Chesnokov's Cherubic Hymn captures the essence of chant without direct quotation, influenced by Alexander Andreevich Kastalsky's experiments with rearranging chant melodies.
Performer Biography
St John's Voices, formed in 2013, has gained a new audience through its TikTok channel, with one video being seen by over 8 million viewers.
Historical Context
The campaign against religion in Russia became more militant, leading to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, where Chesnokov had been choirmaster, being blown up in 1931.
Composer Biography
Pavel Chesnokov, the composer, was born near Voskresensk in the Moscow Governorate, and joined his father's choir at the age of five.
Composer Biography
Pavel Chesnokov stopped composing altogether after 1933 and died in 1944 from malnutrition-related heart failure while waiting in a bread queue.
Composer Biography
Chesnokov wrote over five hundred choral works, with more than four hundred being sacred pieces.
Historical Context
After the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917, the Moscow Synodal Choir was turned into an antireligious People's Choral Academy, and the Synodal School was dissolved.
You might also enjoy...
Sacred Songs of Life & Love
Russian Treasures
Stabat Mater: Choral Works by Arvo Pärt
Lewkovitch: Apollo's Art
Ikon, Vol. 1: Sacred Choral Music from Russia & Eastern Europe
