Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil – November 2017

Sergei Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37

Friday, November 17th, 2018 at 8:00 p.m.
First Church, Cambridge

Charles Blandy, tenor
Alexandra Dietrich, alto

Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil is a treasure of the choral repertoire as well as being a monumental achievement in the genre. Rachmaninoff’s masterful use of chant from the Russian Orthodox tradition creates a spell-binding tapestry, where a rich harmonic language accompanies the simplicity and directness of the melodic material. The intensity and range of expression that Rachmaninoff achieves is transformative, from the most intimate and hushed prayer to exultation and praise reaching ecstatic heights. The fifteen major psalms and hymns are performed unaccompanied, using the human voice to artfully celebrate the Creation and the Incarnation of Christ. The work was composed within a two-week period in January and February of 1915 and remained one of Rachmaninoff’s dearest; in fact, he requested that the fifth movement be performed at his funeral.