Rachmaninoff / Rehlis All-Night Vigil 37 CD

Vespers - a cycle of religious services celebrated by the followers of the Orthodox Church on the eve of all feasts and each Little Pascha - i.e. Sunday. Vechernya, povecherye and utrenya are celebrated from evening to dawn. Among numerous composers who have developed the text of Vespers, it is Sergey Rachmaninoff that stands out due to his mastery of form. Carefully selected sounds of discreetly modern harmony render the acoustics of an Eastern Orthodox temple. Changes of cast (from three to eleven voices) and polychorality depict a sui generis theatrical nature of Orthodox Church ceremonies whose action evolves on a few levels, in different space points of the temple. It is particularly the sonorous, crystalline registers of female voices that contrast and perfectly combine with the male voices, among which the basso profondo basses, rarely found in the Western culture, have a profound meaning. The Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic Choir, also due to their artistic levels, guarantee the highest performance level of this kind of music in Poland.

1. Come, Let Us Worship 2. Bless the Lord, My Soul 3. Blessed Is the Man 4. Gentle Light 5. Now Let Your Servant Depart in Peace 6. Rejoice, Virgin Mother of God 7. Shestopsalmiye, (The Six Psalms) 8. Praise the Name of the Lord 9. Blessed Are You, Lord 10. Having Beheld the Resurrection of Christ 11. My Soul Exalts the Lord 12. The Great Doxology 13. Today Salvation Is in the World 14. Troparion: You Did Rise from the Tomb 15. You Are the Victorious