My Spiritual Brothers
Znamenny chant and Partes polyphonic setting (ca. 1675-1700)
Transcription by Evgeny Skurat
World Premiere
My spiritual brothers who fasted with me, do not forget me when you pray, but having seen my tomb, remember my love and pray to Christ, that he may settle my spirit with the righteous.
Written from the perspective of a reposed monk as he lies in his tomb, this chant was to be sung at the funeral rite in monastic communities. The first setting is an example of znamenny monophonic chant, the main type of chant used in the Russian Orthodox church since the 10th century and until the late 17th. A polyphonic setting of the chant follows just after, in a style called continuous polyphony orpartespolyphony, a late seventeenth-century Muscovite polyphonic idiom in which the chant is accompanied by consonant homophonic harmonies. Burial Trisagion a8
Anonymous (ca. 1730-40) Russian Empire
Transcription by Lada Kondrashkova
US premiere
Святый Боже, Святый Крепкий, Святый безсмертный, помилуй нас.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.
This Burial Trisagion is a late masterpiece of the Slavic partes polyphony, dating to the 1730s. The intricate setting of polyphony in eight parts is indicative of the composer’s familiarity with contemporary Western harmony, yet retains the particular qualities of the partes style. Its shimmering, soaring long lines evoke the calm stasis of heavenly beauty and peace.My Spiritual Brothers
Demestvenny polyphonic setting (ca. 1690s)
Transcription by Evgeny Skurat
World Premiere
My spiritual brothers who fasted with me, do not forget me when you pray, but having seen my tomb, remember my love and pray to Christ, that he may settle my spirit with the righteous.
This polyphonic setting is in the demestvenny style, also known as demestvo, after which our ensemble gets its name. This is a particularly festive, ornamented style, unique to Slavic music, that was popular in 16th- and 17th-century Muscovy.