Search - Sergey Rachmaninov, Matthew Best, John Bowen :: Rachmaninov: Vespers

The Best of Best

Mrs. Mutton | NH | 06/28/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Rachmaninov Vespers (more accurately, the All-Night Vigil) was composed in 1915 in a two-week period, and received to immediate acclaim -- then buried in the graveyard created by the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Seventy-five years after its debut, a plethora of new recordings surfaced, done by the likes of the Robert Shaw Chorale and this current offering, the Corydon Singers conducted by Matthew Best.



Less well known, but of particular relevance to this CD, is that for the 50th anniversary of the Vespers, a recording was done on the old Soviet Melodiya label by Alexander Sveshnikov. The sonority of the voices and the particular style of singing mark it as a product of Russian culture; NO other culture could have produced the particular effect of Sveshnikov, who actually made the infamous "scoop and droop" technique of really bad singers work to produce the effect of Russian bells. For this and many other reasons, the definitive version of the Vespers remains the Sveshnikov recording, re-released in 2007 on CD.



But the Corydon Singers under Matthew Best come in a very close second.



There is no "scoop and droop," no sliding from one note to another, which would be anathema to anyone schooled in the English choral style. As a result, some sonority is lost, and the voices have a brighter character than the Sveshnikov voices; I actually thought they were singing in a higher key until I compared the two recordings back to back. What makes up for this is that three or four of the pieces, recorded by Sveshnikov in an Allegro tempo, are actually conducted by Best to a more Allegretto tempo, with a little bit more verve than Sveshnikov, and as a result, they create more energy (most effective in the Great Doxology, which is the highlight of the entire piece).



The upbeat tempo is what puts this recording on a par with Sveshnikov. Rachmaninov would have appreciated the sonority of the Russian recording; when the conductor of the piece groaned, "Where am I going to find these basses?!" Rachmaninov is said to have replied, "I know my Russian basses; you'll find them!" And he did. And so did Sveshnikov, and so did Best, and all the others who have conducted this masterpiece.



But equally, Rachmaninov would undoubtedly have appreciated Best's tempo. I own the complete piano concerti of Sergei Rachmaninov, recorded by Rachmaninov himself, and let me tell you, he didn't believe in dragging out passages. Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia orchestra have a hard time keeping up with him! So for that reason, I think that this particular recording probably comes closest to hearing the Vespers -- or All-Night Vigil -- from the baton of Rachmaninov himself. And if you can't get your hands on the Sveshnikov recording, the version by the Corydon Singers under Matthew Best is THE definitive version to own."

Ravishing Tonality ...

Michael A. Benson | Portland, Oregon | 02/05/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording reflects the mastery of both Rachmaninov and Matthew Best. The ambitus of dynamic variation is never too much or too little - Breath taking !"