Elevation of the image of Russia in the musical and hymnographic works of metropolitan Cyprian and tsar Ivan the Terrible

The study is devoted to the work in the field of hymnographic art of two prominent figures in Russian history - St. Cyprian, Metropolitan of All Russia, (c. 1330-1406) and Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible (1530-1584). Each of them created cycles of sticherons to Metropolitan of All Russia Peter (†1326) for singing at the Divine Service on the day of his «Repose» (December 21). It is established that they are written on the podoben (sample), known from the Russian musical manuscripts of the XII century - “Kymi pokhvalnimi ventsami” (“What laudable crowns”). The author for the first time performed a textual analysis with comparing of the Metropolitan Cyprian’s and Ivan the Terrible’s sticherons in honour of St. Peter. The source of the research is their records from the outstanding figure of the Church music and singing art Login Shishelov’s manuscripts - the musical Collections of Sticherons. It is revealed that Tsar Ivan, creating his own cycle, relied on the achievements of Metropolitan Cyprian. Нe repeated the Cyprian’s stanza «Peter, our warm protector and guardian, pleasing the Russian Land with the flow» at the end of all three chants of the cycle. The Tsar took from his predecessor’s chant the personification of Peter with «a river of many wonders». In all his chants the sovereign retained this image, changing it somewhat in each of them: the river of piety, the river of miracles, the river of healing. The following musical and artistic technique used by tsar has a special impact on the audience. He emphasized the semantic core of the cycle - the words «Russian Land» with recitation on the same sound. In this way all attention is directed to the perception of the meaning of words that are the most significant for the tsar. Thus, the meaning of the image, outlined by Metropolitan Cyprian, who «divine Peter glorified» as «praise of the Land of Rustea (Russia)», in the Tsar Ivan’s cycle takes on the paramount importance. In history the names of Metropolitan Cyprian and Tsar Ivan the Terrible are forever associated with the image of St. Peter, sung by them.