TANEYEV – Music from ‘John of Damascus’ – FOUR CELLOS

Other Identification:
Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (1856 – 1915) was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of composition, music theorist and author. Taneyev’s specialized field of study was counterpoint. He engrossed himself in the music of J. S. Bach, Palestrina, and such Flemish masters as Johannes Ockeghem, Josquin des Prez, and Orlande de Lassus. Eventually, he became one of the greatest of contrapuntalists. Taneyev published a gigantic two-volume treatise, ‘Convertible Counterpoint in the Strict Style’, the result of 20 years of labour.
The 26-minute cantata ‘John of Damascus’ [ Ioann Damaski ] of 1884 was the first of his works Taneyev deemed worthy of an opus number, although he had composed considerably before this – probably some forty to fifty works.
The cantata is dedicated to the memory of Nikolai Rubinstein and is a meaty, heartfelt response to words by Alexei Tolstoy. Melodic material is often chant-based: specifically, the 1772 version of “Rest with the Holy Ones”. The composer often weaves the Orthodox chant into rich passages of expressive counterpoint.
Taneyev became the most trusted musician among Tchaikovsky’s friends. He was the soloist at the Moscow première of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto in December 1875. The two developed a romantic relationship that would last until Tchaikovsky’s death. Taneyev served as Director of the Moscow Conservatory from 1885 to 1889, and continued teaching there until 1905, and had great influence as a teacher of composition; his pupils included Alexander Scriabin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Jacob Weinberg, Reinhold Glière, Paul Juon, Julius Conus, and Nikolai Medtner. The polyphonic interweaves in the music of Rachmaninoff and Medtner also stem directly from Taneyev’s teaching.