There are Russians (and Ukrainians) involved in this recording of Rachmaninoff's great sacred work, the All-Night Vigil, Op. 37, but the bulk of the singers are American. What you miss in this recording is the distinctive sound of a Russian choir, with its rumbling basses and luxurious low female singers. What you get in exchange is a great deal. You pay your money, and you take your choice. Begin with the booklet, which lays out not only the history of the work, but the aims of the present interpretation, and the links ...
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There are Russians (and Ukrainians) involved in this recording of Rachmaninoff's great sacred work, the All-Night Vigil, Op. 37, but the bulk of the singers are American. What you miss in this recording is the distinctive sound of a Russian choir, with its rumbling basses and luxurious low female singers. What you get in exchange is a great deal. You pay your money, and you take your choice. Begin with the booklet, which lays out not only the history of the work, but the aims of the present interpretation, and the links between the two, in convincing detail. Among the goals of this particular recording is to embody the committed Christianity that the conductor and performers find in the work; your attitude toward this will naturally depend on your own background, but this is a sensitive, even impassioned performance by any standard. The performers are aided by the tempo choices of the conductor, Peter Jermihov. Tempo in this work is a matter of debate, for the composer declined to include metronome...
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