Salvation is Created
Pavel Tschesnokoff
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Program Note
Salvation is Created (transliterated from the Cyrillic --- Cпасение coдeлaл or “Spaséñiye sodélal”) is a Russian Communion Hymn, one of ten in a cycle composed by Pavel Tschesnokoff (O`bej Weplmims) in 1912. Salvation is Created is the Communion Hymn for Fridays, intended to be sung during Liturgy on that day. This work bears the unfortunate distinction of being one of the last sacred works Tschesnokoff would compose before being forced to compose secular works by the increasingly oppressive leadership of the Soviet Union’s Cultural Bureau. The text for the hymn is based on a passage from Psalm 74: “But you, O God, are my king from of old; you bring salvation upon the earth.”
Original Russian Cyrillic Text
Cпасение coдeлaл еси
посреде земли,
Боже. Аллилуия.
Transliteration
Spaséñiye, sodélal yesí
Posredé ziemlí,
Bózhe. Allilúiya.
English Translation
Salvation is created,
in midst of the earth,
O God, O our God. Alleluia.
Pavel Tschesnokoff was born in Vladimir, Russia (near Moscow) on 24 October 1877. He attended the Moscow Conservatory, focusing extensively on instrumental and vocal music, particularly the piano and the violin. His main composition teachers were Sergei Taneyev and Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov. By the time he was thirty, Tschesnokoff was already well known for his sacred choral works, recognition that led to a post as choirmaster with the Russian Choral Society Choir and then the Moscow Conservatory.
His sacred choral works came to a complete stop, however, with the arrival of the Russian Revolution. Communist dogma did not permit artists to produce any form of sacred art, forcing Tschesnokoff to compose secular works and conduct secular choirs (such as the Moscow Academy Choir and the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra). In pursuit of an atheistic aesthetic, Joseph Stalin ordered that the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour be destroyed in order to construct a “House of the Soviet” (a skyscraper intended to house government authorities). As Tschesnokoff had been the church’s last choirmaster, he decided to cease composing altogether. He died on 14 March 1944 in Moscow.
This transcription lowers the key of the original composition by one half-step from B minor to B-flat minor in the interest of ease for younger bands. While the transcription could have been raised by one half step (and indeed, various existing arrangements do this), it was felt that the key of B-flat minor provided a darker sound more closely in line with the original than the key of C minor. It also differs from existing wind band arrangements of the work by following the phrasing of the original Russian text, and not the various English translations.
The percussion parts are entirely optional, as are the various vocal effects. It is recommended that if percussion is not used, the chords prior to Rehearsal 11 and 32 should be shorter in length. The vocal effects may also be extended to any other instrument (including percussion) that is not playing during the times they are called for (in fact, this is encouraged!)
Original Russian Cyrillic Text
Cпасение coдeлaл еси
посреде земли,
Боже. Аллилуия.
Transliteration
Spaséñiye, sodélal yesí
Posredé ziemlí,
Bózhe. Allilúiya.
English Translation
Salvation is created,
in midst of the earth,
O God, O our God. Alleluia.
Pavel Tschesnokoff was born in Vladimir, Russia (near Moscow) on 24 October 1877. He attended the Moscow Conservatory, focusing extensively on instrumental and vocal music, particularly the piano and the violin. His main composition teachers were Sergei Taneyev and Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov. By the time he was thirty, Tschesnokoff was already well known for his sacred choral works, recognition that led to a post as choirmaster with the Russian Choral Society Choir and then the Moscow Conservatory.
His sacred choral works came to a complete stop, however, with the arrival of the Russian Revolution. Communist dogma did not permit artists to produce any form of sacred art, forcing Tschesnokoff to compose secular works and conduct secular choirs (such as the Moscow Academy Choir and the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra). In pursuit of an atheistic aesthetic, Joseph Stalin ordered that the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour be destroyed in order to construct a “House of the Soviet” (a skyscraper intended to house government authorities). As Tschesnokoff had been the church’s last choirmaster, he decided to cease composing altogether. He died on 14 March 1944 in Moscow.
This transcription lowers the key of the original composition by one half-step from B minor to B-flat minor in the interest of ease for younger bands. While the transcription could have been raised by one half step (and indeed, various existing arrangements do this), it was felt that the key of B-flat minor provided a darker sound more closely in line with the original than the key of C minor. It also differs from existing wind band arrangements of the work by following the phrasing of the original Russian text, and not the various English translations.
The percussion parts are entirely optional, as are the various vocal effects. It is recommended that if percussion is not used, the chords prior to Rehearsal 11 and 32 should be shorter in length. The vocal effects may also be extended to any other instrument (including percussion) that is not playing during the times they are called for (in fact, this is encouraged!)