Blessed is the man
Blazhen muzh
by Alexander Dmitriyevich Kastalsky
4-Part - Sheet Music

SATB choir (div)

SKU: MR.KS-035

Blazhen muzh. Composed by Alexander Dmitriyevich Kastalsky. Choral octavo. With Language: Church Slavonic. Musica Russica #KS 035. Published by Musica Russica (MR.KS-035).

A brilliant precursor to Rachmaninoff's setting of this text in his AllNight Vigil, tapping into the ancient chant melody of the Moscow Dormition Cathedral, nearly as ancient as Moscow itself.  Part of Kastalsky's numerous hymn settings for the AllNight Vigil, this piece stems from the Church's ancient practice of sung psalms as the basic building blocks of worship. The psalm verses are sung to an energetic, muscular melody, alternating with the refrain Alleluia. In this setting, dating from 1900, Kastalsky shows himself to be a master of choral color, varying sonorities and textures in a manner that would later be taken up and expanded upon by Rachmaninoff and other Russian composers of the early 20^th century.