CHURCH SINGING COURSES FOR CHOIR TEACHERS AT IRKUTSK EPARCHY IN LATE XIX - EARLY XX CENTURIES
In late XIX century (1896), the secondary schools of 4-years term of education were opened in eparchies of Eastern Siberia. The fourth year at these schools was teacher’s one: teachers of church singing were trained. The opening of these schools was associated with the need of improvement of teaching church singing, the subject that was not the last in church service, and that was in poor condition at the primary stage of education at eparchy schools then. The situation was the result of objective circumstances of that time in absence of the subject of church singing in curriculum of a number of schools and the lack of trained teachers. As a rule, these positions were replaced by local psalmists and in majority of cases by former choristers. They could not properly match the status of a teacher and the clergy of eparchy worried about search for new forms of improving the teachers’ training. This task was assigned to the secondary stage of eparchy schools. They were allowed to hold church singing courses in summer period. During the courses, summer schools were organized for teaching practice and educational work of students. The first church singing courses took place from the 27th of July to the 15 <sup>th</sup> of August, 1897 in the town of Troitskoslavsk of Zabaikal region. They enrolled 43 students. The followed courses were held in Nerchinsk department of eparchy (Zabaikal region), in Irkutsk uyezd (area) (1898), in the city of Chita (1902), in Kirensk (Ilimsk department, 1904) and in the city of Irkutsk (1907, 1909). The courses were different in both, students’ number (up to 120 students participated) and education. To conduct singing courses, there were invited the most experienced singing teachers from eparchy schools and from Irkutsk Theological Seminary, church music connoisseurs, Mostits: T.M. Masyukov, I.N. Drozdov, A.I. Prelovsky, deacon Podgorbunsky, priest Fr. Raisky. In the list of church singing courses of that time, the course held in Irkutsk Theological Seminary in 1909 stands out. It was the most representative of all previously held ones. Three choirs were organized from 57 students of the course, male, female and mixed. The choirs produced two vocal-music concerts in which pieces of church and secular music were performed by the best singers of Irkutsk. Good practice of organizing such courses, training teachers of church singing began later in other eparchies of Eastern Siberia. The students of the courses became certified teachers of church singing. Subsequently, they greatly contributed to the development of choral singing culture of new formation.