On my way home!

Well, I'm once again sitting in the international terminal at Arlanda International Airport in Stockholm, Sweden. I must admit that I quite relieved to be out of Russia. After three weeks, I found St. Petersburg to be overcrowded with both residents and tourists. I also found most Russians to be quite rude and pushy when it came to matters such as boarding metros and escalators. I'm ready for some good old fashioned common courtesy.

I'm very pleased with my work in St. Petersburg. Two days at the Russian National Historic Archives, four days at the Academic Chapel, and five days at the Russian National Library. All of that was, thankfully, able to be spread out over 20 days. Several days had to be spent with organizational work and photocopying, not to mention paperwork for entry into these institutions.

This is my last post for this blog. I would like to thank Susquehanna University for it's generous faculty research grant that enabled me to make this trip at this time. I look forward to some brief rest before compiling my scores, transcribing a few to electronic form, and writing, writing, writing!

Have a wonderful summer, everyone!

Second last day in St. Petersburg

Today I first went to Peter & Paul fortresss in order to visit the Cathedral where the Emperors and Empresses are interred. I payed homage to Peter and Catherine the Great. It was a little frustrating to have to wait behind the masses of bus tours but that is part of the game at a major tourist destination. I then had a Russian lunch on Nevsky, followed by more manual copying of a Davydov 6-part concerto at the Russian National Library. Copying by hand is exhausting. Why by hand? They won't photocopy older publications. This one has no year, but it is clearly at least 150 years old! I didn't quite finish (tomorrow!). I then went to the Smolny Cathedral Chamber Choir concert at the Smolny Concert Hall. They beautifully performed Arvo Part's "Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Joannem".

A challenging day at the Russian National Library

For some inexplicable reason, the woman at the entry desk would not allow me to bring in my English/Russian dictionary into the library. She was very unpleasant. The second challenge today was the realization that they will not make copies of 19th-century published works (not manuscripts, mind you). I have to copy by hand, anything I might want. Luckily for me, the very helpful worker in the music section did give me some manuscript paper to work from for today. I managed to copy the opening section of a Davydov Liturgy. Not terribly efficient, but this is how it is done, I have learned. After finishing there, I immediately (and rather luckily) found a stationary store on Nevsky (set back from the street - I spotted it by seeing the globes displayed!) and bought a couple of books of manuscript, pencils, an eraser, and some paper clips (for some of my earlier photocopies that are clip-less). Once that was done, I had plenty of time for a St. Pete's Stout and some Fish & Chips (I know, not very Russian) before heading to the performance of Bach's B minor Mass. It was very good, and a great way to end this difficult day. Only three more days left to work!

Sunday churches

Saturday was my Russian National Library day. Sunday morning, I returned to Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral for 10:00 Service. I did manage to videotape (for those of you on Facebook, I have a clip there). I then went to Smolny Cathedral to purchase my ticket for the Wednesday night Arvo Part concert. Smolny has been converted completely into a concert hall. It's quite stunning - another baroque design by the 18th-century Italian, Rastrelli. It was completed just in time for the reign of Catherine the Great. Now back to the Russian National Library and tonight a performance of Bach's B minor mass!!

Russian National Library

Well, I managed to get the correct documentation organized and get the necessary ID card in order to gain access to the collection at the Russian National Library. It was relatively painless, at least compared to the Russian National Archives. There seems to be a good amount of 18th-century music at the library.....it's going to be a matter of being very organized and selective about what I need. I will be there for several days, for sure!

Last night, I went to the ballet - Sergei Prokofiev's "Romeo & Juliet" at the Mariinksy Theatre. The Mariinsky Ballet was known as the Kirov Ballet during the Soviet era. Like the city itself, name changes are a big part of many things here: pre-Soviet, Soviet, post-Soviet names. It's pretty crazy. Anyway, the ballet was absolutely wonderful. I know that I will likely never see another as sublime or moving. The walk home after was quite nice - the sun still above the horizon at 11:00 p.m. It is the White Nights, after all.

Peterhof!

The weather finally broke for the morning. It was (initially) a perfectly gorgeous day. One must take advantage of such things, and I took a hydrofoil from the Winter Palace to Peterhof - the imperial summer residence established by Peter the Great and used by the Emperors and Empresses to follow. It was stunning! Following that, I found the Mariinsky Theatre to buy my ticket for tomorrow night's performance of Prokofiev's ballet, Romeo & Juliet. So excited!

Another day at the Court Chapel Library

Well, after today it looks as though I've exhausted the resources at the chapel library. I managed to get scores for pretty much all the music I need. Once again, Irina was amazingly helpful.....I would trust her with my firstborn child (granted, that's easy for me to say!). She suggested I might find more at the Russian National Library. I will be heading there tomorrow or the next day. It's located on Nevsky, right across the street from Gostiny Dvor metro station.....how convenient for me! Enjoy the pics I took on my was to the chapel.