Serguéi Rajmaninov · Romanticism
1915
Chorus to cappella · Moscow
Tonality
Without a unique tone. Its fifteen parts, based on Orthodox liturgical songs, go through several tonalities.
From the atril
To the Vespers, whose original title is All night watchThey were released in Moscow in 1915, in the first World War. There are fifteen pieces for chorus to cappella on the texts of the Saturday vigil of the Russian Orthodox Church, in which no instruments are allowed. Rajmaninov composed it in just two weeks and considered it, along with The bellsHis favorite play.
Many of the pieces are based on ancient Russian liturgical songs, such as the znamenny song, which Rajmaninov harmonizes with a sense of extraordinary vocal color. The choir is often divided into many voices, creating effects of bells, murmur and large sound vaults. The fifth piece, the «Nunc dimittis», ends with a downward scale of the bass that reaches a serious bemol, a note that very few singers can reach; Rajmaninov asked that it be sung at his funeral. It is one of the summits of the coral music of all times, of a deep spirituality, and a capital challenge for any choir.
What to hear
- The ancient liturgical songs harmonized.
- The effects of chorus bells.
- The severe bemol of the low in the «Nunc dimittis».
