Search - Vladislav Agafonnikov, Alexander Andreyevich Arkhangel'sky, Pavel Grigor'yevich Chesnokov :: Serene Ecstasy

Contemporary Russian Orthodoxy

Vladimir Berezansky, Jr. | Moscow, Russia | 12/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is for sophisticated listeners who already know their way around Russian music, and specifically around the Russian sacred choral tradition, at least more than just a little. (NOTE: By `sophisticated,' I do not mean to hint that the music on this album is obscure, dissonant, weird, inaccessible, etc. With the exception of Nos. 1 - 4 and 8 - 11, however, these selections are just lesser known - and undeservedly so.) This recording serves as fitting evidence that the Russian Orthodox choral tradition did NOT die when the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917. To the contrary, this tradition was maintained and revived by many of the composers represented on this album. The album's producers thoughtfully begin with some better known selections: a traditional chant, Tchaikovsky, Arkhangel'sky, Chesnokov and Ippolitov-Ivanov. But even in the case of Chesnokov - who makes a fitting bridge between the `choked off' tradition of the Soviet era and the present - the selections include a triptych of para-liturgical choral essays. (His `Angel Cried,' selection No. 10 on this album, is worth the purchase price alone. If you've never heard this work before, prepare to be transfigured!) Recording No. 11, the best known liturgical composition of Ippolitov-Ivanov, represents this choir's final genuflection to the `traditional' Russian sacred choral tradition, and then we're off! Agafonnikov, Lebedev and Kikta are all living composers who continue to make contributions to this genre. The late Alfred Schnittke, better known for his symphonic, operatic and other modern classical (secular) achievements, is also represented here - given possibly more than his fair share on this CD because of name recognition. If anyone who should be here is missing, that would be Georgiy Sviridov, who wrote a number of stunning para-liturgical pieces in the Russian Orthodox style; but Sviridov's choral work is well-represented elsewhere in the Russian Orthodox (and related) discography. I could raise other quibbles, but that would be unfair. Finally, the performers are equal to the music - suffice it to say that this is one of the finest professional choirs in today's Russia. If the Russian Orthodox liturgical tradition speaks to you, and if you've already become acquainted with the big names (Bortnyansky, Tchaikovsky, Rakhmaninov, etc.) then this recording is definitely for you."