Salvation is CreatedPavel Chesnokov

Edited by Walter EhretPublished by Bourne Co.

Teacher's Guide

A Unit Study by Christopher Conner

Instructional Objectives:

1. Students will perform “Salvation is Created” with a high level of accuracy and musicality2. Students will compose their own piece of music complete with analysis3. Students will complete a web quest on the history of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

Standards Addressed in Unit:

• 1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.• 3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.• 4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.• 5. Reading and notating music.• 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.• 7. Evaluating music and music performances• 8. Understanding relationships with music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.• 9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.

Unit Study—Salvation is Created

Composer Pavel Chesnokov was a Russian composer of the late-romantic/early 20th century. In

addition to composing, he was also a teacher and choral conductor, and wrote over 500 works for choir, most of which are sacred by nature. Growing up, he studied both violin and piano for seven years and later went on to studying composition under other Russian composers such as Sergei Taneyev.

CompositionComposed in 1912, “Salvation is Created” was the very last sacred work that Chesnokov

wrote before the Soviet government mandated that all art be secular. As a result of the ban, Chesnokov had never gotten to hear this particular piece performed. Because of the popularity this piece enjoys today, there are many publish versions of it, including a six-part and eight-part choral version, and a symphonic version.

Historical PerspectiveAs mentioned before, this work is the last sacred work that Chesnokov wrote before the

advent of Soviet censorship of religion. Up until 1912 when the piece was written, Chesnokov had written strictly sacred work. He continued to write music, however, he only wrote secular music, for fear of consequences being taken out on his family and loved ones for the government. Chesnokov died without ever hearing a live performance of “Salvation is Created.”

Technical ConsiderationThe biggest technical consideration offered by this piece is controlling the breath. With a

slow tempo and a four-bar phrase structure, students will need to do two things. First, they must take time to train themselves physically to handle longer phrases, and second, they must develop a sensitivity to the musical phrases they are singing. Since there will inevitably be a degree of staggered breathing, it is important for students to be aware of when it is appropriate to breath so as not to damage the musical phrase.

Stylistic ConsiderationsThere is a sort of imagery that goes along with the lyrics of this piece. The beginning of

the song is like the dark depths which give birth to salvation, and slowly grows. The overall timbre of the work follows this growth until it reaches heaven in measure 10, marked by a high tessitura and inverted chord functions. Singers and teachers must be aware of this imagery in regards to their choice of phrasing and in regard to how they choose to control the overall sound of the ensemble.

Musical ElementsMelody: This piece features a rather simple melody line, but because of its inherent

simplicity, it is a good tool for teaching students the “rules” about what makes a good melody, which is a building block towards teaching harmony and later counterpoint. The melody only appears in the upper-most voice, first in the altos, then with the sopranos when they enter in measure 5. It is important, however, that all parts learn this melodic line because it will help

guide singers to make thoughtful decisions regarding how to make better musical phrases in their own parts.

Rhythm: The rhythm in this piece is also rather simple and straight-forward. The entire piece is more or less homorhythmic across the board, with a few exceptions sprinkled in here and there. Because the rhythms are so straight-forward, it presents an opportunity to have students explore methods of musical expression through the mundane—even a half note followed by two quarter notes can have a sense of phrase.

Harmony: This is the most complex musical element presented in this piece. This piece has two distinct tonal centers: B minor, and its relative, D major. What makes this piece interesting is that when you do a functional harmonic analysis, you will notice that even in the sections where the tonal center is B, the harmony still functions as if it were in D major. This is what gives the piece its unique harmonic flavor. Students can learn traditional harmonic function and progression in this piece in the D-centered sections, and they can also explore how its relative minor interplays with the notions of tonality.

Form and Structure Continuing on with brilliance that lies within simplicity, the form is as simple as it

comes—A, A1. The major difference between A1 and A prime are that A1 ends in the key of D major instead of following a deceptive cadence back to B minor, and the words are different. Even though the major sections are arguably the same, it gives the students the chance to evaluate the form on a smaller level. The A section features two distinct musical periods with sub-phrases, and a small coda.

Suggested Listening

“Let My Prayer Arise” by Chesnokov(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zvafbx0dcu4 )“Vespers” by Rachmaninoff (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn5dpIECTds )“Salvation is Created” by Chesnokov (band arrangement)(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6PKQXvKJPo )

Composition project:The composition project is meant to be a scaffold-ed endeavor running the course of the unit. It will parallel the four fundamentals of the Chesnokov piece being taught: Rhythm, Melody, Form, and Harmony. By the end of the unit, the student will have composed a 16 bar piece of music complete with a mini-analysis, demonstrating their understanding and application of concepts taught. Students will also perform their composition for their peers.

Guarded-Vocabulary:Relative Key—Major and minor scales that share the same key signatureConjunct Motion—Melodic motion that moves up or down by stepCadence—A harmonic progression of two chords that concludes a phrase or periodPeriod—a group of musical phrasesStrophic Form—A form of music in which one section is repeated

Final Rubric:0 1 3 5

Melody Incomplete Melody does not consists of 8 measures, or melody exhibits 4 or more errors in regard to the aspects of a good melody.

Melody consists of 8 measures, but demonstrates 2-3 errors regarding the aspects of a good melody.

Melody consists of 8 measures and demonstrates all aspects of a good melody with no more than one error.

Harmony Incomplete Student fails to adequately address two or more questions, or student has three or more errors regarding solfege or use of I, IV, V

Student adequately addresses two or more questions, or student has 1-2 errors in regard to use of I, IV, V, or improper solfege

Student adequately addresses all three questions and creates a harmonic accompaniment with correct usage of I, IV, V. Proper solfege.

Formal Incomplete Student's phrase analysis is not complete, or only one musical element is addressed in regard to the musical phrase

Student provides a complete phrase analysis on their score, but adequately address two ways in which the musical elements create the musical phrase

Student provides a complete phrase analysis on their score, and adequately addresses three ways in which the musical elements create the phrases in their piece

Performance Incomplete The student performs his or her composition at an unsatisfactory level of accuracy or musicianship

The student performs his or her composition, but may exhibit some inaccuracies

The student performs his or her composition accurately and with an adequate level of musicianship

Rhythmic Activity:

Instructional goals:

1. Students will speak the melody line with correct rhythms2. Students will speak their own part with correct rhythms

Prior skills and knowledge:1. Students know the values of whole, half, quarter, and eighth notes

Standards Addressed:• 1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music• 5. Reading and notating music• 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.• 7. Evaluating music and music performances

Warm-up:A good way to warm up any rehearsal is to have the ensemble sizzle different rhythms. In this case, the teacher will sizzle a rhythm with certain articulative qualities and rhythmic drive, and the students will echo back. The most important part of the warm up in regards to the Chesnokov piece is making sure to keep the intensity of the musical line spinning until the end of the phrase. This keeps the piece from bogging down and dropping pitch later on.

Procedure:After echoing the teacher, move on to the melody of the piece. As an ensemble, sizzle the rhythm of the melody. Since the rhythms are so simple, students can also take this time to be watching for other musical elements such as dynamics. Most importantly, make sure the breath and musical line stays live throughout each phrase, in spite of the slow tempo. After sizzling the rhythms, have the students speak the melody, then eventually their own parts in rhythm, reminding them that they should continue supporting their breath and energy throughout the phrase.

For assessment, have each section speak their parts for the A section of the song while the other sections evaluate them and give them feedback.

Melodic Activity:

Instructional goals:

3. Students will understand fundamental concepts regarding what makes a good simple melody.

4. Students will recognize said concepts applied withing the melody of “Salvation is Created.”

5. Students will compose their own simple melody consisting of 8 measures

Prior skills and knowledge:1. Students will know how to draw notes on a staff or use simple notation software2. Students know how to use solfege3. Students know about intervals4. Students understand major/minor keys

Standards Addressed:• 1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music• 3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments• 4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines• 5. Reading and notating music• 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.• 7. Evaluating music and music performances

Procedure:In this activity, students will be asked to consider the melodic line of the Chesnokov. As a class, they will all sing through the melodic line on solfege, after which the teacher will ask the singers what they notice about the melody that makes it easy to sing. If students are unsure, have them sing through it again while concentrating on the question, and ask leading questions to get the singers to discover the concepts of a good melody. Make a list on the board for students and talk about each concept of melody. Key concepts in the Chesnokov melody are:Conjunct Motion (stepwise motion)Avoids large leaps (biggest is a 5th)Melodic line has contour and shapeMelody starts and ends on tonic (Do or La)

Other “rules” to consider discussing with students:Avoid tritone intervalsTi/Si has a natural tendency to lead to Do/LaRange of more than an octave should be avoidedAfter discussing the “rules,” take time to mention that although good melodies can follow these rules, sometimes composers break these rules, especially ones from the 20th century.

Questions to ask students:

1. Question students as to why they thing Chesnokov decided to use the “rules” in this composition.

2. Ask students if there are any spots where Chesnokov doesn't follow the rules exactly. Why do they supposed he did this?

The assignment will assess the students' understanding of the “rules” of melody. For the assignment, students may work by themselves or choose a partner. At this point, the students will be asked to compose their own 8-bar melody, making sure to acknowledge and apply the “rules.”

Rubric:0 1 3 5

Melody Incomplete Melody does not consists of 8 measures, or melody exhibits 4 or more errors in regard to the aspects of a good melody.

Melody consists of 8 measures, but demonstrates 2-3 errors regarding the aspects of a good melody.

Melody consists of 8 measures and demonstrates all aspects of a good melody with no more than one error.

Harmonic Activity:

Instructional Goals:

1. Students will understand the relationship between relative keys, in this instance, B minor and D major.

2. Students will know how to identify the relative major or minor key of any scale.3. Students will write a harmonic line consisting of I, IV, and V chords, which will

accompany their melodic compositions.

Prior skills and knowledge:5. Students will know how to draw notes on a staff or use simple notation software6. Students know how to use solfege7. Students know about intervals8. Students understand major/minor keys9. Students understand the basic I, IV, and V chords10. Students have an 8-bar melody written to apply harmonies to

Standards Addressed:• 1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music• 3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments• 4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines• 5. Reading and notating music• 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.• 7. Evaluating music and music performances• 8. Understanding relationships with music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

Warm Up:Have singers sing a D major scale, then, instead of ending them on low Do, have them sing down to La and stop them there. Then have them sing back up the scale as normal, but end on high La. Have them sing the B minor scale in La-based minor, then the D major scale. Explain that the two scales are the relative key to each other.

Procedure:In the Chesnokov piece, have the choir sing the entire first section (m. 1-9), then ask them if that sounds like minor or major. Then have them sing the next section (m. 10-21) and ask the same question. Next, sing the whole A section of the piece after asking students to consider what effect the key change has on the overall sound of the piece. After they sing, ask them their opinions, then ask why Chesnokov used this harmonic technique. After that, show the class two pictures from Monet's series of haystack paintings. Note how even though the subject of the pictures is the same, the colors Monet chose are different, and thus invoke a different mood and feel. The same holds true for why Chesnokov chose to alter between the two relative keys. A gallery of Money's Haystacks can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haystacks_(Monet)

For the activity, revisit the warmup, and use the warmup as a way to teach the students how to find the relative major/minor of any given key. They will use this skill for the next step of their

composition project. In the next part, the students will take the 8-bar melody they have already written, and find it's relative major or minor key. The student will notate the melody in the new key in 8 more measures following the original 8. At this point, the students are granted permission to make changes to the melody of their new variation as they see fit, provided they remember to apply the “rules” of a good melody. Students will need to write the solfege in for the original melody and for their new variation, using La-based minor where appropriate. When this part is done, they will be asked to use their knowledge of I, IV, and V chords to create a simple accompaniment for their melody. ***Important note*** Students may find that they need to change their melody to fit the underlying I, IV, and V harmonies they are writing to go with them. This is acceptably as long as they still follow the “rules” of melody. Along with their new addition to their composition, students must write a paragraph answering three questions:

1. Which keys occur in your compositions?2. How are these two keys related?3. How do the harmonic changes affect the overall piece?

Rubric:0 1 3 5

Harmony Incomplete Student fails to adequately address two or more questions, or student has three or more errors regarding solfege or use of I, IV, V

Student adequately addresses two or more questions, or student has 1-2 errors in regard to use of I, IV, V, or improper solfege

Student adequately addresses all three questions and creates a harmonic accompaniment with correct usage of I, IV, V. Proper solfege.

Formal Activity:

Instructional Goals:1. Students will identify and label the phrases and periods, and the cadence points in the A

section of the Chesnokov.2. Students will identify and label the phrases, periods, and cadence points in their own

composition.3. Students will write a brief analysis describing the form of their composition.

Prior skills and knowledge:1. Students understand the basic I, IV, and V chords2. Students have an 8-bar melody written with simple harmonic accompaniment

Standards Addressed:• 1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music• 5. Reading and notating music• 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.• 7. Evaluating music and music performances• 8. Understanding relationships with music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

Warm-up:Since the Chesnokov has rather long phrases, it is important to exercise breath control and stamina. A good warm up for this is to have the group breathe in for four counts, then out for eight, instructing them to use up all their air, trying their best to keep an even and steady flow for the entire duration until they run out right on beat eight. Practice this a couple times, then increase the duration of the exhale to 16 beats, 32 beats, and even 64 beats. This exercise yields best results if done every rehearsal.

Procedure:Start simple. Write the notes to “row row row your boat” on the board and have the class sing it. Ask them to identify where it is most natural to breathe in this song. Most likely, the verdict will be after the world “stream.” Explain to them that the song has two phrases, on on each side of the breath-mark. Next, sing just the first 9 measures of the Chesnokov, making sure to address that this piece has phrases that last four bars, as opposed to “row row row your boat,” which has two-bar phrases. The students should discover that there are two phrases in the first nine measures of the piece. At this point, question the students, asking them how Chesnokov makes it apparent that there are two phrases. They can give reasons such as repeated text, cadence points, melodic contour, etc. At this point, you can begin to discuss how groups of phrases in music are called “periods” of music. This is similar to how groups of clauses form sentences, and groups of sentences form paragraphs. This time, sing the music from the beginning to measure 21, and ask students to keep their ears open for the musical “sentences” that occur within this section. After singing, as a class, students will mark their scores with arches to denote phrases and brackets to indicate full periods. To further the analogy, students should write various punctuation marks into the score as well. For example, the first full period (m. 1-9) could be seen as a question phrase followed by an answer phrase, so the student would write in a

question mark at the end of measure 4, and a period at the end of measure 9. Students will pass in their scores to be evaluated by the instructor.

For the activity regarding form, students will use their own compositions. All students should have 16 measures of music, which will give them two musical periods to identify in the same way as in their Chesnokov score, as well as four musical phrases. Students will draw in phrase arches and period brackets in their score to show the form, and then they will write a paragraph describing what musical elements in their piece cause these phrases to happen. They can write about how the melodic contour leads a phrase, or how a V-I cadence creates the end of a musical period, etc.

Rubric:0 1 3 5

Form Incomplete Student's phrase analysis is not complete, or only one musical element is addressed in regard to the musical phrase

Student provides a complete phrase analysis on their score, but adequately address two ways in which the musical elements create the musical phrase

Student provides a complete phrase analysis on their score, and adequately addresses three ways in which the musical elements create the phrases in their piece

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavel_Grigorievich_Chesnokov

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvation_is_Created

http://www.moscow-taxi.com/churches/cathedral-of-christ-savior.html

http://wso.williams.edu/cpdl/sheet/tsch-sal.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haystacks_(Monet)