Tchaikovsky
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All-Night Vigil
(Всенощное бдение)
An exercise in harmonising the Vesper Service, for unaccompanied voices, Op. 52 (1881–82).
| Catalogue References | TH 77 ; ČW 77 (score), ČW 584 (preface) |
|---|---|
| Date | May 1881–March 1882 |
| Text | Liturgical |
| Language | Slavonic Russian |
| Tempo/Section Listing |
|
| Instrumentation | Chorus (SATB) |
| Arrangements | Also arranged for solo piano by Tchaikovsky, June 1881–March 1882 (for rehearsal purposes only) |
| First Performance | Moscow, 27 June/9 July 1882, conducted by Pyotr Sakharov |
| Autograph Location | Moscow (Russia): Glinka National Museum Consortium of Musical Culture (ф. 88, No. 123) — choral score with piano arrangement |
| First Publication | Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1883 |
| Average Duration | 45 minutes |
| External Links |
IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library
 (downloadable
score) |
History
In a letter of 8/20 May 1881, Tchaikovsky asked Pyotr Jurgenson to send him the complete text of the All-Night Vigil and Dmitry Razumovsky's Russian Church Songs [Церковное пение в России] [1]. On 21 June/3 July the composer told Jurgenson: "I am now writing church-music, which is an attempt (albeit a very modest one) to come to grips with the style established by Bortnyansky and tutti quanti of others..." [2]. The composer also wrote about this to Eduard Nápravník: "I am occupying myself with the study of our ancient church hymns and am making attempts to transcribe them for four-part chorus. The result of these efforts will be an All-Night Vigil, in which I should like to contribute, if but a little, towards the sobering up of our church music, which has been distorted by the untalented and banal editions of the [Imperial] Chapel" [3]. By mid/late July the rough work was complete [4].
On 1/13 September 1881, the composer wrote to Pyotr Jurgenson from Kamenka: "My opus is completely ready, i.e. the All-Night Vigil, which I had begun to copy out, but was interrupted by Bortnyansky [5], and since I could not sustain both works, I abandoned it for a time" [6]. The task of editing Bortnyansky's compositions, and then working on the opera Mazepa, the Trio (Op. 50), and various other compositions considerably delayed the completion of the All-Night Vigil. Only on 7/19 February 1882 did Tchaikovsky resume the copying out of this composition, which was completed by 7/19 March 1882 in Naples [7]. In August Tchaikovsky reviewed changes to the text required by the censor, and in late September/early October he received the first proofs of the Vigil, which were returned in mid/late October [8]. The issuing of the full score was held up until March 1883 by the church censor, whose petty objections meant that Jurgenson was prevented from bringing out the edition as advertised [9].
The first performance took place in Moscow in a concert in the hall of the Industrial Exhibition on 27 June/9 July 1882, conducted by Pyotr Sakharov.
From:
Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958), pp. 360–361
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston
Notes:
- Letter 1745 to Pyotr Jurgenson, 8/20 May 1881 [back]
- Letter 1791 to Pyotr Jurgenson, 21 June/3 July 1881 [back]
- Letter 1801 to Eduard Nápravník, 3/15 July 1881 [back]
- See letter 1826 to Sergey Taneyev, 5/17 August 1881 [back]
- The task of editing Bortnyansky’s Complete Church Music [back]
- Letter 1849 to Pyotr Jurgenson, 1/13 September 1881 [back]
- See letters 1958 and 1987 to Nadezhda von Meck, 7/19 February and 7/19 March 1882 [back]
- See letter 2113 to Pyotr Jurgenson, 20 September/2 October 1882 [back]
- See letter from Pyotr Jurgenson to Tchaikovsky, 1/13 March 1883 — Klin House-Museum Archive [back]