Russian Hymn Festival

St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Fond du Lac, WI

April 10, 2011 • 3:30 & 7:00 PM

Presented by the Music Department of

Winnebago Lutheran Academy
475 E. Merrill Ave., Fond du Lac, WI
Live Streamed at www.dalewitte.com
 Consonants are pronounced as in Latin or English, with the following restrictions and exceptions:
CONSONANTS

in yet or toy ; it never sounds alone as in copy or cry.

yu, and ya, respectively. The letter y in transliteration always represents a semi-vowel, blended with a vowel, as
below). The vowels ™, ˙, and ¸ at the beginning of words or following another vowel are transliterated as ye,
consonant preceding the vowel that is softened by the fleeting i [ j ] sound (see PALATALIZED CONSONAN TS
The vowels ˙ and ¸ following consonants are transliterated as ıu and ıa , respectively. In reality it is the
[I] dip ï Ú
[u] food u ‚
[ë] sofa ŏ — (unstressed)
[o] obey o —
[i] Combined Choirs
meet i ∂
Ghospodi, pomiluy (Lord, Have Mercy)................................................................Grigory Lvovsky
[è] bet e ™, ¯
Ghospodi, pomiluy
[a] father Lord, have mercy.
a †
IPA Symbol English Key Word Transliteration Russian
Freshman Choir
Russian vowels are pure, without diphthongs, as in Latin or Italian:
Let Thy Holy Presence Come Upon Us.............................................................Pavel Tchesnokov
VOWELS

Viking Choir
Enite ton Kyrion (Praise the Lord from the Heavens) ........ Byzantine Kinonikon, arr. Gerald Near
Equivalents in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) have been supplied wherever possible.
guages widely familiar to singers — Latin, Italian, German, and English — have been used as points of departure.
Enite ton Kyrion ek ton ouranon. Praise the Lord from the heavens.
systems currently used to transliterate Russian succeed in accurately transmitting the sound of the language. Lan-
Enite afton en tis ipsistis. Praise him in the highest. (Ps. 148:1)
The RUSSICA™ transliteration system has been designed specifically with singing in mind, since none of the

(for Modern Russian)

The RUSSICA™ Transliteration System

WELS/ELS Mission Work in the Ukraine .............Pastor Michael Weigand, Faith, Fond du Lac
Ukrainian Lutheran Church weekly blog  http://lutheran-weekly.blogspot.com/

The RUSSICA™ Transliteration System

(for Modern Russian)
Traveling Choir
The RUSSICA™ transliteration system has been designed specifically with singing in mind, since none of the
Credo (The Nicean Creed) ..........................................................................Alexander Gretchaninof
systems currently used to transliterate Russian succeed in accurately transmitting the sound of the language. Lan-
Stephanie
guages widely familiar Meyer,
to singers — Megan Galske,German,
Latin, Italian, Andi Rupp, and Natalie
EnglishSchmidt,
— have been Lydiaused
Mathwig,
as points of departure.
Abby Phillips,
Equivalents in the International PhoneticDanielle
Alphabet Gieschen,
(IPA) have and Rachel
been Thiesfeldt
supplied wherever – soloists
possible.

Blagosloví, dushe moya, Ghóspoda (Bless the Lord, O My Soul) .........Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov
VOWELS
Russian vowels are
Blagoslovi, pure,
dushe without
moya, diphthongs, as in Latin or Italian:Bless the Lord, my soul.
Ghospoda,
Blagosloven yesi,
Russian Ghospoda,
Transliteration English Key WordBlessed art Thou,
IPAOSymbol
Lord.
Blagoslovi,
† dushe moya, aGhospoda, father Bless the Lord, O my
[ a soul,
]
i fsya ™,
vnutrenniaya
¯ moya, imya
e sviatoe Yego. betand all that is within me, bless
[ èHis
] holy name.
Blagoslovi, dushe moya, Ghospoda Bless the Lord, O my soul,
∂ i meet [i]
i ne zabïvaĭ fseh vozdayaniy Yego, and forget not all his benefits:
— o obey [o]
ochishchayushago fsia bezzakoniya tvoya, Who forgives all your iniquities,
— (unstressed) fsianedugi
isteliayushchago ŏ tvoya, sofa [ë]
Who heals all your diseases,
‚
izbavliayushchago u zhïvot tvoy,
ot iztleniya [ udestruction,
food Who redeems your life from ]
venchayushchago
Ú tia milostiyuï i shchedrotami. Whodip [ I ]and tender mercies.
crowns you with loving kindness
Blagoslovi,
The vowels dushe
˙ and consonants are transliterated as Bless
moya, Ghospoda,
¸ following ıu andtheıaLord, O my soul, In reality it is the
, respectively.
consonanti fsya vnutrenniaya
preceding moya,that
the vowel imya
issviatoe Yego.
softened i [ jall] that
by the fleetingand soundis within me, bless His holyCONSONAN
(see PALATALIZED name. TS
below). The vowels ™, ˙, and
Blagosloven yesi,¸Ghospoda, Blessed art
at the beginning of words or following Thou, Ovowel
another Lord. are
(Ps. transliterated
103:1-6) as ye,
yu, and ya, respectively. The letter y in transliteration always represents a semi-vowel, blended with a vowel, as
in yet or toy ; it never sounds alone as in copy or cry.

CONSONANTS
Consonants are pronounced as in Latin or English, with the following restrictions and exceptions:
 [è] bet e ™, ¯
[a] father a †
IPA Symbol English Key Word Transliteration Russian
Russian vowels are pure, without diphthongs, as in Latin or Italian:

Salvation is Created ............................................................................................Pavel Tchesnokov

VOWELS

Offering – Handbell Choir

Equivalents in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) have been supplied wherever possible.
There Is a Redeemer ......................................................Melody Green, arr. Patricia Sanders Cota
guages widely familiar to singers — Latin, Italian, German, and English — have been used as points of departure.
systems currently used to transliterate Russian succeed in accurately transmitting the sound of the language. Lan-
The RUSSICA™ transliteration system has been designed specifically with singing in mind, since none of the
Hosanna.................................................................................Carl Tuttle, arr. Patricia Sanders Cota
(for Modern Russian)
The RUSSICA™ Transliteration System

WELS Mission Work in Novosibirsk, Russia.......Pastor Mark Rohrback, Redeemer, Cedarburg

WELS Blog: Mission in Russia  http://blogs.wels.net/missions/2010/12/10/serving-in-russia/
The RUSSICA™ Transliteration System
(for Modern Russian)

The RUSSICA™ transliteration system has been designed specifically with singing in mind, since none of the
Concert
systems currently used to transliterate Russian succeed Band transmitting the sound of the language. Lan-
in accurately
guages widely familiar to singers — Latin, Italian, German, and English — have been used as points of departure.
Salvation is Created (A Chorale Prelude) ........................Pavel Tchesnokov, arr. Frank Erickson
Equivalents in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) have been supplied wherever possible.

Cherubic Hymn and Song ...............................Dimitri Bortniansky and Alexander Archangelsky

VOWELS arr. Mark Stuedemann
Russian vowels are pure, without diphthongs, as in Latin or Italian:
SlavonicRussian
Folk Suite .................................................................................................
Transliteration English Key Word IPA Symbol arr. Alfred Reed
† a father [a]
™, ¯ e
Combined Choirs
bet [è]
O Lord, in Prayer You Spent the Night .........................................................Dimitri Bortniansky
∂ i meet [i]
Congregation vv. 1 & 4, Choirs vv. 2-3 ST. PETERSBURG, Christian Worship 548
— o obey [o]
Setting and Descant by Dale A. Witte
— (unstressed) ŏ sofa [ë]
‚ u food [u]
Ú ï Acknowledgements
dip [I]

ChoirThe
Director ˙ and ¸ following consonants are transliterated as ıu and ıa , respectively.Mr.
vowels ............................................................................................................ In Dale
realityWitte
it is the
consonant preceding the vowel that is softened by the fleeting i [ j ] sound (see PALATALIZED CONSONAN TS
Band The
below). Director
vowels.................................................................................................
™, ˙, and ¸ at the beginning of words or following another vowel Mr. are
Mark Stuedemann
transliterated as ye,
yu, Handbell Director ......................................................
and ya, respectively. The letter y in transliteration always Mrs. Pam Zuberbier,
represents a semi-vowel, St. Peter’s,
blendedFond
with adu Lac as
vowel,
in yet or toy ; ......................................................................
Organist it never sounds alone as in copy or cry. Daniel Moldenhauer (Sr.), Trinity, Huilsburg
Live Internet Stream (www.dalewitte.comCONSONANTS
) .........................................Buddy Larson, Andy Sehloff
Consonants are pronounced as in Latin or English, with the following restrictions and exceptions:
Russian Transliteration English Key Word IPA Symbol
or Explanation
¶ g get [˛]
¨ zh treasure [Ω]
∏ y always blended with a [j]
vowel as in yet, toy ; never
sounds alone as in copy, cry
¤ r always rolled [r]
fi s set [s]
Ê h aspirated, as in German Bach; [x]
|

no exact English equivalent

Ë ts lets [ ts ]
 Program Notes
It is a misnomer to call this concert a Russian “Hymn” Festival because the Russian Orthodox Church does not have “hymns” like the German
Lutheran Church has hymns. We sing hymns in the Lutheran Church because, way back in the early 1500’s, Martin Luther wanted to get his
congregation singing and participating in worship, rather than sitting back and watching the priest do all the work. Martin Luther crafted what
we know today as “hymns” using German metrical paraphrases of Psalms (Ps. 46: A Mighty Fortress is Our God, Ps. 130: From Depths of Woe
I Cry to Thee, etc.), vernacular German poetic translations of the five main parts of the weekly liturgy (a.k.a. “The Ordinary”, namely the Gloria,
Agnus Dei, Credo, Santcus, and Benedictus), and other texts and tunes he wrote which would help teach his congregation the truths of God’s
Word. Over the five centuries since the Lutheran Reformation, the “hymn” has become synonymous in the Lutheran Church with a multi-
stanza, homophonic song which is easily learned and sung by untrained congregational singers, and which teaches the truths of God’s Word in
poetry and music.

The Russian Orthodox Church, before the time of the Soviet revolution in 1917, similarly used choirs in their weekly services to sing the main
parts of the liturgy, but unlike the German Lutheran Church, they did not use instruments in worship or have the congregation sing. The
Russian Orthodox choirs sang the entire liturgy for every service, and many Russian composers have written settings of the liturgy during the
19th century. The parts of the liturgy which the Russian Orthodox choir sang became known to Russian people as their “hymns”, but we would
probably more likely think of them as monuments of great Russian choral literature (pieces a choir would sing) than music for a congregation to
sing. So this concert is more a survey of Russian choral literature, which high school students would most likely come across again in college
choirs or later in their lifetime, than it is a festival of what we, the descendants of the Lutheran Reformation, would think of as “hymns”.

However, there is one hymn in the WELS hymnal, Christian Worship, which does have Russian roots: CW 548 O Lord, in Prayer You Spent
the Night. The music was composed by Russian Dimitri Bortniansky in the early 1800’s and found its way to Germany in the text “Ich bete and
die Macht der Liebe”. Russians continue to sing Bortniansky’s tune to this day in a folk song “Kol Slaven Nash”. German Lutherans in America
have sung the hymn for decades in The Lutheran Hymnal 493 “Thou Who the Night in Prayer Didst Spend.” Today we sing it with a descant
composed especially for this concert by WLA Choir Director, Dale Witte.

There are two choral works in this concert which have historical ties to WLA’s Choral Program: Ghospodi, pomiluy and Credo. Both were
performed by the WLA Choir over 40 years ago under the direction of former WLA Principal and Choir Director, T.W. Zuberbier. Prof.
Zuberbier’s daughter, Charlotte Roehl requested to hear them again, and it is our pleasure to bring them out of the files for not only her but
everyone to hear. Ghospodi, pomiluy is Grigory Lvovsky’s very unique setting of the Kyrie (Lord, Have Mercy), repeating the petition 78 times
throughout the piece. In the Russian Orthodox service, the priest would bow very slowly in front of the altar as the chords and dynamics
descended, only to rise again very slowly along with the rising chords and dynamics. Credo is a Russian chant setting of the Nicean Creed,
taken from Alexandre Gretchaninoff’s Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom No. 2, Opus 29 (1902). The alto solo today is shared by the senior
girls of the Traveling Choir.

Salvation is Created has been a perennial choral standard around the world since it was first composed in 1912. It was the final choral work
of over 400 sacred titles by Pavel Tschesnokov, who was forced by the Soviet Union to stop composing sacred music. It is a communion hymn
based on a Kievan synodal chant melody and Psalm 74. Although the choral world would claim it as its own, the band world has become
sincerely infatuated with the work and has adapted it for instrumental ensembles such as french horn choirs, trombone choirs, concert bands,
and even drum and bugle corps. Tschesnokov’s other work in today’s program is an SATB arrangement of Let Thy Holy Presence Come
Upon Us by Hal Hopson. The original work was for SSAATTBB. Hopson adapted the work for organ and SATB, making it very accessible for
younger choirs.

One of the unique, yet challenging aspects of programming a concert of Russian church music is the lack of Russian instrumental church
music. Luckily, many composers and arrangers have taken Russian choral music and arranged it for wind ensembles. The Concert Band
setting of Salvation is Created (A Chorale Prelude) by Frank Erickson quotes Tschesnokov’s choral gem. In Cherubic Hymn and Song,
WLA Band Director, Mark Stuedemann, weaves together two works for choir by Dimitri Bortniansky (Cherubic Hymn No. 7) and Alexander
Archangelsky (Cherubic Song) (a great Russian last name of a composer of a song about angels!). Between those two, US Marine composer
Alfred Reed uses a 16th century Russian Christmas carol as the theme of Slavonic Folk Suite, which is taken from the first and final
movements of his much larger Russian Christmas Music.

During the offering, the WLA Handbell Choir, in their final concert under the direction of Mrs. Pam Zuberbier, “cleanses our musical palate” with
two modern, American, arrangements by Patricia Sanders Cota: There is a Redeemer and Hosanna. We thank Mrs. Zuberbier for her years
of service to WLA and its students!

Enite ton Kyrion, being sung in Greek, might seem a little out of place in a Russian hymn festival, but the ties between the Byzantine Church
and the Russian Church were quite close. In the Eastern (Byzantine) Rite of the Orthodox Christian Church, the Communion Hymn, or
Kinonikon, is always sung while the Priest takes Communion at the Altar and again during the distribution of the Sacrament to the faithful.
Texts for the kinonika are generally drawn from the Old Testament, usually a Psalm verse. Here the Viking Choir sings a setting of Ps. 148:1.

Finally, we are very appreciative that Pastors Weigand and Rohrback not only shared with us today information about WELS mission work in
the Ukraine and Russia, but we also thank them for their years serving in both of those mission fields. As they share their information about the
spread of God’s Word in the Ukraine and Russia, we remember our fellow Christians in the faith around the world, and ask God to keep them
safe until the end, sending many more pastors and missionaries out to spread His Word wherever they are needed.
 Composers
Alexandre Gretchaninoff (Gretchaninov) started his musical studies rather late because his father, a businessman, had expected the boy to
take over the family firm. Gretchaninov himself related that he did not see a piano until he was 14 and began his studies at the Moscow
Conservatory in 1881 against his father's wishes and without his knowledge. His main teachers there were Sergei Taneyev and Anton Arensky.
In the late 1880s, after a quarrel with Arensky, he moved to St. Petersburg where he studied composition and orchestration with Nikolai
Rimsky-Korsakov until 1893. Rimsky-Korsakov immediately recognized Gretchaninov's extraordinary musical imagination and talent and gave
him much extra time as well as considerable financial help. This allowed the young man, whose parents were not supporting him, to survive.
Out of this came an important friendship, which only ended in 1908 with Rimsky's death. As such, it is not surprising that Rimsky's influence
can be heard in Gretchaninov’s early works, such as his String Quartet No.1, a prize-winning composition. Around 1896, Gretchaninov returned
to Moscow and was involved with writing for the theater, the opera, and the Russian Orthodox Church. His works, especially those for voice,
achieved considerable success within Russia, while his instrumental works enjoyed even wider acclaim. By 1910, he was considered a
composer of such distinction that the Tsar awarded him an annual pension. Though Gretchaninov remained in Russia for several years after
the Revolution, he ultimately chose to emigrate, first to France in 1925, and then to the United States in 1939. He remained in the U.S. the rest
of his life and eventually became an American citizen. He died in New York at the age of 91 and is buried outside the church at Rova Farms, a
Russian enclave in Jackson Township, Ocean County, New Jersey.

Pavel Tschesnokoff (Chesnokov) was born in Vladimir, near Moscow on 24 October 1877. While attending the Moscow Conservatory, he
received extensive training in both instrumental and vocal music including nine years of solfege, 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 and Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, 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 Choir. This reputation earned him a position on staff at the Moscow Conservatory where great
composers and music scholars like Tchaikovsky 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. 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 Choir. With Joseph Stalin as dictator of the Soviet Union, many religious people suffered for his effort to enforce a
universal doctrine of atheism. In this pursuit, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, whose last choirmaster had been Chesnokov, was destroyed.
This bothered him so much that he stopped writing music altogether. He died on 14 March 1944.

Dimitri Bortnianski (Bortniansky) was born on October 28, 1751 in the city of Hlukhiv (present-day Ukraine), then a part of the autonomous
Cossack Hetmanate within the Russian Empire (as Glukhov). At the age of seven, his prodigious talent at the local church choir afforded him
the opportunity to go the capital of the empire and sing with the Imperial Chapel Choir in St. Petersburg. There he studied music and
composition under the director of the Imperial Chapel Choir, the Italian master Baldassare Galuppi. When Galuppi left for Italy in 1769, he took
the boy with him. In Italy, Bortniansky gained considerable success composing operas: Creonte (1776) and Alcide (1778) in Venice, and Quinto
Fabio (1779) at Modena. He also composed sacred works in Latin and German, both a cappella and with orchestral accompaniment.
Bortniansky returned to the court at St. Petersburg in 1779 and flourished creatively. He composed at least four more operas (all in French,
with libretti by Franz-Hermann Lafermière): Le Faucon (1786), Le fete du seigneur (1786), Don Carlos (1786), and Le fils-rival ou La moderne
Stratonice (1787). Bortniansky wrote a number of instrumental works at this time, including piano sonatas and a piano quintet with harp, and a
cycle of French songs. He also composed liturgical music for the Orthodox Church, combining the Eastern and Western European styles of
sacred music, incorporating the polyphony he learned in Italy; some works were polychoral, using a style descended from the Venetian
polychoral technique of the Gabrielis. After a while, Bortniansky's genius proved too great to ignore, and in 1796 he was appointed Director of
the Imperial Chapel Choir, the first director not to have been imported from outside of the Russian Empire. With such a great instrument at his
disposal, he produced scores upon scores of compositions, including over 100 religious works, sacred concertos (35 for four-part mixed choir,
10 for double choruses), cantatas, and hymns. Bortniansky died in St. Petersburg on October 10, 1825, and was interred at the Smolensky
Cemetery in St. Petersburg. His remains were transferred to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in the 20th century. In 1882, Pyotr Tchaikovsky
edited the liturgical works of Bortniansky, which were published in ten volumes. While Dmitry Bortniansky wrote operas and instrumental
compositions, it is his sacred choral works that are performed most often today. This vast body of work remains central not only to
understanding 18th-century Orthodox sacred music, but also served as inspiration to his fellow Ukrainian composers in the 19th century. The
tune he wrote for the Latin hymn Tantum Ergo eventually became known in Slavic lands as Коль славен (Kol slaven), in which form it is still
sung as a Christmas carol today. The tune was also popular with freemasons. It travelled to English speaking countries and came to be known
by the names Russia, St. Petersburg or Wells; in Germany, the song was paired with a text by Gerhard Tersteegen, and became a well-known
chorale and traditional closing piece to the military ritual Großer Zapfenstreich (the Ceremonial Tattoo). Prior to the October revolution in 1917,
the tune was played by the Moscow Kremlin carillon every day at midday. James Blish, who novelized many episodes of the original series of
Star Trek, noted in one story, Whom Gods Destroy, that Bortniansky's “Ich bete an die Macht der Liebe” was the theme "to which all Starfleet
Academy classes marched to their graduation."

Grigory Fyodorovich Lvovsky (b. 1830, Kishinev, Moldavia; d. 1894, St. Petersburg) was educated at Kishinev Theological Seminary, where
he conducted the seminary choir and the local cathedral choir. Sent to St. Petersburg to further his musical studies, particularly for violin, for
which he had a special gift, Lvovsky received the precentors’ diploma at the Imperial Court Chapel. After returning to Kishinev for three years,
he was summoned an 1856 to St. Petersburg to assume the post of precentor at the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and shortly thereafter, a
similar post at St. Isaac's Cathedral, which was consecrated 1858. He occupied these two posts–among most prestigious all Russia–until his
death.