Rachmaninov All Night Vigil - Complete Concert with Poetry readings

#vivalamusicachamberchoir #simonlumby #choralmusic #classicalmusic #choirsongs #choral #choralsinging #choir #choirperformance #choirmusic #chorale #choirs #Rachmaninov All Night Vigil – Sergei Rachmaninov Sung by ‘Viva la Musica’, East Midlands Chamber Choir Movements interspersed with poetry read by Bishop Rowan Williams Website: 📶https://www.vivalamusica.org.uk/ (contact us at [email protected]) Conducted by Simon Lumby 📶https://www.simonlumby.co.uk/ ▶️Youtube: @vivalamusicachamberchoir ✴️Facebook: www.facebook.com/vivalamusicachoir ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [Recorded live in St Andrew’s Jarrom Street, Leicester – January 2026] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If one were to compile a list of the greatest, major a cappella (without accompaniment) choral works there surely would be lively debate, but one point would likely be uncontroversial: Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil (also known, popularly, as Vespers) would rank at or near the top. For sheer sonority there is perhaps no other large work in the repertoire that can compare to it. That Rachmaninov, a virtuoso pianist who had written the great majority of his music for piano and/or orchestra, should have created a piece of choral music of such surpassing skill and beauty is one of the mysteries of this extraordinary work. All-Night Vigil can be said to exist thanks in part to a happy historical coincidence. Just as Rachmaninov was reaching his full compositional powers, so too was the Moscow Synodal Choir entering its glory days. Whereas in the mid-nineteenth century Russian composers had little interest in writing for the church, latter decades brought resurgence, and the Synodal Choir rose from mediocrity to a position of pre-eminence in church music. Leading figures such as Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov wrote significant works for them, so that by the time Rachmaninov’s Vigil was completed in 1915 the choir was a seasoned professional ensemble capable of music of great complexity. Sadly, this symbiotic relationship was shortly to come to an end with the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, when the Synodal Choir and School were disbanded. Not surprisingly, Rachmaninov wrote no further sacred choral works ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Part 1 - Vespers 00:00 Opening Collect sung by Bishop Rowan Williams 01:01 Priidite, poklonimsia 03:09 Blagoslovi, dushe moya, Ghospoda 08:33 Blazhen muzh 13:47 Svete tihiy 16:14 Nïne otpushchayeshi 18:54 Bogoroditse Devo 21:29 Poems by Bishop Rowan Williams Part 2 - Matins 26:55 Slava v vïshnih Bogu 29:18 Hvalite imia Ghospodne 31:19 Blagosloven yesi, Ghospodi 36:57 Poems by Bishop Rowan Williams Part 3 - Matins 40:21 Voskreseniye Hristovo videvshe 43:10 Velichit dusha moya Ghospoda 50:56 Slava v vïshnih Bogu 57:25 Poems by Bishop Rowan Williams Part 4 - Final Annunciation hymns 1:03:38 Dnes’ spaseniye miru bïst 1:05:05 Voskres iz groba i uzï 1:07:45 Vzbrannoy voyevode ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All texts can be found at: https://www.lieder.net/lieder/assembl...