Sensitive to musical beauty, to spiritual movements. Chesnokov Pavel Grigorievich - composer and brilliant conductor Thank you for all the pleasures

In the constellation of names famous composers There is one name in Russian sacred music, when uttered, many Russians feel warmth and bliss in their hearts. This name has not been eclipsed by others, sometimes very famous names it has stood the test of the strictest court - the impartial Court of Time. This name - Pavel Grigorievich Chesnokov.

Chesnokov was born on October 25, 1877 in the village of Ivanovskoye, Zvenigorod district, Moscow province. Already in childhood he discovered a wonderful voice and bright musical abilities. At the age of five, Pavel began singing in the church choir, of which his father was the choir director. This helped him enter the famous Synodal School of Church Singing, which became the cradle of many prominent figures national choral culture. Here his teachers were the great V.S. Orlov and the wise S.V. Smolensky. After graduating from college with a gold medal (in 1895), Chesnokov studied composition privately with S.I. for four years. Taneyev, simultaneously working as a teacher choral singing in women's boarding schools and gymnasiums. In 1903, he became the choir director at the Church of the Trinity on Pokrovka (“on Gryazi”). This choir soon gained fame as one of the best in Moscow: “They didn’t pay the singers, but the singers paid to be accepted into Chesnokov’s choir,” one of the Moscow regents later recalled.

For many years, Chesnokov, while continuing to work in Moscow (during these years he also presided over the Church of Cosmas and Damian on Skobelevskaya Square), often traveled around Russia: he acted as a conductor of spiritual concerts, conducted classes at various regency and regency-teacher courses, and participated in the work of regency congresses. It was the regency business that was central to the life and work of the renowned master of church singing. But he himself was never satisfied with himself, and therefore in 1913, being already widely known throughout singing Russia, the 36-year-old composer of sacred music entered the Moscow Conservatory. Here he studied composition and conducting with M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov and instrumentation with S.I. Vasilenko. Chesnokov marked his fortieth birthday in 1917 by graduating from the conservatory with a class free composition(with a silver medal), having in his creative portfolio about 50 opuses of spiritual and secular music. And in the same year, it was Chesnokov and his choir who received the honor of participating in the enthronement of Patriarch Tikhon.

The master’s subsequent activities were filled with painful attempts to find a place for himself in a new, radically changed life: conductor and artistic director various Moscow choirs (but nowhere for a long time) teacher music school and the People's Choral Academy (formerly the Synodal School), professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Until 1931 he was regent at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and in 1932 he became the first head of the department choral conducting conservatory. In 1933, Chesnokov’s book “The Choir and Its Management” was completed and published in 1940 (and sold out within a few hours) - the only major methodological work of the famous choir leader. It summarized the many years of invaluable experience of the author himself and his fellow synodals. For many years, this work (though without the chapter on regency practice removed by the author at the request of the publisher) remained the main manual for the training of domestic choirmasters. All this time he continued to compose sacred music, but no longer for performance or publication, but only for himself.

The last years of the composer's life were the most dramatic Mental suffering increasingly drowned out by alcohol. In the end, the heart could not stand it, and one of the most soulful lyricists of Russian sacred music found rest in the old Moscow Vagankovsky cemetery...

Assessing Chesnokov’s multifaceted, original talent, contemporaries noted in him a unique combination of various qualities, both musical and “great human”: strict professionalism and deep respect to his work, enormous musicality, brilliant artistic talent, a magnificent refined ear and, also, spiritual purity, sincerity, deep humanity and respect for people. And all these qualities were reflected in one way or another in his music, just as his characteristics as a choirmaster, conductor, and performer were reflected in it.

Among Chesnokov’s works there are romances and children’s songs (just remember the charming cycle “Galina’s Songs”), there are piano music and among student works - instrumental works and symphonic sketches. But most of the opuses were written in the genre of choral music: choirs a sarella and with accompaniment, arrangements folk songs, transcriptions and editions The most important part of his heritage is sacred music. In it the composer's talent and soul found the most perfect, deepest, most intimate embodiment.

Entering the galaxy of composers of the so-called new Moscow school of church music, Chesnokov is still noticeably different from them. Like Kastalsky, who constructed a special (partly speculative) “folk-modal system” and used it in his secular and spiritual compositions, Chesnokov “built”, or rather, intoned his own system, built on easily recognizable melodic and harmonic turns of Russian urban song and everyday romance late 19th century. Unlike Grechaninov, who created a special monumental temple-concert style of sacred music, based on the vocal-instrumental polyphony of orchestral writing, Chesnokov creates an equally rich polyphony of his compositions solely on the unique originality singing voices a sarrella, imperceptibly dissolving the dome “echoes” of the temple acoustics into the choral sonority. Unlike Shvedov, who imbued his spiritual compositions with the “delights” of romantic harmony and rational design of form, Chesnokov never succumbs to the temptation to compose for the sake of demonstrating authorship, but always follows his lyrical, sincere, childish, slightly naive musical instinct. Unlike Nikolsky, who often complicated the church-singing style by using brightly concert, purely orchestral writing techniques, Chesnokov always preserves in purity the unique, entirely Russian vocal-choral style of temple sonority. And yet he approaches the text like an astute playwright, finding in it monologues, dialogues, lines, summaries and a variety of stage plans. Therefore, already in his Liturgy, Op. 15 (1905), he discovered and brilliantly applied all those dramatic techniques that Rachmaninov would use 10 years later in the famous “Vespers.”

And there is, among many others, one fundamental feature of Chesnokov’s vocal-choral writing. Whether a soloist sings or a choral part sounds, this statement is always personal, i.e., essentially, solo in nature. Chesnokov's melodic talent is not characterized by developed melodies (with the exception of quoting everyday tunes), his element is a short motive, less often a phrase: sometimes of a recitative-ariot nature, sometimes in the spirit of an urban romance song. But any melody requires accompaniment, and the role of such accompaniment is played by all other choral voices. Their task is to highlight, interpret, decorate the melody with beautiful harmony - and it is precisely admiring the beautiful, “spicy”, romantically refined harmony that is characteristic of Chesnokov’s music. All these features indicate that Chesnokov’s music belongs to the genre of lyricism - often sentimental, expressive in its improvisational and everyday origins, and personal in the nature of the statement.

Most of all, this statement becomes romantically moving and artistically convincing when the composer uses the concerto genre by entrusting the solo part to a separate voice. Chesnokov’s legacy includes a lot choral concerts for all types of voices. Particularly notable among them is the six-concert opus 40 (1913), which brought the author truly boundless fame and glory (especially thanks to the unique concert for bass-octavist accompanied by mixed choir). At the same time, much more often one can observe in Chesnokov’s works diverse manifestations of the principle of concert performance, based on the maximum identification of the group performing capabilities of the parts that make up the choir. Opus 44, “The Most Important Hymns of the All-Night Vigil” (1913), can be classified as works of this kind. It is significant that both of these opuses, completed in the year their author began studying at the Moscow Conservatory, not only demonstrate new level Chesnokov's compositional skills, but also testify to his unique attitude to the genres of sacred music, built on the creative combination of domestic church singing traditions and the latest achievements musical art.

A remarkable feature of Chesnokov’s music is its simplicity and accessibility, its recognition and heartfelt closeness. She delights and elevates, cultivates taste and corrects morals, awakens souls and inspires hearts. Having gone through a long and difficult path together with the land that gave birth to it, this music still sounds bright and sincere today. Because, as it was said in the obituary of the composer’s memory, published in the “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” in April 1944, “without striving for any external effects, Chesnokov inspired the words of prayer petitions and doxologies with the simplest melodies, sounding from the depths of pure and perfect harmony. (...) This wonderful composer comprehended church music like prayer wings on which our soul easily ascends to the throne of the Most High.”

Konstantin NIKITIN

Born on October 24, 1877 in the family of a regent near Voskresensk, now the Moscow region. Soviet choral conductor, teacher and composer.

He graduated from the Synodal School in 1895 as a choral conductor, in 1917 from the Moscow Conservatory in composition class with S.N. Vasilenko (previously took lessons from S.I. Taneev and M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov. He taught at the Synodal School (Choral Academy), in 1920-44 at the Moscow Conservatory (from 1921 - professor), where he taught a choral conducting class, developed courses in choral studies and methods of working with the Moscow choir. state choir(1917 - 22), headed the Moscow academic chapel(1922 - 28), was choirmaster Bolshoi Theater.

Chesnokov is one of the greatest masters of Russian choral culture, who contributed to his versatile musical activity raising it to a high level, his book “The Choir and Its Management” (1940; 3rd ed. - 1961) is the first detailed and deep work in Soviet and world literature on choir studies, where theoretical problems choral art. author of many musical works- songs, romances, choirs, etc.

Chesnokov wrote over 500 choral works, including a lot of church ones. Until 1917, he published over 50 opuses of church works. The choral writing reflected all the rich experience Synodal Choir who raised him.

Chesnokov died in 1944.

Russian empire RSFSR USSR

composer, choral conductor

Pavel Grigorievich Chesnokov(October 12 (24), 1877, Zvenigorod district, Moscow province - March 14, 1944) - Russian composer, choral conductor, author of widely performed spiritual compositions.

Biography

Musical works

In total, the composer created about five hundred choral pieces: spiritual compositions and transcriptions of traditional chants (among them several complete cycles of the liturgy and all-night vigil, a memorial service, the cycles “To the Most Holy Lady,” “In the Days of War,” “To the Lord God”), adaptations of folk songs, choirs based on poems by Russian poets. Chesnokov is one of the most prominent representatives of the so-called “new direction” in Russian sacred music; Typical for him are, on the one hand, excellent mastery of choral writing, excellent knowledge different types traditional singing (which is especially evident in his transcriptions of chants), and on the other hand, a tendency towards great emotional openness in the expression of religious feelings, up to a direct rapprochement with song or romance lyrics (especially typical for spiritual compositions for solo voice that are now very popular with in chorus).

Literature

• Chesnokov P. G.. Choir and its management. A manual for choral conductors. Ed. 3rd - M., 1961
• Dmitrevskaya K. Russian Soviet choral music. Vol. 1.- M.: “Soviet Composer”, 1974.- P. 44-69
• List of published spiritual works by P. G. Chesnokov

Links

Categories:

• Personalities in alphabetical order
• Musicians in alphabetical order
• Born on October 24
• Born in 1877
• Born in Zvenigorod district
• Died on March 14
• Died in 1944
• Died in Moscow
• Composers by alphabet
• Church Regents
• Spiritual composers
• Choral conductors of Russia
• Choral conductors of the USSR

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See what “Chesnokov, Pavel Grigorievich” is in other dictionaries: - (1877 1944) Russian choral conductor. In 1895 1916 he was a teacher at the Synodal School (People's Choral Academy), in 1917 22 he was the chief conductor of the Moscow State Choir, in 1922 28 he was the director of the Moscow Chapel. The author of the first Russian... ... Big

encyclopedic Dictionary Soviet choral conductor, teacher and composer. He graduated from the Synodal School as a choral conductor in 1895, and from the Moscow Conservatory in 1917, majoring in composition with S...

Great Soviet Encyclopedia Chesnokov, Pavel Grigorievich - CHESNOKOV Pavel Grigorievich (1877 1944), choral conductor, composer and teacher. Leader of many choirs (church and secular). One of the largest representatives of Russian choral culture. About 500 works for choir; Russia's first capital...

Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary chief conductor Moscow State Choir, in 1922 28 director of the Moscow Chapel. The author of the first... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (1877, near Voskresensk, Moscow province, now Istra, 1944, Moscow), composer, choral conductor, regent. From the family of a clergyman. In 1895 he graduated from the Synodal School of Church Singing; in 1895 99 he took composition lessons from S.I. Taneyeva,... ... Moscow (encyclopedia)

Genus. 1877, d. 1944. Choral conductor. He was the chief conductor of the Moscow State Choir (1917-22), and directed the Moscow Chapel (1922-28). Author of musical works for choir. Since 1921, professor at the Moscow Conservatory... Big biographical encyclopedia

- (October 24 (12), 1877 March 14, 1944) Russian choral conductor, composer, church choir director, professor at the Moscow Conservatory (since 1921). Born on October 24 (12 according to the old style) October 1877 near the city of Voznesensk, Zvenigorod district... ... Wikipedia

Grigorievich Russian choral conductor, composer, church choir director, professor at the Moscow Conservatory Chesnokov, Pavel Vasilyevich artist, heraldist ... Wikipedia

Chesnokov Pavel Grigorievich (October 24 (12), 1877 March 14, 1944) Russian choral conductor, composer, church choir director, professor at the Moscow Conservatory (since 1921). Born on October 24 (12 according to the old style) October 1877 near the city of Voznesensk... ... Wikipedia

Chesnokov, Pavel Grigorievich Russian choral conductor, composer, church choir director, professor at the Moscow Conservatory Chesnokov, Pavel Vasilievich artist, heraldist ... Wikipedia

Books

• Choir and its management. Textbook, Chesnokov Pavel Grigorievich, P. G. Chesnokov is one of the greatest masters of Russian choral culture, who with his versatile musical activity contributed to raising it to a new level, highest level. Real work... Category: Music Series: Textbooks for universities. Special literature Publisher:

Russian composer, choral conductor, author of widely performed sacred compositions. Born near the town of Voskresensk (now the town of Istra), Zvenigorod district, Moscow province, on October 12 (24), 1877 in the family of a rural regent. All children in the family showed musical talent, and five Chesnokov brothers in different time studied at the Moscow Synodal School of Church Singing (three became certified regents - Mikhail, Pavel and Alexander). In 1895 Chesnokov graduated with honors from the Synodal School; subsequently took composition lessons from S.I. Taneev, G.E. Konyus (1862–1933) and M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov; much later (in 1917) he received a diploma from the Moscow Conservatory in composition and conducting classes. After graduating from the Synodal School, he worked in various Moscow colleges and schools; in 1895–1904 he taught at the Synodal School, in 1901–1904 he was assistant regent of the Synodal Choir, in 1916–1917 he conducted the chapel of the Russian Choral Society.

Since the 1900s, Chesnokov gained great fame as a regent and author of sacred music. For a long time led the choir of the Trinity Church on Gryazi (on Pokrovka), from 1917 to 1928 - the choir of the Church of St. Basil of Neocaesarea on Tverskaya; He also worked with other choirs and gave spiritual concerts. His works were included in the repertoire of the Synodal Choir and other major choirs. In total, Chesnokov created about five hundred choral plays - spiritual compositions and transcriptions of traditional chants (among them several complete cycles of the liturgy and all-night vigil, a memorial service, the cycles "To the Most Holy Theotokos", "In the Days of War", "To the Lord God"), adaptations of folk songs, choirs based on poems by Russian poets. Chesnokov is one of the most prominent representatives of the so-called. “new direction” in Russian sacred music; Typical for him, on the one hand, is an excellent mastery of choral writing, excellent knowledge of various types of traditional singing (which is especially evident in his transcriptions of chants), and on the other hand, a tendency towards great emotional openness in the expression of religious feelings, up to a direct rapprochement with song or romance lyrics (especially typical for spiritual compositions for solo voice and choir that are now very popular).

After the revolution, Chesnokov led the State Academic Choir and was choirmaster of the Bolshoi Theater; from 1920 until the end of his life he taught conducting and choral studies at the Moscow Conservatory. After 1928 he was forced to leave the regency and the composition of sacred music. In 1940 he published the book “The Choir and Its Management.” Chesnokov died in Moscow on March 14, 1944.

Chesnokov, Alexander Grigorievich(1890–1941), younger brother of Pavel Grigorievich, also a famous regent and composer. He graduated with honors from the Synodal School, and then from the St. Petersburg Conservatory in the composition class of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov. He was a teacher and court regent singing choir, professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He emigrated in 1923, first to Prague, where he directed the All-Student Russian Choir. A.A. Arkhangelsky, then moved to Paris. Author of a number of spiritual and choral works in the style of the “new direction”, an original oratorio for choir, soloists and orchestra “Requiem – The Sacrament of Death” (first performed in Moscow in the second half of the 1990s) and a number of secular works.

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, Moscow province - March 14th, Moscow) - Russian composer, choral conductor, author of widely performed spiritual compositions.

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  In 1917, Chesnokov received a diploma from the Moscow Conservatory in composition and conducting classes.

  Since the 1900s, Chesnokov gained great fame as a regent and author of sacred music. For a long time he directed the choir of the Trinity Church on Gryazi (on Pokrovka), from 1917 to 1928 - the choir of the Church of St. Basil of Caesarea on Tverskaya; He also worked with other choirs and gave spiritual concerts. His works were included in the repertoire of the Synodal Choir and other major choirs. After the revolution, Pavel Grigorievich led the State Academic Choir and was choirmaster of the Bolshoi Theater. From 1920 until the end of his life he taught conducting and choral studies at the Moscow Conservatory. After 1928, he was forced to leave the regency and the composition of sacred music. In 1940, he published a monumental work on choir studies, “The Choir and Its Management.”

  Chesnokov died in Moscow on March 14, 1944 from a myocardial infarction. According to the widespread version, he fell while standing in line for bread, and the cause of the heart attack was general exhaustion of the body [ ] . He was buried at the Vagankovsky Cemetery. Since the early 2000s, attempts have been made to obtain official permission to install a monument at the composer’s grave, but none of them were successful.

  Musical works

  In total, the composer created about five hundred choral pieces: spiritual compositions and transcriptions of traditional chants (among them several complete cycles of the liturgy and all-night vigil, a memorial service, the cycles “To the Most Holy Lady,” “In the Days of War,” “To the Lord God”), adaptations of folk songs, choirs based on poems by Russian poets. Chesnokov is one of the most prominent representatives of the so-called “new direction” in Russian sacred music; Typical for him, on the one hand, is an excellent mastery of choral writing, excellent knowledge of various types of traditional singing (which is especially evident in his transcriptions of chants), and on the other hand, a tendency towards great emotional openness in the expression of religious feelings, even to the point of direct rapprochement with song or romance lyrics (especially typical for spiritual compositions for solo voice and choir that are now very popular). His choirs are distinguished by their wide range, the use of low basses (octavists), the use of complementary rhythm and, as a rule, are accessible to highly qualified groups.

  The main direction of Chesnokov’s work was sacred music, he wrote over 400 spiritual choirs (almost all before 1917) of different genres (“Liturgy”, “Vespers”, concerts with solo soprano, alto, tenor, bass, bass-octave; arrangements of ancient Russian chants, transcriptions for male choir, etc.). These works were very popular (although the author did not escape reproaches for being “romantic”). Many of Chesnokov’s spiritual works began to be performed only in post-Soviet times.

  The content of Chesnokov’s secular works is usually a contemplative perception of nature, such as “The Dawn Is Warming,” “August,” “Night,” “In Winter,” “Alps.” Even in Dubinushka, Chesnokov’s music softens the socially pointed text of L. N. Trefolev. The composer made a number of complex concert arrangements of Russian folk songs (“Hey, let’s whoop,” “There was a birch tree in the field,” “Oh you, birch”), often introducing soloists into them (“Oh you, canopy,” “Ditch,” “Went Baby", "Luchinushka and Bludgeon"). Some of his original choirs were written in folk spirit, such are “Forest” to the words of A.V. Koltsov, “Beyond the river behind the fast one” and “Not a flower in the field withers” to the words of A.N. Ostrovsky; in “Dubinushka” an authentic folk song is used as a background.

  In total, Chesnokov wrote over 60 secular mixed a cappella choirs, as well as (in connection with his teaching work in women's boarding schools) - more than 20 women's choirs with extensive piano accompaniment (" Green noise", "Leaves", "Uncompressed Strip", "Peasant Feast"). Several male choirs of Chesnokov - arrangement of the same works for a mixed composition.