Sergei RACHMANINOV
Vespers Op.37
National Academic Choir of
Ukraine "Dumka"/Berusene/Korinnyk/Tyshchencko/Savchuk
Recorded December 2000
REGIS RRC 1043
[61.42]
Available for around £6 from your dealer
-
Come let us worship
-
Bless the Lord, O my soul
-
Blessed be the Man
-
O serene Light
-
Now let the servant depart
-
Rejoice O virgin
-
Glory to God
-
Praise the name of the Lord
-
Blessed art Thou, O Lord
-
Having seen the Resurrection of the Lord
-
My soul magnifies the Lord
-
Glory to God
-
Troparia of the Day of Salvation
-
Christ is risen
-
Thanks be given to the Mother of God
These chants were passed down orally through the centuries until a form of
crude notation was devised in the eleventh century which consisted of up
or down signs marked above the Gospel text, rather than the Western horizontal
staff system. Whether these marks represent the rise or fall of pitch or
whether they are choreographic expression marks derived from a conductor's
hand movements remains the source of contentious debate among specialists.
The source of our knowledge is thanks to ecclesiastics in 18th
century Russia, who had the foresight to preserve the chants and transcribe
them into more familiar notation. Tchaikovsky writes evocatively of the effect
of listening to this marvellous sound, 'To stand on a Saturday evening in
the twilight in some little country church, filled with the smoke of incense,
to lose oneself in the external questions, whence, why and whither, to be
startled from one's trance by a burst from the choir, to be carried away
by the poetry of this music…all this is infinitely precious to me, one
of my deepest joys'.
Rachmaninov shared Tchaikovsky's enthusiasm, but whereas the latter was much
influenced by the 18th century approach, Rachmaninov got beyond
this and into the Byzantine essence of the music (compare both men's settings
of the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom). The Vespers (or All Night Vigil as
they are more properly known) were composed in 1915 and he used plainchant
in six of the canticles. Where he resorted to his own inspiration he used
the term 'conscious counterfeits', a euphemism for pastiche perhaps, but
nonetheless both well-intentioned and heartfelt. Shortly after he had written
them the Russian Bolshevik revolution put an end to any performance and
Rachmaninov, who lived in America for the rest of his life, never found the
resources or a choir capable of producing that unique sound. Significantly
he wanted the Nunc Dimittis from the Vespers sung at his funeral.
In this performance, a few small ensemble or intonation slips notwithstanding,
you can smell the incense evoked by Tchaikovsky's words albeit from Kiev
Cathedral rather than the more modest country church he had in mind. Both
ends of the choir cope with ease, the sopranos high up in the Troparia, the
basses frequently sent well below the staff to bottom D flats. The vocal
quality of the two solo Russian tenors featured here may not appeal to everyone's
taste but if you want the authentic sound of a Russian choir, this is the
disc for you.
Christopher Fifield
