All-night vigil for Rachmaninov. WITH

S. Rachmaninov “All-Night Vigil”

A monumental work for an a cappella choir with a soloist, included in the golden fund of the world cultural heritage - “All Night Vigil” by Sergei Rachmaninov. Despite belonging and strict adherence Orthodox traditions services, he is known, loved and revered throughout the world, invariably recognizing his highest artistic value.

Human difficult fate, forced to leave his homeland after the revolution, Sergei Vasilyevich Rahmaninov Until his last breath he loved Russia and considered himself Russian. And his character was a reflection of all the best that Orthodoxy can cultivate in a person - modesty, humility, compassion. All his life he donated to charity, if not half, then a third of his income. During the First World War, he donated all earnings from concerts to the needs of the army. After the revolution, when he was already working in America, he regularly sent money transfers to Moscow - there is even evidence that one day the postman, issuing another money order, asked: “What kind of Rachmaninov is this? Half of Moscow receives money from him.” And during the Second World War, when he himself was already terminally ill, before his death he managed to send to Russia an amount that, in today’s money, can be measured as 300 thousand dollars - an invaluable contribution to that Victory.

Many researchers, including the famous modern choral conductor Vladimir Minin, are inclined to believe that the “Vespers” was born from the composer as a prayer for the fate of the Motherland, which at that moment was going through times of severe trials - the beginning of the First World War, a harbinger of the revolution, the fall of the Autocracy and change of government system.

Previously, he had already turned to the genres of sacred music. Back in 1910, he wrote the Divine Liturgy, or Liturgy of John Chrysostom. Subsequently, he admitted that he was not completely satisfied with how he succeeded in this essay. It did not fully meet the requirements of Russian church music, which is particularly strict and prayerful. And at the end of 1914 - beginning of 1915, he began the “All-Night Vigil”.

This is a special ritual service in Orthodoxy, performed on the eve of Sunday and holidays according to the church calendar. Sometimes they say All-night service. It consists of 2 large-scale parts - Vespers, where Old Testament events are remembered, and Matins, where New Testament times and the coming of Christ are remembered. Within the service there are unchangeable chants (it was these parts that Rachmaninov included in his work) and changeable ones - these are stichera, troparia and other verses dedicated to a specific celebration. The general dynamics of the All-Night Vigil are from darkness to light.

In the Orthodox tradition, the service consists of an alternation of melodious exclamations by the priest, choral singing and reading of holy books by the reader. Church choirs in Rus' have always been strong, with developed voices; it was not uncommon to have profundo basses - a very low, deep bass, giving the sound richness, basis, and depth. Despite the fairly wide possibilities choir groups, and there were entire choir schools (like the Synodal, for example), clergy did not welcome overly emotional music for services. It was believed that a believer should pray, turn his soul to repentance during the service, and not delight his ears with a pleasant tune. Nevertheless, even everyday Orthodox melodies that are not full of expression evoke in parishioners that special state of prayer that brings them closer to God.

In form it is close to the cantata-oratorio genre - it also combines the deep drama inherent in all works spiritual nature, and epic, and scale. The solemn cry “Come, let us bow down and fall down to the cross!” marks the beginning of the All-Night Service and in everyday life belongs to the priest. Rachmaninov, in order to emphasize the importance of this moment (the only composer who did this), passes the cue to the choir. This gives the composition solemnity and immediately draws attention to the majestic action.

The core of the All-Night Vigil is “Rejoice, Virgin Mary.” This is its semantic culmination. Often performed separately in choral music concerts. The image of the Mother of God is especially revered in Orthodoxy, and during the performance of Rachmaninov’s “Hail to the Virgin Mary,” many, even not very believers, experience catharsis - a moment of the highest rise of thoughts and purification, relief, deliverance from pain and suffering. Despite the fact that the work itself is not replete with harmonic and melodic diversity, it is transparent and strict in sound at the beginning, all dramatic development occurs inside - the theme is given to the altos, and the sopranos, who traditionally lead the melody, only perform a background function, allowing the accumulation of emotional tension, which will burst out in the most powerful forte with the words “Blessed is the fruit of your womb.”

"VespersRachmaninov's vigil today

At the time the work was written, parts of it could well have been performed on the Great Feast in a large cathedral. In those days, church choirs could do this. But after the revolution, it was precisely this music in Rachmaninov’s work that was ignored and kept silent by culturologists and musicologists. It was practically not performed in concerts for more than 70 years. And there was no church service at all. Throughout the rest of the world, Rachmaninov’s “Vespers” was performed and was considered the best example of its genre.

After the revolution of the 1990s, the Church and its everyday life gradually returned to Russia, forgotten composers and their works were remembered. The same thing happened with Rachmaninov’s sacred music. But now only professional choirs can perform it. Often fragments or its entirety are performed in music schools. Nowadays, many traditions of church performance have been revived precisely thanks to educational choirs and their leaders, who strive for the closest possible interpretation to the author’s interpretation. This is important for preserving our cultural heritage.

Name: Rachmaninoff - Excerpts from Vespers “All Night Vigil”, Op. 37; poem "Bells", Op. 35
Original name: Rachmaninov - Les Vigiles nocturnes Op. 37, Les Cloches Op. 35
Year: 2012
Genre: Concert classical music

Composer: Sergei Rachmaninow
Chorus: Ural Symphonic Choir
Artistic director: Vera Davydova
Orchestra: Ural State Academic Philharmonic Orchestra (Ural Philharmonic Orchestra)
Conductor: Dmitri Liss
TV director: Frédéric Le Clair
Released: France, ARTE
Language: Russian

Performers:
Pavel Baransky - baritone,
Stanislav Leontiev - tenor,
Yana Ivanilova - soprano.

I posted information about the French music festival “Crazy Days of Nantes-2012” - “Holy Rus': from Rimsky-Korsakov to Shostakovich” in the topic “Verdi - opera “Aida” (Giuseppe Verdi-Aida-Opernhaus Zürich) Zurich Opera - 2006 (HDTVRip )"
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Sergei Rachmaninov. "All-Night Vigil", Op. 37
Vespers, Op. 37

Op. 37. “All-night vigil” for mixed choir without accompaniment. 1915. In memory of S. V. Smolensky.

“Come, let us worship”
“Bless, my soul” (Greek chant)
"Blessed is the man"
“Quiet Light” (Kyiv chant)
“Now you let us go” (Kyiv chant)
"Virgin Mother of God, rejoice"
Six Psalms - (Originally “Small Doxology”)
"Praise the name of the Lord"
“Blessed art thou, O Lord” (Znamenny chant) - (The material was later used in the III part of “Symphonic Dances”)
“Having seen the Resurrection of Christ”
“My soul magnifies the Lord”
Great Doxology
Troparion “Today is salvation” (Znamenny chant)
Troparion “Risen from the grave” (Znamenny chant)
“To the chosen governor” (Greek chant)

- “From the Gospel of John” (chapter XV, verse 13) for voice and piano. 1915.

History of creation

With the outbreak of the First World War, all the plans of Rachmaninov, already a European-recognized composer who was in the prime of his talent, changed. Foreign tours stopped, and trips around the country sharply decreased. He also composes little: he begins work on the Fourth Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, but postpones it; conceives a ballet, but also leaves it in several sketches. Events taking place in the world, anxiety for the fate of his homeland prompt him to turn to the roots of Russian musical culture- ancient church chants, znamenny singing. Inspired by the deepest and most poetic part of the New Testament, he creates a vocal composition "From the Gospel of John" and then turns to church life. At the end of the first year of the war, not without the influence of the most prominent figures of the “revival movement” in church singing, composer A. Kastalsky and paleographer, director Synodal School S. Smolensky, who taught a course on the history of Russian church music at the Moscow Conservatory, Rachmaninov writes the All-Night Vigil, op. 37, completed by him in early 1915.

While working on this composition, Smolensky died, and Rachmaninov dedicated the completed score to his memory. In this work, the composer proceeded from canonical traditions and relied on znamenny melodies that had come into church use. But his work was by no means limited to their harmonization. Focusing on the style of ancient Znamenny singing, Rachmaninov created his own original themes. “In my Vespers, everything that fit the second occasion (my own original tunes - L.M.) was consciously imitated into everyday life,” the composer wrote. At the same time, his music does not bear the features of stylization, museum aridity or artificiality. It lives and breathes as a deeply modern work. This reflected the peculiarities of Rachmaninov’s creative personality, who always gravitated towards ancient Russian melodies, using their intonations in works of a wide variety of genres, from piano miniatures to symphonic canvases. “In the fusion of epic, lyricism and drama (as a type of art), Rachmaninov focuses on the epic beginning,” writes musicologist A. Kandinsky. - It appears on the basis of legendary-historical themes, manifests itself in the pictorial composition of the numbers that make up the cycle and the multifaceted choral dramaturgy and imagery of chants, finally, in similarities and echoes with the Russian opera classics of the 19th century (especially with its folk-epic branch), with genres of oratorio, spiritual drama or mystery. The dominant significance of the epic is already expressed in Rachmaninov’s decision to open his cycle with an inviting oratorical prologue-address “Come, let us bow,” which is absent, for example, in the cycles of Tchaikovsky, Grechaninov, and Chesnokov. The composer needed such a prologue as an epic beginning.”

The first performance of the All-Night Vigil took place on March 10 (23) in Moscow by the Synodal Choir under the direction of N. Danilin. The impression was huge. Famous critic Florestan (V. Derzhanovsky) wrote: “Perhaps never before has Rachmaninov come so close to the people, their style, their soul, as in this work. Or maybe it is this work that speaks of the expansion of his creative flight, of his capture of new areas of the spirit and, therefore, of the true evolution of his strong talent.” In the following months the work was repeated several times with constant success. However, after October revolution In 1917, in Russia, which was struggling with all religious manifestations, the All-Night Vigil was banned for a long time. Only at the end of the 20th century did this wonderful music take its rightful place in concert life.

Music

The All-Night Vigil is a two-part composition consisting of Vespers (No. 2-6) and Matins (No. 7-15), preceded by a prologue. The chants are based on genuine themes of Everyday Life, harsh, ascetic Znamenny chants, which the composer enriched with all modern means. The use of the choir is rich and varied: Rachmaninov resorts to dividing parts, singing with closed mouth, creates unique timbre effects. The overall calm, epic tone is combined with a wealth of colors - lyrical, gentle melodies, loud exclamations, and bell-like tints.

No. 1, “Come Let Us Worship,” begins with two quiet chords calling out “Amen.” This is a majestic choral portal that opens the composition. In No. 3, “Blessed is the Man,” the intonations of a lullaby are heard. Its echoes spread further, in “The Quiet Light of the Holy Glory of the Immortal Heavenly Father” and “Now You Release Your Servant, O Master, According to Your Word” of the Kiev chant, and in the latter they are manifested only in quiet chords accompanying the singing of the tenor soloist. Both of these numbers are distinguished by the finest sound recording. The part ends with the calm and gentle prayer “Virgin Mother of God, Hail, Gracious Mary, the Lord is with Thee.” “Six Psalms” “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men” opens the second part of the All-Night Vigil. No. 8, “Praise the name of the Lord,” Znamenny chant, is based on the juxtaposition of the procession theme in the lower voices and the imitation of the silvery bell ringing in the upper ones. No. 9 - “Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me by thy justification,” based on the Znamenny chant, is one of the semantic centers of the work. This story about the miracle of the Resurrection is presented in solemn tones with colossal tension and fullness of sound. The chordal choral refrain “Blessed are you” creates the effect of the presence of the community, its involvement in what is happening. No. 11, “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in my Savior,” is a monumental hymn to the Mother of God, marked by truly symphonic development. The next number, “Great Doxology” of the Znamenny chant “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace and good will to men,” is the second composition center Matins, monumental choir fresco. The last three numbers are troparia “Today salvation has come to the world, we sing to Him who rose from the tomb and found the Chief of life” and “You rose from the tomb and tore the bonds of hell” (both Znamenny chants) and “To the chosen victorious governor, as having been delivered from the evil, let us sing thanks to Ti Rabi Yours, Mother of God” - the finale of the grandiose cycle. You can hear echoes of the Second and Third Symphonies and the Third Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in it.

Sergei Rachmaninov. Poem "Bells", Op. 35
The Bells, Op. 35

Poem for soloists (soprano, tenor, baritone), choir and orchestra. 1913. Words by E. Poe translated by K. D. Balmont. Dedication: "To my friend Willem Mengelberg and his Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam."

Allegro ma non tanto ("Do you hear the sleigh rushing in a row...")
Lento (“Do you hear the holy call for the wedding...”)
Presto ("Do you hear the alarm wailing...")
Lento lugubre ("The funeral bell is heard...")

History of creation

1912 turned out to be a very eventful year for Rachmaninoff. He, one of the most popular musicians in Russia, performs at numerous evenings, brilliantly conducts the season of symphony concerts of the Moscow Philharmonic Society, conducts The Queen of Spades at the Bolshoi Theater and, of course, composes a lot. New romances appear, including the famous Vocalise. In the fall, his operas “Francesca da Rimini” and “The Miserly Knight” are resumed at the Bolshoi Theater, and “Aleko” is staged at the People’s House.

At the end of the year, due to deteriorating health, Rachmaninov abandoned the planned concerts and went abroad with his family - first to Switzerland and then to Rome. There he received an unsigned letter in which he proposed to write music to a poem by the American poet Edgar Allan Poe (1809 -1849) “Bells” (1849) translated by K. Balmont. As it turned out later, this letter was sent by the young cellist M. Danilova. Rachmaninov was interested in the poem. From an early age, fascinated by bell ringing and having depicted it more than once in his works, he began composing, defining its genre as a vocal-symphonic poem.

Soon he has to leave Rome: the children fall ill, and the family moves to Berlin, and then to Russia, to his wife’s estate Ivanovka. There the composer finishes the poem, in four parts of which the entire life path of a person is shown from a bright youth full of joyful hopes to death. At the same time, the symbolism, so significant in Poe and Balmont, fades into the background. According to one of the researchers of Rachmaninov’s work, the images of the poem “have acquired Russian “flesh” and “blood”, while retaining their generalized philosophical and poetic meaning.”

"The Bells", defined as a poem for soloists, chorus and symphony orchestra, were first performed on November 30 (December 13), 1913 in St. Petersburg by a choir, soloists and orchestra Mariinsky Theater under the direction of the author. On February 8 (21), 1914, the Moscow premiere took place, in which soloists and the choir of the Bolshoi Theater took part. The success in both capitals was enormous, although the critics were divided. Some found that the composer “began to look for new moods, a new manner of expressing his thoughts.” "The Bells" was later dedicated: "To my friend Willem Mengelberg and his Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam."

Music

“Bells” belongs to the outstanding Russian musical works on the eve of the First World War. This poem, like Scriabin’s “Prometheus,” reflected the anxious, tense mood of the beginning of the century. As Academician Asafiev wrote, the music of “The Bells” is determined by “the merging of the anxious stages in Rachmaninov’s feelings... with his intuitive comprehension of the deep anxieties in the depths of Russian society.” The four parts of the poem are united by a common nocturnal coloring, colorfulness, and most importantly - a leitmotif, intonationally close to the Old Russian verses and the medieval sequence Dies Irae.

The 1st part paints an image of serene youth, a picture of a winter sleigh ride with the silvery ringing of bells. Everything is subordinated to the rapid rhythm of running. Subtle orchestration with harp harmonics and the gentle sound of celestas, which are replaced by inviting fanfares of trumpets and trombones, create a fantastic flavor. The tenor’s exclamation “Hear!” is taken up by the chorus. In the middle section, the coloring becomes darker, the orchestral colors thicken, the choir performs an archaic melody with its closed mouth - as if everything is plunging into oblivion, and a magical sleep, the numbness of a dream, arises. But rapid running is restored again. The 2nd part is permeated with wedding bells. Her mood is determined by the lines heard by the choir: “You hear the holy, golden call for the wedding.” They are a kind of refrain that appears repeatedly throughout the movement, in which tender lyrics are combined with solemnity and anxious anticipation. The solo soprano intones a wide, smooth, Rachmaninoff-like generous melody. This is the lyrical center of the work. The 3rd movement is similar to a symphonic scherzo, full of tragedy. If in the 1st part a silvery ringing was heard, and in the 2nd - a golden one, then here the “copper” ringing of the alarm bell dominates, an ominous hum, an image of a raging, all-consuming flame appears (“And meanwhile the fire is insane”). This is the triumph of evil forces, an apocalyptic picture of a general catastrophe. The finale is a mournful epilogue to life's journey. The funeral bell hums monotonously. The “funeral word” of the baritone soloist is echoed by the choir in short psalmodic phrases. The cor anglais solos, the chorale from “ Queen of Spades» Tchaikovsky. Gradually, the baritone's monologue becomes more and more dramatized, interrupted by sobs. The middle section is filled with horror. It seems that someone black is rocking the funeral bell more and more. One can hear a mockery of everything that was dear - the archaic melody of the first movement sounds distorted, broken, the image of a magical dream is desecrated. The coda of the poem is peaceful. The expressive melody of the strings seems to rise up.

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A source of information:

Performers: alto, tenor, mixed choir.

History of creation

With the outbreak of the First World War, all the plans of Rachmaninov, already a European recognized composer who was in the prime of his talent, changed. Foreign tours stopped, and trips around the country sharply decreased. He also composes little: he begins work on the Fourth Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, but postpones it; conceives a ballet, but also leaves it in several sketches. Events taking place in the world, anxiety for the fate of his homeland prompt him to turn to the roots of Russian musical culture - ancient church tunes, znamenny singing. Inspired by the deepest and most poetic part of the New Testament, he creates a vocal composition "From the Gospel of John" and then turns to church life. At the end of the first year of the war, not without the influence of the most prominent figures of the “revival movement” in church singing, the composer A. Kastalsky and the paleographer, director of the Synodal School S. Smolensky, who taught a course on the history of Russian church music at the Moscow Conservatory, Rachmaninov wrote the All-Night Vigil, op. 37, completed by him in early 1915.

While working on this composition, Smolensky died, and Rachmaninov dedicated the completed score to his memory. In this work, the composer proceeded from canonical traditions and relied on znamenny melodies that had come into church use. But his work was by no means limited to their harmonization. Focusing on the style of ancient Znamenny singing, Rachmaninov created his own original themes. “In my Vespers, everything that fit the second occasion (my own original tunes - L.M.) was consciously imitated into everyday life,” the composer wrote. At the same time, his music does not bear the features of stylization, museum aridity or artificiality. It lives and breathes as a deeply modern work. This reflected the peculiarities of Rachmaninov’s creative personality, who always gravitated towards ancient Russian melodies, using their intonations in works of a wide variety of genres, from piano miniatures to symphonic canvases. “In the fusion of epic, lyricism and drama (as a type of art), Rachmaninov focuses on the epic beginning,” writes musicologist A. Kandinsky. - It appears on the basis of legendary-historical themes, manifests itself in the pictorial composition of the numbers that make up the cycle and the multifaceted choral dramaturgy and imagery of chants, finally, in similarities and echoes with the Russian opera classics of the 19th century (especially with its folk-epic branch), with genres of oratorio, spiritual drama or mystery. The dominant significance of the epic is already expressed in Rachmaninov’s decision to open his cycle with an inviting oratorical prologue-address “Come, let us bow,” which is absent, for example, in the cycles of Tchaikovsky, Grechaninov, and Chesnokov. The composer needed such a prologue as an epic beginning.”

The first performance of the All-Night Vigil took place on March 10 (23) in Moscow by the Synodal Choir under the direction of N. Danilin. The impression was huge. The famous critic Florestan (V. Derzhanovsky) wrote: “Perhaps never before has Rachmaninov come so close to the people, their style, their soul, as in this work. Or maybe it is this work that speaks of the expansion of his creative flight, of his capture of new areas of the spirit and, therefore, of the true evolution of his strong talent.” In the following months the work was repeated several times with constant success. However, after the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia, which fought against all religious manifestations, the All-Night Vigil was banned for a long time. Only at the end of the 20th century did this wonderful music take its rightful place in concert life.

Music

The All-Night Vigil is a two-part composition consisting of Vespers (No. 2-6) and Matins (No. 7-15), preceded by a prologue. The chants are based on genuine themes of Everyday Life, harsh, ascetic Znamenny chants, which the composer enriched with all modern means. The use of the choir is rich and varied: Rachmaninov resorts to dividing parts, singing with his mouth closed, and creating unique timbre effects. The overall calm, epic tone is combined with a wealth of colors - lyrical, gentle melodies, loud exclamations, and bell-like tints.

No. 1, “Come Let Us Worship,” begins with two quiet chords calling out “Amen.” This is a majestic choral portal that opens the composition. In No. 3, “Blessed is the Man,” the intonations of a lullaby are heard. Its echoes spread further, in “The Quiet Light of the Holy Glory of the Immortal Heavenly Father” and “Now You Release Your Servant, O Master, According to Your Word” of the Kiev chant, and in the latter they are manifested only in quiet chords accompanying the singing of the tenor soloist. Both of these numbers are distinguished by the finest sound recording. The part ends with the calm and gentle prayer “Virgin Mother of God, Hail, Gracious Mary, the Lord is with Thee.” “Six Psalms” “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men” opens the second part of the All-Night Vigil. No. 8, “Praise the name of the Lord,” Znamenny chant, is based on the juxtaposition of the procession theme in the lower voices and the imitation of the silvery bell ringing in the upper ones. No. 9 - “Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me by thy justification,” based on the Znamenny chant, is one of the semantic centers of the work. This story about the miracle of the Resurrection is presented in solemn tones with colossal tension and fullness of sound. The chordal choral refrain “Blessed are you” creates the effect of the presence of the community, its involvement in what is happening. No. 11, “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in my Savior,” is a monumental hymn to the Mother of God, marked by truly symphonic development. The next number, “Great Doxology” of the Znamenny chant “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace and good will to men,” is the second compositional center of Matins, a monumental choral fresco. The last three numbers are troparia “Today salvation has come to the world, we sing to Him who rose from the tomb and found the Chief of life” and “You rose from the tomb and tore the bonds of hell” (both Znamenny chants) and “To the chosen victorious governor, as having been delivered from the evil, let us sing thanks to Ti Rabi Yours, Mother of God” - the finale of the grandiose cycle. You can hear echoes of the Second and Third Symphonies and the Third Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in it.

L. Mikheeva

The creative result of Rachmaninov for the period 1914-1917, not counting unfulfilled plans and works that were completed at a later time, was the creation of three opuses of different genres: “Vespers” (1915), a cycle of six romances op. 38 (1916) and nine etudes-paintings op. 39 (1916-1917). Addressing a variety of creative tasks, the composer looked for different ways entering new areas of musical expression. The strict, austere simplicity and concentration of the All-Night Vigil, the subtle lyrical expression and exquisite colorfulness of the romances op. 38, finally, the rearing drama, courageous energy, pressure and swiftness of the etudes-pictures - these are the sharp emotional contrasts of Rachmaninov’s creativity of these years. They reflected the complex contradictions of the era, as well as the internal restlessness and instability of the composer’s own state of mind.

Rachmaninov did not remain indifferent to the hardships and disasters experienced by the country during the war. Deep concern and anxiety for the fate of the homeland, the consciousness of the meaninglessness of victims, the pain and indignation of the artist-humanist at the sight of human suffering brought by a war alien and contrary to the interests of the people - all this caused him to persistently search for a moral ideal that serves as a support in the difficult trials of life. Rachmaninov sought this ideal in the solid and constant foundations of folk morality, which he sought to embody in his “Vespers.”

Turning to the traditional cult form, Rachmaninov interprets it in terms that are far from canonical churchliness. Just like his "Liturgy", " All-night vigil“did not find a place for itself in liturgical practice. The reason for this is not only in the widely developed scale of its individual parts, far beyond the usual cult norms, in the great complexity of the choral texture, but also in the composer’s very interpretation of the canonical texts. He often turns reverent prayer into an extended epic narrative or into a mass folk picture of an operatic plan. It is no coincidence that even at the first acquaintance, “Vespers” evoked a number of associations with the work of Mussorgsky, Borodin, and Rimsky-Korsakov.

The people, with their moral ideas and beliefs, with their attitude to events, are the main “ actor"of this work. Rachmaninov’s “All-Night Vigil” is a monumental epic canvas that worthily continues the “kuchkist” national traditions, the only work of such artistic scale in Russian music after “The Tale of the City of Kitezh” by Rimsky-Korsakov. Asafiev correctly pointed out the internal connection between these two great creations of Russian art of the early 20th century. According to the researcher, Rachmaninov’s “Vespers” appeared during the harsh times of trials that befell Russia, “as a response that arose from the strong roots of the folk epic about the peace of the whole world. What Rimsky-Korsakov was able to tell so heartfeltly and warmly in the epic “The Tale of the City of Kitezh” attracted Rachmaninov because it sounded like a native, highly ethical understanding of the depths of the national system of Russian life...”

The epic structure of images is combined in “Vespers” with a clearly expressed personal authorship. This is not only the embodiment of folk ideas and concepts, but also a deeply sincere, heartfelt confession of the composer, his reflections on life, on a person’s duty to his neighbors and to himself. Many pages of “Vespers” captivate with their lyrical softness and sincere warmth of expression. Rachmaninov's lyricism here frees itself from the open pathos characteristic of it, acquiring a more restrained, self-absorbed meditative character, but it is felt in the entire structure of the work and colors the general tone of the music. The close unity and interpenetration of epic and lyric brings Rachmaninov’s “Vespers” closer to his works such as the Second Symphony or the Third Piano Concerto. Despite the specificity of the tasks that confronted the composer here, he uses the means usual for his work, although he subordinates them to the requirements of the genre and specific figurative content. In the musical language of the “Vespers” one can easily detect connections and echoes with his works of various kinds - even romances.

The melodic basis of most songs of Rachmaninov’s “All-Night Vigil” are authentic samples Znamenny and other ancient church chants (Greek, Kyiv). This intonational culture was not something foreign to the composer. Already from the First Symphony, his compositions constantly contained phrases close to the Znamenny chant and which became an organically integral element of his own musical language. Therefore, in the “Vespers” they are perceived not as an artificially introduced quotation, but as a completely natural and relaxed way for the composer to express his innermost thoughts, thoughts and experiences. There is no fundamental stylistic difference between the parts of the “Vespers”, based on the melodies of ancient church chants, and those sections of it, the melodic material of which is of an independent authorial nature, and a listener not familiar with the circle of Znamenny singing will not be able to distinguish the themes composed by Rachmaninov himself, from borrowed ones.

In developing the melodies of the Znamenny chant, Rachmaninov shows great sensitivity and artistic tact, finding original mode-harmonic and textural means that make it possible to clearly identify and highlight the originality of their intonation structure. A special tart flavor is given to the sound of the choir by certain vocal techniques characteristic of folk polyphony (free use of seventh chords and other dissonant consonances, not subject to the usual rules for their resolution, “empty” fourths and fifths, etc.). It is possible that the well-known influence of Kastalsky was felt here. However, Rachmaninov does not use these techniques dogmatically. He freely handles the melodies of ancient chants, sometimes makes some changes to them, shows them in different versions, in different harmonic lighting, and diversifies the color of the sound. For him, these melodies are not an unchanging cantus firmus, but creatively used thematic material. There was nothing deliberate in Rachmaninov’s approach to the treatment of ancient melodies, no deliberate archaization. Like Glinka and other classics of Russian music, he perceived them as the living language of the people. For him, they were as much his own and close as the intonation structure of a Russian folk song. Therefore, the reproaches expressed against Rachmaninov for his too “free” attitude towards the melodies of church use were unjustified and without foundation.

The twelfth song, “The Great Doxology,” is especially remarkable in terms of the mastery of the variant transformation of the melody. It is based on a simple melody in the volume of a quart, reminiscent of an archaic type of ritual folk songs. It is first conducted by the altos, supported by the sparse harmonic accompaniment of the tenors:

Subsequently, this melody passes to other voices of the choir, modulates into different keys and at the same time itself changes intonationally, rhythmically, in the sense of modal coloring. Sometimes its various variants are simultaneously compared, as, for example, in the following passage, where in high female voices it sounds widely and expressively in a rhythmic increase, while in altos the same tune takes on the character of a hasty, excited recitation:

A cycle of free variations arises, reminiscent of those techniques for constructing a large musical whole based on a short song melody, which were widely used by the composers of the “Mighty Handful” in opera and symphony work. In this way, Rachmaninov achieves a continuous increase in dynamic energy, leading to a bright and powerful final climax.

The composer makes extensive use of all kinds of contrasts in choral sonority, isolating individual voices from the choir and contrasting its various groups. This introduces not only purely coloristic diversity, but in some cases creates a very impressive dramatic effect. Thus, in the eighth song - “Praise the name of the Lord” - the combination of the firmly chanted “devout” melody of the Znamenny chant, set out in an octave by altos and basses, with a rhythmically animated, light-sounding theme of high female and male voices evokes the idea of ​​two groups of people moving towards one another:

An extremely vivid expressive effect is achieved in the eleventh song - “My soul magnifies the Lord” - with the help of a consistently consistent contrast of sounds and thematic structures that are different in nature. The harsh first structure with a predominance of low, thick sonority of male voices is contrasted with a light, lively refrain in the spirit of folk “praise” songs such as carols:

This refrain, when repeated, varies harmonically and tonally, minor changes are made to its melodic pattern, but the form of presentation and the light, transparent color of the sound remain unchanged.

Here, as in the twelfth song described above, close associations arise with folk ritual scenes from Russian classical operas. Rachmaninov reveals, under the layer of Christian dogmas and rituals, a deeper layer of ancient pagan beliefs. In this respect, his approach to ancient church melodies is to a certain extent similar to their interpretation in Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Sunday Overture,” where the composer sought, in my own words, to reproduce the “legendary and pagan side” of the Christian holiday.

The ninth song, which tells the story of the resurrection of Christ, especially stands out for its dramatic imagery and picturesque music. This part is the dramatic center of the entire work. The subsequent group of songs is in the nature of hymns of praise glorifying this event. In the ninth song, two plans are clearly differentiated, constantly alternating with each other: a dramatic narrative, in which the music follows in detail all the bends of the verbal text, distinguished by a wide variety of expressive nuances, an abundance of colorful effects, and an invariable choral refrain, as if conveying the feelings of the people present at the great and extraordinary mystery. The narrative episodes are based on the recitative melody of the Znamenny chant, “loudly” (the author’s direction) proclaimed by violas against the backdrop of transparently sounding chords of high female voices:

In the following stanzas, this melody varies freely, taking on different expressive colors depending on the content of the text. Thus, in the fourth stanza, some emphatically expressive turns of harmony attract attention (a large seventh chord with an increased triad at the base in measure 2, a “Rachmaninoff” consonance with a diminished fourth in measure 5). The dramatization of the narrative is facilitated by the selection of solo voices, which are given a personalized character: the tenor acts as a narrator, the solo soprano conveys the voice of an angel. This song ends with a large coda built on the material of the refrain. Typically Rachmaninov's elastic marching rhythm and gradually unfolding dynamic build-up create the illusion of an approaching procession.

The ninth song, which occupies a central place in the cycle, is immediately adjacent to the next one - “I saw the Resurrection of Christ,” written in the same key and connected with it intonationally. Her final words - “destroy death by death” - acquired a particularly deep and vital meaning for the composer during the years of what he believed was an unjustified, bloody war. He highlights this phrase with a sudden drop in sonority after the previous powerful exclamations of the choir, giving it the character of a concentrated, heartfelt confession.

In Rachmaninov's "Vespers" there are also a number of episodes of simple song style, distinguished by calm clarity of color, lightness and transparency of presentation. These are the sixth (“Virgin, Mother of God, Rejoice”) and the thirteenth (“Today is salvation”) songs, in which the chord texture predominates with even and smooth vocal leading. But even in such songs there are bright and expressive colorful touches. Thus, in the sixth song - “Quiet Light” - the impression of an unexpected “spot of light” is produced by a short deviation from the main key of Es-dur to E-dur, emphasized by the introduction of a tenor solo against the background of the light sound of some female voices (repetition in the choir of the initial words “Svete quiet” seems to comment on this bright coloristic effect).

A special place is occupied by the fifth song - “Now Let Us Go” - a soulful and mournful arioso for tenor solo with a smoothly swaying “cradle” figure of the choral accompaniment, distinguished by the warmth and penetration of the lyrical feeling. This is the only solo number in the entire work; all other parts of the “Vespers” are mainly choral, and the soloist’s part is limited to individual replicas. This song, close in character to the composer’s chamber vocal lyrics, sounds like a deeply personal, intimate confession:

Rachmaninov masterfully fuses all these various genre and intonation elements together, creating a work that is unique and inimitable in its originality, depth of concept, strength and brightness of artistic expression. His “Vespers” represents the pinnacle of Russian classical music in the field of a cappella choral literature.

The All-Night Vigil is the last work written by the composer in Russia, during the First World War and before the outbreak of the terrible revolutionary elements, which resulted in the disappearance of Russian Orthodox practice for almost a century.

I think that in most cases the phrase “Russian sacred music” will cause an association with the “all-night vigil” of Sergei Rachmaninoff. In any case, one of the first, for sure (along with his own “Liturgy” and similar cycles by P. I. Tchaikovsky). Of course, one can argue that “the most famous” does not automatically mean “the best”: after all, what matters here is the fact that Rachmaninov is a secular composer of the first magnitude, whose name is known to the whole world, and because of this, any of his works is simply doomed to be more famous than a similar one, but belonging to a pen that is not so popular. But, on the other hand, A.D. Kastalsky, the most brilliant and authoritative representative of the “new Moscow school” of church music, called Rachmaninov’s “Vespers” “the crown of the Moscow school”! This is a very serious confession that cannot be ignored.

Our goal in this work is to get acquainted in more detail with the cycle of S.V. Rachmaninov; form, “choir palette”, basic means of musical expression, prerequisites for creation, all-night services, reliance on church dogmas - all these tasks will be considered and understood in this work.

S.V. Rachmaninov, shocked by the sound own composition, admitted: “I didn’t think I wrote such a work.”

“Music for the Liturgy and All-Night Vigil, created by Rachmaninov at the beginning of the last century, became an integral part of the church life of an entire generation of Russians Orthodox people, entered Russian Orthodox art along with the very primary source of Russian musical art - Znamenny chant.”

A person’s personality, including creative personality, is formed in childhood. Vivid childhood impressions of folklore and culture often became fundamental motifs in the work of Russian composers. Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov was born into a musical family. His mother, Lyubov Petrovna, was a student of Anton Rubinstein and played beautifully; father, Vasily Arkadyevich, had the gift of musical improvisation. “I have to thank my grandmother for other strong musical impressions,” recalled Sergei Rachmaninov. It was thanks to his grandmother Sofya Alexandrovna that the future master was imbued with the beauty of sacred music. Sofya Aleksandrovna Butakova was a deeply religious woman. She regularly attended church services and, when Sergei was left in her care, she always took him with her. Being his godmother, she was strict about everything that concerned spiritual development grandson. Grandmother played a big role in the life of Sergei Rachmaninov. It is no coincidence that in March 1897, immediately after the failure of his first symphony in St. Petersburg, he went to Novgorod to visit his grandmother. S.A. Butakova died at the age of 82, in 1904, when Rachmaninov’s fate was already completely determined. Sergei especially remembered the chime of the distant Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral. “The bell-ringers were artists,” he wrote later, “four notes formed into a theme repeated again and again, four silver weeping notes, surrounded by an ever-changing accompaniment... A few years later I composed a suite for two pianos... - the bell sang to me again St. Sophia Cathedral." The ancient Novgorod Znamenny chant remained in the composer’s memory for the rest of his life.

In addition to the warm impressions left by Sofia Butakova, the idea of ​​writing sacred music was influenced by the opinion of his contemporaries: when Rachmaninov studied at the Moscow Conservatory, a course on the history of Russian church music was taught there by Stepan Vasilyevich Smolensky, who was a great connoisseur and researcher of church singing, musicologist, paleographer, choral conductor , and teacher, musical and social activist; collected and studied monuments of ancient Russian music. Back in 1897, he filed S.V. Rachmaninov’s idea of ​​the Liturgy, in turn S.V. Rachmaninov dedicated to him “ All-night vigil

He also made attempts to persuade S.V. Rachmaninov to create works in the field of sacred music and another major authority in the field of church music, A.D. Kastalsky, who, in 1903, gave him one of his spiritual works with the inscription: “To the deeply respected Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov from A.D. Kastalsky as a sign of reminding him that there is an area in this world where Rachmaninov’s inspirations are patiently but persistently awaited..." It was to A.D. Kastalsky that S.V. Rachmaninov turned for advice during the period of work on the Liturgy.

“In February 1915, at one of the regular rehearsals of the synodal choir, a new score with a blue cover appeared on the consoles. Having opened the notes, we saw the inscription: “S.V. Rachmaninov. “All-night vigil.” The score, like all the notes of the synodal choir in general, was reproduced by lithographic method and has not yet gone through any publishing house. We were to be the first to perform this work on the concert stage,” recalled Alexander Smirnov, one of the singers of the Moscow Synodal Choir.

Work on the “Liturgy” and the All-Night Vigil by S.V. Rachmaninov also evoked a feeling of joy among the musicians. We started the rehearsal with excitement. Usually, before learning, conductor Nikolai Danilin played a new work once, but now he did it twice, accompanying the show with short remarks: “Listen again,” “It only seems difficult. It’s difficult to perform on the piano, but it’s easy to perform in the choir.” All preparations for the concerts took place in an atmosphere of great creative enthusiasm.

Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov himself was present at the rehearsals, although, according to tradition, almost no one was allowed to attend the rehearsals of the synodal choir.

“One day during a rehearsal, the glass door suddenly swung open, and an unusually unusual man walked into the hall with a slow, confident gait. tall; He walked through the middle aisle to the first rows of seats, sat down and, opening exactly the same score as ours, began to listen. The conductor did not stop the choir, but everyone guessed that it was Sergei Rachmaninov. From that day on, Sergei Vasilyevich always appeared at the beginning of the rehearsal, sat down in the same place, carefully followed the performance, turned the pages at the same time as everyone else and... remained silent. Only once instead of S.V. Rachmaninoff’s wife came, listened to the entire performance, and during the break read a book,” recalls A. Smirnov about the rehearsals of “Vespers”.

“Liturgy of John Chrysostom” by S.V. Rachmaninoff was first performed in 1910, in the hall of the Synodal School. Repeated performances took place in the Great Hall of the Conservatory.

The first performance of the All-Night Vigil took place on March 23, 1915 in the Column Hall of the Noble Assembly in Moscow by the choir of the Synodal School. Regent Synodal Choir since 1910, Nikolai Danilin, raised the choir's skill to the highest level. He first met Sergei Rachmaninov while still a student at the school, and this meeting subsequently developed into a close friendship. The performance of the young Rachmaninov made an indelible impression on Nikolai Danilin. It was with Nikolai Danilin that Rachmaninov collaborated when creating the choral score for “Vespers”.

Over the course of a month, this work was performed four times (the proceeds from two concerts were donated to the victims of the First World War). Despite the rule prohibiting applause during the performance of sacred music, the listeners began to applaud vigorously every time after the final chord of the “Vespers.”

The last time the “All-Night Vigil” was performed by the Synodal Choir was at the end of 1916, in the concert hall of the Synodal School - where all the rehearsals took place.

After 1917, this work was not performed for many years. The choir under the direction of Yurlov was one of the first to include prohibited Russian sacred music in its concert performances. On March 2, 1965, fragments of the All-Night Vigil were performed, the soloist was Ivan Semenovich Kozlovsky. Then this work began to be performed annually in full in the Moscow Church of All Who Sorrow Joy on Bolshaya Ordynka, by the right choir under the direction of the famous regent Nikolai Matveev. To hear S.V. Rachmaninov’s “All-Night Vigil” on April 1, on the eve of the composer’s birthday, many Muscovites came to the church. ”

“I am a Russian composer,” wrote S.V. Rachmaninov, “and my Motherland left its mark on my character and my views. My music is the fruit of my character, and therefore Russian music: the only thing I try to do when I compose is to make it express directly and simply what is in my heart.”

Today Liturgy and All-Night Vigil S.V. Rachmaninoff are performed in concert halls all over the world, and excerpts are heard during services in Russian Orthodox churches: “We sing to you,” “O Mother of God, Virgin, rejoice.” The entire Liturgy and All-Night Vigil of Sergei Rachmaninoff is performed by the choir under the direction of regent Alexei Puzakov in the Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi.

The performance of the Liturgy of Sergei Rachmaninov in the church on Bolshaya Ordynka in the mid-80s was an amazing event both church and cultural life those years. Twice a year, the Moscow intelligentsia gathered here to perform the liturgy in a choir under the direction of Nikolai Matveev, the famous regent. Moscow State University professor A. Kozarzhevsky came here constantly. In this temple for the first time in years Soviet power they began to perform Rachmaninoff's Liturgy. Archbishop Cyprian (Zernov), who presided here, was a connoisseur of music and an actor in his youth. Therefore, it is no coincidence that it was he who decided to revive this work of Rachmaninov to a church sound.

“All-Night Vigil”, op.37 consists of 15 chants, nine of which are magnificent adaptations of Greek (No. 2, 15), Kiev (No. 4,5) and Znamenny chants (No. 8,9,12,13, 14). One cannot help but see in them the influence of the composer’s contemporary, the master of harmonization of ancient chants in the style of folk subvocal polyphony A. Kastalsky. In Rachmaninov's Vespers, the subvocal-polyphonic texture also dominates; contrasting polyphony is often used in the simultaneous combination of various melodies. At the same time, we will never find the forms of fugue, fugato or canon, so beloved by composers who wrote choral music for the church since the times of Berezovsky and Bortnyansky.

Of particular note is the composer’s careful attitude to the word, which is the most important thing in sacred music. With the most complex compositional and textural structures, it sounds clear and distinct, which undoubtedly meets the requirements that the church places on compositions of liturgical music.

The service of the All-Night Vigil is celebrated in the evening hours of the day and consists of three sections: Great Vespers, Matins and the First Hour (usually read). The opening hymn of Vespers “ Come, let's worship” (№1 ) - an example of a solemn anthem of a lyrical nature with a pronounced national flavor. Its theme, composed by Rachmaninov, according to repeated statements by researchers of the composer’s work, is very similar to the thematic theme of the Third Piano Concerto. Melodic d-moll, singing of the choir in parallel thirds, octave doublings, the predominance of a soft three-voice sound with six voices - everything creates a bright, enriched folk song image in the form of varied verses.

Music example No. 1 “Come let us worship”:

Followed by № 2 “Bless me, my soul”, Greek chant, the so-called opening Psalm 103. The verses of the psalm are usually first read by the canonarch, and then repeated by the choir with choruses. In parish churches this psalm is sung abbreviated. Rachmaninov takes for his treatment precisely those verses that, according to the church charter, the priest performs the censing of the temple; a unique lyric-epic narrative about the creation of the world, about its majestic beauty, about the “wonderful deeds of the Lord” is revealed to the parishioners. The form, reminiscent of a verse, is built from a soulful alto solo against the background of the accompaniment of a male choir and chorus (“ Blessed are you, Lord”, “Wonderful are Your works, O Lord"), performed by an incomplete choir - female voices and tenors (in the first case), or only female ones. The timbral contrast between the “heavenly voices” of the female choir and the deep, rich chords of the male choir with a clear and transparent texture paints a picture of the vast primordial nature of the Universe:

№3 . “Blessed is the man”, a Greek chant - the first antiphon of the 1st kathisma, implements the tradition of antiphonal singing, where the chorus is entrusted with the warm timbre of altos and tenors, and the choruses are performed by the entire choir, as in number one, here there is a verse-variation form. Chamber music in sound and peaceful in character, the music of the chant is reminiscent of the lullaby genre, especially with its chorus “ Hallelujah”, time after time becoming more and more saturated in sound and texture, moving from the sphere of tonic contemplation into the sphere of subdominant light ( g-moll):

№4 . “Quiet Light”, Kyiv chant, c-moll. From the descending melody of the tenor, leading the main theme, overgrown with echoes of the female parts of the choir, the main leitintonation of the chant crystallizes - a small second. to his “ cradling” in her tune, moving from voice to voice, like the melody of the Kyiv chant, she creates a picture of the coming evening, and with it comes a feeling of gratitude to the Creator and his Son for the day. As in the second number (alto solo), Rachmaninov introduces a tenor solo glorifying the Holy Trinity. This unusually touching episode is highlighted by the composer with a special tonal color - E-dur"om:

The soft sound glow finds its culminating embodiment in the reprise of the chant, in its main words: “ You are worthy to be reverent voices”, expressed in tonality Es-dur.

The next fifth number of the cycle ( №5 )“Now you let go” - prayer of St. Simeon the God-Receiver. The Gospel of Luke tells: Elder Simeon was promised by God that he would not die until he saw the Savior. And so, on the 40th day after Christmas, when the Virgin Mary and righteous Joseph brought the Infant Christ to the temple for dedication to God (as required by the law), Simeon came there - by the inspiration of God. Seeing the Baby, he took Him in his arms and, to the surprise of everyone present, said: “ Now you are releasing Your servant, Master, as you once promised, in peace, because my eyes have seen Him through whom You have prepared salvation for all people: He is the light for the enlightenment of the pagans and the glory of Your people Israel." Word " let go” in this context means “ now I can die, calmly leave earthly life”.

Through the melody of the chant, perhaps the most lyrical of Russian chants, Rachmaninov’s beloved image reappears “ lulling consolation”, full of warmth and affection. Accompanied " lullabies” harmonies of altos and tenors of the choir, the tenor soloist leads his narrative:.

The solo part reigns supreme from beginning to end of the chant. The chamber sound of the extreme sections contrasts with the stretted middle episode, and the final movement of the octavist basses into the depths of the lower register and the fading of sonority symbolize reconciliation with life before leaving it. It is no coincidence that the composer expressed the desire for this music to be played at his burial. As A. Kandinsky writes, on the days of Rachmaninov’s birth and death, his All-Night Vigil is performed in the Moscow Church of “Joy of All Who Sorrow.”

Vespers ends with a beautiful hymn to the Virgin Mary. (№6 Rejoice to the Virgin Mary.), the content of which is compiled from the words of the Archangel Gabriel to the Most Holy Theotokos, mother of Jesus Christ at the Annunciation; “ Virgin Mother of God, rejoice, blessed Mary, the Lord is with you; Blessed are You among women and blessed is the fruit of Your womb, for You have given birth to the Savior of our souls”.

In the first part, the chant is music of harmonic presentation in F major"e. As in “ Blessed is the husband”, the composer uses the technique of stylizing the Znamenny chant. Rachmaninov's monody embodies the stylistic features of znamenny chant through a narrow range of melody within the major third, smooth movement and symmetry of constructions.

Diatonicism and singing of the steps of the main mode with a relative calmness of the rhythm make the author’s theme almost identical to the ancient Znamenny:

In the second part of the choir (“ Blessed are You among women”, right up to its climax, there is a polyphonic presentation: the main theme is carried out by altos in parallel thirds, surrounded by octaves of widely flowing melody in the soprano and tenor parts. Music grows into a symbol of motherly humble trust in the annunciation of God's messenger.

Matins differs from Vespers in a different circle of events that remind those praying during peace, the blissful state of the first people in paradise, repentance after the Fall and exile, people’s expectation of the Savior, then Matins reminds of the Nativity of Christ, His appearance in the world, suffering and death on the resurrection cross from the dead.

Note example. №6 “Rejoice to the Virgin Mary”.

Matins begins Six Psalms(Rachmaninov has this №7 -oh) - a small doxology, composed of six selected psalms, forming the central section of the composition. These are numbers 7 to 12 inclusive. The music of the second section of the Vespers is more complex in the structure of the numbers and the scale of their forms. Rachmaninov's colors become more rich. The chamber sound gives way to a monumental sound, akin to the opera and choral scenes of Russian composers. One of the bright features The composer's choral style is bell-like.

In his memoirs, Sergei Vasilievich highlights one of the strongest and deepest impressions of his childhood - the ringing of bells. Therefore, it is natural that in his youth he made recordings of bells and then used them in his early works.

Bell traditions are not new in Russian choral music. Even in the scores of partes composers of the 17th-18th centuries. they found their implementation, and previously the elements of bells are seen in urgent singing. Rachmaninov’s innovation lies in the fact that the bells of the All-Night Vigil are recreated by means of choral sonority (remember, starting with “ Lives for the king” M.I. Glinka, bell ringing in its natural form or orchestral imitation was observed among the majority of Russian classical composers). Rachmaninov’s ringings are “identical in their sound composition, i.e. these are sound complexes that arise as a result of sound layers... bell ringing has three phases: the beginning of the ringing - uniform strikes, the ringing itself - a progressive sound increase, accompanied by fragmentation of the rhythm, and the end of the ringing - a simultaneous strike on all bells... a texture in which “are revealed more often only three polyphonic layers: low bass “ vote” - large bells, alto - medium and high - small, ringing. These three lines make up a single form-building ringing complex. This structure “ votes” in bell ringings vividly resembles the polyphonic warehouse of developed forms of Russian folk songs. From this we can conclude that polyphony developed in parallel - in folk songwriting, in professional choral music and in the art of bell ringing.”

The music of “Six Psalms” is based on repeated repetition of the melody of the Znamenny chant, timbre-colored by altos, and then by second sopranos and altos. In the third conduction they are joined by the first tenor, who in the conduction they are joined by the first tenor, who in unison with the alto creates an unusually light and flighty image, soaring “in the highest” spheres of sound space (remember that the first who found the use of this choral color was M. I. Glinka, who united tenor and alto in unison in the rowing choir in the opera “A Life for the Tsar”). A rhythmic bell rings around this topic. Imitating it creates a mood of joyful rejoicing.

The beginning of the ringing, its uniform beats, represent a sequence of four chords c-moll"a, repeated four times: T - d - VI - VII. The discrepancy between the sleepy melody and the tonic harmony on the downbeat creates the impression of two independent musical layers, complementing one “bell” chord based on the third vertical of the eight-voice choir, which is a tonic tercidecimal chord without a third and a seventh. “The introduction of bell sounds in this chant was dictated by the requirements of the church service - before the reading of the six psalms of David, the bells are rung.”

Ending " Six Psalms” - quiet, reverent music (“ Lord, open my lips”) homophonic-harmonic presentation in parallel Es-dur"e with a plagal cadence, in which, like an overtone echo of a silent bell chime, a tonic quinsex chord with a lowered seventh (“praise”) is heard.

Note example. №7 “Six Psalms”.

№8 “ Praise the name of the Lord ”, Znamenny chant, As-dur. This bright hymn to the emerging new day is accompanied by the full illumination of the temple, and therefore this part of the service has the name “ polyelea”.

The verse-variation form of chant appears in S.V. Rachmaninov in the musical update of both the first and second (that is, the “Hallelujah” chorus). The texture of the choir is a pronounced two-horn. The somewhat harsh theme of the Znamenny chant in the octave presentation of altos and basses is combined contrapuntally, like the sound of the second choir, with the bell-like shimmer of high voices. The composer, thanks to his precise rhythm and elastic sonority, managed to create a truly epic image. The soft sound glow finds its culminating embodiment in the reprise of the chant, in its main words “ You are worthy to be reverent voices”, expressed in tonality Es-dur.

The next one is no less bright 9th chorus “ Blessed are you, Lord”, znamenny chant in d-moll“e, one of the central ones in Matins, called according to the rules “ Sunday troparia, tone 5" Its content goes back to the Gospel story of the miracle of Christ's resurrection, therefore it contains more plot action than in previous issues of the Vigil. The ronda-shaped form varies in texture, timbre, register and dynamic from episode to episode, reflecting the emotional state of the miraculous event experienced. As the plot develops, Rachmaninov varies the Znamenny chant, bringing it to a vivid figurative generalization. First performance of the chant (B) - “ Cathedral of Angels surprised” - a solemn-narrative character is entrusted to the timbre of altos, surrounded by ringing chords of sopranos and tenors, supported by the VI degree of the mode (B-flat). The second episode (B) tells about the Angel who told the women who came to the Holy Sepulcher: “ Our Savior has risen from the grave" The theme of the znamenny chant sounds a tone higher than the previous one in the tenor part, softened by the unison of the first altos and second sopranos:

The third episode (B), depicting images of myrrh-bearing women mourning at the Tomb, was placed by Rachmaninov in an even higher sphere of tonality. g-moll, and in the sound of the female choir it is endowed with the imagery of soft sorrow (“ Very early”).

“Myrrh-Bearing Women” (episode B) is a kind of culmination of a ronda-like form, sounding in the chordal four-voice texture of the main key (“ For God has risen from the grave"). Simultaneous bewilderment, surprise and, at the same time, joy can be heard in the remaining “re” sound in the first viola part:

The 9th number ends with the expanded “glory, even now” (initial tempo. Almost in a whisper.) - this is the culmination of the entire chant. From the barely audible sound of male voices, through a bright dynamic “bell”, covering a range of two and a half octaves, to attenuation - this is the result of the expression of joy from the accomplished miracle of resurrection. The creation of various shades of emotional state is also facilitated by the abundance of tonalities that were not present before: B - F - a -C - d. As we see, there is a sphere of major constructions. The content of the text and its musical embodiment make this number “a poem of resurrection and victory over death.”

The principle of antiphonal singing underlies the hymn “ Having seen the Resurrection of Christ ” (№10), znamenny chant, d-moll. This Sunday song is usually sung at Matins after the reading of the Gospel and belongs to the category of stichera of the 6th tone. According to the charter, the singing of the stichera is preceded by the proclamation of a verse - a completed phrase from a psalm or the beginning of the stichera itself. The proclamation is usually performed by the canonarch, followed by the choir. S.V. Rachmaninov gives the role of proclamation to the octave unison of the male choir, and the pickup is carried out by female voices, as if the second choir of the left choir had entered. The music of an epic nature is designed in the spirit of crowd scenes in operas by Russian composers based on historical subjects.

Two formations, like two waves, come to the main culmination - “ Always blessing, we sing His resurrection”: d-moll - B major:

No. 11 My soul commands the Lord(note 124). Evangelist Luke, in his narrative about the life of Christ, says that when the Virgin Mary received the news from the Archangel Gabriel about the impending birth of her Son, she hurried to her relative Elizabeth, the future mother of John the Baptist, with this joyful news. By revelation of the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth greeted Mary, calling her “Mother of the Lord,” although she knew that Christ had not yet been born at that time. In response, the Virgin Mary meekly said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior... For from now on all generations will bless me... He brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the humble; He filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty-handed... He received His servant Israel, remembering mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, toward Abraham and his family forever.”

This song dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is sung before the 9th song of the canon and is more often called “The Most Honest”, because after each verse the chorus is sung - “ The most honorable Cherub and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who without corruption gave birth to God the Word, the real Mother of God, we magnify You”.

The “Glorious Hymn” to the Mother of God was created by S.V. Rachmaninov on his own theme, observing the main features of znamenny monody (similarly in Nos. 3,6, 10) and presents a monumental verse-variation composition. Both the verses and all the choruses to them undergo intense variation. The circle of selected tonalities is based on parallel ones - g-moll(poetry B major(chorus).

A multifaceted image of the Mother of God appears before us: this is the joy of the Virgin Mary from the closeness of God, and Her brevity, and the prophecy about the Son of God, whom She should give birth to, and praise of God’s mercy.

Note example. №11 “My soul commands the Lord.”

No. 12. Great Doxology, Znamenny chant. Es-dur - c-moll, in content and composition is the second culminating center of Matins and the entire All-Night Vigil (the first culminating center of Matins and the entire All-Night Vigil (the first was at No. 9 “ Blessed be you Lord"). This church hymn ends Matins. When the service lasted all night, just at the moment the first rays of sunlight appeared, the priest’s voice was heard: “ Glory to You, who showed us the Light!" This light symbolized the Light that leads us out of sinful darkness, from the darkness of spiritual ignorance, their darkness of sorrows, the sorrow of suffering. In response, a song glorifying God the Trinity sounds. It contains praise and thanksgiving, a prayer for the forgiveness of sins and a request for help for the coming day, so that, while living it, we do not retreat from the Creator and Lord: “Glory to God in heaven and on earth, peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we worship you, we glorify you and thank you...”

The Doxology is based on an ancient Znamenny chant of Novgorod origin. The melody in the volume of a quart begins in the alto part against the background of “swinging” harmonic intervals for the tenor: prima - fifth - third. As in the Six Psalms (No. 7), here the presence of two musically figurative layers is clearly noticeable: the archaic theme of the chant and the bell-like sound that accompanies it. In progress further development the theme of the chant, passing in different voices choir, modulating into major keys (tenor conducting in G-dur"e, soprano in B major, bass in Mixolydian E-dur"e), is painted with a new modal coloring, changes intonation and rhythm. So, for example, in the sample below, the technique of expressive rhythmic increase in tunes in high female voices, doubled by tenors, with the main theme of altos is indicative:

Despite the duration of variations in the main tune, in the chant one can easily discern the boundaries of the three-part form. The second part is distinguished by tonal instability, quite frequent modal shifts and changes in tempo, as well as imitations between choral parts. The reprise, indicated by the words: “Az reh: Lord, have mercy on me,” returns us to the main modal sphere Es- dur - c-moll.

The last section of the Doxology is “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us” - in the general form of the chant is a coda. Its significance is reflected by the composer’s introduction of relatively new musical material, although intonation similarity with the main tune is seen in it.

The leisurely flow of S.V. Rachmaninov’s music is expressed by the abolition of squareness in the construction of bars, which exactly corresponds to the metrical essence of the church chant; hence the organic use of long bar lengths.

“Great Doxology”, undoubtedly, can be considered as the brightest example of the masterful use of the expressive capabilities of a mixed choir. Next to general choral structures, reaching up to nine voices, there is often the use of an incomplete composition of voices in the combination C + A + T, or A + T + B. A special combination of timbres of altos and tenors in unison presentation is interspersed with techniques for switching on and off individual parts or groups of choirs from singing (relatively short-term).

One cannot ignore the fact of careful attitude towards the church text, which is so accurately reflected by S.V. Rachmaninov in the author's remarks concerning articulation, the nature of performance and the method of sound management.

IN overall composition The last three numbers of the Vespers can be considered as the finale of the cycle. They all glorify the power of the Creator. No. 13 - Today is salvation, is a Sunday troparion, sung in the week of 1, 3, 5, 7 voices. Sunday troparion and No. 14 - Risen from the grave. It is usually sung in voices 2,4,6 and 8, on the days of the week corresponding to these voices. S.V. Rachmaninov uses the melodies of Znamenny chant in both troparions: