Volume 56 Number 1 Winter/Spring 2014 American Choral Review Journal of The American Choral Foundation, published by Chorus America | James John, Editor The Rediscovery of Zakaria Paliashvili’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom1 BY JOHN A. GRAHAM AND PARKER JAYNE Celebrated as one of the into obscurity soon after the Russian Revolution and fathers of Georgian classical was not performed again in the original Georgian music, Zakaria Paliashvili language until as recently as 2010.3 (1871-1933) is a figure of na- tional stature within his own The score consists of twenty-two sections for country but little known to SSATTB chorus with parallel texts printed in classi- the rest of the world. He is cal Georgian and Church Slavonic, and it combines credited as composer of the traditional Georgian chant melodies with European Georgian national anthem as harmonization.4 [Figure 1 on the next page shows well as several of the coun- the order of sections as published in the score.] In a try’s most treasured national style similar to Tchaikovsky and others, Paliashvili operas, and is buried on the includes only the choral parts of the service (omitting grounds of the Tbilisi Op- the clerical exclamations); his setting is unique, how- era House, opened in 1851, ever, in that it incorporates material from outside the Zakaria Paliashvili which now bears his name. liturgy. “To Thy Cross” (No. 6) and “Christ is Risen Paliashvili’s setting of the Liturgy of St. John Chryso- From the Dead” (No. 22) are hymns sung during the stom (published in 1909) has been called a work of Feast of the Cross or at Easter, while “You Are the “overwhelming spiritual power and beauty.”2 It fell Vineyard” (No. 18) is a popular paraliturgical hymn 1The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is the most common form of the Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox Church, as central to worship as the Mass in Roman Catholicism. St. John Chrysostom was appointed patriarch of Constantinople in 398 CE. Known for his eloquence, he was given the nickname “Chrysostom,” meaning “golden mouth.” For more information see Grove Music Online, s.v. “Chrysostom, John,” and s.v. “Divine Liturgy (Byzantine),” accessed July 12, 2014, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/. 2Ivan Moody, Gramophone Magazine, May 1996, 104. This quote is from a review of a 1996 recording of excerpts of the work performed in Church Slavonic. It is by Russian performers and reflects a Russian, rather than Georgian, performance tradition. The reviewer went on to say, “This must count as one of the most deeply impressive recordings of liturgical (and indeed, any other) music it has been my privilege to hear.” The recording is still available: Zakaria Paliashvili, Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Cantus Music Ensemble, Ludmilla Arshavskaya, Director, recorded 1996, Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica, compact disc. 3In 2010 independent efforts in the Netherlands and Washington D.C. produced performances of the Liturgy in the Georgian language, using separate performing editions derived from the original 1909 score. Unaware of the undertaking in the Netherlands, Rusudan Tsurtsumia, the Director of the International Research Center for Traditional Polyphony (IRCTP) at the Tbilisi Conservatory said she believed the Washington D.C performance in June 2010 was the first time Paliashvili’s Liturgy had been performed in Georgian since before the Bolshevik revolution. 4The authors relied on two identical copies of Paliashvili’s published Liturgy for this article: 1) a paper version (minus the cover page) provided by Vladimir Morosan, which he obtained from microfilm at the Lenin Library, Moscow; and 2) an electronic facsimile of the 1909 score provided by Rusudan Tsurtsumia, Director of the IRCTP. The year of publication is typically given as 1909, although the first edition is undated. The timeframe of publication would have been between October 1909, the date of the Foreword, and December 25th, 1910, the date of an inscription to the composer’s uncle on the cover of a copy housed at the Paliashvili birth museum in Kutaisi. Parker Jayne pre- pared his own edition for the 2010 performance in Washington D.C. by the Capitol Hill Chorale. A more recent performance by the Capitol Hill Chorale in June 2014 was professionally recorded. For more information contact [email protected]. 1 No. 1 The Great Litany; Bless the Lord, O My Soul; Glory to the Father; Little Litany [K'vereksi-didi da mtsire; Ak'urtkhvis suli chemi; Dideba da ats' da; Mkholod shobili) No. 2 In Thy Kingdom [Sasupevelsa shensa] No. 3 Come Let Us Worship; O Lord, Save the Righteous [Movedit taqvani vstset; Upalo atskhovne da skhva] No. 4 Holy God [Ts'midao ghmerto] (version 1) No. 5 Holy God [Ts'midao ghmerto (sopronisa)] (version 2) No. 6 To Thy Cross; As Many As Have Been Baptized [Jvarsa shensa; Raodenta krist'es mier] No. 7 Prokeimenon (responsorial psalm or canticle)in 8one [Ts'ardgomebi k'virisa, rva khma] No. 8 Alleluia; Augmented Liturgy [Alliluia; Dideba shenda upalo] No. 9 Litany for the Departed [K'vereksi-mitsvalebultatvis] No. 10 Cherubic Hymn [Romelni kerubinta] No. 11 Litany of Supplication; Father and Son [Mogvmadleni; Mamasa da dzesa] No. 12 I Believe [Mrts'amsi] No. 13 Mercy of Peace; Holy, Holy, Holy [Ts'qaloba mshvidoba; Ts'midao, ts'midao] No. 14 We Praise Thee [Shen gigalobt] No. 15 It is Fitting [Ghirs ars ch'eshmarit'ad] No. 16 Our Father [Mamao chveno] No. 17 Praise the Lord from the Heavens [Akebdit upalsa tsatagan krist'esi] No. 18 You Are the Vineyard [Shen khar venakhi] No. 19 Blessed Is He That Comes; We Have Seen the Light; Let Our Mouths Be Filled; In the Name of the Lord [K'urtkheul ars momavali; Nateli ch'eshmarit'i; Aghavse p'iri chveni; Sakhelita uplisata] No. 20 Blessed Be the Name of the Lord; Most Pious [Iqavn sakheli uplisa da skhva; Uk'etilmsakhuresi] No. 21 Many Years [Mravalzhamier (guruli)] No. 22 Christ is Risen From the Dead [Krist'e aghsdga mk'vdretit] Figure 1: Table of Contents, Paliashvili, Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, 1909 Figure 1:[Transliterations Table of Contents, of the originalPaliashvili, Georgian Liturgy titles of appear St. John in italics]Chrysostom [Transliterations of the original Georgian titles appear in italics] to the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) used in festal ser- Education and Influences 5 vices and Georgian weddings. Experts believe that Paliashvili’s early years and education combined the final two numbers were reversed in printing and a variety of cultural influences, both Georgian and should be exchanged in performance. This observa- Western. He was born into a large family in the West tion is corroborated in the Foreword to Paliashvili’s Georgian capital city of Kutaisi, the third of eighteen setting, where the composer refers to “Christ is Risen children.6 [Figure 2 on the next page shows a map of From the Dead” as No. 21 rather than No. 22. Thus, modern day Georgia.] At that time the city enjoyed cul- if all numbers are to be performed, “Many Years” tural prominence as the center of the popular kalakuri should be sung at the conclusion. music genre, a repertory of “urban” songs that com- bined the polyphonic singing of Georgian nationalist Paliashvili was following trends already prevalent poetic texts with newly introduced Italian chromatic in Moscow when he published and arranged tradi- harmony and instruments such as the guitar, piano, tional Georgian liturgical melodies for large mixed and accordion. Historically, Kutaisi was the center of chorus. His efforts succeeded in establishing Geor- the kingdom of Colchis (visited by the mythical Greek gian chant on the international performance scene, hero Jason and the Argonauts) and later the capital of and contributed to the nationalist endeavor to pre- the kingdoms of Egrisi and Samegrelo-Abkhazia. The serve Georgian chant for future generations. eleventh century Bagrat Cathedral and twelfth century 5Curiously, “You Are the Vineyard” (No. 18) is omitted in the 1996 Russian recording, perhaps because Paliashvili did not provide a Russian language version of the text. For more on the transmission of this remarkable chant in the twentieth century, including historical infor- mation such as its attribution to the twelfth century monarch, Demetre I, see John A. Graham, “You Are the Vineyard, Newly Blossomed: Contemporary Performance Aesthetics in Georgian Orthodox Chant,” in Composing and Chanting in the Orthodox Church: Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Orthodox Church Music, University of Joensuu, Finland, 4-10 June, 2007, ed. Ivan Moody and Maria Takala-Roszczenko (Finland: University of Joensuu & International Society for Orthodox Church Music, 2009): 256-266. 6The authors visited Paliashvili’s birth house in Kutaisi in June 2012. Although maintained as a museum, it is unmarked and not registered in local cultural guides. For more on Paliashvili’s biography, see Vladimir Donadze, Zakhari˘i Paliashvili, 2nd ed. (Moscow: Muzika Publish- ing, 1971) [in Russian]; Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia, s.v. “Zakaria Paliashvili” [in Georgian]; Shalva Kashmadze, Zakaria Paliashvili (Tbilisi: Khelovneba Publishing, 1948) [in Georgian]; Anton Tsulukidze, Zakaria Paliashvili (Tbilisi: Khelovneba Publishing, 1971) [in Georgian, Russian and French]; Pavle Khuchua, Zakaria Paliashvili (Tbilisi, 1974) [in Georgian]. 2 Figure 2: Map of Georgia Gelati Monastery served as the center for the transmis- to Moscow and became a student of Sergei Taneyev at sion of Orthodox three-voiced chant in West Georgia, the Moscow Conservatory, along with many of Rus- a tradition that was already in serious decline in the sia’s aspiring young composers.9 Connections between late nineteenth century due to the Russification of the the Tbilisi Academy of Music and the conservatories in Georgian Orthodox Church since 1810.7 Kutaisi had Moscow and St. Petersburg were strong, as evidenced also been the home of many religious and ethnic mi- by the flow of musicians and teachers between the in- norities including Georgian Jews, Catholics, Megreli- stitutions.