Bogoróditse Dévo by Sergei Rachmaninoff

Freedom to worship, freedoms of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to assemble.

As American these are the freedoms promised by the Constitution of the United States. When we think of our right as individuals, these freedoms come to mind. There are many other freedoms we enjoy including the freedom to experience art. We can choose what television shows we want to watch and what music we want to experience. There are many societies in which, what we call “basic” freedoms are but a dream. And in Communist U.S.S.R. many freedoms were taken away including not only the freedom to create art but also the freedom to experience it.

Rachmaninoff composed “Bogoroditse Devo” as part of his setting of the Russian Orthodox All-Night Vigil ceremony for a capella choir. He composed this work in 1915 partly to benefit the Russian war effort. The Moscow Synodal Choir premiered this piece and it was performed five more times within a month because of its popularity with critics and audiences. With the rise of the Soviet Union, a ban was put on all religious music from the Marxist idea of religion being “the opiate of the masses.” The Synodal Choir was replaced by the nonreligious “People’s Choir Academy” marking the end of an era of Russian music.

With the fall of communism in Russia, people were finally allowed to worship in the open and embrace the culture that had been taken away. When “Bogoroditse Devo” was finally performed again, it was received as a long lost relative forcefully taken away. People in the audience wept as they were finally free to not only experience this music but to connect to their inner spirituality reminding them of all that was lost.

“Bogorodiste Devo” has almost medieval quality to it that captures the mysticism of the Russian Orthodox religion. It combines modern harmonic progressions with a variety of different textures. In the beginning, all the parts are singing the same rhythm (known in musical terms as “homophony”). This musical technique makes the voices feel as one unit with the deliberate and careful motion of a monastic chant.

The middle section of the piece that builds into the climax features the different choral parts singing different melodies (polyphony). Rachmaninoff creates a sense of motion as the alto lines meander while the other voices sing slowly rising sustained notes. The polyphony builds to a euphoric climax gently relaxes down until all the voices come back together in the last couple measures moving with homophony into quiet reflection.

One of the many pieces of advice Diana and I got when planning our wedding was to make sure we take a moment in the ceremony to take it all in. There is so much going on during the day it’s easy to forget to just stop and enjoy the day. So we decided to plan this moment during the ceremony and the unity candle lighting seemed like the perfect time for us to reflect on the service.

Well, things didn’t go exactly as planned. We didn’t bring a candle to the ceremony so we “borrowed” one from the church (or another ceremony that was going on, I’m not sure). The ceremony starts, we get to the candle lighting, the choir starts singing “Bogoroditse Devo,” and then we can’t get the candle lit. I think what you’re suppose to do for a wedding ceremony is have a smaller candle lit on the side and light the bigger candle.

We didn’t think of that so all we had a lighter, one of those 8 inches long deals that is suppose to light when you squeeze the trigger. Yeah it didn’t light after the first 5 tries. I was about to enlist the help of the groomsmen when the lighter decided to work. It was one of those things that you just got to laugh at and regardless it was beautiful moment.

Music has a way of taking us to different places, making the world dissolve away. Even though “Bogoroditse Devo” is less then three minutes it takes us on an incredible journey, from the smallest feeling of wonder to the incredible glory of spirituality.