In the constellation of names famous composers Russian spiritual music has one name, when pronouncing it, many Russians feel warm and blissful in their hearts. This name has not been eclipsed by other, sometimes very famous names, it has stood the test of the most severe court - the impartial Court of Time. This name - Pavel Grigorievich Chesnokov.

Chesnokov was born on October 25, 1877 in the village of Ivanovsky, Zvenigorod district, Moscow province. Already in childhood, he showed a wonderful voice and bright musical abilities. At the age of five, Paul began to sing in the church choir, of which his father was the conductor. This helped him enter the famous Synodal School of Church Singing, which became the cradle of many outstanding figures of Russian choral culture. Here his teachers were the great V.S. Orlov and the wise S.V. Smolensky. After graduating from college with a gold medal (in 1895), Chesnokov studied composition privately with S.I. Taneyev, simultaneously working as a teacher of choral singing in women's boarding schools and gymnasiums. In 1903, he became choir director at the Trinity Church on Pokrovka (“on the Muds”). This choir soon acquired the fame of one of the best in Moscow: "The singers were not paid, but the singers were paid to be accepted into the Chesnokov choir," one of the Moscow regents later recalled.

For many years, Chesnokov, continuing to work in Moscow (during these years he also regented at the Church of Cosmas and Damian on Skobelevskaya Square), often traveled around Russia: he acted as a conductor of spiritual concerts, conducted classes at various regency and regent-teacher courses, participated in the work of the regency congresses. It was the regency business that was the main thing in the life and work of the famous master of church singing. But he himself was never satisfied with himself, and therefore in 1913, being already widely known to all singing Russia, the 36-year-old composer of sacred music entered the Moscow Conservatory. Here he studied composition and conducting with M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov and instrumentation with S.I. Vasilenko. Chesnokov marked his fortieth birthday in 1917 by graduating from the conservatory in the class of free composition (with a silver medal), having in his creative portfolio about 50 opuses of sacred and secular music. And in the same year, it was Chesnokov with his choir who was honored to participate in the enthronement of Patriarch Tikhon.

The subsequent activity of the master was filled with painful attempts to find a place for himself in a new, drastically changed life: conductor and artistic director of various Moscow choirs (but nowhere for a long time), teacher of the music school and the People's Choir Academy (former Synodal School), professor of the Moscow Conservatory. Until 1931, he was regent at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and in 1932 he became the first head of the department of choral conducting at the conservatory. In 1933, Chesnokov's book "The Chorus and its Management" was completed and in 1940 published (and sold out within a few hours) - the only major methodological work of the famous choral figure. It summarized many years of invaluable experience of the author himself and his synodal colleagues. For many years this work (albeit without the chapter devoted to regency practice removed by the author at the request of the publisher) remained the main guide for training domestic choirmasters. All this time he continued to compose spiritual music, however, not for performance or publication, but only for himself.

The last years of the composer's life were the most dramatic. Mental suffering was increasingly drowned out by alcohol. In the end, the heart could not stand it, and one of the most penetrating lyricists of Russian sacred music found his rest in the old Moscow Vagankovsky cemetery...

Assessing the multifaceted, original talent of Chesnokov, contemporaries noted in him a unique combination of various qualities, both musical and "great human": strict professionalism and deep respect for his work, tremendous musicality, a brilliant artistic talent, a magnificent refined ear and, moreover, spiritual purity , sincerity, deep humanity and respect for people. And all these qualities were reflected in his music in one way or another, just as his features as a choirmaster, conductor, and performer were reflected in it.

Among Chesnokov's works there are romances and children's songs (suffice it to recall the charming cycle "Galina's Songs"), there is piano music, and among student works - instrumental works and symphonic sketches. But most of the opuses are written in the genre choral music: choirs a sarrella and with accompaniment, arrangements folk songs, arrangements and editions The most important part of his heritage is sacred music. In it, the talent and soul of the composer found the most perfect, deepest, most intimate embodiment.

Entering the galaxy of composers of the so-called new Moscow school of church music, Chesnokov nevertheless noticeably differs from them. Like Kastalsky, who constructed a special (partly speculative) “folk-modal system” and applied it in his secular and spiritual compositions, Chesnokov “built”, or rather, syntonized his system, built on easily recognizable melodic and harmonic turns of Russian urban song and everyday romance of the late 19th century. Unlike Grechaninov, who created a special monumental temple-concert style of sacred music, based on the vocal-instrumental polyphony of the orchestral type of writing, Chesnokov creates no less rich polyphony of his compositions exclusively on the unique originality of singing voices a sarrella, imperceptibly dissolving in the choral sonority the domed "echoes" of the temple acoustics. Unlike Shvedov, who saturates his spiritual compositions with the "frills" of romantic harmony and rational construction of form, Chesnokov never succumbs to the temptation to compose for the sake of demonstrating the author's skill, but always follows his lyrical, sincere, childishly slightly naive musical instinct. Unlike Nikolsky, who often complicated the church singing style by using brightly concert, purely orchestral writing techniques, Chesnokov always keeps the unique, entirely Russian vocal and choral style of church sonority in its purity. And in doing so, he approaches the text like a shrewd playwright, finding in it monologues, dialogues, lines, summaries, and many stage plans. Therefore, already in his Liturgy, Op. 15 (1905), he discovered and brilliantly applied all those dramatic techniques that Rachmaninov uses in the famous Vigil 10 years later.

And there is, among many others, one - fundamental - feature of Chesnokov's vocal and choral writing. Whether a soloist sings or a choral part sounds, this statement is always personal, i.e., in fact, a solo character. Chesnokov's melodic talent is not characterized by detailed melodies (with the exception of quoting everyday tunes), his element is a short motive, less often a phrase: either of a recitative-ariose character, or in the spirit of an urban song-romance. But any melody requires accompaniment, and all other choral voices play the role of such accompaniment. Their task is to set off, interpret, decorate the melody with beautiful harmony, and it is precisely the admiration of beautiful, “spicy”, romantically refined harmony that is characteristic of Chesnokov’s music. All these features indicate that Chesnokov's music belongs to the genre of lyrics - often sentimental, expressive in its improvisational and everyday origins, personal in the nature of the statement.

Most of all, this statement becomes romantically agitated and artistically convincing when the composer uses the genre of the concerto by entrusting the solo part to a separate voice. Chesnokov's legacy includes many choral concertos for all types of voices. Particularly prominent among them is the six-concert opus 40 (1913), which brought the author truly unlimited fame and glory (especially thanks to the unique concerto for bass octavist accompanied by a mixed choir). At the same time, one can more often observe in Chesnokov's works the diverse manifestations of the principle of concert quality, based on the maximum identification of the group performance possibilities of the parts that make up the choir. Opus 44 - "The Main Chants of the All-Night Vigil" (1913) can be fully attributed to works of this kind. It is significant that both of these opuses, completed in the year when their author began studying at the Moscow Conservatory, not only demonstrate new level Chesnokov's composing skills, but also testify to his peculiar attitude to the genres of sacred music, built on the creative combination of domestic church singing traditions and the latest achievements of musical art.

A remarkable feature of Chesnokov's music is its simplicity and accessibility, its recognizability and cordial closeness. It delights and elevates, cultivates taste and corrects morals, awakens souls and inspires hearts. Having gone along with the earth that gave birth to it, a long and difficult path, this music still sounds bright and sincere today. Because, as it was said in the obituary in memory of the composer, placed in the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate in April 1944, “without striving for any external effects, Chesnokov inspired the words of prayer petitions and doxologies with the simplest melodies, sounding from the depths of pure and perfect harmony. (...) This wonderful composer interpreted church music as prayer wings, on which our soul easily ascends to the throne of the Most High.”

Konstantin NIKITIN

The domestic history of the past century shows us wonderful examples of standing for the faith. In Russia, during the time of the atheist regime, hundreds of thousands of Orthodox accepted torment and death for Christ. But there were people whom the God-fighting authorities did not dare to subject to open persecution. Nevertheless, their life was a stoic profession of faith and they managed to remain faithful to God. Pavel Grigorievich Chesnokov belongs to such people.

P.G. Chesnokov was born in 1877 in a workers' settlement in the Moscow province. His father was a church choir conductor in the local church. From a very young age, when my father began to take little son to the service, Chesnokov's singing service began.

It is significant that Pavel Grigorievich was born on the day of the memory of St. Cosmas of Maium, a songwriter who, according to Archbishop Filaret (Gumilevsky), “composed sweet harmonious songs for the Church, representing a harmonious psalter to the Lord with tireless deeds.”

The Lord endowed the boy with a wonderful ear and voice, and at the age of eight he entered the Moscow Synodal School of Church Singing. Pavel finishes it in 1895 with a gold medal.

After that, he worked as a regent in many churches in Moscow, taught in gymnasiums and colleges, and at the same time continued his musical education. For several years he has been taking composition lessons from S.I. Taneyev, and in 1913 he entered the Moscow Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1917 with a silver medal in the class of free composition.

Chesnokov works a lot: he teaches a choral conducting class at the Moscow Synodal School of Church Singing, teaches choral singing in primary and secondary schools, in addition, he directs the choir of the Russian Choral Society and serves as regent in several church choirs. The regency was for him the main thing in life.

Could he have thought at a time when Russia was still an Orthodox state that the coming revolution would overturn all the foundations of life, and his noble cause would become objectionable in his own country? ..

The revolution found Chesnokov in the prime of his creative and vitality and, of course, was with a strong blow for him. Regent, composer, teacher - all his activities were entirely devoted to the Church...

In the early 1920s, concerts from Chesnokov's works were still held in some places, but as the persecution of the Church and believers intensified, it became clear that the former creative activity was impossible. And what could be more painful for a true artist than forced silence?

At this time, many artists emigrated, and even his brother Alexander went to Paris, but Pavel Grigorievich, who undoubtedly had such an opportunity, remained in Moscow, and this was natural for someone whose work was deeply national.

He directs the Moscow Academic Choir Chapel, works as a choirmaster Bolshoi Theater, teaches at the Moscow Conservatory and the school attached to it. And, of course, writes music.

Chesnokov was dearly loved by Muscovites. In confirmation of this, we can cite a fragment of congratulations on the 30th anniversary of his creative activity, received by him from the clergy and parishioners of the Church of St. Nicholas on the Arbat:

... Thank you for the Orthodox story,

For the faith of native antiquity,

For a song consonant, glorious,

In the vision of the coming Spring.

Thank you for the burning flame -

Their prayer lives in silence.

Thanks for all the enjoyment

Our enthusiastic soul.

We welcome you for many years,

May the genius live forever

And the Eternal to us, many years,

He sings to the joy of Russia.

According to experts, Pavel Chesnokov was a genius choir conductor. After graduating from the conservatory, Chesnokov began to write the main work of his life - the book "Chorus and its management". At the end of 1917, he writes: "God gave me the idea that I should write a book ..." By 1926, almost all the work was completed. But the joy at the creation of the book was premature.

In 1930, he wrote to his brother Alexander in Paris: "... You probably remember that in December 1917 I started writing a big book -" Choir and Management ". I, who had never written two lines for printing, sat down for writing a big book because, having worked for twenty years in the field of my favorite choral business, I realized that there is no science in our art.Realizing this, I set out on a bold thought - to create, if not science, then at least a true and solid foundation for it.

The work, which lasted uninterruptedly for thirteen years, was full of sorrows and joys, because to discover the laws and their systems means to make the greatest stress not only physical, strong-willed, nervous, but also the stress of the entire spiritual essence ... I will be brief - the book was rejected, printed by we are not allowed in the USSR.

Cause? Apolitical. But, of course, this is not the reason. Everyone who needed it knew that I was not a politician, that I was a specialist in choral work and write a scientific and technical book. The real reason, in my opinion, is that it was written by Chesnokov, a former church regent and spiritual composer. And so I had a thought - if it’s not possible here, with us, then perhaps it will be possible abroad? .. "

Pavel Chesnokov had rather tense relations with the Soviet authorities, but representatives of official state atheism in the Soviet Union could not help but see him great talent composer and choirmaster, and in 1931 permission to publish the book was nevertheless given. True, nine more years passed before going out of print, full of moral suffering and upheaval.

In 1940, the book was finally published, but with a disapproving preface. He was never forgiven for a permanent regency ... Be that as it may, since then it has remained a reference book for the world's leading conductors.

Despite the unambiguous attitude of the authorities towards himself, Pavel Grigorievich enjoys great prestige among fellow musicians, and in 1920 M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov invites him to teach at the Moscow Conservatory. Standing at the origins of the creation of the department of choral conducting at the Conservatory, Chesnokov was the founder of the national choral school. In the period from 1917 to 1933, he led several professional and amateur teams.

With Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov and other famous masters of choral art. Moscow Conservatory, mid-1930s.

It cannot be said that the repressions did not touch him in any way. Once (at the end of the 30s), when he came home in the evening, he said to his wife Yulia Vladislavovna: "Yulechka, pack your things, they will probably take me away soon." - "What's the matter?" - "Today I was summoned to the Lubyanka, they offered me to write anti-religious ditties." - "And you?" - "Of course, he refused." But the Lord was merciful, and after this incident Chesnokov was no longer remembered "there".

Pavel Chesnokov died in 1944 in Moscow. It was the time of the Second World War. The Moscow Conservatory, where he taught, was evacuated, but the composer refused to be evacuated. He did not want to part with the church, with the regency, which at that time was not possible everywhere. Church ministry Pavel Chesnokov revered above his own life.

The creative heritage of P.G. Chesnokov extensively. He wrote both secular and church music, but, first of all, he gained fame as an Orthodox church composer. The church hymns created by him are practically all the most important prayers of Orthodox worship (often in several versions). From them we can trace the development of Chesnokov's composing language. His writings are very different.

The early ones, performed by the Synodal Choir in the Kremlin Assumption Cathedral, are quite simple in terms of musical structure and inspired by strict ancient chants. Later works are based on the same chants, but appear before us in a completely new form, thanks to various methods of harmonization. However, each creation of the composer surprisingly easily conveys the words of prayer to the heart of both the simpleton and the sage. Chesnokov's work is deeply national and original.

The works of Pavel Chesnokov are very advantageous in terms of concerts. They allow singers to demonstrate their vocal abilities in the best possible way, therefore the stars of Russian opera, for example, Irina Arkhipova, a former soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, often turn to the spiritual chants of Pavel Chesnokov.

But this is not always good from the point of view of the church, because worship does not require showiness and bright colorful sound. On the contrary, they interfere with the depth and severity of prayer, and therefore are not very compatible with worship. But this was the manifestation of the universality of Pavel Chesnokov's talent. He was cramped in a narrow framework and the composer, by the grace of God, argued with the regent of church choirs. And this dispute did not always end with an unambiguous solution to the issue.

The name of Pavel Chesnokov is called next to such famous names as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Taneyev, Ippolitov-Ivanov. All of them belong to the so-called Moscow Composer School. The music of these composers is characterized by deep lyricism and psychology.

Pavel Chesnokov was a high-class master of polyphony. Russian Orthodox spiritual music, as it exists today, is predominantly polyphonic. Polyphony began to penetrate Russian sacred music in the 17th century. And before that, for six centuries, from the moment of baptism Ancient Russia in 988, there was a monophonic church singing that came to Russia, like Christianity itself, through Byzantium.

The element of monophony was rich and expressive in its own way. Such singing was called Znamenny singing from the ancient Slavic word "banner", which means "sign". Even "banners" were called "hooks". With the help of "banners" or "hooks" in Russia, sounds were recorded, and these signs really looked like hooks of different shapes. Such a recording of sounds had nothing to do with musical notation, not only appearance, but even by the principle of notation. It was a whole culture that existed for more than 500 years and then, by virtue of historical reasons like sunk into the sand.

Among modern musicians there are enthusiasts looking for ancient manuscripts in the archives and deciphering them. Znamenny singing is gradually returning to church life, but so far it is perceived more as a rarity, exotic.

To the credit of Pavel Chesnokov, it should be said that he also paid tribute to Znamenny singing, and this showed his sensitivity as a musician who felt the prospect of musical historical development. He made harmonizations of Znamenny chants, trying to connect the past with the present. But still, in its musical and artistic essence, he belonged to his era and practiced polyphony.

Chesnokov is one of the most prominent representatives of the so-called "new trend" in Russian sacred music. Typical for him, on the one hand, is an excellent mastery of choral writing, excellent knowledge of various types of traditional singing, and, on the other hand, an inclination towards great emotional openness in expressing religious feelings, up to a direct rapprochement with song or romance lyrics. The latter is especially typical of spiritual compositions for voice and choir that are still very popular today.

Modern musicians note the interesting musical language of Pavel Chesnokov, who created over 500 choral pieces.

“There are a lot of garlic sounds in churches, and this is no coincidence,” says Marina Nasonova, regent of the church of Saints Cosmas and Damian in Moscow, Ph.D. in art history. - This is a unique figure among the composers of church music, because he combined a very good academic compositional education with the highest composing technique. At the same time, coming from a family of hereditary regents, he had been in the church since childhood, served as a chorister and knew the applied church tradition very well. He had a deep sense of worship. His music is extremely deep in its spirituality.

The head of the church choir of the Moscow Church of the Intercession speaks Holy Mother of God Valentin Maslovsky: “He was an outstanding personality. He was the last regent of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the former Moscow Cathedral, blown up in Stalin's time. When the temple was destroyed, Pavel Chesnokov was so shocked by this that he stopped writing music. He took a kind of vow of silence.

As a composer, he died along with the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The most magnificent musician, Pavel Chesnokov, very subtly felt every word, every verse, every prayer. And all this is reflected in the music.

Such a crystal-clear reflection was one of the best works of the composer "May my prayer be corrected ...".

disc cover Panikhida Disc CD -

Pavel Chesnokov (1877–1944) also wrote secular music, but he became famous primarily as an Orthodox church composer.

Last year, Russian music lovers celebrated the 135th anniversary of his birth, and 2014 will mark the 70th anniversary of his death. For the second century, his music inspires souls and awakens hearts, and his encyclopedic work "The Chorus and its Management" is still a reference book for choir conductors. So, get acquainted - Pavel Grigorievich Chesnokov

Hereditary regent

The future composer was born in 1877 in the village of Ivanovskoye, Zvenigorod district, Moscow province, in the family of a local choir director, a church choir conductor. The Lord rewarded the boy with a sonorous voice and an ear for music, thanks to which his singing "obedience" under the guidance of his father began in the very early age. At the age of seven, Pavel entered the Moscow Synodal School of Church Singing, where his mentors were the great choir conductors V.S. Orlov and S.V. Smolensky.

After graduating from college with a gold medal in 1895, the young regent works in churches in Moscow, gives singing lessons in gymnasiums and women's boarding schools, and along the way, studies composition with the master of polyphony S.I. Taneev, who long years was a professor and director of the Moscow Conservatory.

For about ten years, Chesnokov has been teaching choral conducting at the Synodal School, at the same time he holds the position of assistant regent of the Synodal Choir, and later conducts the chapel of the Russian Choral Society.

Under the leadership of Pavel Grigorievich, the choir at the Church of the Holy Trinity on Pokrovka became one of the best collectives in Moscow: “They didn’t pay the singers, but the singers paid to be accepted into the Chesnokov choir,” recalled the oldest Moscow regent N.S. Danilov. In 1913, the magazine "Choral and Regency Affairs" enthusiastically wrote about anniversary concerts dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the creative work of the famous maestro: “P.G. Chesnokov is a wonderful virtuoso in conducting the choir and a finest artist. The choir sang simply and seriously, humbly and sternly.

... All shades are given in such a way that the inner feeling and musical beauty of each one requires performed work».

Church of the Resurrection of the Word on Uspensky Vrazhek, where in the spring of 1944
the famous regent P.G. Chesnokov

From the beginning of the 1900s, Pavel Chesnokov became a recognized author of sacred music. He often goes on tour around the country, performing in concerts as a conductor, taking part in various regency courses and congresses.

Widespread fame in singing circles did not prevent the musician from continuing his education: in 1917, the 40-year-old composer and conductor received a diploma and a silver medal from the Moscow Conservatory, from which he graduated in the class of the legendary M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov.

"Choir and Management"

The revolution found the composer at the peak of his fame, in the prime of his life. The author of many spiritual and musical compositions, the choir director, who was honored to participate with his choir in the enthronement of Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow and All Russia in 1917 - Chesnokov's entire life and work were inextricably linked with the Church. The October events turned the page of the history of Orthodox Russia, and in its new, atheistic chapter, the work of the illustrious master became unnecessary and objectionable.

The first time after the revolution, the works of Pavel Chesnokov are still heard in some places, but over the years the persecution of the servants of the Church only intensifies. The composer's creative activity is replaced by forced silence. Thoughts of emigration undoubtedly visited Chesnokov, especially after his younger brother Alexander moved to Paris, but Pavel Grigorievich, as a truly national artist, remained in Moscow.

From 1920 until the end of his life, Chesnokov taught choral conducting and choral studies at the Moscow Conservatory (from 1921 he was a professor), where he was invited by the composer M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov. In addition, he leads several amateur and professional groups, works as the chief choirmaster of the Bolshoi Theater of the USSR, and directs the choir of the Moscow Philharmonic.

At the same time, during these years, the maestro was working on the book "Chorus and its management" - the most important theoretical work of his life. “I sat down to write a big book because, having worked for twenty years in the field of my favorite choral work, I realized that there is no science in our art, and I set out with a bold idea - to create, if not science, then at least a true and solid foundation for it” , he explained. The book was not published for a long time - the composition of sacred music and the work of the regent, the author was clearly not forgiven! - and only in 1940 his fundamental research finally saw the light. The collection immediately became a bibliographic rarity: when it went out of print, the entire circulation sold out in a matter of hours.

The last years of the master's life were full of need and deprivation. The composer, whose work brought joy and light to life - it is on them that all Orthodox worship is built - died in the early spring of 1944 in war-starved Moscow. The funeral was held in the church in Bryusov Lane, and buried Pavel Grigorievich at the Vagankovsky cemetery.

Soul chant

The legacy of Chesnokov, whose name is named next to such luminaries as Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky, includes about five hundred choral works. Approximately one fifth of them is secular music: adaptations of folk songs, choirs and romances based on poems by Russian poets, and children's songs. But the main part of his work is spiritual works: author's chants and transcriptions of traditional chants of Orthodox worship. Among them are the complete cycles of the Liturgy and the All-Night Vigil, the opuses Praise the Name of the Lord, Great Glory, To the Blessed Lady, and other compositions included in the golden fund of church musical culture. In addition to hymns, the composer composed ekphonetics (chant reading, one of the ways of voicing the texts of Holy Scripture, not intended for singing), as well as lithic prayers and litanies for the deacon and mixed choir.

Chesnokov's music is deeply national and original, each of his melody helps to convey the words of prayer to believing hearts. Refined in beauty harmonies, the deepest emotional coloring, sincerity in expressing religious feelings - the inimitable style of his choral writing cannot be confused with anyone else. “This remarkable composer interpreted church music as wings of prayer, on which our soul easily ascends to the throne of the Almighty” - words from the obituary in memory of Pavel Chesnokov, published in the April issue of the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate for 1944, best characterize the unique gift of the largest author of the spiritual music of the twentieth century.

That's what Chesnokov said

A choir is such a collection of singers, in the sonority of which there is a strictly balanced ensemble, a precisely adjusted system and artistic, clearly developed nuances.

bad or good relationship regent to singers and singers to regent has a corresponding influence on the performance. After all, what is performance? This is the closest spiritual communion, the complete merging of the souls of the singers with the soul of the regent. The regent at the moment of performance is the sun, the singers are flowers. As flowers open and reach for the sun, absorbing its life-giving rays, so the singers at the moment of performance open their souls, receiving in them the radiation of inspiration of the regent and being inspired.

It is interesting

Polyphony, which is an integral part of modern Russian Orthodox sacred music, penetrated into Russian church singing only in the 17th century. And before that, from the moment of the Baptism of Russia in 988, in our country there was a monophonic, or unison performance, which came to us, like Christianity itself, from Byzantium. Singing in unison, rich and expressive in its own way, was called znamenny - from the ancient Slavic word "banner" (a sign with which a melody was recorded). Visually, these signs resembled hooks of various shapes, which is why Znamenny singing was also called hook singing. Such a recording of sounds had nothing in common with the usual musical notation - neither in terms of the principle of recording, nor in appearance. The culture of ancient singing manuscripts, which existed for more than 500 years, has long sunk into oblivion, but among modern musicians there are sometimes enthusiasts who seek out and decipher rare hook-making, gradually returning znamenny singing to church use.

P.G. Chesnokov - to the 30th anniversary of creative activity

Thank you for the orthodox story,

For the faith of native antiquity,

For a song consonant, glorious,

In the vision of the coming Spring.

Thank you for the burning flame -

Their prayer lives in silence.

Thanks for all the enjoyment

Our enthusiastic soul.

We welcome you for many years,

May the genius live forever

And the Eternal to us, many years,

He sings to the joy of Russia.

Clergy and parishioners of St. Nicholas Church on the Arbat

"Far from any gathering of singers can be called a choir." These words are attributed to Pavel Chesnokov. He also composed secular music, but became famous primarily as a church Orthodox composer. His encyclopedic work The Choir and Its Management can be called the bible of choir conductors.

His name is called along with the names of such luminaries as Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky. Chesnokov's legacy includes about five hundred choral works. He wrote adaptations of folk songs, choirs and romances based on poems by Russian poets, and children's songs. But the main part of his work is spiritual works: author's chants and transcriptions of traditional chants of Orthodox worship. Among them are the complete cycles of the Liturgy and the All-Night Vigil, the opuses “Praise the Name of the Lord”, “Great Doxology”, “To the Most Holy Lady” and other compositions included in the golden fund of church musical culture. Chesnokov's music is deeply national and original, each of his melody helps to convey the words of prayer to believing hearts.

Of course, in the Soviet years, the church music of Pavel Grigorievich was not performed. But in the 80s Chesnokov's spiritual works began to penetrate the repertoire of academic choirs and withstood the test of the strictest court - time.

Tatiana Klimenko

Pavel Grigoryevich Chesnokov is one of the largest representatives of Russian choral culture of the late 19th - first half of the 20th century, a versatile choral figure - a composer, conductor and teacher.

PG Chesnokov was born on October 24, 1877 in the village of Ivanovskoye, Zvenigorod district, Moscow province, in the family of an employee. Father combined the service with the work of the church regent in a small factory choir, where the musical development boy. In 1886 he was appointed to the Moscow Synodal School, from which he brilliantly graduated in 1895. In the same year, he began teaching at his native school (in 1901-1904 he was an assistant regent of the Synodal Choir and in 1895-1904 - a teacher at the Synodal School). Around the same years, the musician worked in two urban primary male schools, and later taught singing in women's educational institutions.

P. G. Chesnokov’s choirmaster activity began in 1900 in the church of Kosma and Demyan in Shubin (near Tverskaya street). From 1902 to 1914 he led an amateur choir at the Trinity Church in Gryazi, where he achieved significant results. Then, in 1915-1917, P.G. Chesnokov headed the Russian Choral Society (in 1916-1917 he also directed the choir of the Russian Choir), was invited to large cities of Russia to participate in concerts and to summer regency teacher training courses in St. Petersburg (1911-1916 ).

In the Soviet era, the musician's performing activity reached new heights. Chesnokov led many professional choirs in Moscow: the Second State Choir (1919, 1921), the State Academic Choir (1922-1927), the working choir of Proletkult (1928-1932), worked as a choirmaster of the Bolshoi Tetar, directed the choir of the Moscow Philharmonic (1932-1933 ).

In the mid-1930s, Pavel Grigorievich worked in amateur choirs, achieving remarkable results in a number of cases (CPC Choir and About Gorky, etc.), conducted methodological courses for leaders of amateur performances, and taught special choral disciplines at the October Revolution School.

A characteristic quality of the performing image of the choirs led by Chesnokov was a light, beautiful, flying sound. The choirs under his direction were distinguished by their excellent ensemble, order, and subtlety of performance. Widely known is the theoretical work of P.G. Chesnokov - "Chorus and its management", on which the author worked from 1918 to 1929 (published in 1940). choral conductors summarized the performing and pedagogical experience author.

As a composer, Pavel Grigorievich graduated from the conservatory in 1917 with a silver medal. In the autumn of 1920, Chesnokov became a teacher at the Moscow Conservatory, where he worked until the end of his days. At the conservatory, he taught classes in solfeggio and theory (1920-1924), led the choir class (1924-1926; 1932-1934), participated in productions of the opera class, read the choral studies course he created (1925-1928). In 1932, having become a professor, he taught a class of special conducting. Among his students: I.Litsvenko, G.Luzenin, Yu.Petrovsky, A.Pokrovsky, S.Popov, A.Khazanov.

Peruvian composer owns about 360 chants, 18 works for mixed choir a cappella , 21 compositions for women's choir and piano, 20 children's songs, 21 romances.

In the last years of his life, the composer made 22 arrangements of Russian folk songs for soloists, mixed and male choirs. a cappella , created about 20 chants and 4 romances. Many choral compositions were widely known and loved by performers during his lifetime. Spiritual opuses of P.G. Chesnov - two Liturgies of St. John Chrysostom for women's choir, opus 9 and 16; Liturgy of the Pre-Illuminated Gifts, opus 24; Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, opus 42; Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, opus 50-a and the All-Night Vigil, opus 50-b; and individual chants the brightest samples Russian musical culture.

"To the venerable sweet-singing creator,
servant of God, Pavel Grigorievich,
many years for the glory of the Church
Orthodox to the hard worker ... "

/ A. D. Kastalsky, from “Many Years to Paul
Grigoryevich Chesnokov" /

"...P. G. Chesnokov left us inimitable samples of high religious inspiration, which burned with a quiet flame in him all his life. Not striving for any external effects, Chesnokov inspired the words of prayer petitions and praises with the simplest melodies, sounding from the depths of pure and perfect harmony. His music is alien to earthly passions, and earthly thought does not penetrate into the depths of simple and strict harmonies. This wonderful composer interpreted church music as prayer wings, on which our soul easily ascends to the throne of the Most High.” These words, spoken in the obituary of the “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” in April 1944, were the only ones that this genius of choral music of the 20th century was awarded in the national press after his death. Like Bach, who absorbed all the German music that existed before him, in order to then build a grandiose building, brick-by-brick, not subject to decay, Chesnokov summed up the tragic year 1917 thousand years of history Russian church music, raising above the world the dome of a temple not made by hands, called to purify human souls. And just as then, in the 18th century, blind contemporaries did not notice the grandiose creation that now strikes our imagination, so now we, standing at the foot of the temple, are trying in vain to distinguish the outlines of a cross on a dome that goes into the clouds. It took decades, as well as the efforts of many people, to understand and appreciate Bach; an equally long way must be traveled to comprehend Chesnokov.

The origins of his work should be sought in the mists of time, when monophonic chants that came from Greece and Byzantium were sung in the monasteries and temples of semi-pagan Russia. The strict ascetic spirit of the ascetics of the early Christian era lived in these hymns, passed down from generation to generation by oral tradition. In addition to the Znamenny (monophonic) chant, polyphonic chant was used: demestvennaya chant, travel chant. At the same time, the voices did not correlate harmoniously in any way, each went its own way, intertwining with the others into a bizarre dissonant vertical (the middle voice was called the “path” - hence the name of the chant, the upper one - “top”, the lower one - “bottom”). This fact is important for understanding the style of Chesnokov the composer. The unhurried and peaceful course of events was interrupted shortly after 1652, when part of the Church, opposing the reforms of Patriarch Nikon, went into schism. The clouds were gathering more and more over the Orthodox Church, and the storm was not long in coming - in 1666, after the trial, the former Patriarch Nikon was exiled to a distant monastery. This fracture in the Church predetermined the fate of Russia for centuries to come. From that moment on, only the Old Believers remained the same singing, for whom time stopped the course; in the reformed Church, however, the wheel of history, having begun to move, began to gain momentum. For liturgical singing, the first stage began: Polish-Ukrainian partes singing, which was strongly influenced by the Catholic Church, began to irresistibly crowd out the old chants. Following the first period (which lasted until the end of the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna (1730–1740)) was followed by the second - it was marked by the arrival of the Italian Francesco Araya in Moscow to "adjust" musical life at the yard. The "Enlightened West" at first, in a thin stream, then as an increasingly full-flowing river, poured into Russia in order to teach fine arts Russian barbarians. The main apologist for the Italian style in Russian church music was a student of Galuppi - Dmitry Bortnyansky, director of the Courtyard singing chapel, under the sign of the dominance of which the entire XIX century will pass. After 1816 and until his death (1825), for ten years he was the only, almost omnipotent censor of spiritual and musical compositions allowed for performance in the temple and allowed for publication. Needless to say, this position greatly contributed to his enormous popularity (of course, we are not in the least inclined to reduce his creative activity and composing talent: 59 spiritual concertos alone were written and published, of which 20 were double-horse). Liturgical singing again divided into two paths: parish and monastic. And if in the monasteries behind high walls, under the vigilant eye of church hierarchs, the statutory singing was still preserved, transmitted in the oral tradition by previous generations of novices and monks, then the long-suffering parishes turned this time into concert halls , where, along with the theater, the public went to listen to the performance (it should be noted, often masterfully) of the same Italian opera music, only for liturgical texts. Here is how Bulgakov, who was ambassador to Constantinople under Catherine II, reflects the customs of that time in a letter to his son: “The glorious singers of Kazakov, who now belong to Beketov, sing in the church of Demetrius of Thessalonica in Moscow. Such a congress happens that the entire Tverskoy Boulevard is lined with carriages. Recently, prayers have reached such shamelessness that in the church they shouted “handicap” (i.e. “bravo”, “encore”). Fortunately, the owner of the singers had a hunch to get the singers out, without which they would have reached more obscenity. Thus, in the minds of both the parishioners and the performers themselves, singing ceased to be part of the divine service, but became simply music, bringing a pleasant "diversity" to the course of the service. The chaos generated by the craze for musical Italian singing could not exist for long, for it corrupted the very foundations of church worship. It was put to an end by the imperious hand of General A.F. Lvov, who was appointed in 1837 to be the manager of the Court Chapel, and therefore of all church music (here we do not take into account the complete lack of logic in the situation when singing in church is an integral part of worship , was regulated not by the charter and not even by church hierarchs, but by secular musicians who have a very vague idea of ​​the genesis of liturgical singing and church services as such). On the one hand, Lvov brilliantly coped with his task: over 26 years of his activity in this post, he brought to uniformity all everyday (vocal) singing, having carried out the publication of “The Use of Simple Church Singing, Used at the Highest Court”, which became mandatory for all churches and which we still use today. It also matters to us that he liberated from the Procrustean bed of symmetrical meter and bar lines the harmonized ancient chants into which Italian music based on poetic versification and dance drove them. And yet Lvov, replacing the Italian polyphony "concerto grosso" with a strict German chorale, was far from realizing the fact that ancient Russian music has its own, completely different laws of development. “The znamenny chant still continued to remind people who undertook to harmonize it that they do not know its musical structure and, applying a new European harmony to it, do not know what they are doing, and connect the incompatible” (Preobrazhensky, “Cult Singing”). Thus, towards the end of its third period, liturgical singing was again led into a blind alley. The vocal routine, so rich in melodies in the ancient liturgical books, was reduced to eight voices of the Capella's Daily Use, and the freely composed repertoire in late XIX century was the same as at the beginning, plus the published works of Lvov himself. The removal of the Church itself from solving singing problems also had a negative effect. In some churches, the choir directors, despite the remarks of the bishops, allowed themselves to completely disregard the Rule and in singing adhered only to their own personal taste. Archbishop Nikanor of Kherson and Odessa tells about his impressions upon entering the administration of the diocese in his letter to the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod K.P. Here is the order of unimaginables... In general, nothing is read in the cathedral until the Six Psalms... The prokeimns all sing on the same note. Old rich tunes in voice are forgotten. In general, these habits Court chapel affect all-Russian ancient singing disastrously ... The regent, frivolous to the point of insolence, even inflicted several insults on me, leaving in exaggerated Italian, which I objected to ... ”Tchaikovsky echoes him:“ Bortnyansky’s sugary style is heard from the capital to the village and - alas! - the audience likes it. We need a messiah who will destroy everything old with one blow and go on a new path, and the new path consists in returning to the hoary antiquity and in communicating the ancient tunes in appropriate harmonization. How the ancient tunes should be harmonized, no one has yet properly decided ... "

Meanwhile, in Moscow, which was not affected as much as Petersburg by the reformist activities of the managers of the Court Choir, a new period in the development of liturgical singing was gradually maturing. Having begun together with the 20th century, it arose as a reaction of gifted, educated Russian musicians to the dominance in worship, first Italian, and then German music, and in any case has absolutely nothing to do with the ancient roots of Russian church singing. The center of the new direction was the Synodal Choir, as well as the Synodal School of Church Singing formed under it. The necessary prerequisites for this were: The Synodal Choir sang divine services out of duty in the Moscow Great Assumption Cathedral, where their own special liturgical charter operated and their obligatory tunes were preserved. Appointed in 1886 as regent of the choir, V. S. Orlov, a student of Tchaikovsky, raised the choir's performance level to unprecedented heights, forever burying the monopoly of the Court Singing Chapel on highly artistic singing. The director of the School at that time was S. V. Smolensky (the first and main teacher of Chesnokov), who stated that “The Synodal School of Church Singing aims to study ancient Russian church singing ...” He himself, being the largest theorist in this field, collected (on own funds) the richest, unique library of singing manuscripts.

Now we can be convinced that by the beginning of the 20th century the ground had been fully prepared for the appearance in Russian church music of a figure of such magnitude as P. G. Chesnokov, who combined in his work all character traits previous epochs: the instrumentality of partes singing, the polyphony of Italian music, the severity and beauty of the harmony of the German chorale; He graciously combined all this with a deep knowledge and inner feeling of the national roots of ancient Russian church chant, which could only be accessible to a sincere believer.

The future composer was born on October 24 (12 according to the old style) October 1877 near the city of Voznesensk, Zvenigorod district, Moscow province, in the family of a church regent. In addition to Pavel, Grigory Chesnokov had two more sons - Alexei and Alexander (the latter was also known as a spiritual composer, the author of many works for the choir, including "Liturgy" op.8 for mixed choir). By the age of seven, the boy had an outstanding musical talent and a wonderful singing voice: they allowed him to enter the Synodal School without any problems, which he graduated with a gold medal in 1895. In high school, Chesnokov studied composition in the class of Smolensky; his first writings belong to this period. After graduating from college, feeling insufficient technical readiness for free creative expression in composition, Chesnokov took private lessons from S. I. Taneyev for four years. At this time, the composer worked as a teacher of choral singing in gymnasiums and women's boarding schools, and in 1903 he became the choir director at the Church of the Holy Trinity on Pokrovka (“on the Muds”), which under his leadership became one of the best in Moscow, despite its amateur status. “The choristers were not paid, but the choristers were paid to be accepted into the Chesnokov choir,” recalled in 1960 one of the old-timer regents S. N. Danilov. In the journal "Choral and Regency Business" in 1913 (No. 4) a review was published of the anniversary (on the 10th anniversary of the management of the choir by Chesnokov) concerts of the choir, where the author describes his impressions as follows: “...P. G. Chesnokov is a remarkable virtuoso in conducting the choir and a finest artist. The choir sang simply and seriously, humbly and sternly. There is no desire to surprise with an extraordinary effect, to prepare something striking, some striking contrast. All shades are given in such a way that the inner feeling and musical beauty of each performed work require. In addition, Pavel Chesnokov served as regent in the church of Cosmas and Damian on Skobelevskaya Square, and also (1911–1917) taught at the annual summer regency courses in St. Petersburg with P. A. Petrov (Boyarinov), which were called “Smolensky courses”, since continuation of the work begun by Smolensky in Moscow in 1909. Every year, at the end of the course, the choir of regents under the direction of Chesnokov sang a liturgy in the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, where the works of both Pavel Grigorievich himself (Cherubim "Starosimonovskaya", "Rejoice"), and other authors (Tchaikovsky, Grechaninov, Kastalsky, Shvedov) . After the liturgy, there was always a memorial service for Smolensky, where Smolensky himself performed the "Panikhida on the themes of ancient chants". Chesnokov repeatedly traveled from Moscow on invitations from places to conduct spiritual concerts (Kharkov, Nizhny Novgorod and etc.). Not confining himself to personal problems, at the same time, Chesnokov the regent actively manifested himself in the public arena, participating in the work of all (except the 2nd) regency congresses, which played a significant role in raising the social status and improving the financial situation of the Russian regents. He zealously saw to it that each congress really brought concrete results and did not stray away from the solution of precisely the regency's problems. So, the magazine "Choral and Regency Business" (1910, No. 12), under the title "Those who have ears to hear - let them hear," published a letter written by Chesnokov after the 3rd congress in 1910, in which there are the following lines: "... Material and social the downtroddenness of the regents gave birth to regent congresses. And the first two showed clearly what and how the regent can achieve. But then those who were ashamed to be called regents appeared and merged the purely regency business with the general choral one. The 3rd Congress of Choral Workers has appeared, and we see what it gave. On it, everything related to the regency was carefully erased, bypassed ... That is why I am still against the merger of the regency congresses with the congresses of choral workers. Regency activity runs like a red thread through the composer's entire life, despite any political upheavals and persecution. Chesnokov the regent did not think of himself outside the church, remaining faithful to this service until the end of his days.

In 1913, at the age of 36, being the most famous regent and author of spiritual works, Chesnokov entered the Moscow Conservatory (one can only marvel at this irresistible striving for perfection, combined with true Christian humility!). There he studied composition and conducting with M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, as well as instrumentation with S. I. Vasilenko. Like the hero of the gospel parable, who acquired five other talents for the 5 talents given to him in order to double back to his master what the master bestowed on him, Chesnokov by 1917, his fortieth birthday, the year of graduating from the conservatory, had 36 (out of 38 written by him) spiritual opuses (in total by that time there were 50 of them - along with secular music), behind were two decades of tireless work in the choral and regency field, active social activity. It was probably no coincidence that it was precisely in this year that Chesnokov and his choir participated in the enthronement of Patriarch Tikhon (the first since the abolition of the patriarchate in 1718), whom the infernal machine of the new system did not manage to break, and whose martyrdom meant that everything Russia lived before that, gone into the irretrievable past, and everything that cannot be broken will be destroyed. Thus, the work of summer regency courses ceased, the Synodal School was first transformed into the Choir Academy, and then abolished, churches were closed one after another, and regency congresses were out of the question. Everyone who surrounded Chesnokov either emigrated or, like him, remained out of work. As an example, we can cite A. V. Nikolsky, who, having signed an agreement “not to distribute his cult works” in order not to let his family die of hunger, worked in Proletkult until 1925, composing new “proletarian songs”, though very similar to his spiritual works. The fate of N. M. Danilin was broken, who, after the collapse of the brilliant career of the regent of the Synodal Choir (suffice it to recall the famous trip to Rome with concerts in Warsaw, Vienna, Berlin, Dresden), tried to find a job as a choirmaster of the Bolshoi Theater, head of the choir of the former Courtyard chapel, Goschora of the USSR, but did not stay anywhere for a long time, apparently, the contrast between what filled him former life church conductor and the new repertoire of Soviet choirs. Pavel Grigorievich was no exception, who had to rebuild his life in his fifties. This period of the composer's life is quite clearly recorded in the Soviet press. In it we can read that P. G. Chesnokov “actively joined the work on the development of Soviet choral culture” (Musical Encyclopedia) and “his activities are becoming service to the people, is filled with new content ”(K. B. Ptitsa). This means that in 1917-1922. he led the 2nd State Choir, in 1922-1923. - Moscow Academic Chapel. In 1931–1933 worked as the chief choirmaster of the Bolshoi Theater, and at the same time directed the chapel of the Moscow Philharmonic; from 1917 to 1920 he taught at the Musical College named after the October Revolution.

In 1923, the "People's Choir Academy", created instead of the abolished Synodal School, ceased to exist. In turn, instead of it, a sub-department was organized at the instructor-pedagogical faculty of the Moscow Conservatory. Its origins were the main "ideologist" of the new direction A. D. Kastalsky (he already taught at the conservatory, and many even considered him a "red professor" - however, unfairly) and former teachers of the Synodal School, and then the People's Choir Academy A. V Nikolsky, N. M. Danilin, A. V. Alexandrov. P. G. Chesnokov, who from 1920 led the choir class and the course of choral studies he created at the conservatory, was one of them. Like any new undertaking (we do not doubt its expediency - in any case, there was no other way out), the sub-department entered a long period of reorganization and reforms: curricula, structure, name changed, choirs were created and disbanded, their leaders changed. Chesnokov directed the choir class of the subdepartment from 1924 to 1926 (the same year marked the 30th anniversary of Chesnokov's church singing activity as a composer and choir director, on this occasion Kastalsky wrote inspired lines that serve as the epigraph of this article). When the department of choir conducting was created in 1932, Chesnokov was its first head, but he never stayed in such positions for long, because accusations of "churchism" (and until 1932 he was regent in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior) followed him like a trail until end of life. During these years, Chesnokov worked on the main theoretical work of his life - the book "Chorus and its management", which was published in 1940 (circulation sold out in a matter of hours). Since then, the work has been repeatedly reprinted - and quite deservedly: the best book, which combines the theory and practice of conducting a choir, no one has yet written. Nevertheless, the internal breakdown that occurred in the author after the revolution is clearly felt in it. According to the original plan, this work was supposed to sum up and generalize the church singing experience that filled the life of the composer and regent, but due to the aggressive atheistic policy of the Soviet government (it was the time of the "godless five-year plan": by 1943 not a single temple, not a single priest - but the war prevented) Chesnokov was forced to write simply about the choir; the only church music example in this book is Berezovsky's "Don't Reject Me in Old Age", without lyrics. The creative activity of the composer-author of spiritual works also ended long ago: the last opuses were secular. After 1917, according to the data available today, only 20 sacred works were composed, some of which were published, while others, remaining in manuscripts, were included in opuses No. 51 and No. 53.

The last years of the life of P. G. Chesnokov were filled with need and deprivation. The official Soviet press tells us nothing about these years - but who wants to remember once again that we are to blame for the starvation death of another Russian genius? At best, we can read that this happened in the "difficult days of the Great Patriotic War, in April 1944 "(K. B. Ptitsa). Old choristers recall that Chesnokov, being a regent, did not go along with the “large group of professors” of the Moscow Conservatory to Nalchik and, having lost bread cards, spent last days in the queues at the bakery on Herzen Street, where on March 14, 1944, they found his frozen, lifeless body, forever abandoned by a pure, childishly naive soul. The funeral service was performed in the church on Bryusovsky Lane (Nezhdanova St.), and last resort Pavel Grigorievich Chesnokov found at the Vagankovsky cemetery, where his ashes rest to this day.

This article does not aim to exhaustively generalize the entire life and creative biography of the composer, but we would like each musician, having come into contact with the spiritual world of the Master himself, carefully and cautiously approached the interpretation of his works, recognizing the greatness musical gift composer and the depth of his human humility.

A. G. Muratov, D. G. Ivanov
1994