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Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Aleksandr Grechaninov, whose very long life included surviving the privations of the Bolshevik uprising, and eventually emigrating to the USA.

Donald Macleod continues his survey of the life and music of Aleksandr Grechaninov. Grechaninov had made a name for himself in a number of musical arenas including chamber and orchestral music, so he turned his attention to his first opera Dobrinya Nikititch. It proved to be very popular, especially the aria the Flowers are blooming, which we'll hear in a recording from 1904.

During this period, Grechaninov started to become a little troublesome in the eyes of the Holy Synod, for daring to question their authority in the realms of sacred music. He was convinced that their predilection for ornate liturgical music was wrong, and that music composed for liturgical use should be closely related to the sung text. One example is his Creed from the second Liturgy of St John Chrysostom opus 29, which Tsar Nicholas II ordered to be sung ever Sunday at the Imperial Court Chapel. It was more recently performed at the blessing ceremony of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.

Grechaninov around this time had also become involved in the Ethnographical Society of the Moscow University, and had a keen interest in folk music. This musical heritage filtered through into his works, including his second symphony opus 27, nicknamed the Pastoral because of its folk music influence.