A collection of church hymns in the Ossetian language was first published in Tskhinval

In South Ossetia, the music collection 'Chants of the Divine Liturgy in the Alanian language' was published. The presentation of the book took place under the arches of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos, where the male choir of Anisim Dzattiata sang several chants from the collection in the presence of representatives of the clergy, the scientific community, the government of the republic, as well as many believers.

The publishing council of the Alan diocese prepared the book for publication. Melodies for texts in the Ossetian language were written by the People's Artist of South Ossetia, laureate of the State Prize named after Kosta Khetagurova, leader of the male choir under the President Anisim Antonovich Dzattiaty. He recalls: “I am a mountaineer, I was born and raised in the village, my father was dzuary læg (the minister of the sanctuary). I remember from early childhood that people prayed to God in the Ossetian language. In a moment of spiritual turmoil, we offer prayer only in our native language. I think if an Ossetian song is heard under the arches of the church, it will also help preserve the native language. '

According to representatives of the diocesan clergy, the release of a music collection in the native language for the republic is an event with a capital letter. “When the practice of Alanian worship was revived in post-Soviet period in South Ossetia, then I met Anisim Dzattiata. If we, with the help of specialists, translated the texts, then God sent us the musical plan of Anisim. The greatest achievement of this book is not in the Ossetian texts of prayers, but in the fact that they are transposed into unique music based on folk motives. The musical collection of Ossetian church chants has been published for the first time in the history of the people, ”says Father Jacob, one of the initiators of the book's publication.

Young musicians will also study the national spiritual heritage. “We plan to purchase these books at the music school so that they will be included in the curriculum as a separate course. Moreover, the Ministry of Culture will take upon itself the responsibility to release chants on CDs, ”said Zhanna Zasseyeva, Minister of Culture of South Ossetia, who also attended the presentation of the book.

Minister of Education of the Republic Natalie Gassieva noted that CDs with chants recorded on them, included in the collection, will be available in schools in South Ossetia: “As soon as the discs are recorded, we will certainly distribute them to schools too. Teachers will introduce church chants, text and folk music '.

So far, the book has been published in a very small circulation - only one hundred copies. They are planned to be distributed to the churches of the diocese, as well as to be sent to the Ossetian communities and communities around the world. In the future, the collection of music is planned to be released in an academic version in large circulation.

Photo: SPUTNIK - South Ossetia