Choral Music and Russian Identity in St. Petersburg, 1861-1913 by Lisa N. Mullinger

Giving Voice to a Nation: Choral Music and Russian Identity in St. Petersburg, 1861-1913 By Lisa N. Mullinger Submitted to the graduate degree program in Musicology and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy _____________________ Chairperson Paul Laird ____________________ Ketty Wong-Cruz ____________________ Scott Murphy ____________________ Mariana Farah ____________________ Erik Scott Date defended: 27 April 2017 The Dissertation Committee for Lisa Noelle Mullinger certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Giving Voice to a Nation: Choral Music and Russian Identity in St. Petersburg, 1861-1913 ________________________________ Chairperson Paul Laird Date approved: 27 April 2017 ii Abstract This project examines the cultural practices surrounding choral singing and composition in St.

Petersburg between 1861 and 1913, when boundaries of social classes realigned. Because people from a range of social classes experienced choral music, this repertoire and its practices played a vital role in the construction of identity during the second half of the nineteenth century. Despite the central socio-cultural role played by this repertoire, it has yet to be investigated as a source of cultural significance. This study contributes to three major areas of scholarship.

First of all, advancing knowledge about lesser-known musical figures, unfamiliar choral repertoire, and the reception of choral music from late nineteenth-century Russia informs not only our portrayal of the choral scene in Russia, but also the international landscape of choral music. Secondly, by investigating musical networks thus far overlooked as participants in the construction of the musical scene in St. Petersburg, this document provides evidence about the people active in music making, both professional and amateur. Lastly, these observations expand on the current, still limited definition of Russian nationalism during the nineteenth century, as well as complement the importance of music as a social and ethnic identifier.

Investigating choral institutions based in St. Petersburg between 1861 and 1913 as settings of identity negotiation reveals the complexity of defining Russianness within the fluctuating social classes and, likewise, how choral music shaped the emerging concepts of nation, state, and culture. iii Acknowledgments First and foremost, I want to thank my parents who unwaveringly supported me and encouraged me throughout my academic career. Without their relentless encouragement, I could not have endured this process.

Having the pleasure of working with two advisers over the course of this project, I would like to thank Dr. Paul Laird, and Dr. Alicia Levin for imparting their expertise to me, and for coaching me with positive, but honest guidance. To my committee members, Dr.

Ketty Wong-Cruz, Dr. Scott Murphy, Dr. Mariana Farah, and Dr. Erik Scott, thank you for the many hours you have spent reviewing my research and your useful feedback.

By making a home for me, Krishna Bell and Eric Weller, you not only assisted me practically, but have extended great patience and enthusiastic reinforcement to me, for which I will be forever grateful. Thank you to Jayton Williams and Emily Whitecotton, who regularly reassured me and cheered for me in the little victories along the way. For assisting me in my research trips, I thank the Townsend family for their hospitality, and for the Summer Reseach Scholarship from the Hall Center for the Humanities at the University of Kansas that funded the bulk of my travels necessary for this project. It would not be without the professional graciousness of Anna Nabirukhina at the St.

Petersburg State University of Economics assisting with introductions to the archives in St. Petersburg and the staff at the Slavic and East European Library at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign that I could have compiled such a vast amount of original source data. Thank you for your assistance, Joseph Lenkart and staff. iv Table of Contents Preface.

Petersburg: The European Capital. 8 State of Research. 15 Research Questions and Methodology. 22 The Choral Scene in St.

Petersburg: Ensembles, Repertoire, and Performance. 25 Elite Sacred Choirs. 27 Sacred Music as an Indication of Upper Class and State Influence. 47 Elite Theatrical Groups.

53 Second Tier Status Parish Choirs. 65 Military Regiment Ensembles Attached to Parishes. 69 Second Tier Theaters. 74 Institutional Societies and Schools.

77 Music Among the People: Independent Societies and Schools. 94 Lesser-Known Choral Societies. 105 Entrepreneurs with Professional Choirs. 114 Narodnye khory- Folk Choirs.

140 v Contemporary Journalism and Criticism. 147 Who’s Writing about Music?. 157 Critics Considered Conservative. 158 Progressives Push the Boundaries.

186 Modernists Move Beyond Nationalism. 218 Examining the Institutions: State Financing of Choral Composers. 231 Composers Funded by the State. 243 Composers with Various Patrons.

307 Conclusions on the Multiplicities of Russian Identity as Observed in Choral Music of the Pre-Revolutionary Era. 309 Appendix A: Full-Text Articles in Russian and English. Organized by Journal Title. 320 Appendix B: Song titles from Piesennik Rossiiskago Voina: 1721-1921 (The Russian Warrior’s Songbook, 1721-1921).

344 Appendix C: Song Texts and Translations. 346 Appendix D: Journal Names with Dates and Location of Print. 348 Appendix E: List of Choral Works by Composer. 361 vi List of Tables Table 2-1: Chart of St.

Petersburg churches, number of chorus members, gender construction, and pay scales. 40 Table 2-2: Chart of St. Petersburg churches and monthly salaries of choral leaders, with specific titles. 42 Table 2-3: Order of choral composers as recognized by the public.

50 Table 3-1: Literary level of Russian inhabitants in 1897. 145 List of Figures Figure 2-1: Chart of elite choral groups in St. Petersburg, organized by type. 27 Figure 2-2: Chart of second tier choral groups organized by financial support and trends in repertoire.

65 Figure 2-3: Second tier choral groups in St. Petersburg organized by type. 94 Figure 4-1: Rimsky-Korsakov, “Pater Noster” from Collected Sacred Musical Arrangements (23) Op. 247 Figure 4-2: Rimsky-Korsakov, Sadko: Tableaux 1, Rehearsal no.

250 Figure 4-3: Rimsky-Korsakov, Sadko: Tableaux 1, Rehearsal no. 251 Figure 4-4: Arensky, “Otche Nash” (“Our Father”), mm. 253 Figure 4-5: Balakirev, “So svyatymi upokoi” (“Rest with the Holy Ones”), mm. 256 Figure 4-6: Balakirev, “So svyatymi upokoi” (“Rest with the Holy Ones”), mm.

257 Figure 4-7: Balakirev, “So svyatymi upokoi” (“Rest with the Holy Ones”), mm. 258 Fĭgure 4-8: Balakirev, “Svyshe prorotsy” (“Over the Prophets”), mm. 262 Figure 4-9: Balakirev, “Svyshe prorotsy” (“Over the Prophets”), mm. 263 Figure 4-10: Cui, “Sokrytaia krasota” (“Beauty Concealed”) Op.

270 Figure 4-11: Cui, “Sokrytaia Krasota” (“Beauty Concealed”), Op. 271 Figure 4-12: Cui, “Sokrytaia Krasota” (“Beauty Concealed”), Op. 272 Figure 4-13: Cui, “Sokrytaia Krasota” (“Beauty Concealed”), Op. 273 Figure 4-14: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II “Polovtsian Dances,” mm.

276 Figure 4-15: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II “Polovtsian Dances,” mm. 277 Figure 4-16: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II “Polovtsian Dances,” mm. 278 Figure 4-17: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II “Polovtsian Dances,” mm. 280 Figure 4-18: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II “Polovtsian Dances,” mm.

281 Figure 4-19: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II “Polovtsian Dances,” mm. 282 Figure 4-20: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II “Polovtsian Dances,” mm. 283 Figure 4-21: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II “Polovtsian Dances,” mm. 284 Figure 4-22: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II “Polovtsian Dances,” mm.

285 Figure 4-23: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II “Polovtsian Dances,” mm. 287 Figure 4-24: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II “Polovtsian Dances,” mm. 288 Figure 4-25: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II “Polovtsian Dances,” mm. 289 Figure 4-26: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II “Polovtsian Dances,” mm.

290 Figure 4-27: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II “Polovtsian Dances,” mm. 291 vii Figure 4-28: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II “Polovtsian Dances,” mm. 292 Figure 4-29: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II “Polovtsian Dances,” mm. 293 Figure 4-30: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II, No.

10 Scene and Choir, recitative of Konakovncha mm. 294 Figure 4-31: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II, No. 10 Scene and Choir, recitative of Konakovncha mm. 295 Figure 4-32: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II, No.

10 Scene and Choir, chorus of Russian prisoners, mm. 296 Figure 4-33: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II, No. 10 Scene and Choir, chorus of Russian prisoners, mm. 297 Figure 4-34: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II, No.

10 Scene and Choir, chorus of Russian prisoners, mm. 298 Figure 4-35: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II, No. 10 Scene and Choir, chorus of Polovtsy soldiers, mm. 300 Figure 4-36: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II, No.

10 Scene and Choir, chorus of Polovtsy soldiers, mm. 301 Figure 4-37: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II, No. 10 Scene and Choir, chorus of Polovtsy soldiers, mm. 302 Figure 4-38: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II, No.

10 Scene and Choir, chorus of Polovtsy soldiers, mm. 303 Figure 4-39: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II, No. 10 Scene and Choir, chorus of Polovtsy soldiers, mm. 304 Figure 4-40: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II, No.

10 Scene and Choir, chorus of Polovtsy soldiers, mm. 305 Figure 4-41: Borodin, Prince Igor, Act II, No. 10 Scene and Choir, chorus of Polovtsy soldiers, mm. 306 viii Preface As parameters to the time frame selected for this project, 1861 was chosen as the place to begin research because it marked the era of social reform that prompted the renegotiation of social and political standing among many Russians.

Social unrest began to take hold in St. Petersburg following the events of “Bloody Sunday” in 1905, but the upheaval of political, military, and industrial stability came to fruition in 1914 with strikes shutting down four-fifths of manufacturing production in the capital and Russia’s entrance into World War I against Germany. The journals found for this project demonstrated continuous choral activity into the 1910s, but with the disruption of musical institutions following 1913. Cultural events halted and ideologies shifted.

Such institutions were entirely remodeled or restarted after the overthrow of the government in 1917. The Russian Revolution of 1917 brought about another round of political and social changes, activating the arbitration of national and cultural identity. Thus, 1913 marked a clear ending to the ideological movements of the nineteenth century and the cultural context to examine them. Regarding the transliteration of Russian terms and names, I have followed the U.

Library of Congress system, with the notable exception of proper names, where I have preferred to use the -sky ending rather than -skii. In the transcription of original publications, I replaced the Old Cyrillic letters with the modern system of alphabetization and disregarded the hard sign as previously used at the end of words following consonants. ix Introduction In July 2014, Russia’s premier choral ensemble, the State Academic Kapella, took the stage in St. Petersburg to offer an electrifying performance of folk and art song arrangements.

The audience, myself included, clapped in rhythm and cheered the ensemble in an interactive, celebratory atmosphere. Their performance, like those given by choirs over the course of hundreds of years, played a role in unifying the community and celebrating conceptions of Russianness. This repertoire and its performance practices played a particularly vital role in the construction of identity during the late-nineteenth century, when people from a range of social classes experienced choral music not only as consumers, but also as performers. Despite the central socio-cultural role played by this repertoire, it has yet to be investigated as a source of cultural significance.

My study examines the cultural practices surrounding choral singing and composition between 1861 and 1913, when large-scale renegotiation of social classes, political restructuring, and Russian identities took place. Focusing on this pivotal moment in Russia’s history creates a platform to study the self-expression of Russian identities from a variety of political, religious, and social positions. By confronting a rich body of untapped sources, this research contributes a new approach to understanding pluralities of nationalism, culture, and aesthetics within Russian choral music. In Russian social history, choral music was performed in worship in the Russian Orthodox Church, in political contexts, and in the secular folk tradition.