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.
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