The church singing society ‘Branko’ performed on Saturday, November 6, in the crypt of the Temple of Saint Sava within the 53rd BEMUS, under the baton of Sara Cincarević. This world-renowned choir aroused great interest of the Belgrade audience and performed a magnificent concert in front of a packed hall.
The programme included works of spiritual music: the Polijelej Psalm by Archpriest Dmitry Arzumanov, performed by the women's ensemble, followed by works by Serbian and Russian composers, from Stevan Mokranjac, Kornelije Stanković, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky to several recent compositions by young Serbian composers, among which is the ‘The Cherub Song’ by Andrej Cincarević. ‘Opelo’ by Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac was performed in the crypt of the Temple, in honor and memory of the late Patriarch Irinej. The concert ended with ‘Easter Antiphon’ with loud applause from the audience, and the ‘Branko’ choir, to the delight of many visitors, performed two more songs on the encore, among which the French Christmas song ‘Glory to God in the Highest’ attracted special attention.
The concert was attended by the Bishop of Niš, Mr Arsenije, the vicar bishops of the Serbian Patriarch G. Porfirije, Stefan of Remesiana and Justin of Hvosno, Acting Director of the Belgrade Festivals Centre – CEBEF Damir Handanović and Artistic Director of BEMUS Bojan Suđić.