Spring 2017
Welcome from the Choir
Welcome to tonight’s concert!!
The Hermitage Ensemble from St Petersburg is a male voice choir, each
singer having a relevant wide musical education. In their homeland they
are engaged as soloists in operas and concerts.!
of unaccompanied singing and the composing of choral music led to a
high standard of vocal presentation. The Russian bass voices are well
known for their low register, which reaches well below that of basses in
many other countries.!
The folk and national songs which form the second half of the concert
show a range of emotion and, with their rhythms and melodies, convey
with their inimitable spirit all that is characteristic of the great ”Russian
Soul”.!
We hope that you will enjoy tonight’s performance!
The vocal ensemble see it as their goal to maintain the Russian traditions
of church music and bring the hymnography of the Eastern Church
closer to Western people. Therefore, the programme consists of liturgical
hymns, psalms and compositions. It also includes various folk songs.!
The music of the Russian Orthodox Church arose out of a blend of the
Greek, Byzantine and Oriental influences during the early years of the
Christian Church. From the 15th to the 18th century the plainsong of the
original chants was beginning to be harmonised and was leading to a
purely Russian church music. In the 18th century the music was further
influenced by the Italian composers attached to the Russian court, in
particular Sarti and Galuppi. Both the Russian composer Bortniansky
and Berezovsky received musical training in Italy and they were to have
a great impact on Orthodox music.!
In the 19th century Balakirev, music director at the Court Chapel, and
Rimsky-Korsakov produced a large collection of harmonised plainsong.
Nearly all the leading Russian composers have written music for the
rites of the Russian Orthodox Church and tonight there will be examples
from many of them.!
You will not hear an organ or any other instruments in Orthodox
services. This is because in the early Christian church they were viewed
as being theatrical and had other undesirable associations, and were
considered therefore unsuitable for worship. Because of this the practice
Dmitry Skazhenik, Conductor, 2nd Tenor
Andrey Kapralov, Bass-Baritone
Ilya Mikhaylenko, Bass
Dmitry Mednikov, 1st Tenor
Alexey Ivanov, 1st Tenor
!
Natalia Aksuticheva, Manager and Presenter.
Part I
!
Russian Orthodox Church Music and Famous Russian choral
works (a capella Old Church Slavonic)*
A Brief History of Liturgical Music!
The repertoire consists of liturgical singing – hundreds of Kievan chants
as well as Russian polyphonic pieces from the 17th – 18th centuries,
masterpieces of Greek, Serbian and Georgian church music, the best
sacred compositions of S. Degtyarev, D. Bortniansky, A. Nikolsky, A.
Grechaninov, N. Kedrov (father & son), S. Trubachev, K. Nikitin, as well
as many Russian folk songs. Our main task is to research, perform and
preserve the rich musical heritage of the North of Russia.!
The strict rule of the ancient Russian monasteries matches the harsh
environments where they are often situated. The traditional liturgical
singing reaches deep into the listener’s soul and summons them to
prayer. Russian Orthodox traditional chants include those of Solovetsky,
Kirillo-Belozersky and other monasteries which together have created
the tradition of church music known in Russian as Znameny raspev. It
has its roots in the Byzantine tradition of singing which derives from the
works of St. Anatolius,
P a t r i a r c h
o f
Constantinople from 449
to 459, the 5th Century St.
Romanus the Melodist,
Bishop Jacob of Edessa
(640-708) and other
inspired Greek church
fathers. It reached its
culmination with St. John
of Damascus.!
Znamenny style of music notation
!
Solovetsky Monastery. Photo: D Mordvintsev
This raspev (chant) is referred to as Znameny because of the way it is
written down: not in normal musical notation but using special signs straight, slanting and curved lines (the Russian word for sign is
Znameny). It is a style of singing handed down from generation to
generation by oral tradition. This type of music with its emphasis on
singing in unison has been a feature of the Russian Orthodox Church
since the 12th Century and in the 17th Century reached its blossoming in
the creative work of the famous masters of Znameny singing, Ivan
Shaidurov, the brothers Savva and Vasily Rogov and, later, Theodor
Krestianin.!
At the end of the 17th Century enthusiasm for western European culture
led to the rapid ousting of the Znameny style from regular use in the
liturgy and its replacement by so-called part-singing. This may, perhaps,
have made the melodies more familiar to the congregation and
introduced the practice of a solo voice superimposed on a group of other
voices but it was alien to the Eastern Christian tradition.!
* Some pieces may be omitted or changed.
1. Concert №15: ‘Come, ye people
and let us sing the praises of the
Saviour’s Resurrection’ – Dimitry
Bortniansky (1752 – 1825)
Born in Glukhov, Ukraine. Studied at
both Moscow and St Petersburg
under the Italian master Baldassare
Galuppi, and then followed him to
Italy in 1768. He continued his musical
studies at Bologna, Rome and Naples,
composing sacred works and operas.
He returned to Russia in 1779 and in
1796 was appointed director of the
Imperial Chapel Choir. Besides his
extensive religious music, which
included 45 sacred pieces for choirs,
he also wrote operas and instrumental
pieces.
Come, ye people and let us sing the
praises of the Saviour’s Resurrection
on the third day, by which we have
been delivered from the unbreakable
bonds of Hell and obtained life
incorruptible. Crucified, buried, and risen,
Save us by thy Resurrection, O Thou Who alone lovest mankind.
Amen.
2. Glory ... Only-Begottten Son
(Slava...Edinorodny syne) – Dmitry Bortniansky
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit: Both now and forever and to the
ages of ages. Amen. Only-begotten Son and Word of God,
Who, being immortal, yet wast
pleased for our salvation to be
incarnate of the holy Mother of God
and Ever-Virgin Mary, and changing
not, didst put on man and was
crucified, and death by death hast
trodden down, O Christ God, one of
the Holy Trinity, glorified with the
Father and the Holy Spirit: save us.
3. Bless the Lord, O My Soul (Ps. 102/3) (Blagoslovi, dusha moya,
Gospoda) – Michael Ippolitov-Ivanov
Bless the Lord, O my soul, blessed art
Thou, O Lord. Bless the Lord, O my
soul, and all that is within me, bless
His holy Name. Bless the Lord, O my
soul, and forget not all His benefits.
Who forgiveth all thy sins, and
healeth all thine infirmities. Who
redeemeth thy life from corruption,
and crowneth thee with mercy and
loving-kindness. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me,
bless His holy Name, blessed art
Thou, O Lord.
4. Of Thy mystical supper (Vecheri
tvoeya tainiya) – Alexei Lvov
Of Thy mystical supper, O Son of
God, today receive me as a
communicant; for I will not speak of the Mystery to Thine enemies, nor will I give Thee a kiss, like Judas;
but like the thief will I confess Thee:
Remember me, Lord, in Thy Kingdom.
5. From above the prophets foretold
thee (Svyshe prorocy) – Mily Balakirev
The prophets proclaimed thee from
on high, O Virgin: the Jar, the Staff,
the Candlestick, the Table, the Uncut
Mountain, the Golden Censer, the
Tabernacle, the Gate Impassible, the Palace, the Ladder and the
Throne of kings.
6. Mother of God and Virgin, rejoice /
Hail Mary (Bogoroditse, Devo,
raduisya) from "All-Night Vigil", op. 37 – Sergey Rachmaninov (1873 – 1943)
Mother of God and Virgin, rejoice,
Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with
thee. Blessed art thou amongst
women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, for thou hast given birth to the Saviour of our souls.
7. In Thy Kingdom (Vo tsarstvii
tvoem) – Dobri Hristov (1875 –1941)
Dobri Hristov was one of the major
Bulgarian composers of the 20th
century. He wrote mainly choral music,
as well as some church music and
music for the orchestra. Hristov was
born in Varna, Bulgaria. He graduated
from the Prague Conservatory in 1903
(under the directorship of the famous
Czech composer Antonín Dvořák). He returned to Bulgaria and helped
with the development of Bulgarian
music culture, using many Bulgarian
folklore elements in his compositions.
He was conductor of "The Seven
Saints" ensemble and choir in the
church of the same name in Sofia,
Bulgaria between 1911 and 1928. He died in Sofia in 1941 at age 65.
In thy Kingdom remember us, O
Lord, when Thou comest into thy
Kingdom. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for
theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they
shall be comforted. Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for
great is your reward in heaven.
8. O Lord, save the Faithful and the
Trisagion – Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893)
O Lord, save the faithful, and hear us!
For Thou, our God, art holy, and to Thee we give glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
now and for ever, and to the ages of ages.
Holy God, Holy mighty, Holy
immortal, have mercy on us. (thrice)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit: Both now and forever and to the
ages of ages. Amen. Holy immortal, have mercy on us!
Holy God, Holy mighty, Holy
immortal, have mercy on us.
9. Blessed is the man (Blazhen muzh)
(Ps. 1) – Pavel Chesnokov (1877 – 1944)
Chesnokov, one of the most
exemplary composers of the Moscow
School, adapted this traditional
melody called ‘Kievan’, taking pains to conserve the antiphonal style of the Psalm as required by the Ordo,
the liturgical canon. P. Chesnokov was
also one of the most accomplished
specialists in choral direction in
Russia. His work on combining
differing vocal timbres and on
intonation still carries weight. He studied at the Moscow Synodal
School and at the Moscow
Conservatory, gaining early
recognition as a choral conductor
through his teaching in schools, his
conducting of church choirs, and as
chief conductor of the Russian Choral
Society. He also served as professor of
choral conducting at the Moscow
Conservatory, as chief conductor of
the Moscow State Choir, and as choir
director of the Bol'shoy Theatre. He
composed more than 400 choral
works, mostly sacred works for church
performance. These are recognized
for their clarity of harmony. His other
work includes 20 songs, several stage
works, and a book on the theory of
choral performance, ‘Choir and
conducting' (1940). In addition,
Chesnokov became the choirmaster
at Christ the Saviour Cathedral. In
1933, however, on orders from Stalin,
the Cathedral was demolished to
make way for construction of a
skyscraper that would never be built.
Chesnokov became so distraught
over the Cathedral's destruction that
he stopped composing altogether. He
continued teaching and conducting
various choirs in Moscow until his
death there on March 14, 1944.
Blessed is the man that hath not
walked in the counsel of the ungodly.
Alleluia. For the Lord knoweth the way of the
righteous, and the way of the
ungodly shall perish. Alleluia. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice
in Him with trembling. Alleluia.
Blessed are all that have put their
trust in Him. Alleluia. Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God.
Alleluia. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord,
and Thy blessing is upon Thy people.
Alleluia. Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit, Both now and
ever to the ages of ages. Amen. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Glory to
Thee, Lord. (thrice)
10. It is Truly Meet (Dostoino est) –
Nikolay Golovanov (1891 – 1953)
It is truly meet to bless thee who
didst bring forth God, Ever-blessed
and Most Pure, and the Mother of our
God. More honourable than the
cherubim, and incomparably more
glorious than the seraphim:
thou who without corruption gavest
birth to God the Word, true Mother of
God, thee do we magnify.
11. The Eternal council ( Sovet
prevechnij) – Pavel Chesnokov
Gabriel stood before thee, O Maiden,
Revealing the pre-eternal counsel,
Saluting thee and exclaiming:
‘Rejoice, O earth unsown! Rejoice, O bush unburnt! Rejoice, O depth hard to fathom!
Rejoice, O bridge leading to the
heavens and lofty ladder, which
Jacob beheld! Rejoice, O divine jar of Manna!
Rejoice, annulment of the curse!
Rejoice, restoration of Adam: the
Lord is with thee!’
12. The Lord's Prayer (Otche nash) –
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
In the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ (Mat.
5-7) Jesus Christ explained how one
should pray to God, teaching his
disciples the prayer ‘Our Father’ (Mat. 6:9-13). This prayer is the one
best known and most loved by all
Christians. For 2000 years it has been
repeated by millions of believers
during their whole life. In the
textbooks of God's Law (Religion) it is analysed as the prototype of
Christian prayer.
Our Father, Which art in Heaven,
hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done,
on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them that trespass
against us; and lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One.
13. The Repentant Thief (Razboinika blagorozumnogo) – Aleksandr Taneev (1850 – 1918)
The Wise Thief didst Thou make
worthy of Paradise, in a single
moment, O Lord. By the wood of Thy Cross illumine me as well, and save me.
14. Confirm, O God, the holy
Orthodox faith (Utverdi Boze) – M. Kosolapov
Confirm, O God, the holy Orthodox
faith of Orthodox Christians for
evermore.
15. Many years (Mnogaya leta) –
Anonymous, from the time of Peter
the Great
Each major service in the Orthodox
rite concludes with a prayer asking
long life for the Church hierarchy, the civil authorities and the people. On festive occasions an analogous
prayer is intoned by the deacon, who recites the names and titles of
those commemorated followed by the choir singing ‘Many years’.
Interval
The concert includes an interval during which CDs recorded by the Ensemble
just before leaving St Petersburg for this UK tour will be available to purchase.
The Hermitage Ensemble represents an extraordinarily high degree of ‘choral
culture’ - outstanding voices, flawless ensemble, led by a sensitive masterconductor who knows the measure of good taste. The result? Some of the
favourite and best-loved Russian sacred music, Russian
folk songs and
Ukrainian carols sung with a finesse and quality that have seldom been heard
before, whilst maintaining that inimitable Russian spirit that never fails to
conquer audiences world-wide.
Whether your love is Russian Orthodox Church music, Russian folk music, the
sound of male choirs or simply fine choral singing, you will find this CD to be
highly satisfying. This is a disc that all lovers of fine choral singing will not want
to miss!
Part II
!
Russian Folk Songs (a cappella Russian)*
Russian folk songs have always played an essential part in Russian life,
culture, and music. They have played an important part in the work of
many great Russian composers including Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov,
Borodin, Tchaikovsky, Prokoviev, and Stravinsky. If provides a historical
survey and a description of the musical and poetic characteristics of
Russian folk song, the songs themselves are classified into several
categories: calendar songs, lyric songs, work songs, epic songs, historical
songs, and the urban songs that emerged in the 18th and 19th centuries.!
* Some pieces may be omitted or changed.
1. Cossack. The Cossack's song
2. In the dark woods (V temnom lese)
An ancient Russian folk-song about a
farmer dreaming of abundant harvest.
3. Coachman (Step da step krugom)
This is one of the most beautiful and
sad Russian Folk songs. It is about a
coachman, who is dying in the middle
of a huge steppe long way away from
home. He is telling his friend to give
the last Farewell to his parents and his
beloved wife.
Steppe, endless steppe,
the way lies far before us,
and in that dense steppe
a coachman lay dying.
He summoned up all his strength,
as he felt death approaching,
and he gave an order
to his comrade:
"My dear friend,
do not think of the bad times,
but bury me here
in this dense steppe.
Give to my wife
a word of farewell;
and give back to her
this wedding ring.
And tell her that I died here,
in the freezing steppe,
and that I have taken her love
away with me.”
4. Volga boatsong – harmonised by
A. Obrazchov
The Song of the Volga Boatmen is a
well-known traditional Russian song.
Glenn Miller took the song to #1 in
the US charts in 1941.
"Volga boatmen", the English name of this song, is also the name of one
of the most impressive paintings of
the famous Russian painter Ilya Repin: It shows a group of about twenty
boatmen, passing by with slow heavy
steps.
Everybody in Russia knows: They are
bondmen, their landowner has hired
them out to a rich merchant, and now
they have to pull the merchant's heavy
barge against the current of the Volga.
For their landowner this is a good
bargain, but the bondmen get
nothing, of course. They are ragged
and exhausted, they stump their bare
feet into the grass on the shore, and
by many ropes they pull the heavy
barge upstream.
5. Along Piterskaia Street
All together! All together! Once again, one more time!
Let's tow till the birchen cudgel
bends, Let's bend the cudgel of the
curly birch-tree!
You, Mother Steppe, are so wide and
free, spreading in all directions. Look,
it is not an eagle flying up, but a Don
Cossack is enjoying his freedom, but
it’s not wise for an eagle to fly too low
over the land, and it is dangerous for
the Cossack to come close to the
river.
Aida da aida, aida da aida, Let's bend the cudgel of the curly
birch-tree!
All together! All together! Once again, one more time!
We are walking along the river banks,
Singing our song for the dear sun! Aida da aida, aida da aida, We're singing our song for the dear
sun!
All together! All together! Once again, one more time!
Oh, you Volga, Mother-Stream, You are so wide and deep!
Aida da aida, aida da aida, You are so wide and deep!
All together! All together! Once again, one more time!
A jovial song (after Christmas or
during the pre-Lent holiday
everybody is out in the snowed up
streets, enjoying sunny winter day –
eating, drinking, playing snow balls,
building snow fortresses).
6. Wide, wide steppe (Ah, ti step’ shirokaja)
Steppe is a Russian word that means
wide open space, a prairie.
7. Those Evening Bells (Vecherny
zvon) – Lyrics by Thomas Moore
Youth comes to the end and then life
comes to the end. Only bells can be
heard as before.. The song is so
popular in Russia, that we think it to
be a Russian folk song. Since Serge
Yaroff and his Don Cossack Choir
introduced the "Evening bells" into
the western world about fifty years
ago, this song – next to "Kalinka", the
"Volga Boat Men" and "Stenka Razin"
became one of our most performed
‘Russian folksongs’.
Those evening bells! Those evening bells!
How many a tale their music tells
Of youth, and home and that sweet time,
When last I heard their soothing chime.
running, and the coachman has time
enough to sing one of these soulful
Russian folksongs.
Those joyous hours are past away,
And many a heart that then was gay
Within the tomb now darkly dwells
And hears no more these evening bells.
There is so much longing in this song,
So much emotion in the familiar tune
That in my cool breast
My heart lights with fire.
And so 'twill be when I am gone;
That tuneful peal will still ring on
While other bards will walk these dells,
And sing your praise, sweet evening bells.
8.Song of old Bursha. Music –
Michael Ippolitov-Ivanov
9. A lonely bell’s ringing
(Odnozvuchno gremit kolokol’chik)
The monotonous bell belongs to a
troika – three horses side by side in
front of a light coach – which is usually
dashing along the long Russian roads
at such a speed that clouds of dust
are stirred up. The little bell which is
tinkling all the way keeps the horses
Monotonously the little bell is sounding,
And the way is a little bit dusty,
And over the plain fields
Flows the song of the coachman.
And I remembered other nights
And the fields and forests of my home,
And to my eyes, which have been dry for a long time,
A tear rose like a spark.
Monotonously the little bell is sounding,
Softly echoing from afar,
And my coachman fell silent. And the way before me
Is long and far.
10. Folk Accordion (Tyl’skaja garmon’)
The town of Tula was famous for this
instrument. A playful song about two
friends who bought two boats with
holes in the bottom.
11. Midnight in Moscow. Music – V.Solovjov-Sedoj