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Tcherepnin, Nikolai
TCHEREPNIN, Nikolai Nikolayevich (b. May 15 [O. S., May 3] 1873; St. Petersburg, Russia; d. 26 June 1945, Issy-les-Moulineaux, nr. Paris) — the son of a prominent St. Petersburg physician, in 1883 he entered the 6th St. Petersburg Gymnasium, whose director from 1890 was the literary scholar and composer of sacred music, Dmitry Soloviev; upon graduating from the gymnasium, T. was originally steered by his father to the study of law, graduating with a law degree in 1895 from the University of St. Petersburg. In 1893, without leaving his law studies at the university, T. enrolled in the St. Petersburg Conservatory, initially as a piano student of Karl van Ark, but subsequently switching to the study of composition, first under Nikolai F. Soloviev (also a composer of sacred music), and then under Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. T. completed his studies at the Conservaory in 1898, with the status of "independent artist."
Upon graduating, T. received a post at the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theater, first as choirmaster, and then as conductor, and also worked for six years as an orchestra conductor at the Imperial Court Chapel. While pursuing a flourishing career as a symphonic conductor, he returned to the St. Petersburg Conservatory to teach composition and conducting; his students included Sergei Prokofiev, Aleksandr Gauk, Yuri Shaporin, and Lazare Saminsky. In addition to sacred music, he composed and conducted ballets in Russia and in Europe, collaborating actively with Serge Diaghilev and the Ballets Russe.
In 1918 he assumed the position of director of the National Conservatory in Tbilisi, Georgia, but after the Communist takeover of Georgia, in 1921 he fled to Paris, France, where he lived until his death in 1945. In Paris, he was among the founders of the Russian Conservatory, where he served as director for a number of years, also serving as board member of the Beliajeff Publishing House. In 1932, he served as guest conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, led at the time by Serge Koussevitzky.
Tcherepnin’s sacred choral music, crafted in the rich, quasi-symphonic idiom of the ”new Russian choral school,” reminiscent of Rachmaninoff and Gretchaninoff, has yet to be duly discovered. Two settings of the Divine Liturgy, Opus 32, and a second setting of unknown opus number, were published by P. Jurgenson of Moscow prior to the Revolution of 1917, along with two sacred choruses, Opus 28, from the Divine Liturgy, and four additional works with no opus number, from the All-Night Vigil. Later, in France, he composed six other hymns from the All-Night Vigil, for mixed chorus, published by W. Bessel & Col, three chant arrangements for men’s chorus, and another setting of the Divine Liturgy, which remains unpublished. At least seven English anthem-like adaptations were published in the 1920s and 30s by E. C. Schirmer Music Company, suggesting the possible existence of other sacred choral works in the composer’s archive. All these works, however, continue to languish in obscurity, having no known performances or recordings. An oratorio entitled Hozhdenie Bogoroditse po mukam [La descente de la Sainte Vierge à l’Enfer], for soloists, chorus and orchestra, considered by some to be Tcherepnin’s finest choral-orchestral work, was published in 1938 by Universal, was revived in 1992 and 2009 in Russia, but no commercial recording is available.
Nikolai Tcherepnin’s son, Alexander (1899–1977), and grandsons, Serge (b. 1941) and Ivan (1943–1998), continued the family’s musical legacy, becoming composers in their own right.
External link
http://www.tcherepnin.com/nikolai/comps_nik.htmhttps://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Черепнин,_Николай_Николаевич
43 results found
Blagoslovi, dushe moia, Gospoda
Bless the Lord, O my soul
S. Op. 4
Introductory Psalm
Ps. 103[104]:1,24
S(div)A(div)T(div)B(div)
PJu #37378 n.d.
First printed edition
2
Te019
Liturgiia Sv. Ioanna Zlatoustago [No. 1]
Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
Op. 32 [S. Op. 3]
PJu #31531-45 n.d.
First printed edition
72
Te003-018
2
No. 2 - Blagoslovi, dushe moia, Gospoda
Bless the Lord, O my soul
Op. 32, No. 2
SAT(div)B(div)
1
Te004
3
No. 3 - Malaia ekteniia i Edinorodnyi Syne
Little Litany and Only Begotten Son
Op. 32, No. 3
S(div)A(div)T(div)B(div)
4
Te005
-
Listen and follow the music
6
No. 5 - Priidite poklonimsia i Sviatyi Bozhe
Come, let us worship and Holy God
Op. 32, No. 5
S(div)AT(div)B(div)
4
Te008
7
No. 6 - Posle chteniia Apostola, Posle chteniia Evangeliia, Ektenii
Responses after the Epistle reading, after the Gospel reading, and Litanies
Op. 32, No. 6
S(div)A(div)T(div)B(div)
7
Te009
13
No. 12 - Khvalite Gospoda s nebes
Praise the Lord from the heavens
Op. 32, No. 12
S(div)A(div)T(div)B(div) and 4 Alti Soli, 3 Baritoni Soli, and 2 Bassi Soli
8
Te015
14
No. 13 - Blagosloven griadyi i Telo Khristovo priimite
Blessed is He and Receive the Body of Christ
Op. 32, No. 13
SATB
1
Te016
15
No. 14 - Videkhom svet istinnyi i Da ispolniatsia usta
We have seen the true Light and Let our mouths be filled
Op. 32, No. 14
S(div)AT(div)B(div)
4
Te017
16
No. 15 - Budi imia Gospodne; Blagochestiveishago
Blessed be the name; Our most pious Emperor
Op. 32, No. 15
S(div)A(div)T(div)B(div)
6
Te018
Liturgiia Sv. Ioanna Zlatoustago No. 2
Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom No. 2
PJu #38564-75 n.d.
First printed edition (voice parts)
Only voice parts have been located.
Te023-034
5
No. 5 - Priidite poklonimsia i Sviatyi Bozhe
Come, let us worship and Holy God
S(div)ATB(div)
5
Te027
12
No. 12 - Gospod' krepok i silen
The Lord is strong and mighty
Sacred concerto
S(div)AT(div)B(div)
9
Te034
Six Chants religieux russes, pour choeur mixte
Six Russian sacred choruses, for mixed choir
Op. 51
S(div)A(div)T(div)B(div)
Paris: W. Bessel & Co. [1925]
First printed edition
39
Te035-040
2
No. 2 - Blagoslovi, dushe moia, Gospoda
Bless thou the Lord, my soul [Bless the Lord, O my soul]
Op. 51, No. 2
Russian “Greek” Chant
S(div)AT(div)B(div)
10
Te036