“Let Thy Good Spirit” is one in a cycle of ten Communion Hymns, opus 25, composed by Chesnokov during his tenure as precentor at the Church of the Holy Trinity “at the Mud Baths” in Moscow. The cycle culminates a number of opuses in which Chesnokov wrote richly sonorous harmonized settings of traditional chant melodies; the present work, however, does not use a pre-existing chant melody. The works were very likely composed for practical use by Chesnokov’s church choir; in 1904 this choir was known to have comprised 42 singers—ten women sopranos, seven women altos, twelve tenors, and thirteen basses. The text is the Communion Hymn for the feast of Pentecost, prescribed to be sung during the Liturgy served on that day.
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