Sergei Rachmaninoff successfully combined the monophonic religious chants of the Russian Orthodox church with late Romantic musical idioms in the 15 movements of his All-Night Vigil. The liturgical text for this a cappella choral work composed in 1915 is taken from the mass celebrated the night before major religious feasts, and consists of a series of prayers, readings and chants. Rundfunkchor Berlin presents the warm sonic splendour of Rachmaninoff’s Vespers in Berlin’s Gethsemane Church under the direction of its Principal Conductor Gijs Leenaars.
Rundfunkchor Berlin
Gijs Leenaars conductor
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Ganznächtliche Vigil op. 37
A Rundfunkchor Berlin event in cooperation with Berliner Festspiele / Musikfest Berlin