Свете тихий (Svete tikhi)–Русский хор Йельского университета

Yale Russian Chorus: Sv’et’e t’ikhi (O Light Serene), by Alexandr D. Kastalsky, transcribed by Denis Mickiewicz. This setting is the first of several by Alexander Kastalsky (1856-1926) that use this ancient text believed to have been written by St. Sophronius (560-628), who was Patriarch of Jerusalem at the time of the Muslim conquest. It is based on the “Kiev“ chant and was published in 1904. The opening and closing sections contrast a series of serene chord progressions with chant-like melody in the lower voices. The hymn utilizes the ancient metaphorical reference to Jesus Christ as the Evening Light. Kastalsky was a prominent figure in liturgical and folk music at the turn of the century in Moscow, where he studied at the Conservatory and later worked for a long time as a teacher and conductor at the Moscow Synodal School (renamed after the Bolshevik Revolution as the Moscow Folk Choral Academy). He is often considered the founder of the “new school“ that revived church mus