tsjaikovski 1

In an 1877 letter... 

to his friend and patroness Nadezhda von Meck, Tchaikovsky wrote:

'For me, the Church still possesses much poetical charm. I very often attend the services. I consider the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom one of the greatest productions of art. 

If we follow the service very carefully, and enter into the meaning of every ceremony, it is impossible not to be profoundly moved by the liturgy of our own Orthodox Church, to be startled from one's trance by a burst from the choir, to be carried away by the poetry of this music, to be thrilled when... the words ring out, 'Praise the name of the Lord!' 

All this is infinitely precious to me! 

One of my deepest joys!'

An April 1878 letter to von Meck... 

signified his interest in producing a composition based on the liturgy.

'A vast and untrodden field of activity lies open to composers here. I appreciate certain merits in Bortniansky, Berezovsky and others, but how little their music is in keeping with the whole spirit of Orthodox liturgy! It is not improbable that I shall decide to set the entire liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. I shall arrange all this by July.'

The first performance took place in the St Vladimir Royal University of Kyiv Church [in Ukraine] in June 1879. The Moscow Musical Society gave a private concert at the Moscow Conservatory in November 1880. In a letter to Nadezhda von Meck, Tchaikovsky wrote that it was...

'altogether one of the happiest moments of my musical career'.

[wikipedia]