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The ''All-Night Vigil for choir'' (
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
: , ), Op. 52, is an
choral A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
composition by
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...
, written from 1881 to 1882. It consists of settings of texts taken from the
Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
all-night vigil The All-night vigil is a service of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches consisting of an aggregation of the canonical hours of Compline (in Greek usage only), Vespers (or, on a few occasions, Great Compline), Matins, and the ...
ceremony. This work, like
Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...
's ''
All-Night Vigil The All-night vigil is a service of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches consisting of an aggregation of the canonical hours of Compline (in Greek usage only), Vespers (or, on a few occasions, Great Compline), Matins, and the ...
'', has been referred to as the
Vespers Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...
. Like the Rachmaninoff, this is both literally and conceptually incorrect as applied to the entire work, as it contains settings from three
canonical hours In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of Fixed prayer times#Christianity, fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or sel ...
:
Vespers Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...
,
Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning (between midnight and dawn). The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which w ...
and the
First Hour Prime, or the First Hour, is one of the canonical hours of the Divine Office, said at the first hour of daylight (6:00 a.m. at the equinoxes but earlier in summer, later in winter), between the dawn hour of Lauds and the 9 a.m. hour of Terc ...
.


Background

Prior to Tchaikovsky's setting of the all-night vigil, the only setting in existence had been by
Artemy Vedel Artemy Lukyanovich Vedel (), born Artemy Lukyanovich Vedelsky, was a List of Ukrainian composers, Ukrainian-born Russian Empire, Russian Imperial composer of Liturgy, liturgical music and military music. He produced works based on Ukrainian fo ...
in the 18th century. Russian church music underwent a period of stagnancy in the 18th and 19th centuries. This was partially attributed to the monopoly on its composition and performance held by
Dmitry Bortniansky Dmitry Stepanovich Bortniansky (28 October 1751 – ) was a Russian composer of Ukrainian Cossack origin. He was also a harpsichordist and conductor who served at the court of Catherine the Great. Bortniansky was critical to the musical hist ...
, while he was the director of the Imperial Chapel. Tchaikovsky, known primarily for his symphonies, concertos and ballets, was deeply interested in the music and liturgy of the Russian Orthodox Church. Like
Alexei Lvov Alexei Fyodorovich Lvov (Russian: ''Алексей Фёдорович Львов'') ( – ) was a Russian composer., best known for the composition of the Imperial Russian National Anthem, ''God Save the Tsar''. Biography Lvov was born i ...
before him, he deplored the increasingly Italian influence in church music as written by Bortniansky and Berezovsky, and sought a return to the old Russian style. He published a book in 1875, ''A Short Course of Harmony adapted for the Study of Russian Church Music''. In an 1877 letter to his friend
Nadezhda von Meck Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck (; 13 January 1894) was a Russian businesswoman who became an influential patron of the arts, especially music. She is best known today for her artistic relationship with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, supporting him fin ...
, he wrote:
For me
he church He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...
still possesses much poetical charm. I very often attend the services... If we follow the service very carefully, and enter into the meaning of every ceremony, it is impossible not to be profoundly moved by the liturgy of our own Orthodox Church. I also love vespers... to be startled from one's trance by a burst from the choir; to be carried away by the poetry of this music; to be thrilled when... the words ring out, 'Praise the name of the Lord!' – all this is infinitely precious to me! One of my deepest joys!
This passion manifested itself in 1878 in the composer's setting of the '' Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom'', which church authorities banned from performance in churches after it was sung in a public concert. This did not dampen his interest in Russian choral music, and in May 1881 he requested his publisher and friend Pyotr Jurgenson for the text of the all-night vigil and Dmitry Razumovsky's ''Russian Church Songs''. In the same year, Jurgenson asked him to edit the complete sacred works of Dmitry Bortniansky. Editing Bortniansky's vast output was a formidable task, occupying Tchaikovsky from June to October 1881; he seems to have regretted the commission, ruefully asking "O, this Bortniansky! Why did he write so much!" He nevertheless retained his respect for the composer and sacred music, telling Jurgenson in June 1881 that he was writing church music in "an attempt (albeit a very modest one) to come to grips with the style established by Bortniansky and of others". In a letter to
Eduard Nápravník Eduard Francevič Naprávnik (Russian: Эдуа́рд Фра́нцевич Напра́вник; 24 August 1839 – 10 November 1916) was a Czech conductor and composer. Nápravník settled in Russian Empire and is best known for his leading role ...
, he specified this as a setting of the all-night vigil, stating his desire to improve upon the "untalented and banal" church music issuing from the Imperial Chapel. Although the rough draft was complete by mid-late July, the completion of the work was delayed by his work on Bortniansky's compositions, and his own compositions such as ''
Mazeppa Mazepa or Mazeppa is the surname of Ivan Mazepa, a Ukrainian hetman made famous worldwide by a poem by Lord Byron. It may refer to: Artistic works Poems * Mazeppa (poem), "Mazeppa" (poem) (1819), a dramatic poem by Lord Byron * "Mazeppa", a poem b ...
'' and the
Piano Trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...
. He completed it in March 1882 in
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, and the first performance was held in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
in June 1882. Tchaikovsky drew upon a huge body of traditional Slavonic chants for the work. The melody of the chant is usually used as the
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
line, with simple harmonisation for the
alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...
,
tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
and
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
lines. He rarely departs from this
homophonic Homophony and Homophonic are from the Greek language, Greek ὁμόφωνος (''homóphōnos''), literally 'same sounding,' from ὁμός (''homós''), "same" and φωνή (''phōnē''), "sound". It may refer to: *Homophones − words with the s ...
style, save for brief
polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...
sections in the " Gladsome Light" and " Polyeleon" movements. This use of homophony shares similarities with German
chorale A chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of " Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one o ...
s.


Legacy

Tchaikovsky's setting of the all-night vigil, the
Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...
and his collection of nine sacred songs were of seminal importance in the later interest in Orthodox music in general, and settings of the all-night vigil in particular. Music had always been a fundamental aspect of the Orthodox Church, but previous Russian composers had largely ignored the "vast, almost untouched field" of sacred music, focusing on Western European genres such as the
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
and the
symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...
. Composers like Glinka and
Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. At the time, his name was spelled , which he romanized as Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakow; the BGN/PCGN transliteration of Russian is used for his name here; ALA-LC system: , ISO 9 system: .. (18 March 1844 – 2 ...
had contributed to the repertoire of sacred choral music, but did not approach it with the intention of producing large-scale works. Thus Tchaikovsky became the first major composer to use traditional Russian Orthodox chants as a basis for an entire liturgical cycle. The twin attributes of Tchaikovsky's work, "free composition and polyphonic chant arrangement", as well as his extensive use of pre-existing Russian chants, served as a model for the next generation of Russian composers. Settings of the vigil by composers such as Chesnokov (1909 and 1913), Grechaninov (1912) and Ippolitov-Ivanov (1907) were all influenced by Tchaikovsky's work. The most famous setting of the service,
Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...
's ''
All-Night Vigil The All-night vigil is a service of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches consisting of an aggregation of the canonical hours of Compline (in Greek usage only), Vespers (or, on a few occasions, Great Compline), Matins, and the ...
'', is a culmination of the two preceding decades of interest in Orthodox music, as initiated by Tchaikovsky. The similarities between the works, such as the extensive use of traditional chants, demonstrates the extent of Tchaikovsky's influence; however, Rachmaninoff's setting is much more complex in its use of harmony, textual variety and polyphony. Tchaikovsky himself appears to have been disappointed with the work. In an 1881 letter to his friend and fellow composer
Sergei Taneyev Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (, ; – ) was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of musical composition, composition, music theorist and author. Life Taneyev was born in Vladimir, Russia, Vladimir, Vladimir Governorate, Russian Empire, to a cultur ...
, he wrote "I am almost certain nothing in my Vespers will please you. I see nothing in them which would win your approval... I am no longer in a condition to compose." Another letter in 1891 to Jurgenson requested copies of his ''Liturgy'' and other sacred works, "with the exception of the Vespers".


Structure

The work consists of 17 major divisions. Performances require approximately 45 minutes.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * *


External links

*
Tchaikovsky Research
{{Authority control Choral compositions by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1882 compositions Eastern Orthodox liturgical music