Orthodox Singing Culture of the Ossetians in the Context of the Christianisation of the Ethnos

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the state of Orthodox liturgical singing practice at various stages of the Christianisation of the Ossetians. Christianity penetrated into the Alans’ lives due to their political and economic contacts with the states in which it was the official religion. The adoption of Christianity contributed to the expansion of international trade, political and cultural relations of the Alans (Ossetians) and the enrichment of the material and spiritual culture of the ethnic group itself. A new stage of Christianisation, which began in the 18th century, largely contributed to resolving the issue of Ossetia joining Russia. Information on the Christian singing culture of the Ossetians is scarce. The earliest of it, recorded in one of the periodicals, dates back to the 19th century and allows us to judge its condition for a specific period of the designated century, the methods and the nature of transmission, as well as some related sources accompanying it (chant books and manuals). On their basis, we can conclude that close attention was paid to the dissemination and the quality of liturgical singing. The analysis of Obikhod in the Ossetian Language (1864-1889) indicates the orientation of the Ossetian church singing culture towards the liturgical singing practice of the Russian Orthodox Church. However, due to the presence of the Acolouthia in different languages ??in the churches in Ossetia, one cannot exclude other possible influences (for example, Georgian, Armenian, etc.), as well as the existence of their own traditions. At present, the chant range of Orthodox religious service is being updated through poetic texts (they are being translated into the Ossetian language), and through the musical and intonational component. The need to transform the latter is seen not only in the desire to give a religious service a national character. It is also connected with the search for ways to overcome the problem that arises when using the principles of chanting generally accepted for the Russian Orthodox Church in relation to texts in the Ossetian language. At the moment, the musical and intonation sphere of Ossetian religious service includes folklore, on the musical texts of which canonical chants are sung, as well as original author's compositions, often based on the intonations of Ossetian folk songs. However, there are also connections with the Georgian singing tradition.