Extraordinary Russian basses

[gradus]

If you love Russian choirs do stream or buy the record on featured on this mornings Record Review. The track played - a Gretchaninov setting from The Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom No.2 - was from More Honourable than the Cherubim on Chandos sung by the PaTRAM Institute Male Choir with basses of exceptional depth and power. Just wonderful.

[ardcarp]

Yes, Russian basses are amazing, and Gretchaninov was a really well-known composer for the Orthodox rite. (Harmonically a tad boring if listened to for more than a short time!) A choir I used to sing with had two basses who could could plumb the depths when needed, e.g. in the Russian repertoire. Many basses can manage a bottom C, but these guys could just go on down from there.

[Serial_Apologist]

Yes, Russian basses are amazing, and Gretchaninov was a really well-known composer for the Orthodox rite. (Harmonically a tad boring if listened to for more than a short time!) A choir I used to sing with had two basses who could could plumb the depths when needed, e.g. in the Russian repertoire. Many basses can manage a bottom C, but these guys could just go on down from there.

I wonder how many of them are smokers. I used to be able to hit pitches that low, but my tessitura has diminished since giving up!

[Richard Barrett]

I wonder how many of them are smokers.

Not only that, but smokers of Russian cigarettes...! I've always thought that the "Russian bass" phenomenon has something to do with the Russian language and how it sounds.

[mikealdren]

It's more than just the smoking. IIRC in Papano's program on Basses he interviewed a 'Contra(?) Bass' who explained that they can sing an octave below normal basses (Chernouchenko's Rachmaninov verspers with the Saint Petersburg Capella is an example.) The soloist explained that there are only a handful of them and they are in high demand.

[gurnemanz]

Generously well-priced offer of 6 CDs of Russian Orthodox Choral Music at Presto. A recommendable selection of reissues from various sources. The downloads are ludicrously cheap so you can't go wrong.

[Ein Heldenleben]

It's more than just the smoking. IIRC in Papano's program on Basses he interviewed a 'Contra(?) Bass' who explained that they can sing an octave below normal basses (Chernouchenko's Rachmaninov verspers with the Saint Petersburg Capella is an example.) The soloist explained that there are only a handful of them and they are in high demand.

I think they are called octavists . The Italian equivalent is a basso profundo or sometimes contrabass. The Bass in that Pappano show was amazing . I’m not sure they can really go an octave below the normal Bass range which is say the second E below middle C ( e.g. the final note sung by Ochs in Act 2 Der Rosenkavalier - I can just about hit this on a singalong ); . But they can certainly go a fifth below. Must have a look at The Rach Vespers to see how low they do go .

Ps - had a quick look - the lowest note is a Bflat 2 octaves below middle C which occurs several times throughout the work but not till later in the work- so they have had time to warm up ? The whole Bass part is very low - other lowlights include a 5 and a half bar sustained low D pedal point!

[oddoneout]

Yes, Russian basses are amazing, and Gretchaninov was a really well-known composer for the Orthodox rite. (Harmonically a tad boring if listened to for more than a short time!) A choir I used to sing with had two basses who could could plumb the depths when needed, e.g. in the Russian repertoire. Many basses can manage a bottom C, but these guys could just go on down from there.

A choir I sang with nearly 50 years ago had an amiable large American gentleman who was very much a Basso Profundo as he could just carry on down and down. Sitting next to him during one of our scrambled seating sessions was an interesting experience - quite difficult to concentrate on my own part if there was a low bass line.