Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Op. 31 (), is a 1910 musical work by Sergei Rachmaninoff, one of his two major unaccompanied choral works (the other being his All-Night Vigil). The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is the primary worship service of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
History Rachmaninoff composed the work in July, 1910 at his summer estate Ivanovka, following his American tour of 1909. Writing to his friend Nikita Morozov, Rachmaninoff said of the work, "I have been thinking about the Liturgy for a long time and for a long time I strove to write it. I started to work on it somehow by chance and then suddenly became fascinated with it. And then I finished it very quickly. Not for a long time have I written anything with such pleasure."Note: Liner notes PDF file is only accessible by first going to the Hyperion website, then clicking the View sleeve notes/artwork (PDF) link
The work premiered November 25, 1910 in Moscow. Russian Orthodox ecclesiastical authorities strongly objected to the work's "spirit of modernism" and refused to sanction it for use during church services. Rachmaninoff did nothing to promote the work himself, and it soon fell into obscurity.
A portion of the Liturgy was given in concert performance in New York on January 24, 1914, by the male choir of the Russian Cathedral of St. Nicholas, conducted by Ivan Gorokhov.
A new edition, reconstructed from surviving part books at an Orthodox monastery in the U.S. and microfilm at the U.S. Library of Congress, was published by Anthony Antolini in 1988.https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/280291. Stanford Libraries This reconstruction was the subject of a PBS documentary entitled Rediscovering Rachmaninoff, produced by KTEH television in San Jose, California.
Movements The Liturgy consists of twenty movements for unaccompanied mixed choir. Three contain solo passages: Movement 2 (Blagoslovi, dushe moia, Ghospoda/Bless the Lord, O my soul) for alto, Movement 10 (Veruiu/The Nicene Creed) for Bass, and Movement 12 (Tebie poiem/To Thee we sing), for treble or soprano. Two (Movements 14 and 19) are scored for double choir.
The twenty movements are these:
Church SlavonicTransliteratedEnglish1Великая ектенияVelikaya ekteniyaThe Great Litany2Благослови, душе моя, ГосподаBlagoslovi, dushe moya, GospodaThe First Antiphon: Bless the Lord, О My Soul3Слава отцу - единородный СынеSlava otsu - edinorodnyy SyneThe Second Antiphon: Glory Be to the Father - Only-Begotten Son4Во царствие ТвоемVo tsarstvie TvoemThe Third Antiphon: In Your Kingdom5Приидите, поклонимсяPriidite, poklonimsyaThe Little Entrance: Come, Let Us Worship6Господи, спаси благочестивыяGospodi, spasi blagochestivyyaTrisagion: Lord, We Pray That You May Be Merciful7Сугубая ектенияSugubaya ekteniyaThe Augmented Litany8Херувимская песньKherubimskaya pesn'Cherubic Hymn9Просительная ектенияPrositel'naya ekteniyaThe Litany of Supplication10Символ веры: веруюSimvol very: veruyuCredo11Милость мираMilost' miraThe Eucharistic Prayer: A Mercy Of Peace12Тебе поемTebe poemWe Praise Thee13Достойно естьDostoyno est'Hymn to the Mother of God: It Is Truly Meet14Отче нашOtche nashThe Lord's Prayer: Our Father15Един святEdin svyatOne Is Holy16Хвалите Господа с небесKhvalite Gospoda s nebesCommunion Hymn: Praise the Lord From The Heavens17Благословен граду - Видихом светBlagosloven gradu - Vidikhom svetBlessed Is He - We Have Seen the Light18Да исполнятся уста нашаDa ispolnyatsya usta nashaHymn Of Praise: Let Our Mouths Be Filled19Буди имя ГосподнеBudi imya GospodneBlessed Be the Name of the Lord20ОтпущениеOtpushchenieDismissal
Recordings YearConductorChoirSoloistsLabel1978Mikhil MilkovChorus of Bulgarian RadioEmilia Maximova (soprano)Veselina Zorova (contralto)Yordan Vidov (tenor)Vassil Stoytsov (tenor)Ivan Petrov (bass) EMI Classics1982Karl LinkeJohannes-Damascenus-Chor für ostkirchliche Liturgie, EssenP. Ludwig Pichler, SJ (Priest)Erwin Lohneisen (Deacon)Lucian Lamka (Lector)Christophorus Records1988Vladimir MininMoscow Chamber ChoirМелодия (Melodiya)1993Nikolai KornievSt. Petersburg Chamber ChoirPhilips1993Valery PolyanskyRussian State Symphony Cappella ChoirClaves1994Matthew BestCorydon SingersPeter Scorer (Deacon)Hyperion1996Anthony AntoliniRachmaninoff Festival ChoirFather Andre Papkov (Bass)Anthony Antolini (Tenor)1996Charles BruffyKansas City ChoraleFather Andre Papkov (Protodeacon)David Adams (Celebrant)Pamela Williamson (Soprano)Nimbus Records2002Olga StupnevaThe Rozhdestvo Choir of Solo Singers of St. Petersburg Philharmonic SocietyIrina Mihalkina Zoe Tsererina Stanislav Leontiev (tenor)Vitaly Zolatorev Leonid GladkovIMLab2004Stephen CleoburyChoir of King's College, CambridgePeter Scorer (Deacon)Tobias SimsEMI Classics2006Kaspars PutniņšFlemish Radio ChoirGlossa Music2010Sigvards KļavaLatvijas Radio koris (Latvian Radio Choir)Kārlis Rūtentāls (tenor, Celebrant priest)Gundrars Dziļums (bass, Deacon)Ondine2011Vladislav ChernushenkoSt. Petersburg State Capella ChoirEkatarina Savatskaya (soprano),Egor Semenkov (tenor, Priest),Oleg Radchenko (baritone),Vladimir Miller (basso profundo, Deacon)IMLab2015Nicolas FinkRundfunkchor BerlinClarus2022Kaspars PutniņšEstonian Philharmonic Chamber ChoirBIS Records
See also Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Tchaikovsky) Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Leontovych) Divine Liturgy - Main Wikipedia article on the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
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