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Concerto for Mixed Choir is Alfred Schnittke's major choral work,
created in 1984 - 1985. The piece is based on "The Book of Mournful
Songs" by the great Armenian medieval poet, Gregor Narekatsi (951 - 1003).
"The Book of Mournful Songs" is a definitive work by the
poet, written near the end of his life. Already greatly popular in the
Middle Ages, it was read and passed down through generations, its images given
numerous interpretations. Narekatsi's book focuses on man's inner life and
is vastly colored with humanistic individualism, typical of Armenian poetry and
philosophy of the time.
In his Choir Concerto, Schnittke sought to reflect the poet's
world, diverse and full of contrast. "Narakatsi's text", said
the composer, "is but a preparation for the understanding of actual
meaning, which is revealed in the process of reading but cannot be conveyed in
words." Schnittke's concerto, a combination of conveyed and hidden
meanings, is characteristic of the whole work. Expressive vocalism
surrounds recitation, creating a symbolic plan of sound. The tangibility
of the text in the first movement dissolves into serene semitonal psalmody in
the second, into major triads, and eventually rises into a sphere of abstract
images.
Alfred Schnittke completed his Choir Concerto in the summer of 1985
and dedicated it to Valeri Polyansky and the USSR Ministry of Culture Chamber
Choir.
A.
Schnittke
(b. 1934)
Choir
Concerto
1. O Thee, the Sovereign of Everything, Who Gives Us Precious Gifts - 17:04
2. Collected Songs Where Every Verse is Full of Grief - 8:31
3. For Those Who'll Deeply Go Into the Meaning of Mournful Words,
For Those Who'll Perceive the Essence of Creation - 11:56
4. This Work Which I Begin With Hope and Name of Thee - 6:09
Two Small Organ Pieces
5. - 4:28
6. - 3:45
Total time - 51:46
Oleg Yanchenko,
organ
Conductor - Valeri Polyansky
USSR Ministry of Culture Chamber Choir
Elena Dol-Donskaya, soprano