|
| movements = 17 | language = Church Slavonic | vocal = choir }} The ''All-Night Vigil for choir'' (Russian: ', ') is an choral composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, his Op. 52, written from 1881 to 1882. It consists of settings of texts taken from the Russian Orthodox all-night vigil ceremony. This work, like Sergei Rachmaninoff's ''All-Night Vigil'', has been referred to as the Vespers. Like the Rachmaninoff, this is both literally and conceptually incorrect as applied to the entire work, as it contains settings from three canonical hours, Vespers, Matins and the First Hour. ==Background== Prior to Tchaikovsky's setting of the all-night vigil, the only setting in existence had been by Artemy Vedel in the 18th century. Russian church music underwent a period of stagnancy in the 18th and 19th centuries. This was partially attributed to the monopoly on its composition and performance held by Dmitry Bortniansky, while he was the director of the Imperial Chapel. Tchaikovsky, known primarily for his symphonies, concertos and ballets, was deeply interested in the music and liturgy of the Russian Orthodox Church. Like Alexei Lvov before him, he deplored the increasingly Italian influence in church music as written by Bortniansky and Berezovsky, and sought a return to the old Russian style. He published a book in 1875, ''A Short Course of Harmony adapted for the Study of Russian Church Music''. In an 1877 letter to his friend Nadezhda von Meck, he wrote: For me (church ) still possesses much poetical charm. I very often attend the services... If we follow the service very carefully, and enter into the meaning of every ceremony, it is impossible not to be profoundly moved by the liturgy of our own Orthodox Church. I also love vespers... to be startled from one's trance by a burst from the choir; to be carried away by the poetry of this music; to be thrilled when... the words ring out, 'Praise the name of the Lord!' – all this is infinitely precious to me! One of my deepest joys! This passion manifested itself in 1878 in the composer's setting of the ''Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom'', which church authorities banned from performance in churches after it was sung in a public concert. This did not dampen his interest in Russian choral music, and in May 1881 he requested his publisher and friend Pyotr Jurgenson for the text of the all-night vigil and Dmitry Razumovsky's ''Russian Church Songs''. In the same year, Jurgenson asked him to edit the complete sacred works of Dmitry Bortniansky. Editing Bortniansky's vast output was a formidable task, occupying Tchaikovsky from June to October 1881; he seems to have regretted the commission, ruefully asking "O, this Bortniansky! Why did he write so much!" He nevertheless retained his respect for the composer and sacred music, telling Jurgenson in June 1881 that he was writing church music in "an attempt (albeit a very modest one) to come to grips with the style established by Bortniansky and ' of others".〔 In a letter to Eduard Nápravník, he specified this as a setting of the all-night vigil, stating his desire to improve upon the "untalented and banal" church music issuing from the Imperial Chapel.〔 Although the rough draft was complete by mid-late July, the completion of the work was delayed by his work on Bortniansky's compositions, and his own compositions such as ''Mazeppa'' and the Piano Trio. He completed it in March 1882 in Naples, and the first performance was held in Moscow in June 1882.〔 Tchaikovsky drew upon a huge body of traditional Slavonic chants for the work. The melody of the chant is usually used as the soprano line, with simple harmonisation for the alto, tenor and bass lines. He rarely departs from this homophonic style, save for brief polyphonic sections in the "Gladsome Light" and "Polyeleon" movements. This use of homophony shares similarities with German chorales. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「All-Night Vigil (Tchaikovsky)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|