Vecheri Tvoyeya Tanïya - "Of Thy Mystical Supper"

This week (and next) we come to the second of four movements of Alexander Gretchaninoff's Passion Week we'll be singing during Lent. 

Vecheri Tvoyeya Tanïya ("Of Thy Mystical Supper") is, liturgically speaking, a Communion hymn - part of a prayer said or sung just prior to Communion in the Orthodox Church. And because it's so central to the liturgy, it's been set by just about every Russian composer you can think of - and quite a few you probably can't. I found more than 20 versions on iTunes, and they don't have nearly all of them.

In fact, this isn't the first setting of the piece the St. Barnabas Choir has sung. In 2006 we sang a lovely version by Alexei Lvov (1799-1870). 

A translation of the text we're singing:

Of Thy Mystical Supper, O Son of God,
accept me today as a partaker:
for I will not speak of Thy mystery to Thine enemies, 
neither like Judas will I give Thee a kiss,
but like the thief I will confess Thee:
"Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom."

What to Listen For

One of the first things you may notice is the low bass sound. It's really low. In fact, the 2nd Bass singers spend a full 40% of the piece not just on low notes, not just in the bass clef, but below the bass clef! They have long, low tones which act as a framework against which the other parts alternatively push and resolve. This is quintessential Russian chorale territory.

And mentioning 2nd basses brings up another aspect of many Russian chorales: All the parts - Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass - are divisi, i.e., divided into 1st and 2nd parts. This 8-part harmony is considerably more complex than our usual 4-part fare - the kind of scoring we're used to in our hymnals, too.

Part of the reason for this is simply the wide span of the music - three octaves and a third. This is a full octave greater span than many of the anthems we sing, and it takes a lot of parts to cover the span.

Another factor in this complexity is the fact this particular movement - and several others in Passion Week - was originally written for two choirs, each divided into eight parts! It took a bit of editing gymnastics to get it to work with a single choir, but we did it - it's all there.

The piece has 4 main sections. The first, which introduces a stunningly beautiful motif sung by the sopranos, carries the text

Of Thy Mystical Supper, O Son of God,
accept me today as a partaker:

It's a passionate plea, with some startling complex harmonies - can you say, 11th chord? - as the section rises to a climax before ending quietly, prayerfully.

The second section begins with the men singing in quiet octaves, almost in a whisper:

for I will not speak of Thy mystery to Thine enemies,

which the women echo in what are again, somewhat complex harmonies over the bass drone.

The section rises to a climax on the words

neither like Judas will I give Thee a kiss

before relaxing on the words

but like the thief I will confess Thee.

The third section sets the final phrase

"Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom."

again, starting softly, building to a huge climax, then, once again, relaxing. After the peak, as the music relaxes, the sopranos once again sound their lovely motif from the beginning of the piece.

The last section is something we don't generally sing in Lent - it's an Alleluia. But it's not the kind of Alleluia we'll be singing at Easter. This is quiet, prayerful - an instance of what the Orthodox Church calls, "Solemn joy." And right before the end, as the rest of the sections are holding long chords, the sopranos bring in the initial motif for one last appearance.

We'll offer the piece at the 10:30 service on March 23 and at the 9:00 service on March 30. This is beautiful, passionate, prayerful music. I hope it moves you as much as it has us while preparing it.

"Sṽéte tiẖiy" - "Gladsome Light"

The Senior Choir begins our Russian pilgrimage for Lent with the beautiful Sṽéte tiẖiy (Gladsome Light). We'll offer this piece at the 10:30 service on March 9 and again at the 9:00 service on March 16.

Svete (pronounced SVYEH-teh) is the 4th movement of Alexander Gretchaninoff's 13-part Passion Week. We'll sing it as Gretchaninoff set it, in the original Old Church Slavonic.

The text is an ancient Christian hymn, Phos Hilaron, originally written in New Testament Greek by an anonymous author in the late 3rd or early 4th century. It is one of the earliest known Christian hymns still in use today.

Around the time it was composed, a lamp was kept perpetually burning in the empty tomb of Christ in Jerusalem, its glow a symbol of the living light of Jesus. As Christians gathered to worship the hymn was sung and, in a tradition known as the lighting of the lamps, a candle lit from the lamp was brought forth from the tomb, its bright, solitary flame calling the church to celebrate the Risen Lord.

The original melody, as used by the Greek Orthodox Church on the original text, is pretty taxing on the voice, as it spans almost two octaves (most hymns we sing span just one octave). Gretchaninoff's setting is more singable, with the most demanding voice range rising only an octave and a third.

The hymn is a fixed part of the Orthodox vespers service, sung or recited daily.

And there's a modernized version of it in our ELW hymnal - #561, Joyous Light of Heavenly Glory.

What to listen for
This setting is almost entirely homophonic, meaning the voices move together, in the same rhythm, much like the congregation does when singing a hymn. You might think, in such a case, emphasis would be given to the highest voice, the first sopranos - just like we do when singing hymns. But this isn't quite the case here - frequently, throughout the piece, the sopranos are staying in a very narrow range (sometimes just 1 or 2 notes for a few measures). The musical excitement here is going on in the lower parts - primarily the bass, but also in the inner alto and tenor parts, which are filled with lovely short musical gestures.

Speaking of the basses - listen for them throughout the piece. Russian choral music relies heavily on the deep, low sounds of the bass section. The choral tone overall is somewhat darker than we may be used to, but it's almost hypnotically beautiful.

And Russian basses sing very, very low. In fact, the lowest note in many Russian chorales is a B-flat two octaves below Middle C. If you're a devotee of such things, the frequency of Middle C is about 262 Hz, i.e., 262 cycles of a sine wave per second. This B-flat is about 58 Hz, which is only about an octave and a half above the lowest note most people can hear.

Fortunately, our basses don't have to go quite that low here - though you might catch a few of them singing D-flats (69 Hz) just above that bottom.

Harmonically, the piece starts in E-flat minor (6 flats, for those of you keeping score!) - adding to the dark overall sound. It's a vespers trick, painting the darkness of the waning day with dark harmonies. But all the cadences - progressions leading to points of rest - are in G-flat major, emphasizing the fact this is a hymn of praise.

Listen for the dynamic shifts - changes in volume through the choir. These lead you through the emotional colors of the text. And even though we've stressed the importance of the basses, there's a lovely 2-measure riff for the women alone (in 4 parts, sopranos and altos each split) for the text which translates to Thou are worthy at every moment. It's a wonderfully contrasting moment.

And you might want to listen for the climax of the piece, near the end, on the words temzhe mir tia slavit - Therefore all the world glorifies Thee.

On the other hand, you may just want to sit back, maybe close your eyes, and let this beautiful first choral offering of Lent take you where it will.

Sṽéte tiẖiy sṽiatïya slávï Bezsmértnago,
Ottsá Ñebésnago, Sṽiatágo, Blazhénnago, Iisúse Hristé.
Prishédshe na západ sólntsa,
ṽídefshe sṽet ṽechérñiy,
poyém Ottsá, Sïna i Sṽiatágo Dúẖa, Bóga.
Dostóin yesí vo fsia vremená
pet bíti glásï prepodóbnïmi,
Síñe Bózhïy, zhïvót dayáy,
témzhe mir Tia sláṽit.

Gladsome Light of the holy glory of the Immortal One – 

the Heavenly Father, holy and blessed – O Jesus Christ!

Now that we have come to the setting of the sun,

and behold the light of evening,

we praise the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – God. 

Thou art worthy at every moment

to be praised in hymns by reverent voices.

O Son of God, Thou art the Giver of Life; 

therefore all the world glorifies Thee.