Text b rachmaninov’s vespers

S. Rachmaninov’s Vespers have a long pre-history: generations of choristers preserved, cherished and perfected the treasure of “znamenny chant”. Next to the creators of the earliest Russian chants credit must be given to the musical constellation of the 18th – 19th centuries. The first among them was Dmitri Bortnyansky who had the distinction of returning the flow of music in Russia into the national tradition of river-bed. “With his concertos Bortnyansky renewed in Russian music the creation of large cyclic forms in a new style without trusting the task to foreigners”. (B. Asafiev).

No major composer in Russia missed dealing with ancient national music strata. Contributions were made by Glinka, Tchaikovsky, all the “Mighty” group composers and their younger followers.

Late in the l9th century the Moscow Synodal School headed by Stepan V. Smolensky centred around it a group of composers who made the perpetuation of that heritage into their life cause. Rachmaninov's link with the Synodal School is emphasized by the dedication of the Vespers to Stepan V. Smolensky and by the fact that the new work was first performed by the Synodal Choir con­ducted by Nikolai Danilin, March 10, 1915.

The resulting press reviews of the Vespers in 1915 were quite right in noting the “truly Russian folk polyphony, the wide choral range, the powerful doubling of the parts, the deep bass counter octaves, the expressive application of vocal timbres”.

Noteworthy is the fact that Rachmaninov's work was created at a time of trial in the people's life – the First World War. At that bitter time Rachmaninov wrote an anthem to the beautiful land.

Rachmaninov's Vesper Mass has a traditional structure of 15 numbers (parts). The first seven are the Vesper chants with the soft sound and lyrical mood prevailing (except the first number serving for an introduction which is solemn and austere). The rest are the Matin chants – more dynamic, with vivid timbre and dynamic contrasts, with pronounced rhythmus and powerful culminations.

Most of the numbers are based on the genuine “znamenny” chants. They are enriched with the vocal parts and melodic side-lines of amazingly inventive plasticity. Some other numbers (1, 3, 10) have no "znamenny" source, but are cognate in their melodic structure to the ancient chants.

2.5. The greatest composer

OF THE MID-20th CENTURY

Active words and word combinations

1. acclaim [q’kleIm]	шумно, бурно приветствовать
2. accuse [q’kjHz]	обвинять
3. ailment	нездоровье
4. besieged [bi’sJGd]	осажденный
5. broaden [’brLdqn]	расширять/ся/
6. commission [kq’mISn]	давать заказ /художнику/
7. comply [kqm’plQI]	уступать, соглашаться
8. dare [dFq]	сметь, отважиться
9. denounce [dI’nQuns]	обвинять, осуждать
10. disable [dIs’eIbl]	делать неспособным, непригодным
11. dismiss [dis’mis]	отделываться
12. durable [’djuqrqbl]	прочный, длительный
13. eagerly [’JgqlI]	страстно, горячо
14. entitle [In’tQItl]	называть, озаглавливать
15. fierce [fIqs]	неистовый
16. foremost [‘fLmoust]	передовой, выдающийся
17. hail [heil]	приветствовать
18. horizon [hO’rQIzn]	горизонт
19. idiom [’IdIqm]	средство выражения
20. movement [’mHvImqnt]	часть музыкального произведения
21. ostensibly [Os’tensIblI]	явно, очевидно, мнимо
22. pervesion [pq’vWSn]	искажение, извращение
23. preoccupation	занятие места раньше кого-либо
24. reinstate [’rJInsteIt]	восстанавливать
25. reply [ri’plQI]	ответ
26. resistance [ri’zistqns]	сопротивление
27. strew with roses [stru…]	усыпать розами
28. striking novelty	поразительная новизна
29. violent [’vQIqlqnt]	неистовый, яростный, сильный
30. withhold [wID’hould]	утаивать, скрывать