Vesper Hymn (Bortniansky, Dmytro)

Authorship Note
There is little evidence that this composition is by Bortniansky: it appears to be a pastiche by John Stevenson. See Comments below.

First Publication	1818
Genre Categories	Sacred hymns; Hymns; Religious works; For mixed chorus, piano; Scores featuring mixed chorus; Scores featuring the piano; For chorus with keyboard; English language; For voice, male chorus (arr); For unaccompanied voices and chorus (arr); Scores featuring the voice (arr); Scores featuring the tenor voice (arr); Scores featuring male chorus (arr); For mixed chorus (arr); Scores featuring mixed chorus (arr); For unaccompanied chorus (arr); For harp (arr); Scores featuring the harp (arr); For 1 player (arr)
Related Works	Variations etc.: 5 Lieder, Op.14; No.5; (Reinecke, Carl) Fantasia and Variations on the Vesper Hymn, Op.35 (Browne, Augusta) "Hark! The Vesper Hymn Is Stealing" for Piano 4-Hands, Op.136, No.2 (Ries, Ferdinand) Possible model: Hark to Philomela singing by William Knyvett, c.1807.

First Publication

1818

Genre Categories

Sacred hymns; Hymns; Religious works; For mixed chorus, piano; Scores featuring mixed chorus; Scores featuring the piano; For chorus with keyboard; English language; For voice, male chorus (arr); For unaccompanied voices and chorus (arr); Scores featuring the voice (arr); Scores featuring the tenor voice (arr); Scores featuring male chorus (arr); For mixed chorus (arr); Scores featuring mixed chorus (arr); For unaccompanied chorus (arr); For harp (arr); Scores featuring the harp (arr); For 1 player (arr)

Related Works

Variations etc.:

5 Lieder, Op.14; No.5; (Reinecke, Carl)
Fantasia and Variations on the Vesper Hymn, Op.35 (Browne, Augusta)
"Hark! The Vesper Hymn Is Stealing" for Piano 4-Hands, Op.136, No.2 (Ries, Ferdinand)

Possible model:

Hark to Philomela singing by William Knyvett, c.1807.

Sheet Music

Scores

Complete Score
*#450152 - 0.93MB, 5 pp. - 0.0/10 2 4 6 8 10 (-) - V/V/V - 210×⇩ - Fynnjamin

PDF scanned by D-Mbs
Fynnjamin (2016/12/6)

Arranger	John Stevenson (1761-1833)
Editor	First edition
Publisher. Info.	London: J. Power, 1818. Plate 356.
Copyright	Public Domain [tag/del]
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Arrangements and Transcriptions

For Tenor and Male Chorus (Dana)

Complete Score
*#880442 - 4.43MB, 4 pp. - 0.0/10 2 4 6 8 10 (-) - C/V/C - 8×⇩ - Feduol

PDF scanned by archive.org
Feduol (2023/10/16)

Arranger	Arthur Dana (fl. 1896-1925)
Publisher. Info.	Choruses for Men's Voices Based on Folk-Songs, Classical Melodies Etc., No.491 Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1925. Plate A.P.S. 13561-1.
Copyright	Public Domain [tag/del]
Misc. Notes	This file is part of the Indianapolis Maennerchor Archive.
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For Mixed Chorus (Dumas)

Complete Score
*#450427 - 0.53MB, 1 pp. - 0.0/10 2 4 6 8 10 (-) - V/V/V - 57×⇩ - Fynnjamin

PDF scanned by archive.org
Fynnjamin (2016/12/9)

Arranger	Edmund Dumas (1810-1882)
Publisher. Info.	Original Sacred Harp Atlanta: J.S. James, 1911 (1921 reprint).
Copyright	Public Domain [tag/del]
Misc. Notes	First published in 3-part harmony; the alto line here is by Seaborn McDaniel Denson. Title: The Weeping Saviour. Text by Isaac Watts, "Alas and did my saviour bleed".
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For Mixed Chorus (Swan)

Complete Score
*#451588 - 0.06MB, 1 pp. - 0.0/10 2 4 6 8 10 (-) - V/V/V - 69×⇩ - Fynnjamin

PDF scanned by Unknown
Fynnjamin (2016/12/17)

Arranger	William H. Swan (1798–1859)
Editor	Marcus Lafayette Swan (1827–1869)
Publisher. Info.	The New Harp of Columbia Knoxville: the authors, 1867.
Copyright	Public Domain [tag/del]
Misc. Notes	3-part harmony: Treble, Tenor (melody), Bass. Title: Bequest; Text also by Thomas Moore, "When in death I shall calm recline".
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For Harp (Aptommas)

Complete Score
*#306491 - 1.08MB, 6 pp. - 0.0/10 2 4 6 8 10 (-) - V/V/V - 866×⇩ - Jiloxiga

PDF scanned by US-Wc
Jiloxiga (2013/12/11)

Arranger	Thomas Aptommas (1829-1913)
Publisher. Info.	New York: J. F. Browne, 1854.
Copyright	Public Domain [tag/del]
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General Information

Work Title	Vesper Hymn
Alternative. Title	Jubilate
Composer	Bortniansky, Dmytro
Internal Reference NumberInternal Ref. No.	IDB 13
Text Incipit	Hark! the vesper hymn is stealing
First Publication.	1818
Librettist	English text by Thomas Moore
Language	(English - see below)
Composer Time PeriodComp. Period	Classical
Piece Style	Classical
Instrumentation	mixed chorus (SATB), piano
Related Works	Variations etc.: 5 Lieder, Op.14; No.5; (Reinecke, Carl) Fantasia and Variations on the Vesper Hymn, Op.35 (Browne, Augusta) "Hark! The Vesper Hymn Is Stealing" for Piano 4-Hands, Op.136, No.2 (Ries, Ferdinand) Possible model: Hark to Philomela singing by William Knyvett, c.1807.
External Links	Article

Navigation etc.

A hymn tune, commonly attributed to Bortniansky, but not clearly identified as part of Bortniansky's published works:
Grove Music does not list this hymn in Bortniansky's work list; according to hymnary.org, "no tune resembling this one has been found in that Russian composer's published works.

Stevenson is generally recognized as being the arranger if not also the composer".

The first known publication is in Volume 1 of A Selection of Popular National Airs (1818), where the attribution is "Russian Air".

A footnote states that the final 8 bars of the melody are "added to the original Air by Sir John Stevenson."

Stevenson never attributed it to Bortniansky, but "claimed that the Duchesse de Broglie, the daughter of the legendary Madame de Staël, had brought this tune to his attention: "It was she who danced to it five or six years ago, and called it a Cossack Dance [...] it was in a private society I saw her dance that tune about seven or eight years ago [...]...she had heard it in France as a Cossack Air, and always considered it as such". [see article linked above]
Since the first known version of this work is Stevenson's, and that work was in English, it has been tagged for English.
Some mid-19th century German versions exist, called Russischer Vespergesang or Russische Abendhymne, with text beginning "Horch die Wellen tragen bebend sanft und rein den Vesperchor" or "Horch des Abendliedes Hallen" or "Horch die Abendhymne schallet" or "Süßer Heiland dir gehöret aller Menschen Dank und Ruhm".
Further English texts set to the melody include: "Now, on sea and land descending" by Samuel Longfellow; "Tarry with me, O my Father" by Caroline S. Smith; "Saviour! breathe an evening blessing" by James Edmeston.