Nikolai Golovanov (1891-1953)
GOLOVANOV, Nikolai Semyonovich (b. 9 [21] January 1891, Moscow; d. 28 August 1953, also in Moscow) —from 1900 was a student in the Moscow Synodal School of Church Singing, where he studied with V. S. Orlov and A. D. Kastalsky; in 1909 graduated from the Synodal School with the rank of precentor of the first degree; served as assistant conductor of the Synodal Choir under N. M. Danilin. In 1914 graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in composition. After the Revolution worked primarily as an opera and symphonic conductor at the Bolshoi Theatre and other musical institutions in Moscow. Golovanov’s sacred works (23 numbers published by P. Jurgenson in 1916- 17) were among the last works to be published before the Revolution. Of them, six are arrangements of various chants, while the rest are free compositions. Golovanov’s choral writing is marked by complexity of choral texture, richness of sonority, and subtle nuancing, which lends some of his works a character that transcends strictly liturgical use.
