VELJANCIC's video: Divna Ljubojevic i Melodi - Liturgija u manastiru Vavedenje 7

07. Jektenija posle citanja Jevandjelja. Molitve za oglasene 05:33 Divna Ljubojevic was born in Belgrade in 1970. Her remarkable voice was first recognized in early childhood by Mother Agnija, Abbess of Vavedenje Monastery. Believing that Divna's gift for singing should be nurtured and guided, Mother Agnija, herself a singer of great talent and knowledge, invited Divna to sing with the monastery choir. From age 10, Divna was tutored in the ancient tradition of Orthodox chant. Mother Agniya and the sisters of Vavedenje cherished and painstakingly preserved a musical style that originated from the Karlovatz chants, as well as traditional Byzantine and Russian modalities. Divna later studied at Mokranjac Music School in Belgrade and earned a music degree from the University of Novi Sad's Academy of Music. But it was the sacred singing of the monastery choir that "caught" and kept her soul. As Divna says, "This decision [to devote herself to sacred singing] can only be made at a time when the being is still receptive, innocent, unshaped, unsoiled. And it is when you keep such a disposition, you can go on singing this repertoire all your life long, till the end." Lycourgos Angelopoulos, director of the Byzantine Choir of Greece, has hailed Divna as, "One of the purest voices I have ever heard." At the age of 17, in 1988, Divna began conducting the Mokranjac Choir with which she often sang in many European countries, including her native Serbia, where she conducted the Easter Liturgy beneath the great dome of Saint Sava Church in Vratchar (Belgrade). Between 1989 and 1991, she conducted the Premiere Societe Chorale de Belgrade, serving as the youngest conductor of this organization that was founded in 1853. Divna gave amazing performances with the ensemble, especially in Greece at the Sacred Music Festival at Delphi, Kardica and Kefalonia. In 1991, Divna and her friends founded Melodi Ensemble. Melodi dedicates itself to a repertoire of Orthodox sacred music, from the ancient monadic and polyphonic Byzantine, Serbian, Bulgarian and Russian chant, to contemporary works. The ensemble interprets these liturgical poems in Italian, French and English. Melodi also performs Baroque opera excerpts from Purcell and Caccini. The group has collaborated with opera soloists in Bazel, England, and Italy. They have also performed with the Spezzatura Ensemble of England. In 1997, with the help of Bishop Luka of France and Western Europe, Divna founded a choir at St. Sava Church in Paris and began giving concerts of Slavonic and Greek liturgical music in Brussels, Senlis and Paris. As a teacher of choral music and solfeggio, Divna has won many music school competitions. She has also taught choral music at the Amilly Musical Academy (France), Netherlands and England. Her education is a testimony to her capacity for assuming soprano solo roles within baroque, spiritual or renaissance operas. With ease, she lends her voice to any type of lyrical repertoire. MELODI ENSEMBLE Today, most of her time is spent surrounding "Melodi Ensemble's" artistic activities which she founded with friends in 1991. This ensemble dedicates itself to the sacred, spiritual, ancient and contemporary works."Melodi" interprets the poems and chants in Italian, French and English, and Baroque opera excerpts from Purcell and Caccini. The group collaborated with opera soloists from Bazel, England, Italy and also with England's Spezzatura Ensemble. Since its debut under Edition Jade / Warner Music in 2003 , "Divna & Melodi" gave performances in every European and French festivals like "Theatre de la Ville de Paris""Folles Journee", "Festival Ile de France","La Vezere", "Les Orientales","Auvers sur l'Oise","Abbey Royale de Fontevraud", "Festival de Dijon", "Voix Melee", "Stimenn Voices", "Festival Stemmen", "Festival Territorios de Sevilla", "Festival de Paques", "Viox Sacrees du Monde", "Musiche dal Mondo","Abbey de Bomont", "Festival Musicat "and many more.