 24 from 08:00 to 15:00,” the message said.

Traffic will be blocked on Ilyinka Street (from Red Square to New Square). In addition, there will be a short-term closure for five minutes on Slavyanskaya Square.

Let us add that the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture was established in honor of the creators of Slavic writing, Saints Cyril and Methodius, who came from a noble and pious family and lived in the Greek city of Thessaloniki.