Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom
Литургия святого Иоанна Златоуста
Setting of 15 numbers from the Russian Orthodox Liturgy, for unaccompanied
voices, Op. 41 (1878).
| Catalogue References: |
TH 75 (as "Liturgy of St.
John Chrysostom) ;
ČW 77 (as "Liturgy of St. John
Chrysostom). |
| Date: |
May–July 1878. |
| Text: |
Liturgical. |
| Language: |
Russian Church Slavonic. |
| Tempo/Section Listing: |
- Amen. Lord Have Mercy (Амин. Господи помилуй)
After the exclamation "Blessed is the Kingdom" (После возглашения «Благословенно
царство») (50 bars).
- Glory to the Father and to the Son (Господи помилуй)
After the First Antiphon (После первого антифона) (63 bars).
- Come, Let Us Worship (Приидите, поклонимся)
After the Little Entrance (После малого входа) (56 bars).
- Alleleuja (Аллилуйя)
After the Epistle Reading (После чтения апостола) (15 bars).
- Glory to Thee, O Lord (Слава тебе Господи)
After the Gospel Reading (После чтения евангелия) (26 bars).
- Cherubic Hymn (Херувимская песнь) (98 bars).
- Lord Have Mercy (Господи помилуй)
After the Cherubic Hymn (После херувимской песни) (16 bars).
- I Believe in One God, The Father, The Almighty (Верую во Единаго
Бога Отца)
The Creed (Символ веры) (92 bars).
- Merciful Peace (Милость мира)
After the Creed (После Cимвола веры) (42 bars).
- We Hymn Thee (Тебе поем)
After the exclamation "Thine Own of Thine Own" (После возглашения «Твоя
от твоих») (39 bars).
- It is Truly Fitting (Достойно есть)
After the words "Especially For Our Most Holy" (После слов «Изрядко о
пресвятей») (55 bars).
- Amen. And With Your Spirit, Lord Have Mercy (Амин. И со духом
твоим, Господи, помилуй)
After the exclamation "And Grant That With Our Mouths" (После возглашения:
«И даждь нам единеми усты») (13 bars).
- Our Father (Отче наш)
The Lord's Prayer (Молитва Господня) (44 bars).
- Praise the Lord from the Heavens (Хвалите, хвалите, Господа
с небес)
Communion Hymn (Причастный стих) (86 bars).
- Blessed is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord (Благословен
грядый во имя Господне)
After the Exclamation "In the Fear of God" (После возглашения «Со страхом
Божиим») (92 bars).
|
| Instrumentation: |
Chorus (SATB). |
| Arrangements: |
Also arranged for solo piano by Tchaikovsky, May 1878 (for rehearsal
purposes only). |
| First Performance: |
Kiev University Church, June
1879. |
| Autograph Location: |
Moscow: Glinka State Central
Museum of Musical Culture. |
| First Publication: |
Moscow:
P. Jurgenson, 1879. |
| Average Duration: |
48 minutes. |
| External Links: |
Internet Music Score Library Project
(downloadable
score).
Wikipedia
(article). |
History
The idea of composing the Liturgy dates from the end of April 1878
[1]. The Liturgy
was composed between 4/16 May and 27 May/8 June 1878
[2], together with four romances (from
Op. 38), and the violin pieces (Op. 42). Letters between 21 July/2
August and 29 July/10 August the same year show that it was sent together with
the other manuscripts to Petr
Jurgenson [3].
On 1/13–2/14 November, while stopping in
Moscow on his way from
Saint Petersburg to
Kamenka, Tchaikovsky corrected the
proofs of the Liturgy [4].
On 27 October/8 November 1878,
Petr Jurgenson told the composer: "You might want to pick up the first offprints
of your Liturgy on Wednesday" [5]. The Liturgy appeared in print early in 1879. Its
appearance on sale in Moscow and
Saint Petersburg caused
protests from the offices of the Director of the Imperial Chapel Choir, Nikolai
Bakhmet’ev. The latter began legal proceedings against
Jurgenson, accusing him of
publishing the Liturgy without the approval of the director of the chapel, and
of violating a number of government and synodal decrees.
Jurgenson had 143 of his plates
of the Liturgy confiscated. and Bakhmet’ev prosecuted him for allegedly breaking
the law. The case dragged on for a long time.
Although in June 1879 the Chief Administration for Printed Matter (Главное
управление по делам печати) in Moscow
authorized Jurgenson to publish
the Liturgy, subject to the approval of the city's church censor, Nikolai Bakhmet’ev
continued to protest. Then Petr
Jurgenson took legal action against Bakhmet’ev. Nevertheless, the continued
circulation of the composition hindered Bakhmet’ev and his supporters among
the clergy. The judgement of the Interior Minister was finally made in December
1879, and this was also in favour of
Jurgenson. Eventually the
confiscated plates were released in November-December 1880,on the orders of
the Synod, who enacted a decree allowing the
Moscow church censor to approve the
publication of church music without reference to the Director of the Imperial
Chapel Choir.
The first performance of the Liturgy took place in
Kiev University Church in June 1879.
In Moscow it was first heard in a
private concert of church music at the Conservatory in November 1880, and later
at a special concert of the Russian Musical Society on 18/30 December 1880,
performed by Petr Sakharov's chorus. Its success with the public was great,
although the opinion of the press was divided
[6].
In 1887 Petr Jurgenson
published the choral parts of the Liturgy; the choral score had been printed
in 1885 [7]. A second
edition of the Liturgy appeared in 1896
[8].
From:
Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958), pp. 359–360
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston
Notes:
- See letter 820 to
Nadezhda von Meck, 30 April/12
May 1878 [back]
- See letter 843 to
Nadezhda von Meck, 27 May/8
June 1878 [back]
- See letter 883 to
Petr Jurgenson, 20 July/1
August 1878 [back]
- See letter 957 to
Anatolii Tchaikovsky,
2/14 November 1878, and letter 959 to
Nadezhda von Meck, 6/18 November
1878 [back]
- See letter from
Petr Jurgenson to Tchaikovsky,
20 February/4 March and 2/14 March 1879 —
Klin House-Museum Archive
[back]
- See
Modest Tchaikovsky,
Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского, том 2 (1901), pp. 438–441
[back]
- In 1883, the violinist Ivan Gavrushkevich asked Tchaikovsky
if he could arrange the Liturgy for string quintet with two cellos, or for
a quintet of three violins and two cellos. Evidently Tchaikovsky declined
this proposition (see letter from Ivan Gavrushkevich to Tchaikovsky, 8 January
1883 — Klin House-Museum Archive —
and letter 2218 from Tchaikovsky to
Petr Jurgenson, 4/16 February
1883) [back]
- Passed by the censor on 4/16 November 1896
[back]
|