Current Reviews

        by Benjamin Chee

Sergei Prokofiev
Piano Concerto No. 1-3

Martha Argerich, piano
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor



Samuel Barber
Orchestral Works and Concertos
Leonard Slatkin, Charles Munch



Rimsky-Korsakov
Evgeny Svetlanov


Beethoven
Symphony No.9
Piano Transcription by Franz Liszt
Konstantin Scherbakov, Piano



Kronos Caravan

Rachmaninov's Vespers of 1915 must be counted as one of the most enthralling and profound pieces of sacred music written in the 20th century - or indeed, at any time. It was written when Rachmaninov was at the height of his creative powers, having just completed the third piano concerto, second piano sonata, the first set of Etudes-tableaux and the cantata The Bells. The composer wrote Vespers to the memory of his friend and scholar Stepan Vasilevich Smolensky, who had introduced Rachmaninov to sacred music while the latter was at the Moscow Conservatory. Such was its popularity after its premiere that the work had to be performed more four times that concert season.

The setting of the Vespers, traditionally, is the night-long service celebrated in Russian monasteries and, on the eve of holy days, in Russian Orthodox churches. Its Russian title Vsenoshchnoye bdeniye is more accurately translated as "All-Night Vigil", but otherwise is more commonly known as as Vespers. The genius in Rachmaninov's setting of this music lies in his drawing upon authentic chants and transforming them into melodic and harmonic masterpieces of choral writing, not to mention making big technical demands on would-be performers.

This disc by the Finnish National Opera Chorus under their chorus master Eric-Olof Söderström joins a long and distinguished list of recordings in the catalog, and the first one, surprisingly, in the super-budget range. It would have been a pleasure to report on this performance with enthusiasm, and although there are flashes of lyrical beauty, especially in the big sections Hymn of Thanksgiving to the Mother of God ("Velichit dusha moya Gospoda") and the Great Doxology ("Slavoslovie velikoe"), there are some reservations that warrant closer discussion.

As with the usual practice on other releases, the soloists are drawn from within the chorus. Erja Wimeri makes a suitably dusky-hued alto in Bless the Lord, O My Soul ("Blagoslovi, dushe moya"), but tenor Eugen Antoni suffers from lack of clear diction and sounds a great deal less comfortable than he ought to, even if the excessively reverberant acoustic is surely also responsible for some of the roughness of the sound. Achieving a sonic translucence to bring out and delineate the variegated choral strata of timbres and harmonies must surely be one of the most critical aspects of capturing Vespers on record, but this one sounds terribly gabbled. The chorus doesn't always obtain either a flowing melisma, the requisite low sonorities or flexibility of tempi, which leads one to feel if they've rather prematurely jumped into the deep end without a straw to clutch.

One of the most jarring aspects of this rendition is, for some inexplicable reason, the omission of the opening chords of "Amens" in the first two sections Come, Let Us Worship ("Priiditye, poklonismya") and Bless the Lord, O My Soul ("Blagoslovi, dushe moya"), and without a word of explanation in the sleeve booklet, either! In fact, the text therein disingeniously omits the "Amens" as well, so listeners new to this music would not realize the crucial omission of the soft, contrasting introductory chords which serve as a gentle summons to attention before the considerably more strident call to worship.

All of which leaves me to conclude, unhappily, that this album is a non-starter despite its price. There is a superlative mid-priced issue by Tonu Kaljuste with the Swedish Radio Choir (Virgin VM5 61845-2), not to mention a beautifully atmospheric performance by Nikolai Korniev and the St Petersburg Chamber Choir (Philips 442 344-2). Alternately, Matthew Best and the Corydon Singers (Hyperion CDA66460), the late Robert Shaw and his French-based Festival Singers (Telarc CD-80172) and if you can find it, the live recording with David Hill and the BBC Singers (from BBC Music Magazine Vol.9 No.1) also provide differently fascinating interpretations as well.

 

click here to return to top

In Singapore, classical music CDs may be bought most inexpensively from SING MUSIC, The number to call is (+65) 6235 8960. The address is 304 Orchard Road #02-75 Lucky Plaza Singapore 238863. Simply mention the magic words "The Flying Inkpot" and receive 10% off all purchases (except for nett items).Make a trip down, you won't regret it!

This article is copyright © The Flying Inkpot Classical Music Reviews http://inkpot.com/classical

All original texts are copyrighted. Please seek permission from the Classical Editor
if you wish to reproduce/quote Inkpot material.