With thy Saints Give Rest
Anonymous (ca. 1690) Russian Empire
Transcription by Anastasia Shmytova
Performed June 1, 2025 at the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Tbilisi, Georgia
Со святыми упоко́й, Христе́, ду́ши рабов Твоихъ, иде́же не́сть боле́знь, ни печа́ль, ни воздыха́ние, но жизнь безконе́чная.
“With the Saints give rest O Christ, to the souls of thy servants, where sickness and sorrow are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.”
Demestvenny polyphony, from which our ensemble Demestvo gets its name, flourished in Muscovy from the 16th century to the early 18th. This polyphony was the most elite form of liturgical music-making, sung at the Tzar’s court and for Patriarchal services by professional singers. It is written for four voices - verh (“top”), demestvo, put’ (“way”), niz (“bottom”). The demestvo voice, the most virtuosic of the four, begins the piece with a solo incipit. legok i mal
Lucy McKnight (2024)
Performed June 1, 2025 at the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Tbilisi, Georgia
legok i mal is inspired by the first line of Anastasia’s favorite poem: “Kazhdyi legok i mal kto vzoshol na vershynu holma” which means, “Everyone is light and small who ascends to the top of the hill.” The piece also uses the traditional nonsense syllables typical of angelic moments in 17th century Russian polyphony. It was an immense pleasure writing this for my dear friends and imagining us all basking in the beauty of a gorgeous hike and frolicking from hill to valley. -Lucy McKnightBurial 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.