A gripping and lively performance in this afternoon's concert by the Swedish Radio Choir. Very fine choral singing in a pleasing acoustic and with good soloists. I listened on the car radio but I imagine it would sound superb on a system capable of reproducing the enormous dynamic range and yes, the deep basses were clearly audible. What a sensational piece this is.
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I came across a cd in a charity shop of the Rachmaninov 'All Night Vigil' performed by Paul Hillier and the Estonian Chamber Choir. Absolutely superb singing!Originally posted by gradus View Post -
If you can get it, St Thomas Fifth Avenue conducted by John Scott is pretty hard to beat of non-Russian etc perfs.Comment
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That sounds a good enough recommendation!Don’t cry for me
I go where music was born
J S Bach 1685-1750Comment
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A sensational piece indeed and one of the great choral works of the twentieth century. I remember when I was at school our headmaster, in a sixth form general studies session, was extremely sniffy about the merits of Rachmaninov's music and I wish I'd had the courage then to counter his philistinism with reference to this superb piece. I love its light and shade, its sombreness alternating with luminosity, and often listen to the first five pieces as I sink into sleep last thing at night.Originally posted by gradus View Post
I've heard it sung live by a choir in Russia and at one time wouldn't countenance an interpretation by any choir other than a Russian one, with their richly resonant basses and keening tenors. My first CD acquisition was that by the USSR Ministry of Culture Chamber Choir under Valery Poliansky on Melodiya, now quite old. However, I would also strongly recommend the excellent Corydon Singers under Matthew Best on Hyperion. Of recent recordings the one by the Latvian Radio Choir conducted by Sigvards Klava on Ondine is masterly, very atmospheric and highly recommendable.
I don't know the St Thomas's version with John Scott but will have to Spotify it!Comment
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I heard this performed live too, by the Sixteen, I think, or a similar ensemble. A memorable evening.
Finding men who can get those low B-flats must be difficult. I was once asked by a good amateur choir if I knew anyone who could get a low C. I was unable to help but I told them about Elvis Presley's last single, Way Down, in which someone at the end of each chorus goes down to that note. And at the very end he goes even an octave lower, to the lowest C on a piano. I wondered at the time whether it was down by some recording trickery and I'm still not entirely convinced but other people say it is genuine.
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Volume 9 number 1 of the BBC MM CDs is a performance by the BBC Singers under David Hill.
:not sure what emoticon to use:Comment
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I'm not sure how the performances I have sung in would measure up to a Russian choir. However, it's a wonderful sing as well as a tremendous test of stamina. There was a phase a few years ago when quite a few choirs in this country sung the 'All Night Vigil'; not sure how idiomatic those performances were either. Will have to check out the Swedish Radio Choir performance as they are a pretty good ensemble (to say the least).Comment
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I have the recording by Tchernouchenko (or "Chernushenko") and the Capella de Saint Petersburg. It makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck like very few other recordings of the work. Unlike most other versions I've heard, this performance seems steeped in the Russian Orthodox tradition.
PS Inspired by this thread I've just ordered the Sveshnikov recording.Last edited by johnb; 14-02-20, 10:50.Comment
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I've discovered that the 1965 Sveshnikov/State Academic Russian Choir recording of the Vespers is available on both Qobuz and Spotify, though not on a Melodiya label.
I do urge anyone remotely interested in this work to please give the Sveshnikov a listen. It is a remarkable performance, even if there is little or none of the chant that some other recordings include, e.g. the recording begins with the "Amen" which would normally follow the opening chant.
Nevertheless I think this is a special recording that everyone interested in Rachmaninov's Vespers should hear. (Of course other people might disagree.)Comment
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Thanks for the recommendation. It is a work I love so will seek out Sveshnikov. The recording I've lived with for years is the USSR Ministry of Culture Chamber Choir mentioned earlier in the thread and it never fails to thrill.Originally posted by johnb View PostI've discovered that the 1965 Sveshnikov/State Academic Russian Choir recording of the Vespers is available on both Qobuz and Spotify, though not on a Melodiya label.
I do urge anyone remotely interested in this work to please give the Sveshnikov a listen. It is a remarkable performance, even if there is little or none of the chant that some other recordings include, e.g. the recording begins with the "Amen" which would normally follow the opening chant.
Nevertheless I think this is a special recording that everyone interested in Rachmaninov's Vespers should hear. (Of course other people might disagree.)Comment
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....have any of you lot ever listened to much /any Bortnyansky Sacred Concertosbong chingComment
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I haven't heard the Polyansky/USSR Ministry of Culture Chamber Choir recording but I gather it is highly regarded so I'm intending to give it a listen over the next couple of days (courtesy of Qobuz).Originally posted by gradus View Post
Do let me know what you think of the Sveshnikov.Comment
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When I was singing the piece (Oh to be a true 2nd bass! ) - a few years ago - it became pretty absorbing - phonetic Russian et al, and a memorable experience. I was in the arena Promenade for the Proms performance by the Latvian Radio Choir (as in the Ondine recording) and it was perfection itself.
As part of my internet searching I picked up references to the hallowed contribution of Sveshnikov to keeping performance of choral music of a liturgical nature alive in the Soviet Union, and I hankered after finding a transfer of the large choir performance I had played in my youth on that EMI / Melodiya LP. And no longer having the LP, I discovered it was the very same recording (I really do think that is the correct conclusion). I found the mp3 download on the Mussica Russia website (where there is a lot of music - recorded and printed (they publish the score we used)).
The Sveshnikov is a different experience, it does sound like a larger choir. There may be imperfections or frailties - I'm not sure - but to my ears they would be part and parcel of a very heartfelt performance which is very special.
I'm downloading the Qobuz FLAC files at the moment, although I won't be able to listen for a few days. I'm really looking forward to hearing it again. But having said that, there is still enjoyment to be had from a chamber choir in exceptional sound and perfection as in the Latvian recording.
This is the blurb from the Mussica Russia download page:
Ever since it was first issued in 1965, Alexander Sveshnikov’s recording of Rachmaninoff’s “All-Night Vigil” has been regarded as a “must-have” classic by all collectors and fanciers of Russian sacred choral music. Over the subsequent decades, this recording has come in and out of availability, and now appears in Musica Russica’s catalog for the first time. One may agree or disagree with Sveshnikov’s interpretation of Rachmaninoff’s masterpiece and the degree to which it is “definitive.” On the one hand, he did graduate from the famed Moscow Synodal School, whose choir premiered the All-Night Vigil in 1915, when Sveshnikov (1890-1980) was 25 years old. On the other hand, much about this performance--the growling bass octavists, the deafening fortissimos, the brilliantly contrasting timbres of each choral section, the scooping accents--contradicts what is known about the subtlety and refinement of the Moscow Synodal style: octavists that are “felt, but never heard,” expressive restraint within the bounds of an ecclesiastical aesthetic, a timbral homogeneity approaching that of a string quartet. With several dozen recordings of Rachmaninoff’s “All-Night Vigil” now available, no doubt every conductor, every reviewer, and every listener has his or her favorite. This recording, the first ever of this work, nevertheless, stands as a unique monument that exhibits, in the person of Alexander Sveshnikov, an organic link to the mighty Russian choral tradition within which Rachmaninoff created his remarkable choral masterpiece. The booklet contains a fine essay about the work and this recording (in Russian only) by Dr Marina Rakhmanova. Titles are given in Russian and English.--V.M.
(I have the PDF of the mostly Russian language PDF).
I've run out of time to compose this post - so I'll have to compare the 2 downloads at a later date to check whether they are one and the same.Comment
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