Taneyev’s composing heritage is vast. He composed in almost every genre typical for his time, but his most significant achievements were in the choir and cantata genres. The cantata At the Reading of a Psalm (1812 – 1814), a monumental canvas in the genre of vocal and symphonic music, composed to the poetry by Alexey Khomyakov was an embodiment of Taneyev’s prominent professional achievements in the operatic, symphonic, choir, chamber vocals, and chamber instrumental genres, as well as a summit of his polyphonic craftsmanship, a result of his scientific effort in the field of history and theory of counterpoint. A poem by a Russian poet and philosopher Alexey Khomyakov (1804 – 1860) of the same name was a poetic basis of the cantata. It was an artistic interpretation of Psalm 49 of David containing a generalised idea of the meaning of human existence which was not passive admiration for the Almighty but the one and only ‘precious gift’ – an assertion of a moral ideal of life. Evgeny Svetlanov was a world-recognized interpreter of the works by Russian,West European, Soviet and contemporary composers. The A.A. Yurlov State Academic Choir Capella is one of the best known and oldest Russian music collectives. The choir was founded at the turn of the 19th century by a talented precentor Ivan Yukhov. The choir gained its official status in 1919, and in 1942, the Republican Russian Choir Capella was created on its basis.
