The

language of the Rachmaninov Vespers (All‐night Vigil)

The text of the Vespers is written in Russian Church Slavic (or Russian Church
Slavonic, if you prefer). This is the liturgical language of the Russian Orthodox
Church, which is a semi‐artificial construct, full of archaic words and grammatical
forms that are no longer used in modern Russian.

As a rough analogy, the relationship between Russian Church Slavic and modern
Russian is somewhat like the relationship between the Middle English of Chaucer
and modern English. However, the situation is rather more complicated in reality.
Old Church Slavic, the first written language for the Slavic peoples, came to the
historical Russian lands together with missionaries from the Balkans, where this
language was developed. On Russian territory written Old Church Slavic was
gradually adapted towards the local speech over time, but in the 14th century the
Church became concerned about the “corruption” of manuscripts and scholars were
brought in from Bulgaria to correct the language of biblical and liturgical texts.
Later, Ukrainian and Belarusian clergy who knew Latin and Greek were brought in
to ensure that the translations being used in the Russian Orthodox Church had not
deviated from their original sources. As a result, Russian Church Slavic as it exists
today represents a language that was never spoken as a native language by anyone;
it has similarities to the Old Russian that was used in everyday life in the medieval
period, but it is at least partly an artificial language that was consciously constructed
for use in the church.

Russian Church Slavic is normally pronounced more or less like modern Russian,
but with certain important exceptions:

 All vowels are pronounced as they are spelled, even in unstressed syllables.
 Forms with ë in modern Russian are pronounced as e.
 The letter щ is pronounced as [shch] (rather than [shsh’], as in most
contemporary Russian varieties).
 The letter г (g) was traditionally pronounced as ‘soft g’ [ɣ] in Russian Church
Slavic, due to the Ukrainian influence mentioned above. In modern standard
Russian this pronunciation is used only in the words Bog ‘God’ (in the
nominative singular form only, where it is devoiced to [x]) and by some
speakers in Gospod’ ‘Lord’ (primarily in the exclamation Gospodi! ‘Oh Lord!’).
Russian choruses performing the Vespers seem to use the ‘soft g’ [ɣ] only for
forms of the word Gospod’ ‘Lord’, if at all (judging by recordings available
online), but this pronunciation is not always consistent.
 The letter г (g) in the endings ‐ogo/‐ego and the pronoun ego ‘him; his’ is
pronounced [g], rather than [v].

There are a number of mistakes in the transcription in the 1996 Shaw score for the
Vespers, which seem to be due mainly to the influence of modern Russian

pronunciation. The transcription is not always consistent, either; the same sounds
may be written in different ways.

In general:

 Whenever you see <shyeh>, <tsyeh>, <zhyeh> in the text, you should ignore
the <y> (i.e., these should be pronounced [sheh], [tseh], [zheh]).
 Whenever you see <shi>, <zhi>, you should pronounce [shɨ], [zhɨ] instead.
 The spellings <ah> and <a> represent the same sound (as in English ‘father’);
<eh> and <e> represent the same sound (as in English ‘bet’); <oh> and <o>
represent the same sound (a pure o vowel, more or less as in Latin).
 In the few places where it occurs, <j> represents the same sound as <y> (as
in English ‘yes’).
 In the few places where it occurs, <tch> represents the same sound as <ch>
(as in English ‘cheap’).
 Al‐li‐loo‐i‐a should be pronounced al‐li‐loo‐i‐ya.

Corrections

(Mistakes in place of the stress aren’t included in the corrections below unless there
is also some other change needed for the same word.)

#2 Blagoslovi, dushe moya
page, system, measure part change
p. 6, 1st system, m. 4 A solo ma‐ya > mo‐ya
p. 7, 1st system, m. 1 A solo Bo‐zhye > Bo‐zhe
p. 10, 1st system, mm. 1‐2 A solo proh‐idoot > proy‐doot (‐doot is on the E, as
written)
p. 10, 1st system, m. 2 T proh‐idoot > proy‐doot
(‐doot on D‐E, as indicated by the slur, and
voh‐ on F‐G; ‐dɨ beginning on A to the end of
this melisma)
p. 11, 2nd system, m. 3 SA Tɨ > Ti
p. 13, 1st system, m. 2 AT ‐zhyen > ‐zhen
i‐zhye > i‐zhe
#3 Blazhen muzh
page, system, measure part change
p. 13, 2nd system, mm. 5‐6 A this should read poot’ in both measures
(the apostrophe is hard to see; please don’t
sing “poot”!)
p. 14, 1st system, m. 1 AT poh‐gip‐nyet > po‐gib‐nyet
p. 14, 2nd system, m. 5 AT dooi is one syllable, on beat 2; delay the
glide as long as possible
p. 14, 2nd system, m. 6 AT s tre‐pe‐tom > s trye‐pye‐tom
p. 15, 1st system, m. 6 AT Bla‐zhye‐ni > Bla‐zhe‐ni

p. 15, 2nd system, mm. 1‐2 AT shchi‐sya nan > shchi‐i‐sya nan’ (the second
i comes on beat 2)
p. 16, 1st system, m. 1 AT Vos‐kre‐sni > Vos‐krye‐sni
p. 16, 2nd system, m. 5 SAT yest spa‐se‐ni‐yeh > yest’ spa‐sye‐ni‐yeh
p. 17, 1st system, m. 1 SAT lyu‐dekh > lyu‐dyekh
p. 17, 1st system, m. 2 SAT bla‐go‐slo‐ve‐ni‐yeh > bla‐go‐slo‐vye‐ni‐yeh
p. 18, 2nd system, mm. 2‐3 SATB A‐min > A‐min’
#4 Svyetye tikhi
pp. 20‐21 SAT The text should read as follows:
Svye‐tye ti‐khi, svya‐tɨ‐ya sla‐vɨ Byeh‐smyert‐
na‐go, Oh‐tsa Nye‐byes‐na‐go, Svya‐ta‐go,
Bla‐zhe‐na‐go, I‐i‐su‐sye Khri‐styeh. Pri‐
shed‐she na za‐pad son‐tsa ...
p. 22, 1st system, mm. 4‐5 T solo svya‐ta‐vo > svya‐ta‐go
p. 22, 2nd system, m. 2 A vo‐fsya vre‐ma‐na > vo fsya vrye‐mye‐na
p. 23, 1st system, mm. 3‐4 SAT Boh‐zhi, zhi‐vot > Boh‐zhɨ, zhɨ‐vot
#5 Nɨnye otpushchayeshɨ
page, system, measure part change
p. 24, 1st system, m. 4 AT ‐shi > ‐shɨ
p. 24, 1st system, mm.3‐4 T solo ot‐pu‐shcha‐ye‐shi ra‐ba Tvo‐ye‐vo > ot‐pu‐
shcha‐ye‐shɨ ra‐ba Tvo‐ye‐go
p. 24, 2nd system, mm. 1‐2 AT Tvo‐ye‐voh > Tvo‐ye‐go
p. 25, 1st system, mm. 1‐3 S ot‐pu‐shcha‐ye‐shi ra‐ba Tvo‐ye‐vo > ot‐pu‐
shcha‐ye‐shɨ ra‐ba Tvo‐ye‐go
p. 26, 1st system, m. 4 SATB lyoo‐dyeh > lyoo‐dyei (dyey)
#6 Bogoroditse Dyevo, radooysya
page, system, measure part change
p. 28, 1st system, m. 2 SATB [and in similar spots]: ‐tsyeh > ‐tseh
p. 28, 1st system, m. 4 SATB [and in similar spots]: ‐dooi on beat 4 is one
syllable; delay the glide as long as possible
p. 28, 2nd system, m. 5 SATB ‐spoht s’ Toh‐ > ‐spohd’ s Toh‐
p. 29, 2nd system, m. 2 A vzhyeh‐nakh > vzheh‐nakh
p. 29, 2nd system, m. 5 A Tvoh‐yeh‐voh > Tvoy‐yeh‐go
p. 30, 2nd system, m. 5 SATB ‐shikh > ‐shɨkh
#7 Shestopsalmiye
page, system, measure part change
p. 34, 1st system, m.3 SATB ‐vyer‐zye‐shi > vyer‐zye‐shɨ
#8 Khvalitye imya Gospodnye
page, system, measure part change
p. 36, 2nd system, mm. 4‐5 TB I‐e‐ru‐sa‐li‐myeh > I‐ye‐roo‐sa‐li‐myeh
p. 37, 2nd system, m. 2 AB blahk > blahg
p. 38, 1st system, m. 1 ST blahk > blahg
p. 38, 1st system, m. 1 AB milost ye‐voh > milost’ ye‐goh
p. 39, 1st system, m. 1 AB milost ye‐voh > milost’ ye‐goh

#9 Blagoslovyen yesi Gospodi

page, system, measure part change
p. 40, 2nd system, m. 4 A vme‐niv‐sha‐sya > vmye‐niv‐sha‐sya
p. 41, 1st system, m. 2 S Tyen‐byeh > Tye‐byeh
p. 42, 2nd system, m. 2 T oo‐chi‐ni‐tsɨ > oo‐che‐ni‐tsɨ
p. 42, 2nd system, m. 3 T bli‐sta‐ya‐sya > bli‐sta‐yai‐sya
p. 42, 2nd system, m. 2 B bli‐sta‐ya‐sya > bli‐sta‐yai‐sya
p. 43, 1st system, m. 1 SA ‐shya > ‐she
p. 43, 1st system, m. 1 TB vye‐shcha‐shyeh > vye‐shcha‐sheh
p. 43, 1st system, m. 3 SA oo‐ra‐zoo‐myeh‐tyeh > oo‐ra‐zoo‐myey‐tyeh
p. 44, 2nd system, m. 3 ST ‐shchɨ‐yah > ‐shchi‐yah
p. 46, 2nd system, m. 2 S pri‐shyed‐shi‐ya > pri‐shed‐shɨ‐ya
p. 46, 2nd system, mm. 3‐4 ATB pri‐shyed‐shi‐ya > pri‐shed‐shɨ‐ya
p. 47, 1st system, m. 3 SAT zhi‐vah‐ > zhɨ‐vah‐
p. 47, 2nd system, m. 3 SATB Bohk > Bohg
p. 48, 2nd system, m. 1 TB Yeh‐vo Sɨ‐no‐vyeh > Yeh‐go Sɨ‐no‐vi
p. 48, 2nd system, m. 3 TB Tro‐i‐tsye > Tro‐i‐tse
p. 49, 1st system, m. 1 TB sse‐ra‐fi‐mɨ > ssye‐ra‐fi‐mɨ
p. 49, 1st system, m. 3 ATB pri‐znoh > pri‐snoh
p. 49, 2nd system, mm. 1‐3 ATB text should read i vo vye‐ki vye‐kov a‐min’,
Zhɨ‐zno‐dav‐tsah rozhd‐shɨ
p. 50, 1st system, mm. 2‐3 SATB Ra‐dost zhe Ye‐vye vpye‐cha‐li > Ra‐dost’ zhe
Ye‐vye fpye‐cha‐li
p. 50, 2nd system, mm. 1‐2 SATB Pahd‐shi‐ya zhe ot zhi‐zni ksei > Pahd‐shɨ‐ya
zhe ot zhɨ‐zni ksyei
p. 50, 2nd system, m. 3 SATB Bohk > Bohg
#10 Voskresenie Khristovo vidyevshe
page, system, measure part change
p. 53, 1st system, m. 3 TB ‐shyeh > ‐sheh
p. 54, 2nd system, m. 2 SATB Bohk > Bohg
p. 55, 1st system, m. 2 SATB i‐me‐noo‐yem > i‐mye‐noo‐yem
p. 56, 1st system, m. 4 SATB ra‐dost > ra‐dost’
p. 56, 2nd system, m. 2 ST ra‐dost > ra‐dost’
p. 57, 1st system, m. 1 ST ‐voh > ‐goh
p. 57, 1st system, m. 1 AB ‐pya‐ti‐yeh > ‐spya‐ti‐yeh
p. 57, 1st system, m. 2 AB ‐pyef > ‐pyev
p. 57, 1st system, m. 3 ST ‐pyef > ‐pyev
p. 57, 2nd system, mm. 1‐2 TB smyert rah‐zroo‐shi > smyert’ rah‐zroo‐shɨ
p. 57, 2nd system, mm. 3‐4 SA smyert rah‐zroo‐shi > smyert’ rah‐zroo‐shɨ
#11 Vyelichit doosha moya Gospoda
page, system, measure part change
p. 58, 2nd system, m. 1 B Bo‐zhe > Bo‐zye
p. 58, 2nd system, m. 3 SAT khe‐roo‐vim > khye‐roo‐vim
p. 59, 1st system, m. 1 SAT se‐ra‐fim > sye‐ra‐fim

p. 60, 2nd system, m. 3 SAT khe‐roo‐vim > khye‐roo‐vim

p. 61, 1st system, m. 1 SAT se‐ra‐fim > sye‐ra‐fim
p. 62, 1st system, m. 3 SAT Sil‐nɨ > Sil’‐nɨ
p. 62, 2nd system, m. 2 SAT ‐voh > ‐goh
p. 62, 1st system, mm. 2‐ B text here and in the following measures
should read: Sil’‐nɨ i svya‐toh i‐mya Yeh‐go, i
mi‐lost’ Yeh‐go vroh‐dɨ roh‐dohv bo‐ya‐
shchim‐sya Ye‐goh
p. 62, 2nd system, m. 3 SAT khe‐roo‐vim > khye‐roo‐vim
p. 63, 1st system, m. 1 SAT se‐ra‐fim > sye‐ra‐fim
p. 64, 1st system, mm. 1‐2 SATB Niz‐lo‐zhi sil‐nɨ‐ya > Niz‐lo‐zhɨ sil’‐nɨ‐ya
p. 64, 2nd system, m. 2 SATB blahk > blahg
p. 65, 1st system, m. 1 SAT khe‐roo‐vim > khye‐roo‐vim
p. 65, 1st system, m. 2 SAT se‐ra‐fim > sye‐ra‐fim
p. 66, 2nd system, m. 1 ATB ‐voh > ‐goh
p. 66, 2nd system, m. 3 B ot‐tsyem na‐shim > ot‐tsem na‐shɨm
p. 67, 1st system, m. 3 or 4 SATB Ye‐voh > Ye‐goh
p. 67, 2nd system, m. 3 SAT khe‐roo‐vim > khye‐roo‐vim
p. 68, 1st system, m. 1 SAT se‐ra‐fim > sye‐ra‐fim
#12 Slavosloviye vyelikoye
page, system, measure part change
p. 69, 1st system, m. 4 A f che‐lo‐vye‐tsyekh > f che‐lo‐vye‐tsekh
p. 70, 1st system, m. 3 A fsye‐der‐zhi‐tel‐yoo > fsye‐dyer‐zhɨ‐tyel‐yoo
p. 71, 1st system, mm. 3‐4 A Ang‐che Bo‐zhi Sɨ‐nyeh O‐tyets > Agn‐che
Bo‐zhɨ Sɨ‐nyeh O‐tyech
p. 71, 2nd system, mm. 1‐2 TB Ang‐che Bo‐zhi > Agn‐che Bo‐zhɨ
p. 72, 1st system, m. 1 A1 A1 ‐ra > ‐shoo on the quarter note; A2, T, B
sustain ‐ra
p. 72, 2nd system, m. 1 S Goh‐spod > Goh‐spod’ (2nd syllable begins on
F)
p. 72, 2nd system, m. 5 SATB ‐min > ‐min’
p. 73, 1st system, m. 1 SA dyen > dyen’
p. 73, 2nd system, m. 1 SA dyen > dyen’
p. 73, 2nd system, m. 3 TB fdyen > vdyen’
p. 74, 1st system, m. 2 SAT fdyein > vdyen’
p. 74, 1st system, m. 4 B na‐shikh > na‐shɨkh
p. 74, 2nd system, m. 1 SAT fdyein > vdyen’
p. 74, 2nd system, m. 1 B khval‐no > khval’‐no
p. 74, 2nd system, m. 3 B ah‐min > ah‐min’
p. 75, 1st system, m. 2 SATB mi‐lost > mi‐lost’
p. 75, 2nd system, m. 3 ST(B) Is‐tye‐ > Is‐tse‐
p. 77, 1st system, m. 2‐3 SATB as it occurs: pri‐bye‐zhi‐shche > pri‐bye‐zhɨ‐
shche
p. 77, 1st system, m. 4‐2nd B1 text should read vrohd i rohd

system m. 1
p. 77, 2nd system, mm. 2‐3 T1 text is missing from score; should be Goh‐
spo‐di po‐mi‐looi mya, Is‐ (one syllable on
each half note)
p. 78, 1st system, m. 1 T1 ‐tsyeh‐li > ‐tseh‐li
p. 78, 1st system, m. 2 T2 Is‐tsyeh‐li > Is‐tseh‐li
p. 78, 1st system, m. 2 A ‐shikh > ‐shɨkh
p. 78, 1st system, m. 4 S ‐shikh > ‐shɨkh
p. 78, 2nd system, m. 4 SATB Bohk > Bohg
p. 79, 1st system, m. 2 SAT1 zhi‐voh‐ta > zhɨ‐voh‐ta
p. 79, 1st system, m. 3 B2 Bohk > Bohg
p. 79, 2nd system, m. 1 T2B1 zhi‐voh‐ta > zhɨ‐voh‐ta
T1 T1 sings oo‐zrim svyet here
p. 79, 2nd system, m. 2 SATB mi‐lost > mi‐lost’
p. 81, 2nd system, m. 3 SATB Aht‐soo > Oht‐tsoo
p. 82, 1st system, m. 2 SATB vye‐kof a‐min > vye‐kov a‐min’
#13 Dnes’ spasyeniye
page, system, measure part change
p. 83, 1st system, m. 1 SATB Dnyeis > Dnyes’
p. 83, 1st system, m. 3 SATB bɨst > bɨst’
p. 83, 2nd system, mm. 3‐4 SATB na‐chal‐ni‐koo zhi‐zni > na‐chal’‐ni‐koo zhɨ‐
zni
p. 84, 1st system, m. 2 SATB smyert > smyert’
p. 84, 2nd system, mm. 3‐5 SATB mi‐lost > mi‐lost’
#14 Voskryes iz groba
page, system, measure part change
p. 85, 1st system, m. 4‐2nd SATB rah‐ster‐zahl > rah‐styer‐zahl
system, m. 1
p. 85, 2nd system, m. 4 SATB rah‐zroo‐shil > rah‐zroo‐shɨl
p. 87, 1st system, m. 3 SA ‐si i na > ‐si ya na (ya replaces i on beat 3)
p. 87, 1st system, m. 4 SATB pro‐po‐vyet > pro‐po‐vyed’
#15 Vzbrannoy voyevodye
page, system, measure part change
p. 88 SATB as it occurs: poh‐byeh‐di‐tyel‐na‐ya > poh‐
byeh‐di‐tyel’‐na‐ya
p. 88 last m.‐p. 89 first m. SATB as it occurs: iz‐bavl‐shye‐sya > iz‐bavl‐she‐
sya
p. 89, 2nd system, m. 1 SATB Tɨ > Ti
p. 90, 1st system, m. 3 SATB der‐zha‐voo > dyer‐zha‐voo
p. 90, 2nd system, m. 5 SATB byet > byed
p. 91, 1st system, m. 2 SATB zo‐vyom Tɨ > zo‐vyem Ti