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PG CHESNOKOV CHOIR AND THEIR MANAGEMENT MANUAL for choral conductors Third edition STATE MUSIC PUBLISHING HOUSE Moscow 1961 -2- CONTENTS K. Bird. P. G. Chesnokov and his book “Chorus and its management” .............................................. 3 Author’s preface ................................................. ................................................. 19 PART ONE CHOROLOGY CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER FIRST. in t about r a i. t r e t i. h e t v e r t a i. p i t a i. w e s t a i. s e d m a i. What is a choir .................................................. ............ 21 Composition of the choir .................................... ......................... 27 Ensemble...................... ............................... 36 Build ..... ................................................. ................. 58 Nuances .................................. .................................. 88 Nuance of contrapuntal compositions ..... 110 Complicated form vocal organization of the choir..... 119 Part Two Choir Management Introduction. What does it mean to manage a choir? ................... 138 Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter first. in t about r a i. t r e t i. h e t v e r t a i. p i t a i. Acceptance of entry .............................................. 140 Ensemble Techniques............................................... .144 Building techniques .......................................................... ......... 149 Techniques of nuances ....................................... ............ 151 The system of methods and techniques for learning compositions with a choir .............................. ..................................158 APPENDICES Appendix I. “The dawn is glimmering” by P. Chesnokov.................................. .............................. 174 Appendix II. Fugue by M. Berezovsky.................................................. ................... 190 Appendix III. “In winter” by P. Chesnokov .............................................. .................... 208 Appendix IV. "Anchar" by A. Arensky .............................. ......................... 217 Appendix V. Plan homework Conductor .............................................. 236 Appendix VI. Advice for young conductors ............................................................... ....... 237 Appendix VII. List of admission to the choir .................................................... ............... 239 INTRODUCTORY ARTICLE REMARKS BY K. PTITSA S. POPOV -3- P. G. CHESNOKOV AND HIS BOOK "CHOIR AND MANAGEMENT OF THEM" For many centuries, choral singing has been the subject of the main path along which the development of the musical culture of our people proceeded. The exceptional poetic-musical talent of a Russian person found its expression in the images of song creativity, and choral singing became the most favorite form of musical performance, organically inherent in the people. It was in this area that, first of all, those artistic values ​​were created that brought our people worldwide recognition in the field of musical art and established for them the glory of the people-songwriter. On the basis of folk song culture, a powerful Russian professional musical art arose and rose. In the process of development of the national choral culture, choral groups were created that do not know their peers in terms of performing skills. The artistic education and subsequent work of the most gifted Russian musicians was invariably associated, to a greater or lesser extent, with folk songs and choral singing. The field of folk singing art attracted all those musicians in whose work the best traditions of Russian musical culture lived and were affirmed. At the same time, the deep originality of Russian choral music was always capable of exerting a strong influence both on the emerging creative image of the musician and on his very character. For a number of generations, many gifted Russian musicians and performers have devoted themselves entirely and with conviction to choral work. Among them were outstanding musical figures who left a noticeable mark on the history of Russian music: D. S. Bortnyansky (1751-1825), M. S. Berezovsky (1745-1777), G. Ya. Lomakin (1812-1885), V. S. Orlov (1856-1907), A. D. Kastalsky (1856-1926) and many others. -4- In the galaxy of remarkable Russian choir musicians, a place of honor is occupied by the name of Professor Pavel Grigorievich Chesnokov, whose whole life was devoted to serving the national choral art. * Pavel Grigoryevich Chesnokov is one of the largest figures of Russian choral culture of the first half of our century, a versatile choral figure - a composer, conductor, teacher, deeply national and original in his creative appearance. As a composer, Chesnokov enjoys wide, worldwide fame. He wrote many vocal works (over 60 opuses), mainly for mixed choir without instrumental accompaniment, over 20 women's choirs with piano accompaniment, several arrangements of Russian folk songs, romances and songs for solo voice. The most characteristic feature of his work is poetic sincerity, full of deep lyrical meditation, contemplation and grace. These are precisely his famous choirs, written for a mixed composition of voices - “The Dawn Is Warming”, “Forest”, “Night”, etc. All Chesnokov’s compositions are imbued with the spirit and influence of Russian folk song creativity, and at the same time they bear the features of his bright creative individuality. In those works where the influence of the folk song beginning is most strong, Chesnokov's work reaches great dramatic saturation (“Dubinushka”, “Not a flower fades in the field”, processing of Russian folk song"The baby walked along the forest"). His vocal and choral flair, understanding of the nature and expressive possibilities of the singing voice have few equals not only in the works of domestic, but also in foreign choral literature. He knew and felt the "secret" of vocal and choral expressiveness. Maybe a stern ear and keen eye a professional critic will note in his scores the saloon of individual harmonies, the sentimental sweetness of some turns and sequences. It is especially easy to come to this conclusion when playing a score on the piano without a clear idea of ​​how it sounds in the choir. But listen to the same piece performed live by the choir. The nobility and expressiveness of the vocal sound greatly transforms what was heard on the piano, the same music appears in a completely different form and is able to attract, touch the soul, and sometimes delight the listener. “You can sort through all the choral literature over the past hundred years, and there is little to be found equal to the mastery of the choral sound -5- equal to the mastery of the choral sound,” said the prominent Soviet choral leader G. A. Dmitrevsky in conversations with us. Many of Chesnokov's choral works have become firmly established in the concert repertoire of Soviet choirs and in the curricula of classes in the conducting and choral specialty. Some of them can rightly be attributed to the works of Russian choral classics. * Love to choral creativity in all its manifestations was the meaning of the whole life of P. G. Chesnokov. However, the most striking side of his artistic aspirations was, perhaps, his love for choral performance. If the passion and need for composition was able to cool down with age, then he retained his love for working with the choir until the end of his days. “Egorushka, let me stand in front of the choir for an hour,” he asked his beloved assistant in the chapel of the Moscow State Philharmonic, G. A. Dmitrevsky, having come to the choral rehearsal still not recovered from his illness. In the difficult year of 1943, shortly before his death, when a decision was made to organize a professional chapel at the Moscow Conservatory, Chesnokov, sick and almost incapacitated, touchingly asked N. M. Danilin, who was planned to be the artistic director of the chapel, to give him the opportunity to work with the choir. Without exception, all the choirs headed by Chesnokov during his many years of creative activity achieved excellent artistic results. In a number of cases, the choirs led by him achieved exceptionally high vocal and technical skill and vivid expressiveness. Chesnokov went through an excellent Russian music school - the Synodal College and the Moscow Conservatory. His teachers are S. V. Smolensky, S. I. Taneev, V. S. Orlov, S. N. Vasilenko, M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov. His friends and comrades in art were the remarkable Russian artists A. V. Nezhdanova, L. V. Sobinov, D. A. Smirnov, M. D. Mikhailov, who willingly communicated creatively with him and happily sang in the choirs under his direction. Chesnokov was one of the prominent representatives of Russian musical performance, who preserved and continued the best traditions of Russian vocal and choral art, transforming them with the power of his original and great talent. In his work with the choir, Chesnokov presented himself as a great connoisseur of choral singing, an excellent educated musician and a talented highly professional conductor. performed Perhaps it can be said that it was exciting that his interest and work with the aspiring choir was not a strong-willed -6- direction leading the team to an artistic goal predetermined by the conductor, as could be observed, for example, in N. M. Danilin. Nevertheless, each step of his work with the choir was deeply meaningful and consistent, each requirement was perfectly expedient and clear, his leadership was felt in the entire action of the choir - a hot creative feeling and strong thought. great artist and a musician. All his activities with the choir, from rehearsal to concert inclusive, never bore the character of everyday life and craftsmanship. He belonged to a glorious galaxy of remarkable artists - Russian choral conductors, such as V. S. Orlov, N. S. Golovanov, N. M. Danilin, A. V. Sveshnikov, A. V. Alexandrov, G. A. Dmitrevsky , for which artistic activity at every moment was a kind of "sacred rite". They completely devoted all their spiritual strength to art, they demanded this from others - their comrades in work and creativity. And here, in his work with the choir, he was invariably demanding and persistent, and even harsh at times, when the inattention of an individual singer disrupted the structure of his creative action, which began from the very moment when he stood at the podium and the choir inspector brought him a conductor's baton. The system of classes had the character of solemnity, emanating from his condition: it was enough to listen to introduction Chesnokov about the composer and the work with which he began rehearsal work, how you immediately felt the seriousness of the conductor's attitude to his work. He rarely took his eyes off work for a jolly word. True, he considered the timely joke to be a necessary mental relaxation for the team at work, but he always did it with restraint, laconic, as if slightly embarrassed. The performing appearance of Chesnokov was characterized by many individual features. His performance was always distinguished by nobility, impeccable taste. His understanding of the content of the work was characterized by a wise and deep penetration into the author's intention. In the conductor's interpretation of the works, he was organically inherent in a wonderful artistic flair. It was possible to argue about certain particulars of the performance, sometimes one could wish for greater brightness of dynamically intense but places never artistic in conveying the idea of ​​the figurative Chesnokov composer *. He did not endure the content of the work and contradictions, etc., with the performance ___________________ * Perhaps the only case can be found in his book "The Choir and its Management", where Chesnokov convincingly changed the dynamics in the "Anchar" choir by A. Arensky. -7- their spiritual purity. Never any falsity in the interpretation, no "gags" designed for outward success, for the satisfaction of backward tastes. Making easy success for himself was organically against his nature. In this sense, his work with the choir and performance was an excellent pedagogical example for young students - conductors. Everyone who attended the rehearsals and concerts of the Moscow State Philharmonic Chapel (1932-1933) was impressed by Chesnokov's work on Russian classics, filled with the conductor's ardent love for the work he was learning, the originality and accuracy of the performing interpretation. A scene in the streltsy settlement from M. Mussorgsky's "Khovanshchina", his own "Jesus Navin", choirs a cappella ("Kovyl" by Y. Sakhnovsky, "North and South" by A. Grechaninov, "Dubinushka" by P. Chesnokov, etc.), performed by the chapel under the direction of Chesnokov, were remembered for a long time, almost for a lifetime. And, having retained these vivid, first youthful impressions, his students later became convinced of the correctness and accuracy of the interpretation of the content of the work by Chesnokov. His artistic appearance was especially characterized by deep poetry and sincerity. The absence of grandiose climaxes, the broad spontaneous epicness of the performance was compensated by the subtlety and penetration of a living human feeling, which always captivated the listener. He knew this power of his and skillfully used it. It is interesting to note that Chesnokov boldly took on some works that seemed not quite characteristic of his artistic disposition, and, using his strong performing qualities, often achieved great and well-deserved success. Such, for example, was the performance in the 1932/33 season in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory of the choral work by A. Davidenko “The Street is Worried”. The public and the author enthusiastically accepted the artistically truthful, technically virtuoso performance this choir, although in his interpretation there was not that spontaneous scope that could be observed in the interpretation of other outstanding choral conductors (N. M. Danilina, A. V. Sveshnikov). The power of Chesnokov's artistic charm resonated primarily with his choir. Chesnokov has always enjoyed the exclusive love of his singers. The main choir, to which humanity is the principle, we find the relationship of Chesnokov followed all the mutual respect of the singers and in the book "The choir and the leader of his life, and them." The team was the conductor. Management discipline, in his opinion, should have in its deepest Directions on a production basis full respect for -8 - the head of the team. Cases of harshness in Chesnokov's treatment of singers were very rare and were caused only by the most serious, in his opinion, violations of creative discipline. Discipline, both external and internal, was excellent in his classes. Everyone willingly sought to fulfill the requirements of the leader. It should be noted that Chesnokov did not require the establishment of strict discipline and intense pace in rehearsal work. He considered the choir's rehearsal norm to be two hours of practice a day, that is, "singing for your own pleasure." Nevertheless, Chesnokov knew how to work with the choir not only calmly, but also economically. Strict professionalism and deep respect for his work invariably accompanied his work with the choir. Much of Chesnokov's personal virtues served this ability - to work productively and, if necessary, spend economically time; there were both tremendous musicality and excellent hearing, combined with clear thinking and will, which gave him the opportunity to accurately feel and understand the next need in the ongoing work, set specific requirements, achieving their fulfillment. There was also a colossal practical experience of working with the choir, accumulated over many years and necessary for the proper quality of work. In a parting word to young choirmasters who graduated from the conservatory, he said: “Here, my dear friends, work with the choir for a dozen years and then you will begin to understand something in the choral business.” Chesnokov was an exceptional master in the field of a cappella choral singing. H. M. Danilin argued that Chesnokov's equal in tuning the choir does not exist in nature. And in fact, the structure of the choir, led by Chesnokov, was exceptionally clean. When a choral chord changed, the next one came intonation exactly and simultaneously, which gave the impression of unusual peace and completely satisfied the ear. The most complex modulations were performed naturally and accurately in all voices and chords. I remember how at one of the concerts in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, by the end of the big program, the choir was tired, but its structure was still pure, the intonation was free. They sang "Dubinushka" and "Ditch" - the best of Chesnokov's arrangements of Russian songs. Pavel Grigorievich, having given the tonal tuning, stepped aside from the choir and watched without controlling it. The choir sang freely and easily. The intonation was impeccable. After the end of the work, Pavel Grigorievich checked the tone on the piano for the audience. The formation was held by the choir quite precisely. In the performance of works unfolded with a special a cappella artistic talent force. His creative range in this Chesnokov genre was especially wide. Composer B. S. Shekhter recalls the performance of his beautiful dramatic work- choral miniature "Beyond the Dniester": "I have never heard such a penetrating and subtle performance of this choir as by P. G. Chesnokov." A huge success with the public enjoyed the opposite character of the Russian folk song "Ditch", where Chesnokov's original artistic nature loomed both in the treatment of a wonderful playful theme and in its performance. He was an excellent practitioner of the vocal nature and performance capabilities of the human voice. Having excellent knowledge of the theoretical foundations and techniques of singing art, Chesnokov, as a true master of his craft, considered working on vocals in the choir the most difficult task, requiring a special approach in the performance of each given work. He spoke with restraint about the production of his voice, but was very attentive to the choral and solo singing sound; I always knew and took into account the vocal laws both in work with the choir and in composition. He told how A. V. Nezhdanova, who had an ideally pure intonation, sang the solo written for her by Chesnokov with insufficient accuracy. After carefully reviewing the work and thinking deeply about the reasons for impure intonation, he noticed an abundance of transitional notes. I changed the key, a few sounds, and the solo sounded perfect. * In order to draw up a sufficiently clear and complete picture of the appearance of the artist and his work, it is necessary to know the main features that characterize personal qualities. Pavel Grigoryevich Chesnokov was a man of deep decency, who preserved until his advanced years the naive simplicity and trustfulness of his poetic and sensitive soul. The lofty ideas of humanism, humanity and kindness attracted him unconditionally, although their real value in combination with the public good was understood by him in a peculiar way and was not always defined correctly. He had a persistent and stubborn character; he reluctantly renounced his earlier opinions: in his judgments and statements he was direct and completely alien to hypocrisy; internally focused; in the manifestation of feelings, he is restrained and laconic, only occasionally revealing significant inner strength; prone to subtle and clever humor; in all his actions he is always unhurried, punctual; in dealing with people, as a rule, he is attentive, correct and restrainedly affectionate, full of great human charm; - 10 - true to his friendly feelings; it harmoniously combined the features of spiritual and physical purity. * The social and musical activity of P. G. Chesnokov was divided by the boundary of two historical epochs - the Great October Socialist Revolution. He began and lived about half of his conscious life in socio-social conditions directly opposite to those in which the second half of it passed. Naturally, in direct proportion to these circumstances, his life, worldview and artistic creativity took shape. P. G. Chesnokov was born on October 25, 1877 in a working settlement near the city of Voskresensk, Zvenigorod district, Moscow province, in the family of a church regent. From the age of five, in his father's choir, his singing education began. Outstanding musical abilities and an excellent singing voice that soon emerged made it possible for the seven-year-old boy to enter the Moscow Synodal School. In 1895 he graduated from college and was awarded Golden medal. Already in the senior classes of the school, the young man enthusiastically devotes many hours to choral composition under the guidance of a brilliant teacher and musician S. V. Smolensky. “At that time,” Pavel Grigorievich recalled in a conversation with his students, “for the first time I knew inspiration. I wrote my first big concert for choir with love and diligence. But every time, at the next lesson in composition and theory, S. V. Smolensky calmly crossed out what was written with a pencil and said: “This is not it.” In the end, I was close to despair. But then one day I was walking down the street, thinking about my unsuccessful composition, and suddenly it dawned on me! It was as if a closed door had opened in front of me. I stood for a moment and then started to run. Muscovites, probably, looked with surprise at the lanky young man running with a happy face along the Kuznetsk bridge. I wrote all night. And the next morning, S. V. Smolensky, having carefully played out what I had done, got up, hugged me, kissed me and said: “Congratulations.” Indeed, it was one of my best compositions!” The desire for musical creativity led Chesnokov to S. I. Taneyev, with whom he studied for four years. In 1913, already a well-known composer and conductor, he entered the Moscow Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1917 in the class of free composition with a silver medal. All pre-revolutionary activities of P. G. Chesnokov - performing, composing and teaching - unfolded in Moscow. The most significant works - 11 - were written by him in the field of cult music. He was a popular regent, taught choir singing in gymnasiums and led the choirs of women's boarding schools, for whom he composed many charming miniatures - women's choirs, which are still popular today (Green Noise, Uncompressed Band, etc.). Chesnokov met the Great October Revolution in the mature period of his life. It would seem that for him, who is widely popular in the field of his specific activity, the great social transformation should have been perceived primarily as the collapse of personal well-being, sanctified by all the previous order of life and existence in Russia. However, being a man of great intelligence and emotional sensitivity, Chesnokov could not fail to understand in the end the essence of what was happening. His honest and truthful nature stubbornly sought the right solution to the problem of belonging to one of the two social parties in a divided world. And, ultimately, decency, honesty, intuition, love for his homeland and people determined his attitude to the movement of life. Indignantly rejecting the possibility of emigration, he became a loyal member of the Soviet state, willingly giving his strength to the new society, which understood a lot and agreed with a lot. Often mistaken and mistaken, but invariably striving for goodness and truth, Chesnokov was a stranger to hypocrisy and hated untruth. When he was convinced of his wrong, then, without hesitation and without hypocrisy, he sincerely and openly repented of his mistake. N.G. Raisky recalled the following case, which vividly characterizes Pavel Grigorievich. At one of the meetings of the artistic council of the conservatory, Chesnokov misinterpreted the speech of the rector N. G. Raisky, addressed to the choir department, was offended and attacked the rector with harsh remarks. Then, during the meeting, the comrades explained his mistake. As soon as the meeting of the council was over, Chesnokov got up and went straight to the chairman's table. He stopped and asked N. G. Raysky, almost for the first time addressing him as "you": - Are you angry? “No, I’m not angry,” he replies. - Offended? - Yes, it's a shame for the injustice. - Excuse me? - I'm sorry! Pavel Grigoryevich bowed low and left the hall. It should be said with all certainty that only after the Great October Revolution did Chesnokov's social and musical activity unfold in that fullness and diversity that corresponded to his versatile talent. At this time, his activity becomes service to the people, filled with new, progressive content. Chesnokov led the amateur choral activities of the working people, achieving in a number of cases remarkable results (chorus Central Park culture and recreation. Gorky, etc.), putting the work in amateur performances on a highly professional level. He worked as a teacher of choral singing methods at courses for leaders of amateur choirs and taught special choral disciplines at the Moscow Musical College. October revolution. In 1920 he was invited as a professor at the Moscow State Conservatory, where he worked until the end of his days. At the conservatory, Chesnokov taught a choral studies course he created, a choir class, special conducting, and solfeggio. At the same time, his professional performing activity expanded widely. After the revolution, from 1917 to 1922, Chesnokov directed the Second State Choir, from 1922 to 1928 - the Moscow State Academic Chapel. In 1931-1933 he worked as a choirmaster at the Bolshoi Theatre. In 1932-1933 he headed the chapel of the Moscow State Philharmonic. And always, wherever Chesnokov worked, in a big or small business, his boundless love for choral singing, illuminated by a great and bright talent, his honesty and integrity in life and work could be an excellent example of serving his native art. We must salute his devoted, self-sacrificing work as a Soviet musician, a worker and a citizen; labor, which, without stopping or weakening, continued until his death, which came in the difficult years of the Great Patriotic War , - in April 1944. * In 1940, Chesnokov's work "Chorus and its management" came out of print. The emergence of this book is connected not only with the experience of practical work with the choir accumulated over many years, but also with the many years of fruitful pedagogical activity of its author. Back in the early 1920s, with the arrival of Chesnokov at the conservatory, he faced the problem of creating a methodology for choral work. The systematic and consistent education of highly qualified choir conductors, which was carried out for the first time in the Soviet state (in pre-revolutionary times there were no conducting and choir departments in conservatories), required a serious theoretical base. Meanwhile, there were no sufficiently complete and profound works on these issues either in domestic or in foreign pedagogical literature. With his inherent thoroughness and love for everything related to the choir, Chesnokov set about creating a textbook on the choral methodology, which he called "choir studies". Chesnokov was a pioneer in the creation of the domestic theory of choral work. In his book, indeed for the first time, a serious attempt, built on many subtle observations and deep knowledge of the choral nature, was made to generalize the vast, although predominantly personal, experience with the choir. Over eighteen years of hard work he put into the creation of his book. The greatest difficulty in working on the book was the absence of such works, as well as the insufficient experience of Chesnokov himself in the literary exposition of the most difficult issues of musical performance - something that often prevents the best practitioners of musicians from expounding long-learned and clear truths. Pavel Grigoryevich himself, jokingly, said about this: “I have only to take up a letter, as the pen in my hand turns into heavy scrap, and I go to the bottom with all my thoughts and conclusions.” Nevertheless, he was fascinated by the noble and disinterested task - to leave to posterity, as he said, those traces of his many years of performing activity that will help facilitate and direct their work along the right path. He devoted many hours, days and years of his life to the solution of this problem. Most of the conclusions in Chesnokov's book are somehow connected with his direct activities in the choir. And that is precisely why, as we think, there is truth in all these propositions and conclusions, proceeding from practical expediency, which is constantly necessary in living work. Despite some erroneous judgments, inaccuracies, insufficient coverage of certain issues, often associated with the author's poor command of the dialectical method of cognition, the most imperfect, with modern point of view, the studies of P. G. Chesnokov always carry a greater or lesser grain of truth and practical usefulness where they are the data of practice. One of the most controversial and dubious points in describing the methodology of rehearsal work on choral works is the mechanical division of the entire work process into “phases” and “periods” proposed by Chesnokov. Each phase has its own strictly limited task of a technological or artistic order: mosaic analysis of a work; development of the system and nuances, diction, etc. Technical and artistic work is decisively divided into two periods. - 14 - Citing many interesting and necessary remarks and advice, quite reasonably and naturally analyzing the rehearsal work with the choir with deep knowledge of the matter, Chesnokov singles out various aspects of it from this integral process - work on the system, ensemble, on the artistic finishing of the work. But, delving into the analysis of rehearsal work, he forgets about the mandatory interpenetration and interdependence of these parts in practice. Making such a division, Chesnokov does not indicate that in the work of the choir on mastering the technological difficulties of the work, the tasks of an artistic order must already be determined and the tasks of an artistic order must be carried out, that work on mastering the technology and revealing the content, in fact, cannot exist one without the other, not leading to the nonsense that if indeed at the beginning of work on a work technical requirements prevail, and in the final period artistic requirements, then nevertheless the process of the performing formation of a work of art is one. Yielding to the temptation to establish methodological patterns and order in the choral work in the book, in his passion for analytical research, Chesnokov makes a methodological error, not free from formalism. It should be remembered that he tried to establish this mechanistic distinction in his studies with the choir, dividing the process of rehearsals by days and hours, into periods of technical and artistic work, punctually placing intonational marks with the singers on each sound. It would seem that such a method of work should have led to the drying up and impoverishment of the artistic nature of the conductor and the creative aspirations of the team. But living reality actively opposed this, practice amended the theoretical calculations. And it was clear to those who watched how Chesnokov's artistic talent illuminated the work in the first, so-called "technical period", how a keen ear and natural musicality forced him to work on the "artistic technical period" of the unfinished work of the choir. in some places the works Of greatest interest at the time of attention is not the system of phases and periods set forth in the book, but a number of useful practical tips that systematize the work of a conductor. Looking back and remembering Chesnokov's performance, one comes to the final conclusion that everything in the book is good that is a record of the data of his direct performing activity. The situation is much worse when Chesnokov proceeds to complex generalizations and makes an attempt to create a strictly scientific system in the field of performing arts. More should be said. - 15 - Having created a purely speculative regularity, in its essence it may be correct, but exaggeratedly theorized by him and therefore lost the flexibility inherent in the "laws" of performance, Chesnokov, due to the peculiarities of his character, often stubbornly and persistently strove to further carry it out in his conductor's room. work, without taking into account the peculiarities and specifics of individual cases of practice, sometimes contradicting itself. So, for example, his conductor's gesture was distinguished by freedom, breadth and smoothness of movement, and the performing nature was most characteristic of the control of works of wide cantilena sound. The gesture, small, sharp and quick, was less successful for him. Its long Strong arms tall and broad in the bone of a person were capable of great physical exertion in moments of expression and demand for power in the sound of the choir. And he created a great vivid expression in the corresponding parts of the work, contradicting the rules of his book, according to which the main indicators of the dynamics in the movement of the hand are only their different height positions in relation to the conductor's body: forte - hands at the top, mezzo-forte - in the middle of the body , piano - below. Chesnokov abandoned his theoretical rules with great reluctance. A funny incident comes to mind. At the department of choral conducting at the Moscow Conservatory, in the spring of 1943, Chesnokov and Danilin argued about the possibilities for the conductor to show the dynamic shades of music. Chesnokov argued that the provisions set out in his book should be rules for students. N. M. Danilin objected: - Tell me, what am I showing? - he asked, with the lightest smooth movement of the hand, conducting the conductor's scheme at the level of the face. - In my book it is shown that - forte, - says Chesnokov. Momentary silence... - But what is this?! - Danilin exclaims, flashing his eyes, putting his hands down tensely and shaking them in such a marcato that the floor trembles. “There should be a piano here,” Chesnokov answers imperturbably. The question set forth in the book about the peculiarities of the intonation of intervals by singers, connected with the problem of choral structure, was sharply criticized. Chesnokov was rightly reproached for the fact that he considered the issues of intonation of individual chord sounds regardless of the mode. It was pointed out that the intonation of the same intervals has different features depending on their modal and functional affiliation. The pitch ratio, for example, of sounds in do-mi in - 16 - key C major will be different than in A minor. However, agreeing with the above criticism, it should be noted that here, too, Chesnokov's published observations on the formation contain a number of correct and useful indications, being at one time the first and correct step towards the study of the most complex element of choral sonority - the formation. Chesnokov's instructions on formation have undoubtedly retained their significance in our time, requiring only some adjustments and additions. The previously mentioned system of marks-arrows proposed by Chesnokov, which indicate difficultly performed intervals (mode steps) and the need for their intonational tightening or lowering, deserves the most serious attention. And here Chesnokov also, striving for an exhaustive completeness of methodological provisions, somewhat exaggerated the need to use marks, demanding that they be placed on all notes of each work. It is unlikely that there is a need for such detailed marking, which in this case lose their meaning of signals in especially intonationally dangerous places in the score or choral part. The need for preliminary knowledge of such places by the conductor and singers and their mark is now known to every leader of the choir. * Many objections were raised about Chesnokov's definition of the choir as "a collection of singers, in the sonority of which there is a strictly balanced ensemble, a precisely adjusted system and artistic, distinctly worked out nuances." ** Such a definition really does not reveal the artistic and aesthetic side of choral singing and does not outline the main goals of the educational order set for contemporary choral art. We consider it necessary, however, to draw the reader's attention to the fact that the above quotation is only one of the definitions given by Chesnokov to the choir in his book. Somewhat earlier, even in the preface, the author defines the choir as follows: “The a cappella choir is a full-fledged union of a significant number of human voices, capable of conveying the subtlest bends of spiritual movements, thoughts and feelings expressed in the performed composition” ***, which significantly expands the concept of the choir , given in the first formulation, bringing it closer to the modern definition of the choir and its creative tasks. ____________________ * A. V. Sveshnikov testified that during his foreign tours he had to observe the use of the method of intonation markings in various choirs and teaching aids. ** Page 25 of this edition. *** Page 19 of this edition. - 17 - A very interesting section of the book is devoted to the description of the complex forms of the vocal organization of the choir. Chesnokov proposes, essentially speaking, in this chapter, new ways of developing the artistic expressiveness of collective singing art. An excellent connoisseur of the expressive possibilities of the human voice, he tested the expediency and reality of his theory on the experience of using the register-timbre division of voices in the State Capella in works specially written according to his requirements by A. V. Nikolsky and Yu. S. Sakhnovsky, with the division of choral parts into small tone groups. According to experts, even in the first experiments, serious positive results were felt. This problem will certainly require serious attention in further development national choral culture. * In Chesnokov's book, one can find, in addition to those indicated, a lot of inaccurate, far from complete and not always correct definitions, a confusion of concepts in the description of the performing capabilities of the choir and in its organization (first of all, this refers to the definition of choral sonority and elements of artistic performance - ensemble, nuances, to the differentiation and definition of technical and artistic elements in choral singing). But, despite a number of shortcomings, it is difficult to overestimate the sound of Chesnokov's book "The Choir and Its Management" in the history of Russian Soviet choral culture. The book "Choir and its Management" can be classified as one of the remarkable works that are of great benefit to the younger generation of Soviet choral conductors who are looking for new ways in the development of Russian choral art. Chesnokov's book is a kind of encyclopedia of choral work and is undoubtedly the best work in this field. The interest in the book is also evidenced by the fact that when it went out of print, the circulation was sold out in a few hours. The second edition of the book is now also a bibliographic rarity. It is known and translated abroad. A great musician and teacher, a man of a pure and disinterested soul, P. G. Chesnokov loved his students with a penetrating paternal love, carefully kept her warmth in his heart. And this love, this warmth was the force that convinced him of the need to complete many years of work. - 18 - He intended his book to students and friends, comrades in choral work: “I, in brief terms, put into it the whole essence of almost fifty years of practice, did (and conscientiously) what I wanted to do for my favorite art. * * These are, in general terms, the main milestones in the life and work of Professor Pavel Grigorievich Chesnokov. A lot of interesting and instructive things could be said about him - a remarkable choral figure in our country, representing, without a doubt, - as G. A. Dmitrevsky said, - "a significant page in the history of Russian music." K. Bird _____________ * P. G. Chesn o k o v. Letter to KB Ptitsa dated December 23, 1942 - 19 - AUTHOR'S PREFACE In this book, by the word choir I mean exclusively a choir without instrumental accompaniment - a cappella choir, to which this work is entirely devoted. The a cappella choir is a full-fledged union of a significant number of human voices, capable of conveying the subtlest bends of spiritual movements, thoughts and feelings expressed in the performed composition. The a cappella choir has its own ancient school, which reached a high development in the 16th century; this can be judged from the surviving works of such great masters as Palestrina, Josquin de Pres and others. I by no means claim that I have managed to fully resolve all the questions of choral studies and choral management raised in this work; Having covered these issues in general terms, I call on the new generation of conductors to take part in their further development. I was forced to work on the book without auxiliary materials: there are none, except for those who do not have a special choral bias on questions musical form, phrasing, etc. I based my work on my observations over many years of practical work, setting as my task the theoretical substantiation of conclusions verified in practice. However, one should not look for any strictly scientific provisions in the proposed book. My goal was to consolidate and systematize the achievements of many years of practice. I wanted mainly to make it easier for novice conductors to follow the path that I myself have traveled. Let this work of mine lay the foundation for the development of choral science. - 20 - * The book is divided into two parts: 1st - choir (choir studies); part 2 - managing it (choir management). The first part has the task of resolving three main questions: 1) what is a chorus, 2) what are the elements of choral sonority, and 3) what are the ways to identify and develop these elements. The task of the second part is to determine the practical methods of managing the choir. Many years of work devoted to the study of the materials presented in this book and processing them, I will consider not in vain if it will be of benefit to young choral conductors and will be a contribution to the future science of the choir and its management. I dedicate this book to the memory of my teacher and friend Stepan Vasilyevich Smolensky, outstanding musician and comprehensively educated person . He was the teacher of a whole galaxy of choir masters, many of whom are still working in our country. With a feeling of gratitude, I cannot fail to mention here the name of the modest, disinterested enthusiast of choral art K. I. Klugen, who helped me over the years in working on this book. P. Chesnokov - 21 - PART ONE CHOIRING ____________________________________________________________________ Chapter One WHAT IS A CHOIR What is a choir, and what is not a choir, but only a gathering of singers; what is choral sonority, and what is only the sound of human voices; why one choir sings well and another worse; what is unhealthy and needs treatment in a choir singing badly? Without resolving these issues, it is impossible to accurately indicate to the choral conductor the practical path of his work. The resolution of them introduces us to the field of choral studies. Good, healthy choral sonority is created by three main elements. It is possible to establish what these elements are by a comprehensive study of the choral sonority of an excellently singing choir. Let's try to imagine the sound of such a choir: quiet, but wide and full-sounding chords, like waves, smoothly roll on us; we are enchanted by a smooth, full-fledged sonority and an amazing fusion of all voices in a single chord; we do not hear in this united sonority not only individual singers, but also individual parts of the choir, everything has merged and balanced to form a beautiful sonority of the chord. The wholeness, monolithic nature of this sonority is striking: the choir with its numerous singers appears to us as if it were a single living organism. Wave chords begin to grow, expand, and finally reach tremendous power. In this most difficult process of expansion, the growth of sound, in this power of the choral forte, the same unity, integrity is preserved, and at the same time such lightness is felt, as if the choir does not expend any energy on this expansion of sound, on this sonorous, powerful forte. Let us try to enter into the very midst of the choir and set ourselves the goal of dividing this beautiful sonority into its constituent elements. To begin with, let's observe at least the viola part. - 22 - What do we see and hear in it? First of all, we see the concentrated attention of the singers to their part, we notice the desire of each individual singer to merge with his part both in the strength of his voice and in the timbre (color) of the sound. We hear the result of such concentrated attention, such a striving: all the violas, mutually balanced in strength and merged in timbres, formed a choral part, that is, not a random combination of vocal tensions of various colors, but, as it were, one strong and powerful, now soft and gentle, then a firm and elastic choral voice with a characteristic uniformly typical coloring characteristic of this part. This balance in style and unity in color is the basis of the first element of choral sonority - a private ensemble. Ensemble is a French word. In translation, it means - immediately, together, together and, most importantly, balanced - the main thing is because you can sing all at once, together and even together, but if there is no balance in strength, then it will not work out what should be called a private ensemble . (“Private” we call this ensemble because it belongs to a separate choral part - part of the choir.) The basis of the first element of choral sonority - a private ensemble - we will find in any part of an excellent singing choir. That is why, perceiving the general choral sonority, we did not hear individual singers. If we leave the circle of any one party and look from the outside at its relation to the choir (as part to the whole), then we will notice the desire of the whole party, united by a private ensemble, to balance in the power of sound with other parts of the choir. This desire creates a uniform, balanced sound of all choral parts. As a result, a common ensemble of the choir is achieved, which is the complete first element of choral sonority. It also determined that wholeness and unity of all parts, which we observed when listening to the general choral sonority. If we fit in the center of the choir, we will feel a lot of subtle aspirations - threads that tightly bind all parties together. We will notice how these threads run from singer to singer and from party to party, the desire to calibrate their sound, to place in the general chord their sound and the sound of their party at a completely precise height in relation to the sounds of their neighbors in the party and to the sounds of other parties. Observing this, we will see how an individual singer and each part strives, while giving a sound, to rely both on their neighbor, on their part, and on all the other parts of the choir, in order to align and accurately set their sound in the chord and in the sense of pitch. Each singer, each part - 23 - sensitively listening to his neighbors and to other parts, builds his sound in relation to their sounds quite correctly and accurately. Each singer and each part tries to hear the whole choral chord, then the ear of the individual singer and, say, the collective ear of each part tells them the exact position of their sounds in the chord. This gives a finely tuned, harmonious chord. As a result, a choral structure arises, the structure of the choir is the second element of choral sonority. This second element - the system - was the source of the harmony and beauty that we observed when we listened to the general choral sonority. Lightness in tension and sonority in a powerful forte (“as if the choir does not expend energy at all”) were due to the combination of the ensemble with the system. Let us remember, therefore, that only that chord sounds excellent, which is balanced and built, and the more balanced and harmonious the chord, the more lightness and sonority it has. Therefore, the more power and lightness you need to achieve in sonority, the more strictly you need to balance and build a chord more accurately. A balanced and built chord acquires volatility: then on the most delicate pp it will fly and will sound in the most remote corners of any vast room. The chord, devoid of ensemble and tuning, gets stuck right there in the chorus and does not sound even on a loud ff. Let us look at the chorus even more closely, listen even more attentively, and we will notice a whole network of strands-aspirations of a different order than in the ensemble and system. We will see and feel that these new threads, emanating from each singer and, as it were, in bundles from each part, rush to one point. This central guiding point for the choir is the conductor. We see how each singer and each part, taking care of the ensemble and tuning, at the same time turn their attention to the conductor. We clearly feel that each singer is strongly connected with the conductor; that the conductor's will is his will; that the singer does not think of making a single sound without observing the conductor and being in continuous communication with him; that he is strong in this fellowship and this guidance. Such communication and merging of singers with the conductor establishes mutual understanding of extraordinary sensitivity: the slightest indication of the conductor is instantly perceived and performed by all singers, all parts, all in chorus; the look, facial expression, internal movements of the conductor's artistic feeling are immediately reflected in the consciousness and feelings of the singers. From this subtle mutual understanding, the third element of choral sonority is born - nuances, or shades. - 24 - So, having analyzed the sound of an imaginary exemplary choir, we have established three main components of choral sonority: ensemble, structure, nuances. The properties and significance of these three main elements of choral sonority can be clearly displayed with the following table: Elements Properties of the elements Results Ensemble Balance, unity of each part and all parts Integrity Scale Harmoniousness, alignment, accuracy of the chord Beauty Nuances Perception and execution of the conductor’s instructions Expressiveness The listed main elements of choral sonority are indispensable. Imagine that there is no ensemble in choral sonority. This absence in itself will spoil the choral sonority, since there will be no balance of sound both in each part between the singers that make it up, and in the choir between individual parts. At the same time, the absence of an ensemble will also have a bad effect on the other elements of choral sonority - on the tuning and nuances: on the tuning because the singers and parts, not hearing all the party comrades and all the parts of the choir, will not be able to build the chord the way it should ; the nuances in the absence of an ensemble cannot be uniform, friendly, again because the singers will not be able to measure them without hearing either their party neighbors or all the parts of the choir. From this it is clear that the absence of an ensemble destroys the choral sonority. There is no need to talk about the absence of a system, since it is easy to imagine how “beautiful” the sonority will be if the choir begins to sing out of tune, out of tune. It would seem that if there is an ensemble and a system, then a good choral sonority is ensured and the absence of nuances will not destroy it. In fact, this is not so. Nuances give choral sonority the necessary expressiveness, the absence of which deprives it of vitality: without nuances, choral sonority is dead. - 25 - Build and ensemble can be vital and alive only when there are nuances. So, the absence of an ensemble or a system, or nuances, or, moreover, all of them together destroys the choral sonority. As for diction, tempo, rhythm, etc., these requirements already apply to the performance, to the transmission of the composition: without them, or rather, with poor development of them, the choral sonority is still preserved (for more details, see at the end of Chapter V, part 1). Performance, transmission of a composition should not be confused with choral sonority as such: with good choral sonority, there can be anti-artistic, even illiterate transmission of a composition. If a choir with good sonority has poor diction, i.e., the choir pronounces the words poorly, unclearly, then the brightness of the composition, on the one hand, and the artistry of the impression, on the other, will undoubtedly suffer. The performed composition sounds both whole and harmonious, and even expressive, but it is difficult to understand what its meaning is, since it is impossible to make out the words that the choir sings. This is undoubtedly a significant drawback in terms of artistic impression and brightness of transmission. But does choral sonority suffer from this shortcoming? No. No, because the piece being performed sounds both whole and beautiful, and although not bright, it is still expressive. So, poor diction of the choir with good sonority spoils the brightness of the transmission and the artistry of the impression, but does not destroy the choral sonority as such. If a good sonority choir sings out of rhythm, then the listener may experience dissatisfaction, even annoyance. But the choral sonority will still not be lost, because one can sing non-rhythmically, but balanced, harmonious and to some extent expressive. If a good choir performs a composition at an inappropriate tempo, then one can feel sorry for the composition itself and its author, but do not blame the choral sonority, because one can sing at the wrong tempo even if there is an ensemble, structure and nuances. So, the absence of good diction, accurate rhythm and correct tempo, spoiling the performance of the work, does not destroy the choral sonority. The ensemble, structure and nuances are the main and indispensable elements of choral sonority as such. This position should be the fundamental principle, the cornerstone in the foundation of choral science - in choral science. Based on this basic provision, it is possible to determine exactly what is a choir? The choir is such a collection of singers, in the sonority of which there is a strictly - 26 - balanced ensemble, precisely adjusted system and artistic, clearly developed nuances. Giving great importance to the main elements, we consider it necessary, before considering them in detail, to give elementary rules for their formation and improvement. These rules are obligatory for every choral singer, and only if they are observed will he be able to master the elementary choral technique. Here are the rules that are necessary and accessible to every choral singer, the fulfillment of which must be constantly monitored by the conductor: 1. Everyone who sings in the choir must sensitively listen to his part in order to balance in it with the power of his voice and merge with it with the timbre of his sound. The exact execution of this rule gives a private ensemble. 2. Each part, having merged and balanced in itself, must sensitively listen to all the other parts of the choir in order to be balanced by the power of its sound in the general choral sonority. Skill in the execution of this rule will give a general ensemble. 3. Each singer in the choir, working out the ensemble of the part, must listen to it in order to merge with it in exact unison with the height of his sound. The execution of this rule will give the party a private order. 4. Each part, having united in a private and general ensemble and having improved its private system, must listen sensitively to all the other parts and, perceiving the choral chord as a whole, build its pitch quite correctly and accurately in relation to the pitch of the other parts of the choir. Accuracy in the execution of this rule will give a general choral system. 5. Each singer in the choir must establish continuous communication with the conductor, see and understand his instructions, and accurately execute them. The execution of this rule will give choral nuances. Reasonably instilling and constantly recalling these elementary rules, the conductor will gradually but surely develop in the singers a sense of ensemble, a sense of order, and a sense of balanced nuances. The choir as a whole will perhaps slowly but firmly master the main elements of choral sonority. Only by acquiring them and improving in them, the group of singers will rightly be called a choir. - 27 - Chapter Two COMPOSITION OF THE CHOIR According to the composition of the choir, the most common are three main types: 1. Choir of female or children's voices (or both), 2. Chorus of male voices, 3. Choir of mixed voices. of sopranos and altos, and the second type of choir, consisting of tenors and basses, are called homogeneous choirs. From the combination of these two homogeneous choral groups (upper and lower), one mixed group is obtained, so that the choirs of the first and second types can be considered as two halves of the third type of choir. This by no means negates their independent significance, but both together they form the most perfect type of choir - a mixed choir. The choir of the first type consists of: 1st soprano, 2nd soprano (or mezzo-soprano), 1st altos and 2nd altos (or contralto). If we illustrate this composition with the simplest choral chord, then the voices of the choir are arranged as follows: The choir of the second type consists of: 1st tenors, 2nd tenors, baritones, basses and octavists. __________________ * Considering the issue of the composition of the choir, PG Chesnokov does not characterize the artistic and performing capabilities of a particular type of choir. (Note by S. Popov). - 28 - The same chord for a choir of this composition should be arranged as follows: By combining homogeneous choral groups of the 1st and 2nd types, we will get a complete mixed choir, the most perfect type of choir, which should consist of nine parts: 1) 1st soprano, 2) 2nd soprano, 3) 1st altos, 4) 2nd altos, 5) 1st tenors, 6) 2nd tenors, 7) baritones, 8) basses and 9) octavists. The arrangement of the chord for a full mixed choir will be as follows: When comparing the ranges and registers of choral parts, we will see (in detail in chapter III, part I) that a full mixed choir breaks up into four groups of related voices: 1) 1st soprano and 1- e tenor, 2) 2nd soprano and 2nd tenor, 3) altos and baritones, 4) basses and octaves. Graphically, this can be depicted as follows: At the same time, according to the registers, the choir is subdivided (we attach special importance to this division) into three layers, according to the sonority of the chord (when doubling): 1) a layer of upper voices, 2) a layer of middle voices and 3) a layer of lower voices, as it can be seen from the table and the musical example: - 29 - 1. Layer of upper goals. - 1st conp. + 1st ten. 2. Layer of medium goals. - 2nd conp. + 2nd ten. + alt. + barite. 3. Layer of lower goals. - basses + octaves Insufficiently good choral sonority is often due, among other things, to the fact that these three layers of voices sound unevenly in the choir, unbalanced in sound strength: the upper layer is strong, the lower one is weaker, the middle one is even weaker. (We will talk about this in more detail in the chapter on the ensemble.) * Of no small importance is the question of the smallest number of singers in each choral part. Its correct resolution will make it possible to substantiate further conclusions. If we take one singer for a part, then, of course, the choral part will not work, since one singer is a soloist. Will two singers make up the choral part? No, they won't: at the moment when one singer takes a breath, the other will be in the position of a soloist. If we take three singers for the party, then the party will be formed: when one of the three takes a breath, then there are still two singing. Consequently, with three skillful singers, it is possible to form a choral part that is minimal in composition. The smallest number of singers for each choral part is three. If we compose each part from the smallest number of singers, then we get: Sopranos - 3 Altos - 3 Tenors - 3 Basses - 3 ___________ Total 12 people. Consequently, for the formation of a properly organized mixed choir, such a choir is required, we will call at least 12 singers, distributed in a small mixed choir of three. for each small choir part. there is in - 30 - the same time an incomplete choir *, he is forced to confine himself, as is commonly expressed, to "pure four-parts." By uniformly increasing each part of the small choir, we will approach the smallest amount of the average (but already full) mixed choir. When the number of singers in each part of the small choir doubles (and triples in the bass part), it will turn into an average mixed choir with the least number of singers, namely: In the bass part, as can be seen from the tablet, a regrouping has been made: one singer has been added at the expense of the octavists to the bass line. This is recommended because the bass part, as the main one, needs to be amplified a little. In relation to the octavists, one can allow a deviation from the basic principle - "the least number of singers for a part is three"; the octavist part, in essence, is not an isolated part - this part, beautiful in sound, is to some extent already a luxury in the choir (almost necessary, by the way). This part should be used very carefully, avoiding abuse, otherwise the brilliance of its sound will be depreciated and even become annoying. The average mixed choir of the smallest composition (27 people) can perform, with very few exceptions, almost all choral literature, since it is a complete choir, that is, composed of 9 choral parts. By uniformly increasing all his parts, we will approach the smallest composition of a large mixed choir. When the number of singers of the average mixed ________________ * Pay attention to the peculiar use of the terms: “full choir” and “incomplete choir”. By “incomplete” - P. G. Chesnokov means a small choir, while “full” choir is a choir in which choral parts can be divided into groups. This is contrary to the currently accepted understanding of the above terms. “Incomplete” refers to a choir that lacks any choral part, such as a choir consisting of soprano, alto and tenor parts. “Complete” is considered a choir, in which there are all choral parts (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), regardless of their numerical composition. (Note by S. Popov). - 31 - the choir will double, it will turn into a large mixed choir with the smallest number of singers: All choral literature is available to this powerful choir, since each part of it can form four correct groups of 3 singers each. The above calculations may seem somewhat abstract. We do not categorically insist on them, but we consider it necessary to point out that they are the result of many years of observation and experience. Indicating the initial smallest number of singers of a large mixed choir, we do not undertake to determine its maximum maximum number, but we consider it necessary to stipulate that there is a limit beyond which the musical sonority of a large choir already develops into noise sonority. * As for the arrangement of the choir, this question is interpreted in different ways. Let's try to find objective justifications for its resolution. The choir, as mentioned above, is divided into four groups of related voices. Let's put the parties of the first group at opposite ends of the stage. Will they be comfortable singing? Of course not: they, as having uniform ranges and registers and singing at doublings in octaves, always strive to be closer to each other. Try to put the octavists away from the basses, and you will hear the murmur of the first: "It's inconvenient, you can't hear the basses, there's no one to lean on." Therefore, related parties must be in the same group. At the same time, the parts that make up the layer of upper voices and take on most of the melodic material should be on the right side of the conductor. Parts of the middle layer, filling the space between the upper and lower layers with harmonic material, are placed throughout the choir. Finally, the parties of the lower layer, as fundamental parties, as the basis on which the whole weight of the choral chord rests, must gravitate towards the center. The proposed arrangement of the choir has been verified by experience and observations. But this is not - 32 - something unconditionally obligatory; sometimes the room and acoustic conditions may require some changes in the arrangement of the choir *. Having considered the various types of choir and the order of its placement, let us dwell on some organizational issues. The conductor of the choir must have assistants both in the musical and artistic, and in the organizational part. The assistant conductor for the musical part conducts preparatory work with the choir and replaces the conductor in case of his absence for any reason. The assistant conductor for the musical part is a member of the choir, participates in the entire work of the conductor, assimilating his requirements so that in cases of replacement he does not introduce any new interpretations of himself. There should not be two influences on the choir and different directions in the work. It goes without saying that an assistant conductor must have an appropriate musical education. The assistant conductor for the organizational part should be the head of the choir. The main task of the head of the choir is to ensure that order, that organization, which is necessary for artistic work. In addition, each of the four choral parts must have a head of the choral part, who is responsible for it both from the organizational and musical side. The warden of the choir should be an excellent experienced singer, musically educated enough. The warden of the choral pariah is her representative, her living connection with the conductor. He must know every singer of his part comprehensively. Noticing the shortcomings of the singers of his part, he can and must point them out, thus achieving the improvement of each singer individually and of the whole part as a whole. An inexperienced, technically poorly trained singer ________________ * For basses and tenors, it is recommended to make a platform on the stage so that they stand with their heads above the sopranos and altos. - 33 - the headman must give under the leadership of an experienced singer, who leads him until he gains experience and improves his technique. This guide is of great practical value. No matter how good a singer who has joined the choir, he meets with the manner of singing, with the methods of the conductor, which he is not yet familiar with, and therefore it is irrational to immediately put him in the position of a completely independent singer. The warden of the choir part is in this case an indispensable assistant to the conductor. Without fail being present at the test of the voice, hearing, knowledge and skills of a singer who is newly entering the choir, the headman must immediately single out an experienced singer in his choral part and give the newcomer under his leadership. From this it is clear that only as many singers can be accepted back into the choral part as there are experienced singers in it who can lead beginners. Subject to this order, the newcomer cannot be a brake on his party, interfere with it: at the first mistake, he will be stopped by the senior singer-leader. Over time, when such a beginner gradually gains experience, masters the techniques of a conductor, learns to maintain both a private and a general choir ensemble, system, etc. - He becomes an independent singer. It is useful for such a singer who has completed his training experience to give some of the inexperienced some time to learn: observing the mistakes of his student, he will clearly understand that he himself had to pass this “course”. The warden of the choral party must choose from its composition one singer who would be in charge of the notes of his party. At the same time, it is recommended to keep five good, durable folders - four for the choir (one per part) and one for the conductor. The librarian, having received from the conductor an indication of which compositions and in what order will be worked out at the rehearsal, in accordance with this, arranges the notes into folders and passes them on to the singers selected in each part. The conductor announces the thing to be worked out. Those in charge of music folders hand out notes and, upon completion of work on this piece, immediately collect them back into folders; even the headman should not, in addition to those in charge of the folders, dispose of the notes - subject to this rule, the folders with notes will arrive at the end of the rehearsal to the librarian in the same order in which he issued them. The librarian is in charge of the conductor's folder. All of these organizational measures are of great practical importance. In the choir, everything should be connected, fastened, soldered. With a clear organization, no violation of the musical or social side of the matter should - 34 - take place: the organizational functions are precisely distributed, each section of the organizational work is given into the proper hands. Each link intelligently coordinates its work with the other in the name of the interests of the common cause, the organization and discipline necessary for fruitful artistic activity are firmly introduced into the choir. * Quite often, a conductor who requires discipline is criticized: he is reproached for being too strict, for having excessively high demands. Of course, all unreasonable demands are to be condemned. Let's try to delve deeper into this issue. We know from experience what disappointing results such "demands" sometimes lead to. How can one demand, for example, personal affection or sincere and cordial participation in a common artistic work? This can only be desired, and this is achieved not by requirements, but by other means. First of all, one must be demanding of oneself and know that any work of a conductor with a choir must be a creative act, that an upsurge, controlled by a sense of artistic proportion, must be a constant companion of the conductor and in preparatory work , and in public performance. The conductor must always be outwardly neat, affable, never allow rudeness: he must firmly grasp that rudeness and fine artistic work exclude each other. We divide the discipline of the choir into external and internal. External discipline is order, an indispensable condition for carrying out any collective work. This external discipline is necessary as a means for cultivating and establishing the internal discipline necessary for artistic work. Caring for the maintenance of external discipline is the direct business of the head of the choir and the head of the choral parties, they calmly and reasonably establish the external order necessary for work. But if only the elders always take care of maintaining external discipline, then this is not lasting. The conductor himself must gradually and patiently instill in the choir a reasonable and conscious external discipline. It is necessary that the singer, under the influence of the conductor's soft, persistent influence, discipline himself, clearly understand that external discipline depends on him, that it is necessary, and that only if it is present, the choir is capable of creative artistic work. External discipline creates in the choir an atmosphere of seriousness, deep respect for art, that external order and that concentration that already introduces the choir into the realm of internal artistic discipline. Thus, the discipline of the internal order is closely connected with the discipline of the external. Without it, it will be difficult for the conductor, together with the choir, to make their studies creatively meaningful. Creative work, and especially artistic performance, is a delicate and complex process. It requires extraordinary concentration, thoughtfulness, mood, depth. The creative upsurge that determines true artistic performance cannot be artificially and hastily evoked. But we can prepare the way for it. These ways are the strengthening of external discipline and the overcoming of the technical difficulties of the material being worked through. When a disciplined choir overcomes these difficulties, then the paths leading to the field of discipline of the internal artistic order are cleared, in the presence of which alone can uplift and inspiration appear. Only with careful observance of all the requirements of external and internal discipline, the choir becomes capable of inspired and artistic performance, and the work of the choir becomes a true work of art. For the successful work of the choir, the musical talent of each singer is of great importance. Therefore, when accepting a new singer, the conductor must pay sufficient attention to his musical talent. The musically gifted singer has an idea of ​​the beauty of sound, and therefore the desire to find such a sound; it will take very little guidance and advice to find the right sound. With the assimilation of elementary information about breathing and the formation of sound, a musically gifted singer, with the help of very few exercises, quickly achieves good results. The more musically gifted singers there are in the choir, the easier the choir understands and perceives the requirements of the conductor, the more he succeeds in his work. * Two words about the number and duration of rehearsals. From the practice of many years, we come to the conclusion that the least number of rehearsals for amateur choirs is two per week. With one rehearsal a week, the results of the work done are almost completely dissipated by the next, the acquired skills are smoothed out. Under these conditions, the results are not felt, the singers lose interest in work. Professional choirs must practice daily (except weekends). The duration of rehearsals should not exceed 2½ hours: the first part 1¼ hours, rest - ¼ hours and the second - 1 hour. when studying the structure or nuances, you can rely on some scientific justification , while for the ensemble it is almost impossible to do so. Analyzing the system, we will deal with scale, intervals, melody, harmony; studying the nuances, - with a motive, a phrase, a sentence, a period, a musical form; we approach the ensemble mainly from the point of view of its immediate sensation. To achieve the ensemble, the singer needs to be as balanced as possible and merge with his part, the parties - to be balanced in the choir, the conductor - to regulate the sound strength of both individual singers and entire parts. Ensemble flair is crucial; there are no scientific and theoretical substantiations in this area yet. But we still try to generalize the results of our practical observations. * To achieve an ensemble, that is, a balanced sound of singers in each choral part and all parts in the choir, it is required: 1. The same number of singers in each choral part. Cases that are not uncommon in choral practice, when there are fewer altos in the choir than sopranos, inappropriately few 2 C. * and 2 T., should be recognized as an abnormal phenomenon. The consequence of such an abnormality is usually that the choir either does not acquire an ensemble at all, or acquires a semblance of it, moreover, with great difficulty. ______________ * In the following presentation, abbreviations are used: 2 S. (second sopranos), 2 T. (second tenors), etc. - 37 - 2. The same quality of voices in each choral part. If, for example, a party of 1st S. has 6 votes in its composition - 2 strong, 2 medium and 2 weak, then all other parties should be built in quantitative and qualitative terms in approximately the same way. Suppose that the party of the 1st S. of the indicated composition will be opposed by the party of the 1st S., consisting of one strong and five weak votes. With such an incorrect balance of power, these two parties, although equal in number of singers, will hardly be able to balance, especially in forte, and therefore it will be very difficult to establish an ensemble. In the name of the qualitative equivalence of choral parts, it is sometimes possible to sacrifice exact observance of the quantitative norm, if only the main law of the ensemble, balance, is observed. But still, our many years of experience and observations show that the first condition of the ensemble - the same number of singers in the choral parts - should be fulfilled as far as possible. 3. One-tone voices in each party. Often there are voices that, in terms of timbre, seem to complement each other and, thus, merge under the condition of balance in strength. Rarely, but still, there are bands whose timbre differs greatly from the typical color of a given part, which makes it almost impossible for them to merge into a common timbre with it. Such singers with a sharply isolated timbre should not be accepted into the choir: one or two such voices are enough even for a large choral part so that the ensemble is spoiled. Note. Singers with a strong vibration, i.e. a swinging voice, should also be avoided: a strong vibration destroys a private ensemble. The choir, the parts of which are built in compliance with the above three requirements, is already in the very nature of the ensemble, which we agree on the necessary prerequisites to call mechanical *: to achieve such a choir as ________________ * This term raises an objection. The ensemble, as an element of choral sonority, never arises in the choir "mechanically", but is the result of the conscious actions of the choir singers and its conductor. (Note by S. Popov). - 38 - by itself, almost without the efforts of the singers, it will sound relatively balanced. This is due to the fact that in the choir both the number of singers, and the quality of the voices, and their timbre are balanced. The more carefully these three conditions are fulfilled, the more grateful the soil will be for the manifestation of that kind of perfect ensemble, which should be called artistic-organic. Balance is the main requirement of the ensemble. However, deviations from it are also allowed *. These deviations are of a threefold kind: 1. Partial isolation from the ensemble of any party leading the main melody of the composition or its separate parts, as well as highlighting any secondary melodic-rhythmic figures accompanying the main theme. 2. Full exit from the ensemble of the soloist when performing compositions for one voice with choir accompaniment. 3. Selection main topic in works of contrapuntal style (imitation, canon, fugue, etc.). These deviations are due to the performance perspective and are directly related to the nuances that mainly create this perspective. However, indirectly they also affect the ensemble in terms of the mutual balance of the sound of choral parts. That is why, when examining an ensemble, it is necessary to touch upon them at least briefly. The first kind of deviations from the requirements of balance is easiest to understand on a musical example, since the visibility of markings and designations of dynamic nuances will reveal its essence better than words. To do this, one should firmly study the music of the proposed example, and then turn to verbal explanations, comparing them with the musical example. Having studied the music of the musical example and analyzed it, we will see that the tenor part plays the main role in the above passage: it contains the main idea of ​​the entire passage, it sets out the main melody and conveys the textual content. Therefore, it is necessary to bring the tenor part in the above example to the fore, which is why a partial selection from the ensemble is needed here. _________________ * In modern choral studies, the concept of an ensemble includes not only the balance of the voices and parts of the choir in terms of sound strength - dynamics, but also includes the need for an appropriate ratio of such elements as intonation, structure, timbre, rhythm, agogics, which together make up the ensemble of the choir. (Note by S. Popov). - 39 - ______________ * The piano part is included to make the score easier to read. - 40 - - 41 - - 42 - The party that dominates in this case joins the general ensemble only at the end of the passage - in measures 12-15. Here it becomes already equivalent to other parts of the choir and, according to the general requirement of the ensemble, must balance with them. As for the point of bringing to the fore the secondary figures accompanying the main melody, they are clearly marked with brackets with the number 1 b. These minor phrases always appear where the main melody goes downhill, weakens, or they precede the main melody, preparing a suitable background for it. It is here that these phrases should be “put forward”, because their purpose and meaning is to fill in the voids that can form, to support the weakening tension; or prepare and how to call the introduction of the main melody. It should be added that both the emphasis on the main melody and, in particular, the “promotion” of secondary phrases must be treated with great care, strictly guided by a sense of artistic measure, otherwise pretentiousness will result and the perspective of the composition will be disfigured. As for the second kind of deviations from the requirements of balance in the performance of compositions written for one voice with accompaniment by the choir, where the soloists leave the general ensemble, they often say: “The quieter the choir sings throughout the accompaniment, the better, because the soloist then sounds brighter." In fact, in these cases, it often turns out that the soloist is completely isolated from the choir: the soloist sings brightly, sonorously, and the choir rustles somewhere in the distance. This, of course, is wrong. A relative ensemble must be established between the soloist and the choir accompanying him. The choir should be at a known, always a certain distance from the soloist in terms of sound strength. But this difference in the strength of the sound should not expand too much, so that the connecting threads of the soloist and the chorus of the ensemble would not be torn between themselves and there would be no disunity, disunity. Therefore, in relation to the soloist, the choir should sing one nuance lower, i.e. if the soloist has f, then the choir should have mf; if the soloist has mf, then the choir has p; if the soloist expands the sound to ff, then the choir must follow him to f, etc. Thus, the choir will always be at a certain distance from the soloist, supporting him in strong places or creating a soft background for his soft singing. Following the soloist in this way, the choir will not break the threads of the relative ensemble and will be one with him. This is the first condition to pay attention to. The second condition should be some shading of the timbre of the choral part to which the soloist belongs. Let's say that the bass is the soloist - then the bass part of the choir should not reveal its timbre too brightly, especially on high notes, but on the contrary - it should shade it so that the timbre of the soloist does not seem pale. - 43 - The third kind of deviation from the requirements of balance - highlighting the main theme in the writings of the contrapuntal style - is so extensive and complex that it needs to be given a special chapter (see Chapter VI); for now, let us return to the question of the artistic-organic ensemble. Having built the choir correctly from the point of view of the ensemble, instilling in the singers the proper rules for developing and maintaining it, and considering the work of establishing the ensemble completed, the conductor will inevitably experience ... disappointment: everything seems to be done, said, inspired, but something is missing, despite for all the efforts of the singers, something is missing. What is missing is the conductor himself, his artistic will, his talent, manifested in inspirational upsurge. Only when the will of the conductor unites the individual aspirations of the singers, unites and solders them into one whole, captures and subjugates them with an inspired upsurge, only then will that perfect ensemble, which we have called artistic-organic, be achieved. So, what we have called a mechanical ensemble depends on the proper selection of singers, the organization of choral parts and the choir as a whole, and on the strict observance by all singers of the rules for its development and maintenance; and artistic-organic - from the conductor, from his talent, as well as from the artistic maturity of the choir. Note. It should be added that the singers, inspired by the conductor at the time of his artistic upsurge, actively participate in the creation of an artistic-organic ensemble. The conductor, by the power of his talent, involves the choir in the process artistic creativity and only by taking everything from the choir and giving it all of himself, he, together with the choir, achieves true inspiration. A perfect artistic-organic ensemble is inconceivable without a mechanical ensemble. It is therefore extremely important to point out those technical devices with which the artist, if he had talent, would be fully armed. * To organize and balance all the elements of the mechanical ensemble in the choir - the number of singers, the quality of voices and their timbres - is the conductor's direct business. However, this is sometimes not enough. The fact is that such a construction of a chord is often encountered, in which the same natural tension of voices in all choral parts is not taken into account, and therefore, with all the efforts of the choir and conductor, it can be very difficult to achieve balance in sound. Such chords in their very construction, in their nature, do not have the prerequisites necessary for an ensemble. - 44 - Let's take for example such a chord with the nuance f: Bass C - the sound is very tense, tenor E - tense, alto G - the sound of medium tension and soprano C - the sound, in tension, is almost weak. Thus, the natural intensity of each part in this chord from bass to soprano is gradually reduced. This chord is not in the ensemble by its very construction. What needs to be done to still establish the ensemble? You can apply different nuances to each part: This will be difficult to achieve in performance, because this is an artificial ensemble; therefore, it is better to rearrange the parts so that the natural tension for all of them is the same *: ____________________ * Based on the conviction that all chords in the choir should sound balanced, P. G. Chesnokov recommends “non-ensembling” (P. G. Ch.) chords lead in one way or another to a balanced sound. "Non-ensembling" chords in choral works of a harmonic type may occur as a result of the composer's insufficient knowledge of the nature of choral sonority. In such cases, it really becomes necessary to artificially bring the “non-ensembling” chord to a balanced sound. However, in choral literature there are cases when a composer, using "non-ensembling" chords, thereby seeks to create a specific sonority of the choir, corresponding to the artistic image of the work. The transformation of such "non-ensembling" chords into balanced sounding ones will inevitably lead to a distortion of the composer's artistic intent. Therefore, a choir conductor must be able to understand the nature of a "non-ensembling" chord before changing it into a balanced sound. (Note by S. Popov). - 45 - This will be easily achievable in performance, because this is a natural ensemble, since the tension in all parts will be the same: the altos, having merged with the soprano with their tension, will completely balance with the basses; the sounds of the tenor part, although divided, are in themselves so strong and intense that they successfully fill the middle between these two tense do. Thus, the ensemble in relation to the construction of the chord should be divided into artificial and natural. In order to learn how to accurately identify each chord in terms of an artificial and natural ensemble, we need to consider the range and registers of each choral part. From the above table it can be seen that the range of C. 1, stretching from the first octave to the third, is divided into five registers, of which the 2nd (low), 3rd (middle) and 4th ( high). But they are not equally good: as they ascend, the sounds in each of these three registers grow stronger and acquire greater certainty in timbre. When examining the table above, special attention should be paid to the exposed nuances: they are natural, they lie in the nature of the voice or choral part in question (of course, there may be deviations from them, but very insignificant). Making the soprano f sing in a low register means distorting the natural essence and, probably, not getting a good quality sound. Note: The human voice is very flexible, and therefore ranges and registers cannot be spoken of with literal accuracy; they are approximate. However, the given data can be taken as "average", characteristic of the majority of votes, and therefore suitable for their practical guidance; for choral parts, on the condition that voices of the same quality are selected, the definitions given in the tablets acquire an almost exact meaning and meaning. - 46 - The best register is C. 2 - medium and somewhat high. It is recommended, in addition, to take into account two practical remarks: 1) S. 2nd, as voices are more massive and thick in comparison with S. 1st, should not be used above the F (or G) of the third register; otherwise, they make the sonority of the C. 1 part too heavy and, going beyond their range, give a bad sound; 2) in terms of quality and quantity, the C. 2 part should be chosen better than is usually done in choirs: the sonority of the entire choir will benefit from a more careful selection: Almost the entire range of the alto part is good. Difficult and not good in quality are only the first two sounds and the last one. The peculiarity of the timbre of the alto sound lies in the density, density, strength and brightness: The range of A. 2 differs from 1 in that A. 2 has those two sounds in the low register and sound good (sol and la), which A. 1 does not have; the timbre of the sound of A. 2, without having a tone of brightness, which is observed in A. 1, is even more dense, thick, strong and very meaningful. The four parties examined make up the choir of the 1st type, that is, the choir of women's or children's voices * (or both). The entire range of this homogeneous choir can be depicted as follows: ____________ * The complete equality established here by P. G. Chesnokov between the women's choir and the children's choir is incorrect. The children's choir has its own characteristics both in terms of vocal and technical and artistic performance, which differ significantly from the women's choir. (Note by S. Popov). - 47 - Let's move on to the tenor and bass parts. In the part of the first tenors, the middle and high registers are very good in strength, brightness and brilliance. By the nature of the timbre of T. 1st, they quite correspond to S. 1st, the same lightness, brightness and brilliance: T. 2nd differ from 1st in that they have a low register, in the absence of a high one; the sound is strong and dense, not shining with brightness, but full and dense: The two remarks made about the part of S. 2 fully apply to the part of T. 2. There are three divisions in the bass part: - 48 - Strength and at the same time lightness, brightness and brilliance - these are the qualities of baritones: Strength, power, fullness, density, juiciness and brightness - the qualities of basses, this main voice that bears the whole burden of the choral chord. The timbre and nature of the sound of basses is so well known that it is hardly necessary to talk about them: Octave is good only on notes located on the lower surplus lines; anything above, while sometimes sounding good, is rare. The choir of the 2nd type is formed from the parts of tenors and basses - a homogeneous choir of male voices: The range of a full mixed choir is enclosed within the following limits: - 49 - With regard to the considered ranges and their registers, it is possible to study the construction of any chord in order to accurately determine whether this chord is in the ensemble or not. We note in passing that the comparison of the ranges and registers of S. 1-x and T. 1-x, S. 2-x and T. 2-x, A. and Bar., Bass and Oct. clearly illustrates the affinity of these voices. Possessing a range of 4½ octaves and a rich variety of lively vocal colors, the choir is the most perfect team in terms of its artistic performance. From all that has been said about the ensemble, it follows that in order to establish and maintain it, the conductor must: 1. Strive to ensure that each choral part has the same number of singers and the same quality of voices, paying due attention to the selection of homogeneous voice timbres. Without such a balance in the composition of the choir, the work on achieving and implementing the ensemble does not achieve the desired results. I, were firmly mastered by every choral singer. Compliance with these seemingly easy, but in reality difficult to follow rules helps to develop and sharpen the sense of the ensemble in singers. 3. When pointing out to the choir chords that are imperfect from the point of view of the ensemble (artificial ensemble), demand from the leaders of the parties that heterogeneous nuances for such chords be put down in the notes. This is necessary so that each choral part knows the places that are dangerous in the sense of the ensemble and is attentive to their performance. 4. To be able to regulate the volume of sound of both whole parts and individual singers who break the general or private ensemble. It is difficult to accurately indicate the movement of the hand necessary for this, but the nature of the gesture should be soothing when the party or an individual singer strains the sound unnecessarily ("stand out"), and exciting - when the sound is insufficiently stressed ("not heard"). (See more about this in the 2nd part - "Chorus Management".) The pattern of the gesture must be worked out by the conductor himself in such a way that it is understandable to the singers and almost invisible from the outside. 5. Pay attention to the balance of the sound of related parts during doubling. 6. Accustom yourself to the fact that while working with the choir and especially during performances, be at least of course, manage the choir to be “on the rise” to some extent during the performance. It is difficult, always with the same inspiration, but it is also impossible to be internally calm. The conductor must be able - 50 - to always be on a certain “rise”, otherwise any intercom him with the choir. We have already mentioned that in the study of an ensemble one has to proceed not so much from exact knowledge as from the feeling of the ensemble. The singer perceives the ensemble with the help of hearing, sensations - they must be based on them when creating an ensemble. The conductor must always be able to find an error in the ensemble, point it out to the choir or the part, explain what it is, give detailed and exhaustive methods and techniques for correcting it, and achieve, without sparing reasonable repetitions, its immediate elimination. Acting in this way, the conductor will be understood by the choir and, what is especially important, will gain the necessary authority for himself, and the choir will be interested in the wisely carried out work and a noticeable approach to improvement. * Considering the nature and strength of sound, it is necessary to dwell on the issues of breathing and sound production. The conductor must inform the choir about this short essay. Breath is the source of sound. Without proper breathing, there can be no good, correct and musical sound. Breathing consists of two consecutive actions: taking air into the lungs - inhalation, releasing air from the lungs - exhalation. But the volume of inhaled air can be different and the purpose of inhalations is not the same. Therefore, breathing should be divided into three types: small breathing, common in life and speech, large - singing breathing, and spare. We breathe with small breath in a calm state, during sleep and when we speak. Big breath that takes us in this case and wonders, you need to sing. It is impossible to sing with a small breath, because for traction, the power of sound, you need a lot of air, and a considerable tension of the muscular system. Let's follow the moment of inhalation. It is produced through the nose - with rapid inhalations, the mouth is also involved. When inhaled through the nose, the air is warmed and cleared of impurities; dust particles in the air, falling directly into the mouth and larynx, irritate the mucous membranes, which, of course, harms singing. Inhalation - the introduction of air through the nose into the lungs - is produced. The mouth is open, the tongue in the mouth lies flat, touching the tip of the lower teeth, the moment has come to extract the sound. But about the sound later. Let's trace the second moment of breathing - exhalation. These two points make up the breathing technique. - 51 - The second point is no less, if not more, important than the first, because the sound is formed during exhalation. The main difficulty and concern of the singer when exhaling, and hence when extracting sound, is to save breath. One must be able to economize breathing in such a way that, with the least expenditure of air, one obtains a large supply of sound and, moreover, of the best quality. Inept singers, having taken a large and even correct breath, throw it out in a mass and after 2-3 seconds they remain without breathing, i.e. without sound. At the same time, the sound quality cannot be good either, because, as J. Bats* quite rightly says, “if you want to get a clear and full-bodied sound, use as little breath as possible on it.” This at first seems like a contradiction: take an inept, novice violinist and make him play a strong sound - he will hold the whole bow, pressing it hard on the string, and you get only jerks, rustling, creaking and whatever you want, but not a musical sound. In the same way, with the same results, inept beginner singers treat with their bow - with their breath. And take a skilled violinist: a very small expenditure of the bow and almost imperceptible pressure on the string, and the sound is soft, and smooth, and strong, and musical. Therefore, when exhaling, along with the formation of sound, the singer must first of all protect his breath. This will give what is called "big breath" and make the singer the complete master of his breath and sound. From this follows the following rule for the singer. When inhaling, a large amount of air should be taken through the nose into the lungs **, and when exhaled, it should be used very sparingly. The assimilation of this rule is necessary for the development of good correct breathing. A few words about reserve breathing. Try to take a big breath and, without making a sound, effortlessly, normally and naturally release it, i.e. e. exhale. When you have done this and the natural exhalation is over, begin to sing without taking a new inhalation, pay attention to the feeling that will result. At the very first moment of singing, one will feel awkwardness, as if something is pulling from within; and the further, the _________________ * Bets Joa (1741-1799) - English composer and conductor, author of the opera "Parnassus", a number of piano vocal compositions. (Note by S. Popov). ** From this instruction of P. G. Chesnokov it does not at all follow that it is always necessary to take in as much air as the singing lungs can accommodate. The amount of air inhaled must be different in each individual case. Air must be taken into the lungs in such an amount that is necessary to perform a particular singing task. (Note by S. Popov). - 52 - this awkwardness and craving from the inside will increase more and more. At the end of the singing, you will feel tired and need to take a few deep breaths. What is the reason here? In the fact that with a large inhalation, we exhale approximately half of the air taken, and the other half remains to maintain normal lung volume. Of course, this remaining spare half will come out with the next breath, replaced by the fresh half of the next breath. While doing the indicated experiment, we began to sing directly with the second, spare half of the breath. The lungs lost their volume, the flow of oxygen stopped, and we felt tired; and the need to take several deep breaths appeared because it was necessary to restore this used second spare half of the breath. Conclusion: you can’t sing with a spare breath, because using it requires immediate recovery. This should be explained to singers, especially inexperienced ones, and they should be advised not to touch the reserve breath. Note. Singing requires deep breathing, filling the lungs to their fullest extent; therefore, you should take care of the cleanliness of the room, the absence of dust and the fresh air in it. A room that does not meet these conditions will harm the health of the singers. The conductor must be aware that a singer suffering from a heart defect, even if only to a slight degree, cannot be allowed to participate in the choir. Now about sound extraction. It begins with the second moment of breathing, i.e. exhalation, and should be connected with the end of the first moment of breathing. From the depths of the lungs, the air stream, having passed the respiratory tract, enters the larynx. The larynx is made up of cartilage and the muscles that control it. The larynx lies above the windpipe, with the upper end of which it is directly connected. What we call "Adam's apple" or "Adam's apple" and which anyone can feel with his fingers on the front of his neck, is the top of the larynx. Two membranes, called vocal cords, are stretched horizontally through its cavity inside. If we compared breathing, or rather, an air stream, with a bow, then the vocal cords are the strings of our voice instrument. In the Adam's apple, the vocal cords are connected and strengthened; there is an acute angle between them. Further along their length, they, diverging and forming a gap between themselves in the form of an elongated triangle, are attached with their ends to the cartilage; the purpose of two of them, thyroid, is to stretch the ligaments and two, arytenoid, to breed and bring them together. Ligaments are very elastic: they can stretch and contract both in length and width, they can fluctuate with all their composition and edges. When inhaled, they, - 53 - with the help of arytenoid cartilages, diverge, giving free passage to the air. When exhaling, the air stream in the larynx encounters an obstacle: together with the beginning of exhalation, the same cartilages bring the ligaments together and a narrow gap is formed between them, called the glottis. The air jet, having encountered an obstacle in the form of connected ligaments, begins to put pressure on their lower surface and breaks through the narrow glottis. Then the ligaments deviate upward, somewhat expanding the glottis under the pressure of the air stream, and immediately return again to their previous state of rest, and again almost close the gap. As a result, below, in the windpipe, the air pressure increases, the air stream again breaks through the glottis, thereby setting the vocal cords in motion, etc. In a word, our bow - the air stream - vibrates our strings - the vocal cords, and as a result of this struggle, trembling - hesitating, they give rise to sound. From the larynx, the sound, along with the breath, enters the pharynx and from there into the oral cavity; hitting the upper palate, it flies out of the mouth. It is known that the sound produced by the vocal cords alone is weak. How does sound get strength, timbre and pitch? Regarding the strength of sound, we can say: the stronger the air stream directed to the vocal cords, the greater the swing of the oscillation (amplitude), the louder the sound. Therefore, the sound strength of the human voice depends on the breadth of the span of the vocal cords during vibration. To obtain the breadth of the span, it is necessary, like a bow on a string, to press strongly with an air jet on the lower surface of the vocal cords. But that is not all. Above the larynx there are a number of resonators. The most important and closest of them: the pharynx, nasopharyngeal cavity and oral cavity. These organs are extremely mobile, and therefore they can, like resonators, adapt to any sound. Adapting, they resonate the sound, i.e., give it strength. They also give it a timbre (color). Sound coloration depends most of all on the pharyngeal and oral cavities, the nasopharyngeal and nasal cavities, together with their adjacent cavities. All sounds of the vocal cords alone, without the assistance of resonators, are weak, ugly, hoarse. They can be compared with the sound of the so-called "through" violins, where the lower and upper decks are removed, and only the side walls are left, somewhat thickened for strength. Such non-resonator violins have an extremely pale, weak and hoarse sound. - 54 - It is necessary to pay attention to one important circumstance concerning the timbre of the sound. The impact of sound in the upper cavity of the mouth, in the palate - important point to create timbre. The sound, having flown out of the larynx and passed through the pharynx, hits either the nasal region, or the soft palate (deep in the mouth), or the hard palate (close to the upper teeth) and, reflected, flies out of the mouth. In the first case, a nasal sound is obtained, the sound is ugly, unnecessary. It happens most often

In the constellation of names of famous composers of Russian sacred music, there is 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 G. 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: “They didn’t pay the singers, but the singers 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 served as regent in 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 regency-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 throughout the singing of 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 about 50 opuses of sacred and secular music in his creative portfolio. 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 Chorus and Management was completed and published in 1940 (and sold out within a few hours), the only major methodological work of the famous choir 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 manual for the training of domestic choirmasters. All this time, he continued to compose spiritual music, however, no longer 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, 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 were written in the genre of choral music: choirs a sarrella and with accompaniment, arrangements of folk songs, arrangements and editing.

Chesnokov, in his work, he turned to two areas of choral music: church and secular, in total, the composer created about 500 choral works. He wrote over 60 mixed choirs (secular) a cappella, the content of which is a complacent and contemplative perception of nature (Dawn is warm, August, Night, Winter, Alps), a slightly different character - Dubinushka, but here Chesnokov softens the socially pointed text of L. Trefolev . Some of the choirs are written in the folk spirit: Forest (lyrics by Koltsov), Across the fast river, Not a flower fades in the field (lyrics by A. Ostrovsky). Chesnokov made complex, concert-type arrangements of Russian folk songs (Hey, let's go, There was a birch tree in the field, Oh, you, birch, etc.), soloists often participate in them (Oh, you, canopy, Kanava, There was a baby, Luchinushka and club and etc.). In connection with his pedagogical work in women's boarding schools, Chesnokov wrote more than 20 women's choirs with extensive piano accompaniment. (Green noise, Leaves, Uncompressed strip, Peasant revel, etc.). Several male choirs of Chesnokov - an arrangement of the same works from a mixed composition.

The most important part of his legacy 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 the 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 the singing voices of a sarrell, imperceptibly dissolving in the choral sonority of the domed "echoes » 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 shade, 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 utterance.

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 boundless 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 compositions the diverse manifestations of the principle of concert quality, based on the maximum identification of the group performance capabilities 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 a new level of Chesnokov's composing skills, but also testify to his peculiar attitude to the genres of sacred music, built on a creative combination of domestic church singing traditions and the latest achievements. musical art.

Unsurpassed knowledge of the nature of the singing voice, the features of the expressive means of individual choral parts and the choir as a whole gave him the richest opportunity to create works in which the richness of timbre colors and the captivating beauty of choral singing are revealed to the maximum. Characteristic for Chesnokov's works is the mastery of choral writing, the identification of the colorful possibilities of the choir, the desire for acoustic harmony, his choirs are distinguished by the breadth of the range, the use of low basses (octavists), and the use of divisions. Chesnokov uses bright harmonic means, juxtaposition of keys, imitations, complementary rhythm.

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.”

His name is called next to such famous names like P.Tchaikovsky, S.Rakhmaninov, S.Taneyev, M.Ippalitov-Ivanov, they all belong to the so-called Moscow composer school. The music of these composers is characterized by deep psychologism and lyricism, love for nature, the ability to use the language of art (in this case, musical means) to recreate its unique features. Many theoretical musicians compare Pavel Chesnokov with remarkable Russian landscape painters: Savrasov, Levitan. At present, many of P. Chesnokov's compositions are widespread in concert and pedagogical practice.

In style Vic. Kalinnikova two main trends clearly appear: the first is melodic, coming from Tchaikovsky, in particular from his romances, is clearly felt in the composer's landscape lyrics ("Elegy", "Winter", "Autumn", "Lark", etc.), and the second - epic, coming from Borodin ("Forest", "On the old mound", "Condor", "Oh, is it an honor to the young man", etc.). The melody of Kalinnikov's choirs is close to urban, sometimes peasant song. The choral texture is very diverse: an incomplete choir is occasionally used; the melody is often carried out in different parts in the form of "roll calls", the organ point is used not only in the lower, but also in the upper voices, at different degrees of the mode. Among other characteristic features of his choral writing, one can note a pronounced desire for strophicity, that is, for the design of each stanza of the text with new musical material, and intense melodic voices with a mostly harmonic texture.

Already from these very schematic characteristics it is clear that in Russian choral music of the late XIX - early XX centuries. not only collective, but also individual styles are quite clearly traced.

"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 of 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 Rus'. 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 “way” - hence the name of the chant, the upper one was “top”, the lower one was “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 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 "establish" musical life at court. 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 sacred concertos alone were written and published, of which 20 are double-horse). Liturgical singing again divided into two paths: parish and monastic. And if in the monasteries 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 masterful) 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 a 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 as the manager of the Court Choir, 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: for 26 years of his activity in this post, he brought to uniformity all everyday (voice) 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 unite 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 have a disastrous effect on all-Russian ancient singing ... The regent, frivolous to the point of insolence, even inflicted several insults on me, driving 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 of first Italian and then German music in worship, and in any case, it had 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 was completely prepared for the appearance in Russian church music of a figure of such magnitude as P. G. Chesnokov, who combined in his work all the characteristic features of previous eras: 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 preparedness for free creative self-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 director of the choir at the Church of the Holy Trinity on Pokrovka ("on the Mud"), 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 for 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. Thus, the journal "Choral and Regency Affairs" (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 order could not 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. An example is 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, the State Choir of the USSR, but did not stay anywhere for a long time, apparently, the contrast between what filled his former life as a church conductor and the new repertoire of Soviet choirs was too striking. 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 activity becomes at the service of the people, 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 question 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 choral 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 singers recall that Chesnokov, being regent, did not go along with the “large group of professors” of the Moscow Conservatory to Nalchik and, having lost bread cards, spent the last days in lines at the bakery on Herzen Street, where on March 14, 1944 they found him a 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 summarize the entire life and creative biography 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

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 Grigoryevich, 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, works as a choirmaster at the Bolshoi Theatre, teaches at the Moscow Conservatory and its school. 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 brilliant 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 -" The Choir and Its Management ". I, who had never written two lines for printing, sat down for writing a large 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 choral specialist and that I was writing 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, however, representatives of official state atheism in the Soviet Union could not help but see his great talent as a 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 groups.

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 sacred 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 the baptism of Ancient Rus' in 988, there was a monophonic church singing that came to Rus', 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 Rus', 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 in appearance, but even in terms of the principle of recording. It was whole culture, which existed for more than 500 years and then, due to 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 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.

Says the head of the church choir of the Moscow Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary Valentin Maslovsky: “It was 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 -

P. G. CHESNOKOV

AND IT MANAGEMENT

for choir conductors

Third edition

STATE MUSIC PUBLISHING HOUSE

Moscow 1 9 6 1

	P. G. Chesnokov and his book “Chorus and its management” ..............................................
			Part one
			Dance
	p e r v a i.		What is a choir .................................................. ............
	in t about r a i.		The composition of the choir ................................................... .............
	t r e t i.		Ensemble................................................. ................
CHAPTER FOURTH VERT.			Build................................................. .......................
			Nuances .................................................. ...................
	w e s t a i.		The nuance of contrapuntal compositions......
CHAPTER SEVENTH.			A complex form of vocal organization of the choir.....
			Part two
			HORO MANAGEMENT
Introduction. What does it mean to manage a choir? ...................
	p e r v a i.		Acceptance of entry ..............................................
	in t about r a i.		Ensemble Techniques ..................................................
	t r e t i.		Building methods .................................................................. .......
CHAPTER FOURTH VERT.			Receptions of nuances .............................................. ..
			The system of methods and techniques of learning
			compositions with choir ..............................................................
APPS
Appendix I. "The Dawn is Warm" by P. Chesnokov................................ ........
Annex II.		Fugue by M. Berezovsky.................................................. ...................
Annex III.			P. Chesnokova ............................................... .................
Annex IV.			A. Arensky ............................................... .................
Appendix V		Conductor's homework plan ..............................................................
Appendix VI.		Advice for young conductors ............................................................... .......
Appendix VII.		List of admission to the choir .................................................... ...............

INTRODUCTORY ARTICLE by K. BIRD

NOTES S. POPOV

P. G. CHESNOKOV AND HIS BOOK

"CHOIR AND MANAGEMENT"

IN For many centuries, choral singing has been the main path along which the development of the musical culture of our people has proceeded. The exceptional poetic-musical talent of a Russian person found its expression in the images of song creativity, and choral singing became the most favorite form of musical performance, organically inherent in the people. It was in this area that

V first of all, those artistic values ​​that brought our people worldwide recognition in the field of musical art and established fame for them songwriter people. On the basis of folk song culture, a powerful Russian professional musical art arose and rose. In the process of development of the national choral culture, choral groups were created that do not know their peers in terms of performing skills. The artistic education and subsequent work of the most gifted Russian musicians was invariably associated, to a greater or lesser extent, with folk songs and choral singing.

The field of folk singing art attracted all those musicians in whose work the best traditions of Russian musical culture lived and were affirmed.

IN At the same time, the deep originality of Russian choral music was always capable of exerting a strong influence both on the emerging creative image of the musician and on his very character. Over the course of a number of generations, many gifted Russian musicians and performers devoted themselves entirely and with conviction to the choral work. Among them were outstanding musical figures who left a noticeable mark on the history of Russian music: D. S. Bortnyansky(1751-1825), M. S. Berezovsky (1745-1777),

G. Ya. Lomakin (1812-1885), V. S. Orlov (1856-1907), A. D. Kastalsky (1856-1926)

and many others.

IN galaxy of wonderful Russians choir musicians, a place of honor is occupied by the name of Professor Pavel Grigorievich Chesnokov, whose whole life was devoted to serving the domestic choral art.

Pavel Grigoryevich Chesnokov is one of the largest figures of Russian choral culture of the first half of our century, a versatile choral figure - a composer, conductor, teacher, deeply national and original in his creative appearance.

As a composer, Chesnokov enjoys wide, worldwide fame. He wrote many vocal works (over 60 opuses), mainly for mixed choir without instrumental accompaniment, over 20 women's choirs with piano accompaniment, several arrangements of Russian folk songs, romances and songs for solo voice. The most characteristic feature of his work is poetic sincerity, full of deep lyrical meditation, contemplation and grace.

These are precisely his famous choirs, written for a mixed composition of voices - “The Dawn Is Warming”, “Forest”, “Night”, etc. All Chesnokov’s compositions are imbued with the spirit and influence of Russian folk song creativity, and at the same time they bear the features of his bright creative individuality. In those works where the influence of the folk song beginning is most strong, Chesnokov's work reaches great dramatic intensity (“Dubinushka”, “Not a flower fades in the field”, an adaptation of the Russian folk song “The baby walked along the forest”).

His vocal and choral flair, understanding of the nature and expressive possibilities of the singing voice have few equals not only in the works of domestic, but also in foreign choral literature.

He knew and felt the "secret" of vocal and choral expressiveness. Perhaps the strict ear and keen eye of a professional critic will notice in his scores the saloon of individual harmonies, the sentimental sweetness of some turns and sequences. It is especially easy to come to this conclusion when playing a score on the piano without a clear idea of ​​how it sounds in the choir. But listen to the same piece performed live by the choir. The nobility and expressiveness of the vocal sound greatly transforms what was heard on the piano, the same music appears in a completely different form and is able to attract, touch the soul, and sometimes delight the listener. “You can sort through all the choral literature of the last hundred years, and there is little to be found equal to Garnikov's mastery

mastery of choral sound,” said a prominent Soviet choral figure G. A. Dmitrevsky in conversations with us.

Many of Chesnokov's choral works have become firmly established in the concert repertoire of Soviet choirs and in the curricula of classes in the conducting and choral specialty. Some of them can rightly be attributed to the works of Russian choral classics.

Love for choral creativity in all its manifestations was the meaning of the whole life of P. G. Chesnokov. However, the most striking side of his artistic aspirations was, perhaps, his love for choral performance. If the passion and need for composition was able to cool down with age, then he retained his love for working with the choir until the end of his days. “Egorushka, let me stand in front of the choir for an hour,” he asked his beloved assistant in the chapel of the Moscow State Philharmonic, G. A. Dmitrevsky, having come to the choral rehearsal still not recovered from his illness. In the difficult year of 1943, shortly before his death, when a decision was made to organize a professional chapel at the Moscow Conservatory, Chesnokov, sick and almost incapacitated, touchingly asked N. M. Danilin, who was planned to be the artistic director of the chapel, to give him the opportunity to work with the choir.

Without exception, all the choirs headed by Chesnokov during his many years of creative activity achieved excellent artistic results. In a number of cases, the choirs led by him achieved an exceptionally high vocal technical skill and vivid expressiveness.

Chesnokov went through an excellent Russian music school - the Synodal College and the Moscow Conservatory. His teachers are S. V. Smolensky, S. I. Taneev, V. S. Orlov, S. N. Vasilenko, M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov. His friends and comrades in art were the remarkable Russian artists A. V. Nezhdanova, L. V. Sobinov, D. A. Smirnov, M. D. Mikhailov, who willingly communicated creatively with him and happily sang in the choirs under his direction. Chesnokov was one of the prominent representatives of Russian musical performance, who preserved and continued the best traditions of Russian vocal and choral art, transforming them with the power of his original and great talent.

In his work with the choir, Chesnokov presented himself as an excellent expert in choral singing, an excellent educated musician and a talented highly professional

direction, leading the team to an artistic goal, predetermined by the conductor, as could be observed, for example, in N. M. Danilin. Nevertheless, each step of his work with the choir was deeply meaningful and consistent, each requirement was perfectly expedient and clear, his leadership was felt in the entire action of the choir - an ardent creative feeling and a strong thought of a great artist and musician. All his activities with the choir, from rehearsal to concert inclusive, never bore the character of everyday life and craftsmanship. He belonged to a glorious galaxy of remarkable artists - Russian choral conductors, such as V. S. Orlov, N. S. Golovanov, N. M. Danilin, A. V. Sveshnikov, A. V. Alexandrov, G. A. Dmitrevsky for whom artistic activity at every moment was a kind of "sacred rite". They completely devoted all their spiritual strength to art, they demanded this from others - their comrades in work and creativity. And here, in his work with the choir, he was invariably demanding and persistent, and even harsh at times, when the inattention of an individual singer disrupted the structure of his creative action, which began from the very moment when he stood at the podium and the choir inspector brought him a conductor's baton. The system of classes was in the nature of solemnity, emanating from his condition: it was enough to listen to Chesnokov's introductory speech about the composer and the work with which he began rehearsal work, as you immediately felt the seriousness of the conductor's attitude to his work. He rarely took his eyes off work for a jolly word. True, he considered the timely joke to be a necessary mental relaxation for the team at work, but he always did it with restraint, laconic, as if slightly embarrassed.

The performing appearance of Chesnokov was characterized by many individual features. His performance was always distinguished by nobility, impeccable taste. His understanding of the content of the work was characterized by a wise and deep penetration into the author's intention. In the conductor's interpretation of the works, he was organically inherent in a wonderful artistic flair. It was possible to argue about certain particulars of the performance, sometimes it was possible to wish for more brightness dynamically

tense			in the transfer of the figurative content of the work, etc.,
			performance	Chesnokov			contradictions
artistic			the composer's intention *.				into performance

___________________

* Perhaps the only case can be found in his book "The Choir and Its Management", where Chesnokov convincedly changed the dynamics in the "Anchar" choir by A. Arensky.

your spiritual purity. Never any falsity in the interpretation, no "gags" designed for outward success, for the satisfaction of backward tastes. Making easy success for himself was organically against his nature. In this sense, his work with the choir and performance was an excellent pedagogical example for young students - conductors.

Everyone who attended the rehearsals and concerts of the Moscow State Philharmonic Chapel (1932-1933) was impressed by Chesnokov's work on Russian classics, filled with the conductor's ardent love for the work he was learning, the originality and accuracy of the performing interpretation.

A scene in the streltsy settlement from M. Mussorgsky's "Khovanshchina", his own "Jesus Navin", choirs a cappella ("Kovyl" by Y. Sakhnovsky, "North and South" by A. Grechaninov, "Dubinushka" by P. Chesnokov, etc.), performed by the chapel under the direction of Chesnokov, were remembered for a long time, almost for a lifetime. And, having retained these vivid, first youthful impressions, his students later became convinced of the correctness and accuracy of the interpretation of the content of the work by Chesnokov.

His artistic appearance was especially characterized by deep poetry and sincerity. The absence of grandiose culminations, broad spontaneous epicness of the performance was compensated by the great subtlety and penetration of a living human feeling, which always captivated the listener. He knew this power of his and skillfully used it. It is interesting to note that Chesnokov boldly took on some works that seemed not quite characteristic of his artistic disposition, and, using his strong performing qualities, often achieved great and well-deserved success. Such, for example, was the performance in the 1932/33 season in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory of the choral work by A. Davidenko “The Street is Worried”. The audience and the author enthusiastically accepted the artistically truthful, technically virtuoso performance of this choir, although its interpretation did not have that spontaneous scope that could be observed in the interpretation of other outstanding choir conductors (N. M. Danilina, A. V. Sveshnikov).

The power of Chesnokov's artistic charm resonated primarily with

his choir. Chesnokov has always enjoyed the exclusive love of his singers.
Main		principle	relationships			leader			collective
choir, to whom		Chesnokov	followed all my life					were deep
humanity		mutual	respect				conductor.	Directions
we find this in the book "Chorus					control		them". Production
discipline,	in his opinion,		must have in		basically complete				respect

team leader. Cases of harshness in Chesnokov's treatment of singers were very rare and were caused only by the most serious, in his opinion, violations of creative discipline. Discipline, both external and internal, was excellent in his classes. Everyone willingly sought to fulfill the requirements of the leader.

It should be noted that Chesnokov did not require the establishment of strict discipline and intense pace in rehearsal work. He considered the choir's rehearsal norm to be two hours of practice a day, that is, "singing for your own pleasure." Nevertheless, Chesnokov knew how to work with the choir not only calmly, but also economically. Strict professionalism and deep respect for his work invariably accompanied his work with the choir. Much of Chesnokov's personal virtues served this ability - to work productively and, if necessary, spend economically time; there were both tremendous musicality and excellent hearing, combined with clear thinking and will, which gave him the opportunity to accurately feel and understand the next need in the ongoing work, set specific requirements, achieving their fulfillment. There was also a colossal practical experience of working with the choir, accumulated over many years and necessary for the proper quality of work. In a parting word to young choirmasters who graduated from the conservatory, he said: “Here, my dear friends, work with the choir for a dozen years and then you will begin to understand something in the choral business.”

Chesnokov was an exceptional master in the field of a cappella choral singing. H. M. Danilin argued that Chesnokov's equal in tuning the choir does not exist in nature. And in fact, the structure of the choir, led by Chesnokov, was exceptionally clean. When a choral chord changed, the next one came intonation exactly and simultaneously, which gave the impression of unusual peace and completely satisfied the ear. The most complex modulations were performed naturally and accurately in all voices and chords.

I remember how at one of the concerts in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, by the end of the big program, the choir was tired, but its structure was still pure, the intonation was free. They sang "Dubinushka" and "Ditch" - the best of Chesnokov's arrangements of Russian songs. Pavel Grigorievich, having given the tonal tuning, stepped aside from the choir and watched without controlling it. The choir sang freely and easily. The intonation was impeccable. After the end of the work, Pavel Grigorievich checked the tone on the piano for the audience. The formation was held by the choir quite precisely.

In the performance of works a cappella, Chesnokov's artistic talent unfolded with particular force. His creative range in this genre was

especially wide. Composer B. S. Shekhter recalls the performance of his beautiful deeply dramatic work - the choral miniature "Beyond the Dniester": "I have never heard such a penetrating and subtle performance of this choir as P. G. Chesnokov's." The Russian folk song Kanava, which is opposite in character, enjoyed great success with the public, where Chesnokov's peculiar artistic nature loomed both in the treatment of a beautiful playful theme and in its performance.

He was an excellent practitioner of the vocal nature and performance capabilities of the human voice. Having excellent knowledge of the theoretical foundations and techniques of singing art, Chesnokov, as a true master of his craft, considered working on vocals in the choir the most difficult task, requiring a special approach in the performance of each given work. He spoke with restraint about the production of his voice, but was very attentive to the choral and solo singing sound; I always knew and took into account the vocal laws both in work with the choir and in composition. He told how A. V. Nezhdanova, who had an ideally pure intonation, sang the solo written for her by Chesnokov with insufficient accuracy. After carefully reviewing the work and thinking deeply about the reasons for impure intonation, he noticed an abundance of transitional notes. I changed the key, a few sounds, and the solo sounded perfect.

To draw up a sufficiently clear and complete picture of the appearance of the artist and his work, it is necessary to know the main features that characterize personal qualities.

Pavel Grigoryevich Chesnokov was a man of deep decency, who preserved until his advanced years the naive simplicity and trustfulness of his poetic and sensitive soul. The lofty ideas of humanism, humanity and kindness attracted him unconditionally, although their real value in combination with the public good was understood by him in a peculiar way and was not always defined correctly.

He had a persistent and stubborn character; he reluctantly renounced his earlier opinions: in his judgments and statements he was direct and completely alien to hypocrisy; internally focused; in the manifestation of feelings, he is restrained and laconic, only occasionally revealing significant inner strength; prone to subtle and clever humor; in all his actions he is always unhurried, punctual; in dealing with people, as a rule, he is attentive, correct and restrainedly affectionate, full of great human charm;

true to his friendly feelings; it harmoniously combined the features of spiritual and physical purity.

The social and musical activity of P. G. Chesnokov was divided by the boundary of two historical epochs - the Great October Socialist Revolution. He started

And lived about half of his conscious life in socio-social conditions directly opposite to those in which the second half of it passed. Naturally, in direct proportion to these circumstances, his life, worldview and artistic creativity took shape.

P. G. Chesnokov was born on October 25, 1877 in a working settlement near the city of Voskresensk, Zvenigorod district, Moscow province, in the family of a church regent.

WITH At the age of five, in his father's choir, his singing education began. Outstanding musical abilities and an excellent singing voice that soon emerged made it possible for the seven-year-old boy to enter the Moscow Synodal School. In 1895 he graduated from college and was awarded a gold medal. Already in the senior classes of the school, the young man enthusiastically devotes many hours to choral composition under the guidance of a brilliant teacher and musician S. V. Smolensky. “At that time,” Pavel Grigorievich recalled in a conversation with his students, “for the first time I knew inspiration. I wrote my first big choir concerto with love and diligence. But every time, at the next lesson in composition and theory, S. V. Smolensky calmly crossed out what was written with a pencil and said: “This is not it.” In the end, I was close to despair. But then one day I was walking down the street, thinking about my unsuccessful composition, and suddenly it dawned on me! It was as if a closed door had opened in front of me. I stood for a moment and then started to run. Muscovites, probably, looked with surprise at the lanky young man running with a happy face along the Kuznetsk bridge. I wrote all night. And the next morning, S. V. Smolensky, having carefully played out what I had done, got up, hugged me, kissed me and said: “Congratulations.” Indeed, it was one of my best compositions!”

The desire for musical creativity led Chesnokov to S. I. Taneyev, with whom he studied for four years. In 1913, already famous composer and conductor, he entered the Moscow Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1917 in the class of free composition with a silver medal.

All pre-revolutionary activities of P. G. Chesnokov - performing, composing

And pedagogical - deployed in Moscow. The most significant works