Choral Performance in Pre-Revolutionary Russia

By Vladimir Morosan

Item Number: MR.CHP

ISBN 9780962946028.

If you've bought the music, now you can read the book that tells you how to perform it authentically! Now in its fourth printing, Choral Performance in PreRevolutionary Russia stands as the definitive Englishlanguage resource on all aspects of Russian choral music. The first three chapters focus on the history and development of choral singing in the land of Rus', from its origins in the form of unison chant, received from Byzantium, through the rise of indigenous Russian polyphony in the Middle Ages, the coming of Westernstyle polyphony, and the emergence of the modernday Russian choral tradition, spearheaded by the Imperial Court Chapel and the Moscow Synodal Choir. The subsequent four chapters discuss choral and vocal training, including ideals of choral tone; prominent conductors, such as Vasily Orlov, Nikolai Danilin, Alexander Arkhangelsky, and Pavel Chesnokov; and the stylistic categories of Russian choral music, both sacred and secular. The final chapter takes up the various aspects of performance practice problems in the manner of Robert Donington, citing relevant passages from period sources: included are sections dealing with pitch, rhythm and meter, tempo, articulation, dynamics, syllabic and recitative chant, soloists, pronunciation and diction, performance context, and interpretation.