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.

Ready for another day at the Chapel Library!

Well, the last few days (Russia Day holiday weekend) I've spent organizing the scores I've received so far. I've been creating a timeline from about 1730-1796, organizing the visiting Italian composers and their students according to the reigning Empress of the time. The next step will be to try to attach more specific dates to actual compositions in order to create a more accurate sense of compositional developments as they occurred. Then, try to get more published scores. Then......

Sunday Service at Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral

I decided to attend 10:00 Service at this particular church because I found a reference to its fine choir on the internet. After breakfast and taking taking the metro (transferring lines once), I realized, upon arriving at Cheryshevskaya Metro station, that I hadn't mapped out the walk from the metro to the church. Not smart. Luckily there was a map (complete with a convenient "you are here" dot) so I found my way with a few moments to spare.

This particular church is nothing special on the outside. Once inside, there are icons framed in gold absolutely everywhere you look. For those who have never been to an Orthodox Service, everything is sung from beginning to end. The clergy are fine singers themselves. In fact, there were several spots in the Service where the ten (or so) clergy sang beautifully in harmony. Most of the Service involves some kind of call/response structure, usually with the deacon and the choir.

This choir had about 24 voices, and would sing "featured" selections (that to the average observer were anthems), but were really composed liturgical settings of texts that fit in those specific moments of the Service. Most of their literature seemed to be from the 19th/20th centuries.

This was an incredible experience, though long. There are no pews in an Orthodox Church, so one must stand throughout the 1.5 hour long Service. However, if the babushkas could do it, so could I!

The Hermitage Museum

Today is Russia Day! It's a pretty new holiday, commemorating this day in 1990 when the Russian parliament formally proclaimed sovereignty over all of Russia. I don't really know what that means...

Anyway, yesterday I took care of getting the 15 borrowed scores photocopied. That was a bit of an ordeal. Even though photocopy centres seem to be privately owned, profit-making ventures, they seem to be terribly inefficient. Lucky for me, there was almost nobody there when I brought in those 280+ pages to be copied (one at a time). Of course, once they began my project, everyone else in this neighbourhood of St. Petersburg came to also get copies, shooting me dirty looks for hogging the employees.

Today, I visited the Hermitage: one of the largest and oldest museums in the world. It was established by Catherine the Great in 1764, has over 3 million items on display, including the largest collection of paintings in the world! It was pretty crazy busy, but it is an absolute must-see for anyone visiting this city. Of course, like the Louvre, one cannot see the entire museum in a day. I focused on Russian culture in the 18th century - germane to my dissertation topic. Enjoy the photos!

Great day today!

Well, I am getting exactly what I came here for.....actual scores of 18th-century Russian sacred choral compositions. The time I spent at RGIA (Russian State Historical Archives) was not overly helpful. Luckily that was only two days.

Yesterday, once I confirmed that Archive only has 19th-century materials, I decided to hit the Academic Cappella earlier than anticipated. I was a little nervous I would run into the same (or worse) red tape as RGIA. In fact, I had to fill out no paperwork and answer almost no questions. Security went up to fetch the choral librarian for me and she (the wonderful Irina Grigoriova!) brought me back up to the library (one small room just off of the concert hall) and began pulling scores for me! She made me some photocopies of the older, more fragile scores - which she presented as a gift. She then lent me another 15 scores to photocopy (there's a copy centre a few blocks from my hotel) and bring back. Cue the choir of angels singing.......now.

Aside from that, I enjoyed my walk alongside the Winter Palace (took more pics), had a delightful bean/potato soup (garnished with fresh dill!) and returned to Nevsky where I bought a CD of Chesnikov works for men's choir. A quick wander through Gostiny Dvor department store (also where I take the metro back to my station) to check out men's shirts and shoes. I might be buying a few things. Who knew......Colin go shopping?!? So hard to believe!

Internet is back!

I haven't been able to add any posts for a few days, because I've had no internet. That has been a real challenge for me, as I need the internet to accomplish some of my goals. Today is Wednesday, June 9, 2010. I've managed to be at the Russian State Historical Archives for the last two days. Yesterday was cold and rainy, a perfect day for being indoors. I discovered just how many people use the metro here.....unbelievable mass moving of humanity!! It's a great system. I take two trains and can get there in about 35 minutes.

It was pretty daunting arriving at the archives for the first time. I had brought all required documents, although my letter from SU was in English. Of course there is nobody working at the archives who can speak a lick of English!! We figured it out. I had to fill out paperwork in Russian, which was also daunting. The challenge was more ensuring I understood what was required, rather than actually filling in the blanks. That part was relatively easy.

I spent a few hours yesterday and today going through catalogue files. For a building so modern and updated, it was somewhat surprising that each card is handwritten by a different person. Cyrillic cursive appears quite different from its typed form. As if that isn't enough of a challenge, it seems that most of the card writers are either serial killers or medical doctors!

Anyway, the evidence suggests that this particular archive (RGIA), is focused on 19th/20th century materials. I'm going to focus my efforts on gaining access to the St. Petersburg Cappella next.

Since we are entering the official "White Nights," right now it is 7:00pm, but the amount of sun suggests it's maybe 3:00pm. It stays light 24 hours/day right now. I will definitely try to find some interesting festival or something to attend. Saturday is Russia Day.

Quiet Day

Well, I am still having some major problems adjusting to the new timezone. This has not been a normal problem for me when going to western Europe. Is the extra two hours ahead enough to throw me off? I was awake during part of the night, then fell back asleep and missed breakfast.

The internet was also down today, so could not map my trek to the archives. Not a productive day. I'm hopeful that I'll be back on track tomorrow.

First day in St. Petersburg

It's now 9:00 am, Sunday morning. The hotel is very nice: modern and comfortable. My favourite thing is the heated bathroom floor. Gotta get me one of those!

It would seem that I was right about The Amazing Race being on my flight. I received a message on Facebook from an Amazing Race blogger in Atlanta. She was able to tell me that it was Miss Kentucky 2009 who asked to borrow a cell phone at the St. Petersburg airport. Pretty crazy!

Anyway, today I will head over to Nevsky Prospekt and simply walk around, take some pictures. I will go to a church to light a candle for mom. Hopefully, I'll find a supermarket to buy a few supplies. Gotta acclimatize to the new time zone. I hope it won't be as windy as yesterday was!

Look for some photos later.

I'm now in St. Petersburg

Well, after the long trip I arrived unscathed! The flight from Stockholm to St. Petersburg was short and uninteresting, except for the fact that it seems our flight was a part of "The Amazing Race." I did ask one of the cameramen (there was one per every team of two - there was a father/daughter, boyfriends/girlfriends, and I'm not sure who else) what show it was, but he was all mysterious. I will definitely be watching that next season to see if I recognize anyone! I know, I'm a geek, but it's the one reality show I love!

The shuttle bus and metro was easy and quick here in St. Petersburg. I'm delighted to report that my Russian reading has been quick and helpful. The hotel I'm in is undergoing major renovation on the outside, but my room is lovely.

Upon unpacking, I discovered that my converter (which I've had for about two thousand years) is only good for a two-prong plug. Guess what!?! My computer power cord has three prongs, of course. Luckily, the hotel clerk guessed where I might find another one, and I was able to promptly buy a worldwide adaptor. Crisis averted!

I went for a walk to check out the immediate neighbourhood. I went into my first church of the trip. It was lovely and quiet. I will go light a candle for mom tomorrow.

I will report back tomorrow....with pictures!

On my way!

I left New York City yesterday (June 4, 2010) to fly to St. Petersburg Russia. The purpose of this trip is to conduct scholarly research in various archives for my dissertation work in 18th-Century Russian sacred choral music. My employer, Susquehanna University, has provided me a faculty research grant to aid in this endeavour. This is my first ever blog, so I do ask for your patience as I learn how to construct one.

At this moment, I am sitting in Arlanda Airport in Stockholm, Sweden. I will make my connecting flight to St. Petersburg in about two hours.

I will attempt to record my research progress, trials and tribulations, as well as my cultural and any sightseeing I do in the evenings and weekends.

Welcome to my first blog!