Divna Ljubojević

Divna Ljubojević
Background information
Native name	Дивна Љубојевић
Birth name	Divna Ljubojević
Also known as	Divna
Born	7 April 1970
Origin	Belgrade, Serbia
Genres	Sacred music
Occupation(s)	Musician, conductor
Instruments	vocals
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Jade Records-Editions Jade, Milan Records
Associated acts	Melodi ensemble (also called Divna and Melodi or Divna & Melόdi)
Website	http://www.divna-melodi.com/

Divna Ljubojević (Serbian: Дивна Љубојевић), sometimes called by just her first name, i.e. Divna, is a Serbian singer and conductor of Orthodox Christian sacred music of various languages; she is a founder (along a group of her friends),^[1] the conductor and artistic director of the Melodi ensemble (Serbian: Мелоди, "(the) Melodists"),^{[n 1]} a "choir and studio for spiritual music".^[3][4] Lykourgos Angelopoulos, professor at the School of Byzantine Chant at the Conservatory of Athens, founder and director of the Greek Byzantine Choir and Archon Protopsaltes of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, has described her as having one of the purest voices he has ever heard.^[5]

Early life

Ljubojević was born in 1970 in Belgrade, Serbia,^[5] then part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. She studied at the Mokranjac Music School and also graduated from the Novi Sad Musical Academy.^[6] She practised in the Vavedenje (Serbian: Ваведење Пресвете Богородице, "Presentation of the Holy Theotokos") monastery, near Belgrade, where trained by the sisters, she acquired the unique style derived from Karlovatz singing.^[5]

Career

In 1988 Ljubojević started conducting the Mokranjac choir. She also conducted the First Belgrade Singing Society between years 1989 and 1991, becoming the youngest conductor in its history.^[7] Ljubojević has been also an active teacher of church and choir singing in France, Netherlands and England. In 1991 she founded the Melodi ensemble, composed of 10 singers.^[5] Today Ljubojevic and Melodi are popular music performers, with a musical tours in many places worldwide but mostly in Eastern and Western Europe; they have given more than 600 concerts in Europe.^[8]

Selected Discography

• Local releases
  • Аксион естин – i.e. Axion Estin, Vavedenje Monastery, 1996
  • Достојно јест – i.e. Axion Estin, Vavedenje Monastery, 1999
  • Живоносни источник – i.e. Zoodochos Pege, Vavedenje Monastery, 2000
  • Мелоди – i.e. Melodi, Vavedenje Monastery, 2001
  • Славословије – i.e. Doxology, Vavedenje Monastery, 2002
  • Литургија у манастиру Ваведење (Божанствена Литургија Св. Јована Златоустог) – i.e. Liturgy in Vavedenje Monastery (Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom), 2004
  • Концерти – i.e. Concerts, 2006
  • Христос Воскресе – i.e. Christ has risen, 2007
  • Христос се роди – i.e. Christ is born, Vavedenje Monastery, 2008
  • Огледало – i.e. The Mirror, 2008

• International releases
  • Mystères Byzantins – i.e. Byzantine Mysteries, 2004
  • La Divine Liturgie de Saint Jean Chrisostome – i.e. The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, 2005
  • Divna en concert. Théâtre des Abbesses, Paris – i.e. Divna in concert. Abbesses Theatre, Paris, 2006
  • La Gloire de Byzance – i.e. The Glory of Byzantium, with Lykourgos Angelopoulos and the Greek Byzantine Choir, 2006
  • Lumières du Chant Byzantin – i.e. Lights of Byzantine Chant, 2008
  • Éternel Byzantin – i.e. Eternal Byzantine, 2009
  • L'âme du chant orthodoxe – i.e. The Soul of the Orthodox Chant, 2011
  • In Search of Divine Light, Valley Entertainment 2014 ^[9]

• Third party releases
  • FACT 253 – DJ Mix, by Current 93 – track 5: Agne Parthene, 2011

See also

• Dragoslav Pavle Aksentijević

Notes and references

Notes

1. Μελῳδός (pl. μελῳδοί; note inter alia, the post-medieval Greek iotacism),^[2] "melodist", is a Greek adjective and sometimes an epithet given to people for their relevant musical work or talent. A famous such melodist is Rhomanos (Ῥωμανὸς ὁ Μελῳδός).

References

1. "Divna" (in French). Editions Jade. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
2. μελῳδός. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project. Cf. melodus. Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short. A Latin Dictionary on Perseus Project.
3. "Divna". TV5Monde. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
4. "Melodi-Divna, Official Webpage thereof". Retrieved 2 March 2014.
5. "Divna Ljubojević and the Melodi choir". Milan Records. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
6. "Ljubojevic, Divna". last.fm. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
7. "Press Releases: Concert by Serbian singer Divna to reflect spiritual essence of Orthodox music". Government Information Centre, Hong Kong. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
8. "The soul of Orthodox Chant: Divna and Melodi (Serbia)". Hong Kong: World Cultures Festival. 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
9. "In Search of Divine Light". Valley Entertainment. Retrieved 11 August 2014.

External links

• We Sing to You – Divna Ljubojevic
• The official YouTube channel of Divna Ljubojevic & "The Melodists" Choir
• Divna & Melόdi official profile at Facebook
• Artist page at AllMusic