THE Russian Patriarchate Choir is at the Bridgwater Hall on June 9.

This promises to be an unusual and stunning end to The Bridgewater Halls International Concerts Series recreating the authentic sound of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Twelve unaccompanied male singers perform the music of the evening Vigil.

The Russian Patriarchate Choir of Moscow was founded by Anatoly Grindenko in 1983. The traditional choir of 12 members, including Grindenko, are dedicated scholars of the repertoire for male voices who led the way in the re-discovery of Orthodox Church music in the late years of the Soviet Regime.

At this time when this music was not approved by the government the choir spent years decoding ancient manuscripts and giving the first performances of works that had lain in obscurity for centuries.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union came the opportunity for them to perform internationally and bring this music to a wider public.

Through their live performances and many recordings they have reached a huge world-wide audience performing internationally as well as in Russia (where it is a functional church choir).

Audiences are attracted first and foremost by the Choir's sheer beauty of their singing, their extremely high level of performance, their profoundly atmospheric, moving and hypnotic music and their broad popular appeal.

Conductor and performer Anatoly Grindenko is well known as a pioneer of ancient music in Russia. He has been at the forefront of bringing both polyphony and monophonic chant from the Russian Orthodox tradition, previously unheard for centuries, to a modern day audience. In 1980, he founded the Russian Patriarchate Choir, comprised of twelve singers as was the norm in the smaller churches of ancient Russia. It is currently the only ensemble performing Orthodox liturgy based on musicological research and working from reconstructed early manuscripts. Anatoly Grindenko has directed the Choir in mediaeval chant, early Russian plain chant, Orthodox liturgy of the 16th and 17th century, as well as traditional Russian songs and Tchaikovsky's romantic choral music.

To book tickets call The Bridgewater Hall Box Office on 0161 907 9000, or book online at www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk