Russian baroque music
The musical culture of the Russian Baroque developed successfully over a hundred years, from the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 18th century. Russian baroque music was influenced by Western European musical traditions that came to us through Poland and Ukraine. At the same time, Russian baroque music has retained the characteristic features of the old Russian znamenny chant, its severely restrained, stately style.
The basis of Russian baroque music was solemn partisan (Latin partes – voices, i.e. polyphonic) singing, which was most vividly embodied in the so-called partisan concerts of the 17th – early 18th centuries. Nikolai Pavlovich Diletsky, the main theorist of the part-style singing style, the author of Musiky Grammar (1681), noted that such a concert is based on the “struggle of voices”, that is, the opposition of the voices of the soloists to the general choir. Composers were instructed to create compositions for 4, 8, 12 and even 48 voices! At the same time, the number of parts and the duration of their sounding were not strictly regulated, although preference was still given to three-part concerts. The main requirement was the transmission of the smallest movements of the human soul.
On Russian soil, the Baroque acquired its national features:
“The baroque in Russia is more cheerful and decorative than in the West, in it adornment manifests itself strongly, sometimes reaching the level of variegation. Ornamentality reaches the limits of the possible ”(T. F. Vladyshevskaya).
The musical culture of the Russian Baroque laid the foundation for the development of the Russian school of composition. At this time, a whole galaxy of talented composers appeared in Russia, although many part-music concerts were still anonymous.
Vasily Polikarpovich Titov (circa 1650-1715) is the author of numerous spiritual choral concerts for 12 voices. Together with Simeon Polotsky, he created the “Rhyming Psalter”. V.P. Titov was among the first Russian composers who glorified the military valor and reform activities of Peter I.
In the XVIII century. the Baroque style was embodied in the music for opera and ballet performances, as well as in the art of bell ringing. Among the folk, the song genres of the Baroque were especially popular – cants (chants of secular content) and psalms (musical and poetic transcriptions of the psalms of the biblical prophet David).
A bright and unforgettable musical interpretation of David’s psalms was made by the Russian composer Maxim Sozontovich Berezovsky (1745-1777). For several years he composed church concerts for the Court Chapel, which aroused the admiration of experts and the approval of the royal court. The most famous among them are: “The Lord reign in sweetheart clothed himself”, “Do not reject me in my old age”, “Praise the Lord from heaven”, etc.
The pinnacle of Berezovsky’s creative quest was the still famous concert “Do not reject me in my old age” (1760s) on the text of the 70th psalm of David:
Do not reject me in old age;
When my strength diminishes, do not leave me …
Let those who are hostile against my soul be ashamed and disappear;
May those who seek evil for me be covered with shame and dishonor.
In these words – the innermost desire of man to finish his earthly path with dignity, without fear of death, for ahead is eternal life.
MS Berezovsky created a work of monumental form, which still amazes listeners with the depth of feelings and emotions. A prayer-prayer calling to the Almighty, a prayer of hope and an angry, bold protest against the forces of evil and injustice are the main musical themes of this work.
The composer’s wonderful music conveys the indomitability of the human spirit, steadfastness in faith, courage in the face of trials.
Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky (1751-1825) is considered to be the recognized master of the spiritual choir concert. He entered the history of Russian music primarily as the author of 35 sacred choral compositions for a four-part choir, 10 concerts for two choirs. One of the best works by Bortnyansky was concert No. 32 “Tell me, Lord, my death …”, created on the words of the 38th psalm of David:
Tell me, O Lord,
my end and the number of my days,
so that I know what my age …
Hear, O Lord, my prayer;
do not be silent to my tears …
PI Tchaikovsky, who edited Bortnyansky’s works in 1882, considered this concert to be the best. In addition to sacred choral music, Bortnyansky created operas and compositions for the clavier. He owns the patriotic choral song “A Singer in the Camp of Russian Warriors” to the words of V. A. Zhukovsky.
