- Presents the wonderful repertoire of Russian sacred choral music for unaccompanied mixed voices
- Covers a wide-ranging repertoire spanning the eighteenth century to the early twentieth century
- Suitable for performance in concert or during Church services (liturgical descriptions included)
- Introduces composers who are central to musical developments yet little known outside Russia
- Includes a simple system of transliteration/pronunciation to help non-Russian-speaking directors and singers, plus an audio pronunciation guide on the web
- Includes non-singing translations
for SATB unaccompanied
This collection of 27 Russian sacred choral works was compiled and edited by Russian music scholar and choral director Nöelle Mann, who was curator of the Prokofiev Archive at the Centre for Russian Music, Goldsmiths College, until her death in 2010.
Forces or Category
SATB unaccompanied
Difficulty
Moderately difficult
Compiled and edited by Noëlle Mann (1946-2010)
Noëlle Mann was born in 1946 in south-west France and died in London in 2010. Having trained first as a concert pianist, Noëlle moved to the UK and read music at Goldsmiths College (University of London), during which she began researching the znamenny chant of the Russian Orthodox Church. Noëlle's interest in the Russian choral tradition led her in 1993 to establish the Kalina Choir, the first UK choir exclusively dedicated to performing Russian choral music. Through this and subsequent choral directing, Noëlle developed her research and performance practice of this music. As a musicologist, Noëlle's interests embraced both Russian choral music and the life and work of Serge Prokofiev. Noëlle became the Founding Curator of the Prokofiev Archive in 1994 and established the academic Centre for Russian Music at Goldsmiths College in 1997. In 2001, Noëlle founded and became Editor ofThree Oranges, an academic journal dedicated to the study of the life and times of Prokofiev.
Review:
"It is difficult to praise OUP's new anthology of unaccompanied Russian choral music too highly. Twenty-seven pieces by 17 composers fill up 190 pages - a compact and invaluable volume . . . Russian Sacred Music for Choirsis a tribute to Mann's sorely missed expertise in, and enthusiasm for, Russian choral music . . . The texture of the collection ranges from four-voice homophony all the way up to a dozen voice parts. But most of the music in this volume will sound effective when performed by a chamber choir of only modest dimensions and pretensions . . . The icing on this Torte is an invitingly informative preface, and biographies of all of the composers included in the anthology." - Jeremy Summerly, Choir & Organ, March 2014.
Contents:
Kastalsky: A Mercy of Peace (Milost' mira)
Grechaninov: Bless the Lord, O My Soul (Blagoslovi, dushe moya, Gospoda)
Chesnokov: Blessed is the Man (Blazhen muzh)
Vedel: Blessed is the Man (Blazhen muzh)
Chesnokov: Cherubic Hymn (Kheruvimskaya pyesn')
Kastalsky: Cherubic Hymn based on the chant 'The ravaging of Moscow' (Kheruvimskaya pyesn': 'Na razoryeniye Moskvï')
Berezovsky: Do Not Reject Me in My Old Age (Nye otverzhi menye vo vryemya starosti)
Grechaninov: Gentle Light (Svyetye tikhiy)
Kastalsky: Gentle Light (Svyetye tikhiy No. 3)
Arkhangelsky: I Cry Aloud With My Voice Unto The Lord (Glasom moim ko Gospodu vozzvakh)
Anonymous Znamenny chant, harmonized by Ossorguine and Kedrov Jr: It Is Truly Meet (Dostoyno yest')
Grechaninov: It Is Truly Meet (Dostoyno yest')
Tchaikovsky: Let My Prayer Arise (Da Ispravitsya molitva moya)
Chesnokov: 'Lord, Save the Faithful' and Trisagion ('Gospodi, spasi' i Trisvyatoye)
Bortniansky: Many Years (Mnogaya lyeta)
Prokofiev: Many Years [TTBB] (Mnogaya lyeta)
Prokofiev: Many Years [SATB] (Mnogaya lyeta)
Golovanov: Our Father (Otche nash)
Grechaninov: Our Father (Otche nash)
Schnittke: Our Father (Otche nash)
Grechaninov: Praise the Name of the Lord (Khvalitye imya Gospodnye)
Viskov: Rejoice, O Nicholas, Great Wonderworker (Iz Akafista Svyatityelyu Nikolayu)
Kalinnikov: Rejoice, O Virgin Mother of God (Bogoroditse Dyevo)
Sviridov: Sacred Love (Lyubov svyataya)
Rakhmaninov: The ever-vigilant Mother of God (V molitvakh nyeusïpayuschuyu Bogoroditsu)
Chesnokov: The Great Doxology (Slavoslovoye vyelikoye)
Kastalsky: The Great Doxology (Slavoslovoye vyelikoye No. 2)
