Concerto for Choir mvt II

COMPOSERS WITHOUT BORDERS
Choral Works by Chinese, Ukrainian, Iranian, American, and Russian Composers
The New York Virtuoso Singers
Harold Rosenbaum, Conductor
Alfred Schnittke - Concerto for Choir (mvt. II)
Schnittke’s Choir Concerto grew out of a single-movement work, premièred in Istanbul in 1984 by Polyansky and the USSR Minis - try of Culture Chamber Choir. The conductor then encouraged Schnittke to expand the work, and that movement became the third of the four-movement concerto. The concerto looks back to Russian choral music of the 19th century and the tradition of large-scale concert works based on Orthodox choral music. The genre of the choral concerto dates back further, to the mid-17th century. It is particularly associated with the Ukraine-born composer Dmitri Bortniansky (1751-1825), who wrote prolifically in the form. The term ‘choir concerto’ originally referred to a short work, in several movements, performed during the Divine Liturgy while the clergy take communion. Like many liturgical genres of the Orthodox church, the choir concerto was developed into a concert format in the late 19th century. This was the tradition in which Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov wrote their large-scale choral works. Schnittke extends the idea, writing in a Romantic style while also evoking ancient styles of chant, though without quoting any directly. The texts are by the medieval Armenian poet Gregory of Narek (951-1003). The prayers are written in Classical Armenian, but Schnittke uses modern Russian translations. The book consists of 95 prayers, which speak of seeking solace and hope in God. It draws on the rich traditions of poetry and philosophy that had developed in Armenia by the end of the 10th century. A humanistic individualism informs the texts, with the poet directly expressing his emotions and often writing in the first person. Each of the concerto’s four movements finds a different balance between the contemplative and the dramatic. The second movement is very dramatic; it builds over an insistent pulse in the basses and eventually culminates in a 16-part climax.

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God, this is good!