// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the Concerto for Mixed Choir say? It was a little "off-key" to the conversation.
The Concerto for Mixed Choir (Russian: Концерт для смешанного хора) is a choral work by Soviet composer Alfred Schnittke. Composed in 1985 and premiered on 9 June 1986,[1] at a time where the composer tried to find his own religious identity (he converted to Catholicism in 1982, although he converted to the Orthodox Church shortly before his death in 1998).[2]
Structure
[edit]The piece is scored for very large a cappella SATB chorus[1] with each voice singing multiple divisi, 16 in total.[3] Approximately 40 minutes long, and demanding vocal virtuosity,[4] the work is in 4 movements, set to a translation by Naum Isaevich Grebnev (1921–1988) of the third chapter from the Book of Lamentations by Armenian poet Gregory of Narek (951–1003), whose work intrigued Schnittke during his time of composing the work.[5]
The movements are as follows:[6][1]
- O, povelitel' sushchego vsego, bestsennymi darami nas daryashchiy (O, Lord of all that exists, who bestows upon us priceless gifts) (Russian: О, повелитель сущего всего, бесценными дарами нас дарящий)
- Sobran'ye pesen sikh, gde kazhdyy stikh napolnen skorb'yu (Collected songs where every verse is full of grief / "I, the expert on human souls") (Russian: Собранье песен сих, где каждый стих наполнен скорбью)
- Vsem tem, kto vniknet v sushchnost' skorbnykh slov (To all those who will delve into the essence of these sorrowful words / "God grant deliverance from sin") (Russian: Всем тем, кто вникнет в сущность скорбных слов)
- Sey trud, chto nachinal ya s upovan'yem i s imenem Tvoim (This work that I began with hope and with Your name) (Russian: Сей труд, что начинал я с упованьем и с именем Твоим)
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Schnittke: Choir Concerto & Minnesang", Hyperion Records CDA67297 (2001) booklet by Dimitri Smirnov
- ↑ "Choir Concertos – Schnittke, A. / Vedel, A. / Bortniansky, D. S. (South West German Radio Vocal Ensemble, Y. Weinberg)". Naxos Records. SWR19150CD.
- ↑ Animated score on YouTube, Russian State Symphonic Choir, Valery Polyansky conducting
- ↑ "Sumptuous performances of Schnittke and Pärt from the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir" by David Truslove (September 2021, review of BIS Records BIS-2521), operatoday.com
- ↑ Dixon, Gavin (2022). "Choir Concerto". The Routledge Handbook to the Music of Alfred Schnittke. Slavonic and East European Music Studies. Routledge. pp. 130–131. ISBN 9781000512205 – via Google Books.
- ↑ "A. Schnittke: Concerto for Choir", CD booklet 1989, Melodiya (in Russian and English)
Further reading
[edit]- Jennings, Mark David (200). Alfred Schnittke's Concerto for Choir – Musical Analysis and Historical Perspectives (Thesis). Florida State University. Published as a book in 2005 by UMI.
- Bilodeau, Tucker (22 March 2016). "Alfred Schnittke's Concerto for Choir: A Cellular Deconstruction". Choral Literature 3. Joshua Habermann – via academia.edu.
- "Concerto for Choir – Bel a capella", 5 August 2019 Sydney performance review and analysis, nightwrites.com
External links
[edit]- "Work details", Boosey & Hawkes
- "Review of Hyperion recording" by David Vernier, 20 November 2002, classicstoday.com
- Audio on YouTube, Prague Singers, Stanislav Mistr conducting
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