The Moika River flows... From the Fontanka to Nevsky Prospekt Zuev Georgy Ivanovich
Imperial courtier singing chapel
One of the longest through sections between the Moika and Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street with four walk-through courtyards leads to the bend of the old reservoir to the Pevchesky Bridge. At this point, the bed of the Mya River was located at the most significant distance from the street, which later received the name Bolshaya Konyushennaya.
The history of this site turned out to be quite complex and interesting. In its form, the land allotment was not an exception from a number of subsequent plots located in the interval from former square Guards headquarters to Nevsky Prospekt. It turned out to be not only wedge-shaped, but also very narrow. At its narrowest end, the site faces the current Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street. Its history begins in the 20s of the 18th century. Initially, on the site, by decree of Peter I, two small adobe buildings were erected for the commander of a detachment of warships of the Baltic Fleet, Vice Admiral Zmaevich, a little later, English businessman D. Garner, who arrived at the invitation of the Russian Tsar, settled here in a wooden house on a stone semi-basement.
The niece of Peter I, Empress Anna Ioannovna, who was enthroned by the Supreme Privy Council, in the 1730s singled out this land plot for the construction of a manor house to his beloved German head doctor Christian Paulsen. The two-story wooden house of the court surgeon was built in the depths of the apothecary garden and the main courtyard, laid out by gardeners, overlooking the personal pier of the royal Aesculapius on the Mie River, the embankments of which at that time were not yet properly equipped. They were then only reinforced with wooden shields. Behind the mansion, a garden with a kitchen garden was arranged and one-story outbuildings were erected near the border with Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street.
After the death of the head physician Christian Paulsen, plots of land “by a measure from the face along the Mya river 31 sazhens and arshins”, along with dilapidated buildings from the widow and son of the late court physician, on May 15, 1773, were acquired by the famous metropolitan architect Yuri Matveyevich Felten, representative early classicism and one of the students of the master of metropolitan architecture, Bartholomew Varfolomeevich Rastrelli, the court architect of three Russian empresses.
Yu.M. Felten
The creative biography of the new owner of the acquired estate, as well as his talented student architect H.-G. Paulsen (son of the head physician Anna Ioannovna), is closely connected with the construction of the Central District of the Northern capital. Having acquired a plot on the Moika, Yuri Matveyevich, according to his own project, instead of an old wooden dilapidated building, erected in 1777 a beautiful three-story stone house with two representative outbuildings. The buildings then favorably differed in their own way. appearance from the surrounding buildings. The object of admiration and envy of the neighbors was the front yard of the manor house of the talented architect, framed by the majestic building of the owner's residential mansion and elegant facades of the side wings.
In Yu.M.'s own house Felten lived happily for about twelve years. These years were the heyday of the talent of the famous architect.
The Academy of Arts appointed Yury Matveyevich responsible for the "architectural project for the equestrian statue of Peter the Great." He is also entrusted with the design and architectural supervision of the construction of the New Hermitage, the organization of work on the decoration of the Neva embankment, the construction of the Lombard building on the Field of Mars, later rebuilt by architect V.P. Stasov near the Pavlovsky barracks. The architect Felten was responsible for the manufacture and installation of the famous fence of the Summer Garden. In 1776, he also had to complete the building of the Academy of Arts, the director of which the architect was appointed in 1784. In connection with this new professional activity, Yuri Matveyevich had to move to the well-appointed director's apartments - a state-owned apartment on Vasilyevsky Island, and in August 1784 he sold his mansion on the Moika for five hundred thousand rubles. True, in 1806 the treasury bought the land from the new owners along with its beautiful buildings.
Moika Embankment, 20. Building of the Court Singing Chapel
The last owner of this site was the Norwegian businessman F. Buch, who founded a solid enterprise in the Russian capital - a factory of gold and silver products.
By decree of Alexander I, the purchased site with all the buildings located on it in 1808 was transferred to the Court Singing Chapel. For work on adapting the acquired buildings to accommodate a singing court institution, which is one of the five main centers musical culture Russia, allocated the necessary funds.
The Latin word "chapel" (in translation - chapel) in the Middle Ages in Europe usually referred to a small chapel at the temple. It housed a choir that sang without music accompaniment, which then gave rise to the definition of “singing a cappella” among professional musicians from European countries. By the way, in the 18th century, this term was used in notes, concert programs and on posters to refer to musicians who served at the imperial courts.
The origin of the Court Singing Chapel comes from the original Russian choir, which existed in the second half of the 15th century. Then the wonderful choir was officially called the "Tsar's Singing Deacons". He sang during festive and special services, performed at secular feasts. The choir always accompanied Tsar Ivan the Terrible during his military campaigns.
By order of Tsar Peter I in 1713, the Choir of Sovereign Singers was transferred from Moscow to the new capital. Together with the military orchestra, the singers regularly participated in official state celebrations, performing the so-called choral “welcome” cants in honor of Peter the Great’s victories and other important Russian events of those years. This choral genre was born in the northern capital during the reign of Peter the Great. In the repertoire of the Choir of Sovereign Singers, in addition to "welcome" and "laudatory" ("canonical") chants, unique religious, love, comic and even satirical chants appeared. The melodies of Russian folk songs were clearly heard in the music of such works. Emperor Peter I himself repeatedly performed as part of his favorite sovereign choir, performing bass parts in full accordance with the musical score of a musical work. In 1717, the Choir of the Tsar's Russian Chapel traveled with the retinue of Peter the Great to Poland, Germany, Holland and France, conquering foreign connoisseurs of singing with their art.
The emperor constantly took care of replenishing the choir with new “best” singing voices and obliged his subjects to attend concerts of the Choir Choir in the house of Privy Councilor Bassevich.
The successors of Peter I continued the work of their predecessor in the selection of talented singers for the Imperial Court Choir (later for the Court Chapel), among whom were often representatives of various social classes, including even officers of the Imperial Guard.
The choir received the official name "Imperial Court Singing Chapel" in 1763 on the basis of the decree of Empress Catherine II. Gradually, the activities of the Choir Choir expanded and went beyond the repertoire of the court institution. Her performances became available to a wider audience, and she herself firmly entered the list of famous centers of Russian musical culture.
The first leader and choirmaster of the court choir D.S. Bortnyansky
A significant contribution to the development of domestic professional choral art was made by the talented Russian composer and master of choral singing a cappella, choirmaster Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky (1751–1825). He headed the Singing Chapel for 30 years. Dmitry Stepanovich became practically the first Russian professional composer who wrote many works of many-voiced concertos for singing a cappella, the author of remarkable domestic operas, chamber and instrumental works. His amazing melody "How glorious is our Lord" for many years was caused by the famous chimes of the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
D.S. Bortnyansky, as the head of the Court Singing Chapel, on his own initiative, organized a special department for the preparation of church regents and specialist consultants who edit works of church music. He successfully established the work of the Court Church Choir.
Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky was regularly present at all services in the Cathedral of the Savior Not Made by Hands in the Winter Palace. And each time, under the vaults of this temple, the voices of his wards sounded brilliantly - court choristers, deeply revering and respecting their master.
It was they, his pupils, at the request of Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky, who came on September 28, 1825 to him at Millionnaya Street at house No. To the sound of the choir that performed last will composer, Dmitry Stepanovich quietly passed away.
On the new plot acquired in 1808 for the Court Singing Chapel, the mansion built earlier by the architect Yu.M. Felten. The architect F.I. Ruska.
L.N. Benoit
In 1822, the architect of the gofintendant's office L.I. Charlemagne developed an original project for the restructuring of the buildings of the Singing Chapel at 20 Moika Embankment. picturesque panels. In it, the court choristers now arranged charity concerts for the general public of the capital, which were very popular with the inhabitants of the city.
In 1834 the architect P.L. Villers built on the stone side wings of the Choir Chapel with additional floors. However, the most significant changes in the appearance and internal structure of the premises of the Imperial Court Singing Chapel at 20 Moika Embankment took place in the second half of the 19th century. In 1887-1889 this was done by the architect Leonty Nikolaevich Benois.
The construction was one of the first major works of the future famous St. Petersburg architect and leading professor of the Academy of Arts. He managed to almost re-create the complex of buildings of the Court Chapel, erected according to his project in the style of Louis XVI, and at the same time almost completely change the decoration of its interiors. The architect practically did not change the volumes of the main building, but at the same time he successfully erected an elegant cast-iron grate separating the front courdoner of the chapel from the street and with the help of the sculptor I.K. Dyleva originally decorated the building with exquisite relief thematic compositions of children playing music. On the front facade of the Court Choir in 1892, memorial plaques with the names of famous musicians were reinforced.
The inner territory of the Singing Chapel from the Moika to Bolshaya Konyushennaya L.N. Benois built up residential buildings and put in perfect order the appearance of through passages and courtyards.
The best voices from all the provinces of the Russian Empire were selected for the choir of the Court Choir. He has always been famous for the beauty and harmony of his sound, causing admiration of compatriots and foreigners. The singers entered the chapel in childhood. They lived here, receiving a classical musical education and good general training. In the 21st century, an extensive overhaul of the entire complex was completed, and the “end-to-end” courtyards of the Singing Chapel from the Moika to Bolshaya Konyushennaya were again brought into exemplary order. Today, all the buildings here look great.
As before, the narrow western border of the site of the Court Singing Chapel is closed by a four-story house No. 11 on Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street, decorated with flashy rustication, so characteristic of L.N. Benoit. The rustication is modestly complemented by figured architraves and embossed garlands. The house in the 1890s was intended for the apartments of choristers and teachers of the chapel. Composer, pianist, conductor and biographer M.A. Balakireva - S.M. Lyapunov. Sergei Mikhailovich in his piano work and performing arts developed the virtuoso style of M.A. Balakirev. Since 1910, he was a professor at the St. Petersburg, and then the Petrograd Conservatory.
It is interesting to know how appointments to leadership positions in the chapel sometimes took place in mid-nineteenth century.
The success of Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka's opera "Ivan Susanin" brought fame to its author. The family of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich liked the opera, and he, unexpectedly for the composer, made him a rather flattering offer. Having met Mikhail Ivanovich backstage Bolshoi Theater during the performance of his opera in December 1836, the tsar suggested to him: “Glinka, I have a request for you and I hope that you will not refuse me. My choirboys are known all over Europe and are therefore worth your attention." M.I. Glinka was appointed to the Court Chapel, but not the leader, since his title of titular adviser did not correspond to such a high dignitary position. The tsar then appointed the adjutant wing A.F. Lvov.
Prince A.F. Lviv
After the death of D.Ya. Bortnyansky The court chapel was directed by Fedor Petrovich Lvov, cousin of the famous metropolitan architect N.A. Lvov. In 1837, his son Alexei Fedorovich Lvov, known as the author of the music for the Russian anthem "God Save the Tsar", took over the post of manager of the Court Choir.
His merits in the development of the Russian national art and culture. A talented violinist and a skilled composer, the author of many remarkable theoretical works, he founded the St. Petersburg Concert Society in 1850 and superbly directed the Court Choir. His name appears on a memorial plaque mounted on the main facade of the Chapel building.
Long before joining the Singing Chapel, M.I. Glinka developed a cool relationship with this musically gifted person. Knowing this, court dignitaries hid the name of the true contender for the post of manager of the chapel (A.F. Lvov), and when meeting with famous composers, they mysteriously hinted to them about the possibility of occupying this place with a close friend of M.I. Glinka Count Mikhail Yuryevich Vielgorsky - an extraordinary person in every respect.
According to his son-in-law, V.A. Sollogub, “Mikhail Yurievich was a personality of versatile talents and hobbies: a philosopher, critic, linguist, physician, theologian and hermeticist, an honorary member of all Masonic lodges, the soul of all societies, a family man, an epicurean, a courtier, a dignitary, an artist, a musician, a comrade, a judge, a person is a model of sincere tender feelings and the most playful mind, a living encyclopedia and a source of deep knowledge.
M.I. Glinka
Rumor about the appointment of M.Yu. Vielgorsky reached Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka. In his notes, the composer noted that he was very pleased with the good news. He believed that the director would not interfere in his affairs, and even informed his mother that "he was entrusted with the musical part in the Singing Corps."
However, his hopes suddenly crumbled to dust when Glinka learned that by decree of Nicholas I, the director of the chapel was "highly commanded" to appoint the adjutant wing A.F. Lvov. The titular adviser M.I. Glinka was entrusted with the "musical part", and his salary was put on a par with the inspector of the chapel, the official Belikov. However, going back was no longer possible. “Fate played a trick on me,” Mikhail Ivanovich wrote to his mother after the official royal decree of January 1, 1837, which approved the composer as head of the musical part of the Court Choir.
In the early spring of 1837, Glinka, his wife and mother-in-law moved to a state-owned apartment in one of the buildings of the chapel on the Moika side. The composer seriously engaged in choristers, seeking from them a high culture of performance and instilling in them musical knowledge. And in two years he achieved tangible results. He specially traveled several times to Ukraine, famous for good voices, for a set of chorister boys.
The most difficult situation and strife in the family - the betrayal of the wife and the constant intrigues of the mother-in-law, forced M.I. Glinka to break off the hated marriage and in 1839 to submit a letter of resignation from the chapel.
Mikhail Ivanovich was forced to this decision by the situation in the chapel and strained relations with A.F. Lvov, as well as the dissatisfaction of Nicholas I with the shortcomings in the work of the music service. Claims, of course, were expressed to the manager, and he brought them to M.I. Glinka: “The Sovereign Emperor deigned to be completely dissatisfied with the singing that was on this date ... during the morning service, and commanded the highest to make a strict remark about that to anyone ... I ask your honor, having called the manager to him, make him a stern remark from me and announce what will happen If something similar happens in the future, then I will find it necessary to take strict measures. The situation in the chapel not only irritated, but also interfered with M.I. Glinka.
ON THE. Rimsky-Korsakov
After his departure, the leaders and teachers of the Court Singing Chapel were composers M.A. Balakirev, A.K. Lyadov, A.S. Arensky and N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov.
In the spring of 1883, Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov began work in the Imperial Court Singing Chapel. M.A. wrote to him about the offer to work in it back in 1881. Balakirev: “I am waiting for your answer about the chapel. In any case, I refuse this business, and therefore it will be a pity if you refuse too, because the matter will fall into strange and probably ignorant hands, and you, in addition to artistic considerations, will miss a solid settlement. Your maritime bandmaster under the current conditions seems to me very fragile ... ”Balakirev was about to leave the chapel, but it happened differently. Balakirev was appointed manager of the Court Singing Chapel, and Rimsky-Korsakov was his musical assistant.
By 1881, the Court Chapel had become respected and respected. musical organization- a kind of high-level center of musical art. The chapel systematically performed in concerts of the Philharmonic and Concert Society. The famous French composer Hector Berlioz sincerely admired the performances of the choir of the Court Chapel and put the skill of the choristers above the level of performance of the singers. Sistine Chapel in Rome.
Absorbed by activities in the classes of the chapel, Rimsky-Korsakov admitted that he weakened his composing activity, but he wanted to develop an optimal teaching system here, useful to the chapel and gifted students. He managed to write and even publish a textbook, one copy of which Nikolai Andreevich presented to P.I. Tchaikovsky, with a request to express an opinion about him.
Pyotr Ilyich, despite the harshness of his review, highly appreciated the pedagogical qualities of Rimsky-Korsakov. The textbook of Nikolai Andreevich was subsequently reprinted many times in Russia and in European countries. Pedagogical activity composer brought him ultimately great satisfaction. His students became famous composers and teachers. This is primarily A.K. Glazunov, A.K. Lyadov, N.A. Sokolov, A.S. Arensky and M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov (on his "Practical textbook of harmony" and today students are studying).
In the autumn of 1889, in the residential building of the chapel on Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street, 11, in apartment No. 66, the family of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, then assistant manager of the chapel. In a large comfortable state-owned apartment on the third floor with a balcony, composers A.K. Lyadov, A.K. Glazunov, P.I. Tchaikovsky and music and art critic V.V. Stasov.
The 25th anniversary of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov. The friends decided to celebrate the anniversary with a performance of his First Symphony. On December 19, 1865, on the day of the anniversary, the "singing" hall of the chapel was decorated with tropical plants. Balakirev himself ordered a jubilee gift: a silver inkwell, sometimes gilded, with a clock on a massive marble pedestal in the form of a well in the Russian style, mounted on a silver stand depicting the score of his works and musical instruments.
At the celebration in the Noble Assembly, Nikolai Andreevich was presented with the address "Golden Leaf" in the form of an ancient scroll with a text written in Slavic script.
At the end of the 90s of the 19th century, the chapel house (No. 11) on Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street housed the editorial offices of two magazines, "Architect" and "Construction Week".
The magazine "Architect" began to be published in 1872. Its editor in 1893-1898 was civil engineer M.F. Geissler, who took part in the creation of the complex of the Court Singing Chapel under the direction of L.N. Benois, and later became his original commandant.
In February 1918, the former Court Singing Chapel on the Moika Embankment "was taken over by Soviet people". The Izvestia newspaper then enthusiastically wrote “about the significant expansion of her current concert activity. Instead of 3-4 performances a year in the old days, in 1918-1919, about 50 concerts took place in the chapel. In 1937, at the Choir School, the chapels organized a wonderful boys' choir, which won concert performances huge popularity not only in our country but also abroad.
Chapels were regularly held in the Concert Hall literary evenings. In the 1920s, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Sergei Yesenin, Korney Chukovsky, Osip Mandelstam and others read their works here.
When planning trips around the country, Vladimir Mayakovsky did not forget Leningrad, which gave him the great joy of communicating with many representatives of Russian culture. He met with students of Leningrad University, and at an evening in the Academic Chapel, the poet had a rather ridiculous situation.
Writer D.S. Babkin, recalling this, wrote: “Usually Mayakovsky spoke alone, but then Korney Chukovsky took the floor before reading it. While Chukovsky was speaking from the pulpit on the stage of the Chapel, Mayakovsky was preparing for his performance behind the scenes. He paced from corner to corner along the backstage area and muttered poetry. Fascinated by this, he did not notice that an hour had already passed, and meanwhile opening speech Chukovsky, for which he was given 15–20 minutes, was still going on. Chukovsky sprinkled his speech with anecdotes, told how he met the young Mayakovsky in Kuokkalo, about the life of the eccentric inhabitants of this village, about how Repin's wife Nordman-Severova prepared dinners for her husband from various herbs. He did not want to criticize the poet. He even tried to patronize Mayakovsky, but he was well aware that he was one of those whom even the most arrogant people are afraid to patronize. He continued to talk all sorts of nonsense from the podium, until one of the ladies shouted out to him from the audience: “Read “Fly-Tsokotukha”!” Hearing about this, Mayakovsky turned gloomy and handed the speaker a note: “Roots, round off,” but he, without reading the text , automatically put it aside and nonchalantly continued his "jolly" stories about soups made from hay and poor Ilya Efimovich Repin, who daily eats similar plant foods. Having finally lost patience, Mayakovsky, measuring the stage with his gigantic steps, went up to the podium, on which Korney Chukovsky was carelessly orating, turned it around with a sharp movement and, to loud laughter and applause from the audience, rolled the podium together with the speaker backstage, where he barked loudly in his bass: ! Enough chatting!”, and rolled out the pulpit freed from the author of “Moydodyr” back onto the Capella stage. The frightened administrator, announcing the performance of Vladimir Mayakovsky, assured fans of the “novel in verse” - “The Fly-Sokotuha” that a special creative evening would be organized for the poet Chukovsky in the Chapel.
On the same evening, Vladimir Mayakovsky read his new poem “Good!” to those gathered in the old concert hall of the former Court Choir.
In March 1933, the poet Osip Mandelstam arbitrarily returned from exile to Leningrad, having given his last two public performances in his native city: the first - in the Press House on the Fontanka, 7, and the second - in the hall of the Leningrad Choir Chapel on the Moika, 20.
The concert hall of the Leningrad Choir Chapel was filled to capacity. Young people crowded in the doors, crowded in the aisles. Witnesses of the last creative evening The poet was subsequently recalled in Leningrad: “He stood with his head thrown back, all stretched out, as if a whirlwind had flown in and would tear him off the ground. And some young people in civilian clothes with a military bearing and an unkind look darted around the hall, periodically talking to each other.
Mandelstam enthusiastically recited poems about Armenia, about his creative youth in St. Petersburg and the friends of that wonderful period of his life. One of the young men suddenly approached the ramp and, smiling ironically, handed over a note to the stage. Osip Emilievich, interrupting his speech, unfolded the message and read it. Hundreds of spectator eyes from the audience saw how Mandelstam turned pale. He was invited to speak about Soviet poetry. However, after a certain period of silence, Mandelstam, in the dead silence that arose in the concert hall, suddenly straightened up and boldly stepped to the edge of the stage. In the hall, with its amazing sound acoustics, the voice of the disgraced poet sounded clearly: “What are you waiting for? What's the answer? I am a friend of my friends! I am a contemporary of Akhmatova!”
O.E. Mandelstam
His phrases dissolved in a deafening flurry, a storm of applause from the audience. Mandelstam was irresistibly drawn to Leningrad, his native city called and constantly attracted him to itself.
However, when in the early 1930s the poet wanted to return to Leningrad, the categorical refusal of his request came not from the authorities (they prudently evaded answering), but from a fellow writer. The secretary of the Union of Writers, the poet Nikolai Tikhonov, refused to give the Mandelstam spouses a room in the House of Writers, and then the poet’s wife, who came to see him with a second request for housing and a residence permit for the homeless Osip Emilievich, said: “Mandelstam will not live in Leningrad!”
AT post-war years shortly before his death, Alexander Vertinsky performed in front of the Leningraders with great success in the Concert Hall of the chapel.
His so-called (by the author himself) "songs" were in fact wonderful miniature plot short stories in verse, set to music. They clearly showed the civic position of A.N. Vertinsky, who did not hide the continuity of his work with the songs of Beranger. His songs are also ironic, eccentric, mocking and sad.
A. Vertinsky
Few of the emigrants then had the courage to return to Russia. Returned those who were unable to continue to live in a foreign land. A.N. Vertinsky managed to return. Arriving in Leningrad, with his characteristic charm, he performed in the Concert Hall of the Singing Chapel with the last, as it turned out, dying concert. The chapel hall was packed, and the people of Leningrad once again heard their favorite "bard" Alexander Vertinsky. How many foreign cities the singer saw during the years of emigration, but Petersburg - Petrograd, where he repeatedly visited until 1917 and performed with success, Alexander Nikolayevich always remembered and sang about him in different countries, captivating enthusiastic listeners with nostalgic-sounding lines:
Brought a random rumor
Lovely, unnecessary words:
Summer garden, Fontanka and Neva ...
You, stray words, where?
And so he returned and here again, and in front of him are the real Summer Garden, the Fontanka and the Neva. How long had he been waiting for this meeting!
The concert began, and wonderful songs, unique micro-plays by Alexander Nikolayevich, his solo performances with dramatic, lyrical and even comic plots sounded in the chapel. Sounded:
And when the birches fall asleep
And the fields subside to sleep, -
Oh, how sweet, how it hurts through tears
At least look at your native country!
Wandering around the world, Vertinsky stubbornly sought permission to return to his homeland, and he received it. The homeland forgave the fugitive, and at the end of the Great Patriotic War he returned to Russia.
Today, the St. Petersburg State Academic Chapel named after M.I. Glinka, with its auditoriums, classrooms and the famous Concert Hall, is still a unique singing group that continues the long tradition of the Court Singing Chapel.
Here it is appropriate to talk about Xenia the Blessed, since indirectly (through her husband) her fate is connected with the chapel.
In the middle of the 18th century, Colonel of the Russian army Andrey Fedorovich Petrov, a passionate lover of choral singing and the leading soloist of the capital's "singing corps", was famous for his wonderful voice among the choir singers. After retiring, he married the girl Xenia Grigorievna, nee Grigorieva. The young happily lived in their own house on the Petrograd side. Truth, family happiness spouses did not last long - Andrei Fedorovich suddenly dies, leaving a 26-year-old widow, Ksenia Grigoryevna, in deep grief.
From this tragic moment begins the story of St. Petersburg Xenia the Blessed, a metropolitan saint who lived in the XVIII - early XIX century and considered one of the patrons of the city of Petrov. She lived as a widow for 45 years, devoting herself and her life to serving God, wandering all these years as a homeless wanderer and earnestly praying for people.
After the unexpected death of her wife, Ksenia gave away all the property acquired in her marriage to Andrei Fedorovich to poor people, and presented the mansion on the Petrograd side to her friend.
Putting on the clothes of her late husband, she began to wander, assuring everyone that she was not Xenia at all, but Andrei Fedorovich, who turned into her after his death. She was recognized as insane with the gift of foresight sent down by the Lord God. The clothes of the spouse soon turned into rags. Wandering around the capital, Xenia found temporary shelter, prayed, predicted their fate to the townsfolk. Parents were always happy if Ksenia kissed their children, usually after that their offspring were lucky. Merchants literally begged her to take something from them as a gift, later trade in their shops and stores noticeably revived, and profits grew before our eyes. For the same reason, the St. Petersburg cab drivers begged Xenia to drive at least a few meters in their carriages, because they knew that she brought happiness to people.
Chapel of St. Xenia of Petersburg at the Smolensk Orthodox Cemetery
Xenia never asked for alms. In her detachment from the real world, she felt happy and brought this happiness to others.
She is believed to have died at the age of 71, towards the end of the first decade of the 19th century. She was buried at the capital's Smolensk cemetery, not far from the Church of the Smolensk Mother of God, in the construction of which, according to legend, she took part. On Xenia's tombstone it was written: “She was called by the name Andrey Fedorovich. Who knew me, let him remember my soul for the salvation of his soul.
Xenia's grave began to attract many pilgrims. In the middle of the 19th century, a small stone chapel was built over the place of her burial, later replaced by a new, more representative one, built in the Russian-Byzantine style according to the project of the architect A. Vseslavin and consecrated in 1902. It was closed in 1940 "as a gathering place for 'superstitious elements'". At the same time, it was tightly boarded up with boards, but at the same time they could not close the road to it for those who, with tears, left notes with requests to Xenia “to help in troubles” near its walls.
In 1947, the chapel of Xenia the Blessed was reopened, and in 1960 a sculpture workshop was placed in it. In 1985, the chapel was finally returned to the believers and major repair and restoration work was carried out in it.
In 1988, Xenia of Petersburg was canonized, but even earlier, in 1977, she was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. Xenia the Blessed, along with Alexander Nevsky and John of Kronstadt, is considered the heavenly patroness of our long-suffering city.
And today, at the old St. Petersburg Smolensk cemetery near the chapel-tomb of Xenia the Blessed, you will always see people who come to her grave to ask for help and intercession.
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author Chernaya Lyudmila Alekseevna From the book Daily Life of Moscow Sovereigns in the 17th century author Chernaya Lyudmila Alekseevna From the book Art Ancient World author Lyubimov Lev Dmitrievich"Sistine Chapel" of prehistoric painting. In September 1940, near the town of Montignac, in southwestern France, four high school students went on an archaeological expedition they had planned.
From the book The Biggest Spies of the World by Wighton CharlesCHAPTER 9 "RED CAPELLA" In the second half of 1937, there were practically no Soviet secret services in Western Europe. During the great purges of 1936 and the following months, Stalin dealt a death blow to the networks of secret agents, with such difficulty
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From the book Late Rome: Five Portraits author Ukolova Victoria IvanovnaChapter V. The Marriage of Philology and Mercury: Marcianus Capella The influence of culture on social life as an essential component includes the education of a person, a member of society, and the transmission of social, moral and intellectual values from generation to generation. In everything
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Singing Chapel of St. Petersburg traces its history back to 1479, when, by decree of Grand Duke Ivan III, the Choir of Sovereign Singing Deacons was established in Moscow, which became the first professional choir in Russia and the cradle of Russian choral art. In 1701, the choir was renamed the Court Choir, and on May 16 (27), 1703, it took part in the celebrations on the occasion of the founding of St. Petersburg by Peter the Great. In 1763, by decree of Catherine II, the Court Choir was renamed into the Imperial Court Singing Chapel.
At various times, the main choir of Russia worked on improving the professional skills outstanding musicians, composers and teachers: M.I. Glinka, M.A. Balakirev, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, D.S. Bortnyansky, M.F. Poltoratsky, A.F. Lvov, A.S. Arensky, G.Ya. Lomakin, M.G. Klimov, P.A. Bogdanov, G.A. Dmitrevsky and others. Currently, the Capella is headed by People's Artist of the USSR Vladislav Chernushenko.
For several centuries now, the first Russian professional choir has never ceased to amaze and delight with its mastery. Robert Schumann wrote in his diary: "The chapel is the most beautiful choir that we have ever heard: the basses at times resemble the sounds of an organ, and the trebles sound magical...". Franz Liszt and Adolf Adam speak enthusiastically about the Court Choir. The impressions of Hector Berlioz are interesting: “It seems to me that the choir of the Capella<…>surpasses all existing of its kind in Europe. Comparing the choral performance of the Sistine Chapel in Rome with the performance of these miraculous choristers is the same as opposing an insignificant composition of barely squealing musicians to a third-rate Italian theater Orchestra of the Paris Conservatoire. V.V. Stasov wrote: “Where is there today such a choir as the choir of the Court Russian Chapel?... Only here we meet such skill...”.
Already in the 20th century, the Greek conductor Dimitrios Mitropoulos spoke enthusiastically about the art of the Choir Choir: “... Not only have I never heard anything like the performance of the Chapel. But I never imagined that the choir could sing like that. The chapel is the eighth wonder of the world. “The concert of the Russian State Choir showed samples of choral art, standing at an unattainable height,” the Swiss press wrote in 1928 after the triumphant tour of the Capella Choir in Europe.
During its activity, the Capella had a huge impact on the development of Russian musical culture and was the most important source of musical education in Russia. On samples of her artistic performance the traditions of Russian singing art took shape. With its creative practice, the Capella contributed to the creation of new choral works and was a large professional school that trained numerous cadres of conductors and artists.
Initially, only men sang in the choir, but from the middle of the 17th century. The boys were in the choir. In 1738, by decree of Empress Anna Ioannovna, the first special school was opened in Glukhov for the needs of the Court Choir. In 1740, by her own decree, the training of juvenile singers to play orchestral instruments was introduced. In 1846, under the Chapel, regency classes were opened to train leaders of church choirs.
Being the only artistically and organizationally established state choir, the Court Choir participated in all musical events held in the capital. Court singers were indispensable participants in solemn festivities, assemblies and masquerades. Since the 30s of the 18th century, the Court Choir has been involved in the performances of the Court Theater. The choir gave the opera stage many soloists who were widely known in the musical circles of their time.
In 1796, Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky became the director of the Chapel. Under him, the choir of the Imperial Chapel gains European fame. Dmitry Stepanovich focuses all his attention on improving the choir and composing works for it.
Since the organization in 1802 of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Society, the Capella has participated in all of its concerts. Thanks to the performances of the Capella, the capital got acquainted for the first time with outstanding works of classical music, such as Mozart's Requiem, Beethoven's Missa solemnis ( world premiere), Beethoven's Mass in C major, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Berlioz's Requiem, Haydn's oratorios The Creation of the World and The Seasons, etc.
From 1837 to 1861, the manager of the Court Chapel was Alexei Fedorovich Lvov, the author of the music for the hymn “God Save the Tsar!”, a world-famous violinist, composer, and also an outstanding engineer of communications. Alexei Lvov, major general, privy councillor, close to the royal family, became an excellent organizer of professional music education.
On January 1, 1837, at the initiative of the sovereign, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka was appointed bandmaster of the Capella, who served in it for three years. An outstanding connoisseur of vocal art, Glinka quickly achieved high results in the development of the Capella's performing skills.
In 1850, Lvov organized the Concert Society at the Court Chapel, which played a huge role in music education Russia. The place of activity of the Society was the concert hall of the Chapel, and the performers were its choir, which consisted of 70 singers, and the orchestra of the Imperial Opera.
In 1882, after the founding of the first Russian symphony orchestra- The Court Musical Choir - the formation of the structure of the Court Choir as one of the world's largest musical centers has been completed. The chapel included a choir, a symphony orchestra, a music school, instrumental classes, regency classes and a school theater arts(gentry corps).
In 1883, Mily Alekseevich Balakirev was appointed manager of the Court Chapel, and Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov was appointed his assistant. The joint work of Balakirev and Rimsky-Korsakov for 10 years is a whole era in the development of performing, educational and educational work in the Chapel.
After October revolution In 1917, the regency classes and the gentry corps were canceled, and subsequently the symphony orchestra and the school (Choir School) were removed from the structure of the Chapel. The choir continued active concert activity. Significant changes have taken place in the choir's repertoire. Programs of numerous performances of the Capella 1917-1920. included works by Arensky, Balakirev, Cui, Lyadov, Rimsky-Korsakov, Taneyev, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Glazunov. In addition, the choir's repertoire included the best examples of world classics: Mozart's Requiem, Handel's Samson, Schumann's Paradise and Peri, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Mass, choirs a cappella Schubert and Mendelssohn and others. Russian folk and revolutionary songs were widely represented in the Capella's repertoire.
In 1921, the Petrograd State Philharmonic Society was founded on the basis of the Court Choir and Orchestra. In 1922, the choir was separated into an independent organization, and the entire educational and production complex, consisting of the choir, the choir technical school and the choir school, was renamed the State Chapel, and then the Academic Chapel.
In 1920, for the first time, a group of 20 female voices, and in 1923, girls were admitted to the choir school at the Chapel for the first time.
The highest creative achievements of the Capella in the first half of the 20th century are largely associated with the names of outstanding choirmasters and teachers - Mikhail Klimov and Pallady Bogdanov. In 1928, the Capella, under the direction of Klimov, went on a big tour around the countries Western Europe: Latvia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy. The tour of the choir was an exceptional success.
Great Patriotic War changed the nature of the activities of the Chapel. Some of the choir artists went to the front, the rest of the Capella and its choir school were evacuated to the Kirov region. Under the direction of the chief conductor Elizaveta Kudryavtseva, the Capella gave 545 concerts in military units, hospitals, factories and plants, in concert halls many cities.
In 1943 Georgy Dmitrevsky, one of the greatest Soviet choirmasters, was appointed artistic director of the Capella. His name is associated with the brilliant revival of the Chapel in the postwar years.
The last decades have been marked by a new upsurge in the performing and concert life of the Singing Chapel. In 1974, Vladislav Chernushenko became artistic director and chief conductor of the Capella. Since that time, the revival of the historical traditions of the oldest choir in Russia begins.
The choir carefully preserves and restores the "golden fund" of its classical repertoire. Vladislav Chernushenko and the Singing Chapel brought back to life the most valuable layer national culture- creations of Russian sacred music. In 1982, for the first time, after a break of more than half a century, Rachmaninov's Vigil was performed. Spiritual works of Grechaninov, Bortnyansky, Arkhangelsky, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Chesnokov, Berezovsky, Vedel sounded again. The beauty and richness of Russian singing culture is demonstrated by partes concerts of the 17th-18th centuries, cants of the Petrine era, choral arrangements of Russian folk song. An important place in the Capella's repertoire is occupied by works by contemporary composers.
Throughout its centuries-old history, the Singing Chapel has been an ensemble, with equal skill, performing both works for the choir a cappella, and large oratorio-cantata compositions with orchestra accompaniment. It is this broad range that defines today creative face Singing chapel. With the re-establishment of the symphony orchestra in the Capella in 1991, major vocal and symphonic works such as Mozart's Requiem and Grand Mass began to sound regularly from the stage of the Capella, Magnificat and Bach's Mass in B minor, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Mass in C major, Verdi's Requiem, Taneyev's cantatas John of Damascus, Orff's Carmina Burana and many other works.
Working on improving the vocal skills of the choir, artistic director Chapels Vladislav Chernushenko attaches great importance to directing works performed, compositional completeness of their stage embodiment. Thanks to this, each concert number turns into the brightest artistic canvas in terms of psychological depth and figurative expression.
The Singing Chapel leads an active concert life. The choir's performances in many cities of Russia, neighboring countries, Germany, France, Ireland, Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Serbia, Austria, Korea, and the USA were highly appreciated by the audience and the press. Enthusiastic responses are accompanied by the performances of the choir on international festivals. In November 2001, at the invitation of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia, the St. Petersburg Singing Chapel took part in the largest international action - charity concert"Holy Places of Russia", which brought together the best creative forces under the arches of the Bolshoi Theater.
Foreign media during the tour of the Choir of the Capella invariably publish reviews in enthusiastic tones, determining its place among the best singing ensembles in the world.
The Singing Chapel of St. Petersburg, preserved during the years of great trials, confirmed the glory of Russian singing art. Chapel led by People's Artist USSR Vladislav Chernushenko throughout years is a real keeper of the traditions of Russian music and a majestic monument of Russian culture.
On the site of the building of the State Academic Chapel named after M.I. Glinka in 1730, there was a small wooden two-story house, owned by the doctor Christian Paulsen, originally from Holland. The building was located at a distance from the Moika. Behind the house in the direction of the current street Bolshaya Konyushennaya stretched alleys of the garden and beds of vegetable gardens. On May 15, 1773, Felten purchased from the widow and son Paulsen "a yard with a wooden structure ... a measure of the earth from the face along the Mya River 31 fathoms with an arshine." And on this site, the architect Y. Felten by 1777 built a three-story stone house with two outbuildings.
Having studied in St. Petersburg and Germany, in 1754 the young architect entered "for an exercise in practical architecture" to the famous Rastrelli, who built the Winter Palace. The successes of the student in his chosen field were so great that at the age of forty he became "appointed" by the Academy of Arts for "architectural project for the equestrian statue of Peter the Great."
From the new house, it was not difficult for Felten to follow the implementation of his projects, for the Old Hermitage was being built very close with an easy passage over the Winter Canal, and on the Field of Mars, the Lombard was being remodeled, later rebuilt by Stasov under the Pavlovsk barracks.
Since 1776, Felten focused his attention on the construction of the building of the Academy of Arts, in which he served as director. And, having decided to move to a state-owned apartment, in 1784 he sold his mansion on the Moika embankment and moved to Vasilyevsky Island.
In 1808, the treasury bought the former Felten house from the new owners, and court choristers were placed in it, whose choir was called the Imperial Court Singing Chapel since 1763.
The history of the Chapel dates back to early XVIII century. In the celebrations on the occasion of the capture of Nyenschantz (a Swedish fortress that stood at the confluence of the Okhta River into the Neva) in 1703, the choir of singing deacons also participated, accompanying Tsar Peter on the campaign. The choir also sang at the start of work on the construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress. In 1713, the "Chorus of the Sovereign's Singing Deacons" was finally transferred from Moscow to St. Petersburg, which by that time had become the capital of Russia. The choir then consisted of 60 people. Peter himself performed the bass parts. Among the singers was Alexei Razumovsky, with whom Peter's daughter Elizabeth later secretly married.
The choir consisted exclusively of men, only in 1920 it was replenished with female voices.
The appearance of the building did not take shape immediately. In the 1830s, a concert hall was added to the former Felton house. In 1887-1889, academician of architecture L. N. Benois overhauled the building of the Chapel, and it acquired the appearance that has survived to this day. In essence, a complex of interconnected buildings was created, connecting the Moika Embankment with Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street. The main building houses a concert hall with excellent acoustics, it is flanked by the buildings of the choral art school, behind, up to Bolshaya Konyushennaya street, 11, there are residential buildings for employees. This is one of the first examples rational organization intra-quarter space.
Passing a fence with a beautiful lattice, we find ourselves in the front yard, and the facade of the concert hall opens before us. It is decorated with capstones of exquisite design, bas-reliefs with images of babies playing music, forged lanterns and seven cartouches with surnames: Razumovsky, Lomakin, Lvov, Bortnyansky, Glinka, Turchaninov, Potulov.
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, whose name was given to the Capella in 1954, and Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky are widely known as composers, teachers, theorists and propagandists of Russian musical culture. They both worked in the Chapel, the first as a bandmaster, the second as a director. The names of the rest are known today only to specialists in the history of music.
Gavriil Yakimovich Lomakin (1812 - 1885), outstanding conductor and a connoisseur of choral singing, author of popular romances, taught at the Chapel, where his theoretical work made a significant contribution to the system of training choirs.
Petr Ivanovich Turchaninov (1779 - 1856) and Nikolai Mikhailovich Potulov (1810 - 1873) were also champions of Russian music. They devoted all their teaching, composing and theoretical work to the struggle for the revival of the ancient vocal art.
Dmitry Vasilievich Razumovsky (1818 - 1880) was a professor of choral singing at the Moscow Conservatory, brought up a galaxy of famous Russian musicians, for example, S. I. Taneyev, the author of the largest pre-revolutionary study on the history of ancient Russian choral art. Great importance Razumovsky's work on deciphering musical Russian manuscripts of the pre-Petrine eras also had.
Alexey Fedorovich Lvov (1798 - 1870), after the death of his father, F. P. Lvov, took over as director of the Chapel, significantly reformed both the teaching system, introducing an instrumental class, and the composition of the choir, as a result of which the choir of the St. Petersburg Singing Chapel became one of the best in Europe and was highly rated by G. Berlioz. But A.F. Lvov is known not only as a reformer of the practice of choral singing. He was the founder of the St. Petersburg Symphony Society, a prolific composer who wrote a number of operas and operettas, compositions for choir and violin concertos, and even a Russian anthem.
Unfortunately, there are no names of M.F. Poltoratsky, A.S. Arensky, N.I. Bakhmetyev, A.K. Lyadov, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, whose life was also connected with the Chapel, on the facade of the Chapel.
M. D. Balakirev and N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, who headed this institution in 1883 - 1894, achieved the reconstruction of the Chapel building, which was outdated by that time, which became a major phenomenon in the architecture of St. Petersburg in the last quarter of the 19th century.
Life Milia Alekseevich Balakirev (21.12.1836 - 16 .05.1910) - famous composer, pianist, conductor, head creative association of Russian composers, called by V. V. Stasov “The Mighty Handful”, was rich in events. Years of study in Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan, moving to St. Petersburg and brilliant performances here as a concert pianist, meetings with M. I. Glinka, organization of a free music school, the creation of a community of musicians who have shown the world a new direction in musical art, and much more.
One of the "pages" of his biography was connected with Court Choir.
According to N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, the appointment of Mily Alekseevich as the manager of the Capella, and himself as an assistant manager, was "unexpected". Moreover, initially in the text of the manuscript "Chronicle of my musical life", now stored in the Russian national library, it was written: "The mysterious thread of such a destination." Later, with a pencil on the right margin of the sheet, Nikolai Andreevich inserted the word "unexpected", thereby drawing special attention to the unforeseen nature of the event.
Here, in the Chronicle, he listed the names of people in whose hands, according to the author, there was a "mysterious thread", which led to a significant increase in Balakirev's social status. Traces of some "knots" connecting the "thread" are found in the manuscript collections of the Russian National Library.
Mily Alekseevich served as manager of the Court Choir for more than 10 years. In the "Formal list about the service of the Manager Court Chapel State Councilor Mily Alekseevich Balakirev" states: “According to the highest command, announced by the Minister of the Imperial Court in the order of February 3, 1883, No. 240, he was appointed manager of the Court Chapel on the third of February, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three”. And after the entry dated April 17, 1894 on awarding him the Order of St. Stanislav, 2nd degree, we read: “By the highest order of the Civil Department of December 20, 1894, No. 5 from the service, according to a petition due to illness, he was dismissed from December 20, 1894” .
The appointment of M. A. Balakirev to such a significant state institution in the Russian Empire should have had very serious reasons. The court singing chapel was at that time not only the center of sacred music in Russia. Founded in 1479 by the decree of Grand Duke Ivan III, the choir of the sovereign's clerks, from which the history of the Chapel began, remained "sovereign" for more than 400 years. And although its names changed (“Court Singing Choir” or “Singing Houses of His Majesty” - “Cappella of Court Singers” or “Court Capelia” - “Court Singing Chapel” - “Court Singing Chapel of His Majesty's Court”), they all reflected the dependence of the activities of the Capella on the ideological attitudes and artistic taste of the first person of the state.
The period of time during which the service of M. A. Balakirev in the Chapel falls refers to the reign of Alexander III. The emperor ascended the throne on March 2, 1881, and his coronation took place on May 15, 1883. A month before this event, Balakirev took up his duties. Celebrations on the occasion of the coronation took place in Moscow, where the imperial couple, arriving from St. Petersburg, were greeted with great solemnity.
The Russian National Library has a watercolor unknown artist"Entrance of Emperor Alexander III to Red Square".
Here we see both the triumphal gates with the monogram of the emperor and empress, built specifically for the coronation ceremony, and a large crowd of people in the square, greeting Alexander Alexandrovich and Maria Feodorovna. However, it cannot be stated with certainty that this watercolor actually reflects the events that took place on May 10, 1883. On that day, in accordance with the descriptions of contemporaries, the emperor entered Moscow on horseback, and not in a cab. Perhaps this was the reason for the appearance of a pencil entry in the lower part of the picture: “on a horse”. In addition, the date is written next to it in the same handwriting: “May 12, 1893”, which is 10 years away from the coronation celebrations. Perhaps the artist depicted the arrival of the imperial couple in Moscow to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the coronation.
As for the events that took place in Moscow in 1883, there in in full force, including the manager - M. A. Balakirev and his assistant - N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, the Court Singing Chapel also left. "Covered in the uniforms of the court department, - Rimsky-Korsakov recalled in his Chronicle, - we were present at the coronation in the Assumption Cathedral, standing on kliros: Balakirev on the right, I on the left.<…>The ceremony was performed solemnly ... " .
The subsequent activities of the Capella directly depended on the worldview and interests of Alexander III. The characteristic of this representative of the reigning dynasty was most succinctly formulated by I. S. Turgenev: “He is only Russian. He loves and patronizes only Russian art, Russian music, Russian literature, Russian archeology.<...>. For the same reason he is a zealous Orthodox; his piety is sincere and unfeigned". N. F. Findeisen noted in his Diaries that "Alexander III exalted the Russian musicians and recognized them as artists, not vagabonds." According to S. D. Sheremetev, Alexander III loved "Russian epic and Russian song, ancient church singing and iconography, handwritten facial images and our ancient architecture, because he passionately loved Russia ...".
The basis of the worldview of the ruling emperor was the ideology of monarchical statehood and Russian national identity. The commitment of Alexander Alexandrovich to these ideals led to changes that took place in various areas Russian life including sacred music.
"Unraveling" the "mysterious thread" that led Balakirev to the Court Singing Chapel, Rimsky-Korsakov names T. I. Filippov, K. P. Pobedonostsev and S. D. Sheremetev. Further, to these persons, he adds V.K. Sabler, D.F. Samarin, M.N. Katkov. Nikolai Andreevich calls them all "the ancient foundations of autocracy and Orthodoxy." Despite some irony present in the musician's statement, it is generally true. The persons named by Rimsky-Korsakov were not absolute like-minded people, and sometimes became antagonists, but they were united by their national self-consciousness, love for the fatherland and commitment to its historical roots.
Almost each of the listed figures had their social status and/or social position changed after Alexander III came to power. State Comptroller Terti Ivanovich Filippov in 1881 he became a senator - a member of the highest government agency subordinate to the emperor. Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod Konstantin Petrovich Pobedonostsev(1827-1907), tutor of Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich, after his accession to the throne, the most senior person in government, retaining his influence on the former pupil.
With the accession to the throne of Alexander III, other figures listed by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov also acquire a higher status. Publisher, publicist, editor of the Moskovskie Vedomosti newspaper Mikhail Nikiforovich Katkov(1818-1887), who formulated the principle of state nationality as the basis of the country's unity, a man who was called the creator of the Russian political press, in 1882 received the rank of state councilor, despite the fact that he was not a member of public service. Graph Sergei Dmitrievich Sheremetev(1844-1918), who belonged to the retinue of the imperial family, a personal friend of Emperor Alexander, in 1881 was promoted to the rank of officer (became an aide-de-camp) and appointed head of the Court Choir.