I have been listening with pleasure to Dmitri Hvorostovsky, live and in
recordings, since he won “Cardiff Singer of the World” twenty-five years
ago. I have also been wondering whether his beautiful voice was beginning to
develop some slight rockiness under pressure. However, on the evidence of
this third and latest recording for Ondine, he is still in tremendous shape.
Yes, the voice is not quite as big live as this recording makes it and he is
clearly occasionally slightly forcing on the highest, loudest notes but that
only adds to the excitement of this recital, which is really something of a
tour de force.
It was perhaps a wise move to divide the programme here between liturgical
chants and traditional Russian folk songs. It provides a balance to and
relief from the spiritual intensity of the sacred music, allowing a
different kind of sentiment to be presented. The piece which gives the album
its title was written by lyrical neo-romantic Soviet composer Georgy
Sviridov to words by Pushkin but the bulk of these songs are from the
nineteenth century. They were evidently chosen as vehicles to exhibit the
smooth beauty of Hvorostovsky’s high baritone but the contribution of his
superb specialist backing choir cannot be overlooked. They have the famous
basses, the plaintive tenors and the strong female voices required. The
block harmonies are perfectly in tune and they maintain evenness of line
without a trace of Slavic wobble.
In keeping with Russian liturgical practice, everything here is sung
a
cappella. The highlight is Hvorostovsky’s unaccompanied solo singing of
“Oh, Night” (track 15), where his sustained legato, power on the top G of
“Da i to so moy” and concluding pianissimo E flat are all stunning. He
adapts his style from a stern, hieratic aloofness in the chants to a more
“folksy”, expressive manner in the popular songs. He even introduces little
yodelling catches in his delivery and abandons all restraint in order to
capture the rawness of the songs' emotions. My only concern is that
he occasionally makes such audible gasps when breathing; that can be
disconcerting.
Thus we move full circle in this recital from the hypnotic, mantra-like
strophic chants with their repetitions of “Aliluiya” and “Raduysya”
(“Rejoice”) to their secular counterpart in the mimicking by two sopranos of
swinging bells. These chime above the vocal lines of baritone and choir and
the effect is haunting and mesmerising.
This is a wonderful album — manna for admirers of the Russian sacred and
folk vocal traditions.
Ralph Moore
Full track-listing
Dobri KHRISTOV (1875-1941)
Praise the Name of the Lord (Khvalite imya Gospodne) [3:35]
Pavel CHESNOKOV (1877-1944)
Blessed Is the Man (Blazhen muzh) [3:26]
Pre-eternal Counsel (Sovet prevechnďy) [2:45]
Hear My Prayer (Da ispravitsya molitva moya) [7:14]
From My Youth (Ot yunosti moyeya) [2:43]
Mikhail BURMAGIN
The Wise Thief (Razboynika blagorazumnago) [2:24]
Aleksandr ARKHANGELSKY (1846-1924)
Symbol of Faith (Creed; Simvol verď ) [5:34]
Aleksandr VARLAMOV (1801-1848)
A Snowstorm Sweeps the Street (Vdol’ po ulitse metelitsa metyot)
[2:35]
Russian folk songs
They Do Not Let Masha … (Ne velyat Mashe za rechen’ku khodit’) [3:36]
There Is Not One Path Through the Field (Ne odna vo pole dorozhka)
[3:24]
The Lonely Coach Bell (Odnozvuchno gremit kolokol’chik) [4:30]
Farewell, My Joy (Proshchay, radost’) [3:16]
The Fog Has Fallen Onto the Field (Uzh kak pal tuman) [3:42]
Elizaveta SHASHINA (1805-1903)
I Walk My Path Alone (Vďkhozhu odin ya na dorogu) [4:54]
Russian folk song
Oh, Night (Akh tď, nochen’ka) [4:27]
Georgy SVIRIDOV (1915-1998)
The Bells of Dawn (Zoryu b’yut) [6:09]
