Credits:
Moscow Patriarch Choir
Description:
Russian Orthodox church music did not disappear after the 1917 revolution but continued to exist in a semi-underground state, partly because Stalin kind of liked the stuff and was in any event more worried about persecuting Shostakovich and other more potentially critical composers. Nevertheless, the composers represented on this collection all faced substantial danger at one time or another as a result of having remained in the Soviet Union. The music resembles that of earlier Russian religious music in the Romantic tradition, perhaps denatured a bit in the works of some of the composers by the mainstream of secular Romanticism. Sample the Cherubic Hymn of Pavel Chesnokov, which is not so much cherubic as stentorian, but which is a truly stirring work. The Moscow Patriarch Choir of Christ the Saviour Cathedral under Ilya Tolkachev is exceptionally strong, but the real standouts here are the Christophorus engineers, who obtain a deeply resonant, but perfectly clear sound in that structure. Highly recommended for lovers of the Russian choral sound.
Tracklisting:
1.Bless the Lord, O My Soul, First Antiphon from the Divine Liturgy
2.In Thy Kingdom Remember Us, O Lord, Third Antiphon from the Divine Liturgy
3.We Hymn Thee, Fragment of the Eucharistic Canon from the Divine Liturgy
4.The Lord's Prayer "Our Father" Hymn from the Divine Liturgy
5.Praise the Name of the Lord (A major), Hymn from the All-Night Vigil
6.Praise the Name of the Lord (D minor), Hymn from the All-Night Vigil
7.From My Youth, Gradual Antiphon from the All-Night Vigil
8.He Who Closed the Abyss, Kontakion of the Great Saturday from the Midnight Office, Passion Week
9.Cherubic Hymn, Monastery Chant from the Divine Liturgy
10.O Gladsome Light, Vesperal Hymn from the All-Night Vigil
11.We Hymn Thee, Fragment of the Eucharistic Canon from the Divine Liturgy
12.Cherubic Hymn, From the Divine Liturgy
13.It Is Meet and Right to Bless You, O Theotokos, Hymn to the Theotokos from the Divine Liturgy
14.St Simeon's Prayer "Lord, Now Lettest Thou Thy Servant Depart in Peace", Hymn from the All-Night Vigil
15.Let God Arise, Paschal Hymn, Eastern Orthodox Resurrection Service
