Prom 55 (30.08.20) Rachmaninov: Vespers

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

This Late Night Prom is a chance to relive the Latvian Radio Choir performing a work hailed as ‘the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church’. Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil (Vespers) is also one of the loveliest works of any faith – a profoundly moving statement of belief and the last major work the composer completed before he left Russia.

Sung unaccompanied, the Vigil is a choral tour de force, pushing the singers to the limits of both range and dynamics. The effect is strikingly dramatic, encompassing the ecstatic choral celebration of the Resurrection Hymn ‘Today salvation has come’ and the infinite tenderness of the ‘Ave Maria’.


Sergey Rachmaninov: All-Night Vigil (Vespers)

Latvian Radio Choir
Sigvards Kļava (director)

(From the BBC Proms 2017, 13 August)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

This concert repeat was originally programmed for one week later.

[gradus]

Thanks for the pointer. I remember the USSR Chamber Choir performance in I think the eighties, performed at a late night Prom but haven't heard this performance before.