Pavel Grigorievich Chesnokov (Russian: Пáвел Григóрьевич Чеснокóв) (24 October 1877,

Voskresensk Voskresensk (russian: Воскресенск) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities ;Urban localities * Voskresensk, Moscow Oblast, a town in Voskresensky District of Moscow Oblast ;Rural localities * Voskresen ...

, Zvenigorodsky Uyezd,

Moscow Governorate Moscow Governorate (russian: Московская губерния; pre-reform Russian: ), or the Government of Moscow, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR, which ...

– 14 March 1944,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, also transliterated ''Tschesnokoff'', ''Tchesnokov'', ''Tchesnokoff'', and ''Chesnokoff'') was an

Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

composer, choral

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

and teacher. He composed over five hundred

choral A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

works, over four hundred of which are sacred. Today, he is most known for his piece ''

Salvation is Created "Salvation is Created" is a choral work composed by Pavel Chesnokov in 1912 as the fifth in his Ten Communion Hymns (Op. 25). It was one of the last sacred works he composed before he turned to secular arts when the Soviet Union, Soviet government ...

'' as well as works such as ''Do Not Reject Me in Old Age'' (solo for basso profondo) and movements from various settings of the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom.

Life

Chesnokov was born in Vladimir, near

on 24 October 1877. While attending the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

, he received extensive training in both instrumental and vocal music including nine years of

solfège In music, solfège (, ) or solfeggio (; ), also called sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, among many names, is a music education method used to teach aural skills, pitch and sight-reading of Western music. Solfège is a form of solmization, though the two ...

, and seven years training for both the piano and violin. His studies in composition included four years of harmony, counterpoint, and form. During his years at the school, he had the opportunity to study with prominent Russian composers like

Sergei Taneyev Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Тане́ев, ; – ) was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of composition, music theorist and author. Life Taneyev was born in Vladimir, Vladimir Governorate, Russi ...

and

Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov (russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Ипполи́тов-Ива́нов; 28 January 1935) was a Russian and Soviet composer, conductor and teacher. His music ranged from the late-Romantic era ...

, who greatly influence his style of liturgy-driven choral composition. At an early age, Chesnokov gained recognition as a great conductor and choirmaster while leading many groups including the

Russian Choral Society Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Choir. This reputation earned him a position on staff at the

where great composers and music scholars like

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

had shared their skills and musical insight. There he founded a choral conducting program, which he taught from 1920 until his death. By the age of 30, Chesnokov had completed nearly four hundred sacred choral works, but his proliferation of church music came to a standstill at the time of the

Russian revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

. Under communist rule, no one was permitted to produce any form of sacred art. So in response, he composed an additional hundred secular works, and conducted secular choirs like the Moscow Academy Choir and the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and op ...

Choir. In the

era religion was often under oppression. The

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour ( rus, Храм Христа́ Спаси́теля, r=Khram Khristá Spasítelya, p=xram xrʲɪˈsta spɐˈsʲitʲɪlʲə) is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskv ...

, whose last choirmaster had been Chesnokov, was destroyed, which disturbed him so deeply that he stopped writing music altogether. He died on 14 March 1944 of a heart attack caused by malnutrition while he was waiting in a Moscow bread line.

Notes

Some notable works

*''Corpus'' *''

'' (1912) *''O Lord God'' *''Now We Sing the Praise'' *''Duh Tvoy Blagiy'' ("Let Thy Good Spirit") *''

Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is a Byzantine Rite liturgical service which is performed on the weekdays of Great Lent wherein communion is received from Gifts (the Body and Blood of Christ) that are sanctified (consecrated) in advance, ...

'', Op.24 *'' Panikhída'', Op.39 *''

Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom The Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom is the most celebrated divine liturgy in the Byzantine Rite. It is named after its core part, the anaphora attributed to Saint John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople in the 5th century. History It ...

'', Op.42 *''

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 Fir ...

'', Op.44

References

* Bakst, James. A History of Russian-Soviet Music. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1966. * deAlbuquerque, Joan. Salvation Is Created, Pavel Tschesnokoff (1877-1944). Vol. IV, in Teaching Music through Performance in Band, by Larry Blocher, Eugene M Corporon, Ray Cramer, Tim Lautzenheiser, Edward S. Lisk and Richard Miles, 370-374. Chicago, IL: GIA Publications, Inc., 1997-2002. * Leonard, Richard Anthony. A History of Russian Music. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1956. * Moscow Hotels, JSC. The Cathedral of Christ the Savior. 2001-2007. http://www.moscow-taxi.com/churches/cathedral-of-christ-savior.html (accessed April 8, 2008). * Thompson, Oscar. The International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians. Tenth Edition. Edited by Bruce Bohle. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1975.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chesnokov, Pavel Grigorievich 1877 births 1944 deaths People from Istrinsky District People from Zvenigorodsky Uyezd (Moscow Governorate) Russian classical composers Russian male classical composers Soviet composers Soviet male composers Composers from the Russian Empire Classical composers of church music Conductors (music) from the Russian Empire Soviet conductors (music) 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Russian conductors (music) Russian male conductors (music) 20th-century Russian male musicians 19th-century male musicians