on January 9, 2013 544 views
Serge Rachmaninoff - Vespers - All-Night Vigil.


Olga Borodina, mezzo-soprano.
Vladimir Mostowoy, tenor.
St. Petersburg Chamber Choir.
Nikolai Korniev.

The All-Night Vigil (Russian: ????????? ??????, Vsenoshchnoe bdenie), Opus 37, is an a cappella choral composition by Sergei Rachmaninoff, written and premiered in 1915. It consists of settings of texts taken from the Russian Orthodox All-night vigil ceremony. It has been praised as Rachmaninoff's finest achievement and "the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church". It was one of Rachmaninoff's two favorite compositions along with The Bells, and the composer requested that one of its movements (the fifth) be sung at his funeral. The title of the work is often translated as simply Vespers, which is both literally and conceptually incorrect as applied to the entire work: only the first six of its fifteen movements set texts from the Russian Orthodox canonical hour of Vespers.

Rachmaninoff composed the All-Night Vigil in less than two weeks in January and February 1915. The first performance was given in Moscow on March 10 of that year, partly to benefit the Russian war effort. Nikolai Danilin conducted the all-male Moscow Synodal Choir at the premiere. It was received warmly by critics and audiences alike, and was so successful that it was performed five more times within a month. However the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the rise of the Soviet Union led to a ban on performances of all religious music, and on 22 July 1918 the Synodal Choir was replaced by a nonreligious "People's Choir Academy". It has been written that "no composition represents the end of an era so clearly as this liturgical work"

1. ????????, ??????????

Priidite, Poklonimsya

Come, Let Us Worship




2. ??????????, ???? ??? (?????????? ???????)

Blagoslovi, Dushe Moya

Praise the Lord, O My Soul (Greek Chant)




3. ?????? ???

Blazhen Muzh

Blessed is the Man




4. ????? ????? (????????? ???????)

Svete Tikhyi

O Gentle Light (Kiev Chant)




5. ???? ????????? (????????? ???????)

Nyne Otpushchayeshi

Lord, Now Lettest Thou (Nunc Dimittis) (Kiev Chant)




6. ?????????? ????, ???????

Bogoroditsye Devo, Raduisya

Rejoice, O Virgin (Hail Mary (Ave Maria))




7. ????????????

(alternate: Slava V Vyshnikh Bogu)

The Six Psalms (alternate: Glory To God in the Highest)




8. ??????? ??? ???????? (?????????? ???????)

Khvalite Imya Gospodne

Praise the Name of the Lord (Znamenny Chant)




9. ??????????? ??? ??????? (?????????? ???????)

Blagosloven Yesi, Gospodi

Blessed Art Thou, O Lord (Znamenny Chant)




10. ??????????? ???????? ???????

Voskreseniye Khristovo Videvshe

Having Beheld the Resurrection




11. ??????? ???? ??? ???????

Velichit Dusha Moya Gospoda

My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord (Magnificat)




12. ??????????? ??????? (?????????? ???????)

(alternate: Slava V Vyshnikh Bogu)

The Great Doxology (Znamenny Chant) (alternate: Glory to God in the Highest)




13. ???????: ????? ???????? (?????????? ???????)

Dnes Spaseniye Miru Byst

Troparion: Today Salvation is Come (Znamenny Chant)




14. ???????: ??????? ?? ????? (?????????? ???????)

Voskres Iz Groba

Troparion: Thou Didst Rise from the Tomb (Znamenny Chant)




15. ????????? ??????? (?????????? ???????)

Vzbrannoy Voyevode

O Queen Victorious (Greek Chant)
Categories: Chant, Russian
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