excerpt from "Vespers" or "All-Night Vigil" (Sergei Rachmaninoff) Tenebrae Choir Nigel Short, director www.tenebrae-ch... Supported by Swiss Global Artistic Foundation, www.swissglobal...
I just returned from a concert they sang at St. John's Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio - it was the most incredible performance I have ever heard. The acoustics of the cathedral are fantastic, and this group has the most perfect sound. The night's repertoire was Russian liturgical music, and I, being a fan of that, went. Little did I know that they would actually have a real basso profundo with them! Adrian Peacock's vocals were absolutely earthshaking, especially in The Great Litany. Amazing!
@kaktebya It's certainly a different interpretation. And frankly, i bought, both editions on the same day and had listened to them both several times over within days. I'd say the Chamber of Culture choir is certainly more "Russian" and full sounding. But the resonance of the basso profundo of Tenebrae is unmatched. Particularly in the 5th and 11th movements where an isolated Contra Bb is sounded. It is unmatched.
I dont think the piece can be done any better than this by a group consisting of ten singers. But you cant get the power, dynamics, russian style and the basso profundo that we use to think belong to the genuin sound of it.
It is such a clean sound and musically beautiful but it has little emotion, which is a great shame as in the right hands this is some of the most soulful music we have
this is so nice... I love it. Only for my taste, the last -a of Alleluia is too short, but that's understandable for a choir led by Nigel Short. :D :) bravo
A very good performance, undoubtedly, but, never the less, the Chamber Choir of the USSR Ministry of Culture (conducted by Valeri Polyansky) sings it much much better...☺
10 singers are very different from a large choir, modern recording is way better than USSR choirs had, and this interpretation understates where the USSR choirs did the opposite. I much prefer the Tenebrae Choir's singing of this hymn.
