Welcome to tonight’s concert! The Hermitage Ensemble from St Petersburg is a male voice choir each having a relevant wide musical education. In their homeland they are engaged as soloists in operas and in concert.

The vocal ensemble see it as their goal to maintain the Russian traditions of church music and bring motets of the Eastern Church closer to western people. Therefore, the programme consists of liturgical motets and psalms. It also includes various folk songs.

The music of the Russian Orthodox Church arose out of a blend of the Greek, Byzantine and Oriental influences during the early years of the Christian Church. From the 15th to the 18th century the plainsong of the original chants was beginning to be harmonized and was leading to a purely Russian church music. In the 18th century the music was further influenced by the Italian composers attached to the Russian court, in particular Sarti and Galuppi. Both the Russian composer Bortniansky and Berezovsky received musical training in Italy and they were to have a great impact on Orthodox music.

In the 19th century Balakirev, music director at the Court Chapel, and Rimsky-Korsakov produced a large collection of harmonized plainsong. Nearly all the leading Russian composers have written music for the rites of the Russian Orthodox Church and tonight there will be examples from many of them.

You will not hear an organ or any instruments in Orthodox services. This is because in the early Christian church they were viewed as being theatrical and had other undesirable associations, and therefore unconducive to worship. Because of this the practice of unaccompanied singing and composing choral music led to a high standard of vocal presentation. The Russian bass voices are well known for their low register, which reaches well below that of basses in many other countries.

The folk and national songs, which form the second half of the concert, show a range of emotion and, with their rhythms and melodies, convey with their inimitable spirit all that is characteristic of the great ”Russian Soul”.

We hope that you will enjoy tonight’s performance!


OR


Russian people have always possessed a particular musical sense and Russian choral music holds a unique place in the musical culture of the world and especially of Europe- due in no small measure to the special traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is a fact that during many centuries choir music was the most honourable genre in the musical culture of Russia. The most famous Russian composers of secular music, such as Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky, believed it was their duty also to write spiritual a capella music. Unfortunately, Russian spiritual music was censored in Soviet Russia after the 1917 Revolution. For almost 70 years it became inaccessible to a wide audience and, as the years passed, was almost forgotten.

In recent years the masterpieces of Russian choral spiritual music have sounded again in the great halls of Russia and Europe, thanks to professional musicians devoted to this wonderful genre. So today this music is experiencing a new birth, allowing everybody to re-open forgotten pages of world culture. Russian Choir music fascinates every honest listener with its beauty and strength. Even a small ensemble allows an audience to feel all the dramatic and melodic wealth which characterises this music. It leaves nobody indifferent. Hermitage have brought with them their CDs dedicated to this sacred music, which they recorded just before leaving St Petersburg for this UK tour.

Items will be introduced in English and selected from the following Russian Orthodox Church Music works, (a cappella Slavonic).

The concert includes a short interval during which the CDs, which Ensemble recorded just before leaving St Petersburg for this UK tour, will be for sale.


Russian Orthodox Church Music (a capella Slavonic)


1. Blessed is the Lord ( Blagoslaven gospod’) - Degtyarev

2. My Soul, send my blessing to the Lord (Blagoslovi, dusha moja, Gospoda) -Michael Ippolitov- Ivanov

Bless the Lord, O my Soul
Bless the Lord, O my Soul .O my God thou art very great .Blessed art thou, Lord ,who hast clothed thyself with beauty .The waters stood above the mountain.
Lord, how manifold are thy works. The springs run among the hills. All the earth is full of the riches. Glory to thee, Lord, who in wisdom hast made them all.
Glory he to the Father, and to the Son, to the Holy Ghost. Amen.

3. We resort to your Protection, Mother of God - (pod tvoj milost) - Tkachenko

We resort to your Protection, Mother of God.
Don't reject our Prayers and Deliver us from Evil.

4. Thy lips (Ust tvoix) - Balakirev

5. Nunc heavenly hosts (Nine sili nebesniya) - L’vovskii

6. Extol the Lord’s name – Merciful Christ (Xvalite imja Gospodne)- Dobri Xristov

7. People, raise the anthem (Vospoite, ludie) - Dimitry Bortnjansky (1752 – 1825) born in Glukhov, Ukraine. Studied at both Moscow and St Petersburg under the Italian, and then followed him to Italy in 1768. He continued his musical studies at Bologna, Rome and Naples, composing and operas in Venice and Modena in 1778. He returned to Russia and in 1779 was appointed director of the Imperial Church Choir, which eventually became the Imperial Chapel. Beside his extensive religious music, which included 45 sacred pieces for choirs, he also wrote operas and instrumental pieces.

8. Body asleep (Plotij usnjv) - Ionafan

9. God’s Own Son (Edinorodnij Sine)- Turchaninov

10. G.Caccini - Ave Maria

11. Many years for the Russian Tsar.

Many years for the Russian Tsar,
This Song was sung a long time ago
And now all Russia repeats it amicably and loudly
The name of the tsar is thundering around whole the World.


Russian Folk Songs (a cappella Russian)

1. A solemn hymn dating back to Peter-the-Greats’ time (Raduisja Petre)

2. Venice at night - Taneev

3. Say your prayer, lad - Vertinskii

4. The Song about Prince Oleg

5. The Urals song

6. It`s a real pleasure, dear brothers

7. Nightingale, the little birdie

8. Abt- Night’s serenade

9. The song of the Russian snow storm.

The blizzard is winding along the street. A young man is walking and is
saying to his fiance: "Wait, please, my beloved! Let me have a look at
your beauty, at your flourishing face! I am getting crazy from your
beauty, and am losing my mind. Wait, please, my beloved! Let me have a
look at your beauty!"

10. Ballad about Stepan Rasin – a famous brigand in old Russia

His brightly painted boats appear from behind an island. Stepan Rasin is in the front one, celebrating his marriage to an abducted Persian princes. His mates are grumbling – he swapped us for a woman! Just spent one night with her and became a woman himself. Stepan hears that and to prove his mates wrong, grabs the poor girl and throws her overboard.

11. Three harnessed horses racing with jingle-bells
Long runs the road

12. Those Evening Bells -Lyrics by Thomas Moore
Youth comes to the end and then life comes to the end. Only bells can be heard as before.


Thank you for your support. The programme can be changed.
We apologise if tonight’s programme varies from the above list.
All items will be introduced in English.