Salvation is Created

At an early age, Chesnokov gained recognition as a great conductor and choirmaster while leading many groups including the Russian Choral Society Choir. This reputation earned him a position as a faculty member at the Moscow Conservatory. There he founded a choral conducting program, which he taught from 1920 until his death.

Salvation is Created was composed in 1912 as the fifth in Chesnokov’s Ten Communion Hymns (Op. 25). It was one of the last sacred works he composed before he turned to secular arts when the Soviet government began to suppress religious expression. Salvation is Created was published in 1913 by J. Fischer and Bro. and its popularity drove editors to produce many different versions in both Russian and English. Scored for six voices (SATTBB), the work is a communion hymn based on Psalm 74. The original Slavonic Church text is as follows:

Cyrillic script: Cпасение coдeлaл еси посреде земли, Боже. Аллилуия.

Latin alphabet: Spaséniye sodélal yesí posredé ziemlí, Bózhe. Allilúiya.

English translation: Salvation is wrought in the midst of the earth, O God. Alleluia.

In 2022, I was asked to arrange music for the brass section of the Parma Symphony Orchestra for their holiday concert. This transcription was one of two created and delivered online about 20 minutes before Hurricane Ian knocked out power to southwest Florida for six weeks.

SCORE AND PARTS AVAILABLE FOR 20 USD