It is not often that music more than 100 years old is given a premiere performance, but that will be the case in a little over two week’s time. Liturgy is a thirteen-movement setting of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the central service of the Russian Orthodox Church. It was composed by Konstantin Shvedov, a contemporary of Sergei Rachmaninoff, in 1913. (Rachmaninoff would compose his Opus 37 All-Night Vigil about two years later.)
The Slavyanka Russian Chorus led by Irina Shachneva (photograph by Alexander Pavlov)
Liturgy will be given its first performances in the United States by the Slavyanka Russian Chorus. One of those performances will take place here in San Francisco on Sunday, May 21. This is an a cappella chorus based in San Francisco, which specializes in Russian and Eastern European choral music. It is named after the old Russian name of what we know as the Russian River in Northern California. It was formed in 1979 by alumni of the Yale Russian Chorus. Since June of 2012 it has been led by Artistic Director Irina Shachneva.
The May 21 performance will begin at 4 p.m. The venue will be the Star of the Sea Church, located at 4420 Geary Boulevard, located on the northwest corner of 8th Avenue in the Inner Richmond. Tickets are being sold for $25 with a $20 rate for students. A Web page has been created for online purchase.
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