Pavel Chesnokov: Teach Me Thy Statutes
Reference Recordings

Recorded in Russia in 2016 in the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian Orthodox Church, Teach Me Thy Statutes presents the music of Russian composer Pavel Chesnokov (1877-1944) as performed by the PaTRAM (Patriarch Tikhon Russian- American Music) Institute Male Choir, which includes both Russian and American singers, and conductor Vladimir Gorbik. The rich sonorities generated by the male voices makes for a stirring and oft-haunting result, and even a listener coming to the Russian monastic style of singing for the first time will in all likelihood be captivated by this collection of Orthodox sacred music.

Chesnokov is considered a member of the so-called ‘new direction' of Moscow composers, a school of church composition that arose during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and that focuses on devising creative ways of arranging historical and traditional chants polyphonically. In his lifetime, this choirmaster and composer wrote nearly 500 choral works, including several complete cycles of the Liturgy and the All-Night Vigil, arrangements of early chants and folk songs, and choral treatments of texts by Russian poets. On Teach Me Thy Statutes, compositions from the All-Night Vigil and Divine Liturgy are featured, and consequently one comes away from the recording with a thorough introduction to Chesnokov's material and Orthodox choral church singing in general.

Fifteen pieces are presented, ranging in length from one minute to nine, and despite individuating differences, all speak to the remarkable vocal artistry of the PaTRAM Institute Male Choir. Being hymns, the delivery is often hushed, but moments where the voices swell in volume are plentiful. The material's roots in folk music sometimes emerges, yet for the most part the music assumes a timeless, otherworldly purity, especially when no other instruments than voices are featured. Though the singers assembled for the recording came from three ensembles, a marked unity of purpose quickly established itself, largely due to the fact that all the participants come from outfits that sing at liturgical services and thus possess a deep connection to the performance of sacred music.

Teach Me Thy Statutes begins with a gorgeous psalm, “Bless the Lord, O My Soul,” a resplendent example of an arrangement of Russian ‘Greek' Chant. At first soft, the monophonic voices gradually rise until glorious declamations appear, the moment suggestive of clouds parting to reveal the sun. In contrast to the opener's massed presentation, “Blessed Is the Man” pairs the prayerful cry of a soloist with the soft utterances of the choir; while both sing concurrently, the choir can be heard singing “Alleluia” following each verse of the psalm, resulting in a performance that feels both reverential and unearthly.

Whereas “Gladsome Light” and “Cherubic Hymn” largely pitch themselves at the level of a serene hush, “Praise the Name of the Lord” dynamically alternates between softly enunciated and loudly declaimed passages. Humility and gratitude are conveyed by the choir's heartfelt expressions in “Bless the Lord, O My Soul,” while triumphant affirmation characterizes the delivery in “Glory… Only Begotten Son.” The album's longest setting is “The Great Doxology,” a panoramic masterwork that makes the strongest possible argument for Chesnokov's gifts as it juxtaposes sequences of affirmation, tenderness, and repentance, all of them fluidly woven into a gloriously expressive fabric. His estimable command of polyphony is also well-illustrated by “Lord, Now Lettest Thou” in the way the variously pitched layers contrapuntally weave.

August 2018