The magnificent Orthodox liturgy

I understood very soon that the magnificent, long and varied Orthodox Liturgy was the root and strength of the monastic day. It was the blazing fire at the centre of the house; its life and flame was the way of the house, all other activities led to it and in some way supported it - Jennifer Lash writes of her stay at the Monastery of Mother of God at Bussy-En-Othe, France in On Pilgrimage. A remarkable book by a remarkable lady. It is out of print but still available from remainder specialists, don't hesitate. On Pilgrimage (see cover below) is dedicated to another remarkable lady, Margery Kempe.

Now playing - Chants of the Great Lent and Holy Pascha sung by St Peter & Paul Choir of Minsk conducted by Irina Denisova. (Not generally available in West, sleeve above). Read about lots more sacred Orthodox music here.

Easter in the Orthodox Church is on April 27, 2008. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

It's Classical Grammy time again

Good to see the Chandos recording of Grechaninov's Passion Week riding high in this year's Classical Grammy nominations, and congratulations to all the other nominees. The photo above is of a real live Classical Grammy, read the full story here.
Photo (c) On An Overgrown Path 2007. Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Two very different all-night vigils

Religion suffered terrible oppression in the Soviet Union, and one of the post-Perestroika miracles has been the resurgence of faith in the region, despite the continuing political turmoil. One example of the religous resurgence is the Convent of St. Elisabeth in Minsk, Belarus which is seen in my photographs here.

The Convent was founded in 1999 and is now home to seventy-five nuns and novices. The buildings are new, and funding for the project is a continuing struggle in the tough economic climate that prevails in Belarus. The Sisters of St. Elisabeth raise foreign currency by selling crafts made in their workshops and recordings made by their excellent choir. Two of the lay Sisters from the Convent stayed with us here in Norfolk last week while fund raising, and their CD shown below is a real discovery.


Rachmaninov's concert setting of the Orthodox All-night Vigil is well known. But the choir of St. Elisabeth's Convent in Minsk give us a different take which combines Greek, Slavonic and Bulgarian Chants. It is something of a revelation to hear women's voices singing the Orthodox liturgy, and the Convent choir acquit themselves wonderfully. Their recording of the All-night Vigil is only available direct from the Convent, email monaster-nov at yandex.ru for more details.


There is an all-night vigil of a very different sort at 12.01am this Wednesday, December 5th when I will be playing Alvin Curran's Inner Cities complete. The four and a half hour performance will be not be interrupted by any announcements, commercials or news bulletins. More details of this broadcast premiere here.

Good to see An Overgrown Path featuring on the Virtual Guide to Belarus, and more on Russian Orthodox music here.
Listen by to Inner Cities at 12.01am UK time on Wednesday December 5 by launching the Radeo internet player from the right side-bar, or via the audio stream. Convert broadcast times to your local time zone using this link. Windows Media Player doesn't like the audio stream very much and takes ages to buffer. WinAmp or iTunes handle it best. Unfortunately the royalty license doesn't permit on-demand replay, so you have to listen in real time. If you are in the Norwich, UK area tune to 96.9FM. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Kontakion of the Dead

Thoughtfully planned and beautifully sung concert by the Cathedral Consort directed by David McKee in Norwich Cathedral last night. Here is the programme:

Kontakion of the Dead - Traditional Kiev Hymn
Crossing the bar - Hubert Parry
A Prayer of St Thomas Aquinas - David McKee
Elegy (organ solo) - George Thomas Thalben-Ball
The Souls of the Righteous - Geraint Lewis
For the Fallen - Mark Blatchley
Greater Love - John Ireland
***
Requiem - Herbert Howells
Sleep - Eric Whitacre

Photo taken by me in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul. See more of that wonderful church, and read about Russian Orthodox music here.
Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Celebrating Easter in music and pictures

Easter Sunday is the date of the annual celebration of Christ’s resurrection. The date of Easter is determined by the lunar cycle, with each Easter Sunday maintaining the same relationship to the preceding astronomical full moon as occurred at the resurrection in 30 AD. Because the Western Christian (Catholic, Anglican and Protestant) and Eastern Christian (Orthodox) churches use different calendars (Gregorian and Julian respectively) Easter is often celebrated on different dates by the two churches. 2007 is one of the exceptional years when the dates coincide, the previous one was 2004 and the next is 2010.

Orthodoxy was made the official religion of Russia in 988, and the photographs with this article were taken by me in the mother church of all Eastern Christians, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The Russian Orthodox Church followed the Byzantine musical tradition which excluded women’s voices and any instruments except bells. But while the Greek and Middle Eastern Orthodox Churches restrict their liturgical music to unison chant, the Russian and Balkan churches use polyphony. Large numbers of hymns are included in the Russian liturgy, and, except for several celebrated examples from 20th century composers, the church discouraged musical settings of the text. This means there is no Orthodox equivalent to the masses of Palestrina, Haydn and Mozart.


Easter is the most important festival in the Orthodox calendar, and the liturgical music for the festival combines ancient melodies with harmonisations, or original themes, from 19th and 20th century composers. An excellent overview is available on Apex’s super-budget CD, Russian Chants – Russian Easter Liturgy. The CD is sung by the Liturgical Choir of Moscow under Father Amvrosy, and was recorded in Moscow in 1992 by a Russian production team. The Liturgical Choir was an early product of glasnost, and was founded in 1987 to revive and carry on the great traditions of Russian Orthodox liturgical music. Their programme ranges from ancient monodies to harmonisations by Balakirev (1836-1910) and Kalinnikov (1870-1927), and includes the centrepiece of the Easter celebration, Christ is risen from the dead, sung in Greek, Latin and Slavonic.


The best known concert settings of the Orthodox liturgy are by Rachmaninov (Vespers and Liturgy of St John Chrysostom), Tchaikovsky (Liturgy of St John Chrysostom), and Alexander Grechaninov (Vespers). But there is another little-known gem from Grechaninov, who was a contemporary of Rachmaninov. The choral Passion Week cycle was composed in 1911/2, and was premiered in Moscow in 1912. It was only performed once more before Grechaninov fled to France and then the US following the 1917 revolution. Under glasnost the work was revived in Russia in the 1990s, but has remained virtually unknown in the West.

That is about to change as Chandos has just released a superb new recording with the Phoenix Bach Choir and Kansas City Chorale directed by Charles Bruffy. Grechaninov’s 74 minute setting of hymns and biblical texts may be monumental, but it is also meditative and mystical. The recording made in the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Kansas City is demonstration quality, and the choirs more than counterbalance any linguistic shortcomings with their superb technique. The recording was made in just two consecutive days, a remarkable achievement for the choirs and soloists as this is a very big a cappella sing with no instruments to hide behind. Well done everyone, and well done Chandos for making their second recording of Grechaninov’s Passion Week. The first was made in Moscow in the 1990s with Valeri Polyansky conducting the Russian State Symphonic Cappella, the new one is already on my shortlist for best CD of 2007.

* Listen to samples and buy MP3 downloads of Grechaninov's Passion Week here.

Now read the good news from Kiev.
All the photos were taken by me in Hagia Sophia during our recent visit to Istanbul. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included for "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Western takes on Russian music

I am a Russian composer, and the land of my birth has inevitably influenced my temperament and outlook. My music is the product of my temperament, and so it is Russian music. I never consciously attempt to write Russian music, or any other kind of music, for that matter. I have been strongly influenced by Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, but I have never consciously imitated anybody. I try to make my music speak simply and directly that which is in my heart at the time of composing. If there is love there, or bitterness, or sadness, or religion, these moods become part of my music, and it becomes beautiful, or bitter, or sad, or religious. For composing music is as much a part of my living as breathing or eating. I compose music because I must give expression to my feelings, just as I talk because I must give utterance to my thoughts.

These are the words of Sergei Rachmaninov, and his intense patriotism means that Russian performances of his sacred music in particular are considered as definitive. But today I will be looking at two Western performances which prove that there is life beyond the poor recorded sound and wobbly bass lines that are the hallmarks of many Russian performances of his liturgical works. Rachmaninov’s Vespers needs little introduction, but the 1999 EMI recording by Stephen Cleobury and the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge definitely does, so who better to do that than the Producer Simon Kiln?

‘There are of course many fine versions of Rachmaninov’s Vespers with mixed-voice choirs, both within the Russian tradition (for which the work was written) and outside it. This is the first to feature a choir of boys’ and men’s voices only. The result, whose point of departure was a particularly fine crop of low basses at King’s that year, blends one of the finest choirs in the English choral tradition with some of the finest music from the Russian tradition. Furthermore the beautiful acoustics at King’s College Chapel are ideal for this repertoire, since they are not unlike those of a Russian Orthodox cathedral. This disc also breaks new ground in that the recording was originally made in surround sound. Though release in that format awaits further developments in domestic audio technology, the listener should already derive some benefit in the enhanced stereo sound of the present CD.’

Those notes were written in 1997. The CD is still in the catalogue at full price, although there are some good deals from internet resellers. The performance is a serious work of scholarship with a credit given to language coach Xenia de Berner. Any recording made in the peerless acoustics of King’s Chapel is a joy to behold, this one is a double delight as it gives a fresh perspective on a very familiar work; shame about the ghastly cover though.

Much less well known is Rachmaninov’s other liturgical masterpiece, his earlier setting of the Russian Orthodox Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom. I have previously written about a Russian recording of the Divine Liturgy, but one of the early delights of 2007 has been a new recording of this inspirational work by the Flemish Radio Choir directed by Kaspars Putnins. But it is not quite accurate to describe this as a ‘Western take’ as director Kaspars Putnins is a Latvian who graduated from that country’s Academy of Music, and who has worked extensively with Latvian choral groups.

This excellent new CD of the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom comes from the enterprising Spanish independent label Glossa whose recordings have featured here before. Bonus marks for an excellent essay on the Divine Liturgy in the sleeve notes, but a black mark for the absence of any artist biographies. The acoustics of the Jezuïetenkerk in Heverlee, Belgium sound glorious, with engineering, production and mastering in the hands of Manuel Mohino who is also responsible for many of Alia Vox's glorious sounding productions. And while corporate EMI are still waiting for the new technology smart independent Glossa have it. If you have the replay equipment you can bask in the Divine Liturgy in five channel SACD Surround Sound, although you will need a microscope to find the SACD logo on the sleeve.

These two Western takes on great Russian liturgical music are both pure absolute delights. It is unfortunate that today Rachmaninov is in the shadow cast by the media spotlight on his compatriot Shostakovich. I certainly don’t agree that political persecution is a prerequisite of musical greatness, but if it is Rachmaninov is a fully paid up member, and was described by the Soviet regime as: the servant and instrument of the proletariat’s worst enemies.’ As a result of the Soviet religious persecution his 1910 Liturgy of St John Chrysostom was forgotten, and it is only in recent years that it has been revealed as a masterpiece. This new recording by the Flemish Radio Choir and Kaspars Putnins helps to restore it to its rightful place – unmissable.

* St John Chrysostom (c. 345-407) was a very rare person, he was both a music critic and a saint. He differentiated between good and harmful music with the words: 'Lest demons introducing lascivious songs should overthrow everything, God established the psalms, in order that they might provide both pleasure and profit.'

For more on Rachmaninov’s liturgical masterpieces, and some more beautiful images, read Brilliant Russian sacred choral music.
The three icons portray St John Chrysostom. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included for "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Wrong, wrong, and wrong again Norman

Norman Lebrecht getting it wrong is so commonplace that it hardly justifies comment. Except when it is a journalist on his own paper pointing it out. Here's Fiona Maddocks writing in the Evening Standard.

Wrong, wrong and wrong again, thundered my colleague, Norman Lebrecht, in yesterday's Evening Standard, thereby guaranteeing the BBC's forthcoming Tchaikovsky Experience more curiosity and interest than the corporation's publicity department could have dreamed of affording.

His attack was on the BBC's cultural turpitude in general, and the choice of the all-time "chocolate box" composer for this wall-to-wall, complete works treatment in particular. The BBC, no doubt, can fend for itself. But the view that Tchaikovsky's music is merely decorative and devoid of deeper meaning is now so outdated that I must urge Norman, politely, to get out more.

Recent major studies by Richard Taruskin and Stephen Walsh have reminded us - though our ears tell us plainly - that Tchaikovsky was a key influence on Stravinsky, the towering musical genius of the last century. Shostakovich acknowledged his debt in every note he wrote. The list goes on.

A little known aspect of Tchaikovsky's work featured in a short, perfectly executed concert at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Ennismore Gardens (above), for broadcast on Radio 3 on 14 February. The All-Night Vigil Opus 52, or Vespers, sets liturgical texts for mixed voices. Ancient chant combines with the ardent choral writing we know from Tchaikovsky's operas, here stripped bare but still radiant and full-bodied. The challenge to the performers, nearly an hour of vigorous unaccompanied singing, was met with masterly skill by the BBC Singers. Intonation was impressive, their attempt at a Russian sound quality highly creditable.

Three settings by Stravinsky, whose music also forms part of this Radio 3 season, were interpolated. The musical colours here shifted to snowy silvergreys, hushed and pure compared with the burnished golds of the Tchaikovsky. Both composers had decidedly unorthodox relationships with God but these works are a revelation to ear and mind. Those who dismiss Tchaikovsky as sugarladen schmaltz will, if they keep an open mind, discover through his music that the heart has an intellect all of its own.

Now for a bargain CD recommendation of the Tchikovsky Vespers visit Brilliant Russian sacred choral music
Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Orthodox leader inspires unorthodox music

During the 20th century several inspirational church figures were catalysts for the creation of new art and music in England. Probably best known is the Anglican Reverend Walter Hussey, whose commissions in the 1950s and 60s included Henry Moore’s sculpture Madonna and Child, stained glass from Marc Chagall, Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb and Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms.

Less well known is the influence of the Russian Orthodox leader Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, who inspired one of the seminal works in 20th century sacred music, John Tavener’s Liturgy of St John Chrysostom. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, Metropolitan Anthony had early musical connections as his uncle was Alexander Scriabin. The future Metropolitan’s father was a member of the Russian Imperial Diplomatic Corps, and as a child Metropolitan Anthony lived in Russian and Persia. The 1917 Russian Revolution forced the family to flee to Paris where the young exile took a doctorate in medicine at the University of Paris.

At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 the now-qualified surgeon secretly took monastic vows and received the name Anthony. During the Nazi occupation of France he worked as a doctor, and was active in the anti-fascist movement. In 1948 he was ordained into the priesthood, and was sent to England as an Orthodox Chaplain. He was appointed leader of the Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain and Ireland in 1962, and the following year became Exarch of the Moscow Patriarchate in Western Europe. He died in 2003 at the age of 89.

Metropolitan Anthony encouraged John Tavener to compose his 1976 setting of the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom for priest and chorus, a setting that was controversial as the Metropolitan told Tavener to ignore the sacred tone system traditionally used in Orthodox music. After completing the work Tavener was received into the Orthodox Church by Metropolitan Anthony, and his subsequent compositions have been heavily influenced by the Orthodox Rite. In turn Tavener has himself influenced a generation of composers, including Ivan Moody whose Akathistos Hymn has already featured here.

Choral works are central to this new wave of Orthodox music, and Orthodox tradition eschews the use of instruments in liturgical music. But, ironically, a purely instrumental composition inspired by the Orthodox Church has become one of the most popular contemporary works for decades. Tavener’s The Protecting Veil pays homage to the sacred tones used in the Orthodox feasts of the Mother of God in an enormously long line for solo cello accompanied by string orchestra. The Protecting Veil was as a BBC commission for cellist Steven Isserlis, and the premiere was given at a BBC Promenda Concert in 1989 by Isserlis with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Oliver Knussen. But some gentle political manoeuvring meant that these forces changed for the first recording, which went on to be a best seller. Steven Isserlis remained as soloist, but Knussen was replaced by Tavener champion, Orthodox Church member and famous tantrum thrower, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, and the orchestra was swapped to the London Symphony. And in an ironic twist the famous recording was made by the LSO in the BBC Symphony’s, soon to be sold, Maida Vale Studio 1.

So a fascinating overgrown path that reveals how the little known Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh (below) was a catalyst for one of the most popular compositions of the late 20th century. In conclusion a few words about the origins of the Protecting Veil. The inspiration for the work came from Orthodox feast which celebrates the miraculous intervention of the Mother of God when Constantinople (now Istanbul) was under attack by the Saracens. As my header image shows the Mother of God appeared in the sky and held a protecting veil over the threatened Christians, forcing the marauding Saracens to retreat. And how topical that story is today. I write this just weeks before we travel to Turkey to visit Orthodox sites there, and just days after the funeral at the Christian Armenian Orthodox Church in Istanbul of murdered Armenian newspaper editor Hrant Dink.

Now playing – it would be easy to write this to the sound of Steven Isserlis’ best selling recording of The Protecting Veil playing, particularly as the CD comes coupled with Britten’s Third Cello Suite. But On An Overgrown Path never takes the easy option. So spinning in the CD player is Russian Orthodox Church Music composed, and conducted, by John Tavener and Ivan Moody, and sung by the Kastalsky Chamber Choir. This excellent CD (sleeve right) is in the Slavica Series of Ikon Records, a label which was founded by Metropolitan Anthony’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Assumption and All Saints in London. If you know the Protecting Veil but still bridle at Tavener’s choral music, and many do, give this CD a try. Tavener’s eight minute long Funeral Ikos is a wonderful introduction to his choral music, and is worth the purchase price alone. Need convincing? Here is a short sample from Funeral Ikon -

Metropolitan Anthony was active in the Resistance in Occupied France. So was another church leader who also inspired some wonderful liturgical music. Read about Brother Roger, and listen to a download, in The music of Taizé.

Image credit - Icon of Holy Protection of Mother of God from Byzantines.net, John Tavener by Richard Haughton, Metropolitan Anthony from Orthodxfrat.de. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included for "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Let's celebrate the good news from Kiev

Why are we so fixated on bad news from the former Soviet Union? When we are not replaying yesterday's revelations about Shostakovich, Stalin's purges and communist black-lists we are broadcasting today's news about gas prices and murder by plutonium. It is all rather sad, and baffling, because there is so much to celebrate in this vibrant region. So today, let's counterbalance the awful religous persecution, that lasted from the revolution of 1917 to the millenium of the Russian Church in 1988, with the good news of a new cathedral that is nearing completion in Kiev in Ukraine, and then follow that story with a download of music from one of the region's monasteries.

The new patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in Kiev, which can be seen in my photo above, is a five-domed church 49 meters wide, 56 meters long and 61 meters high. It combines traditional design with contemporary features. Four of the gilded domes, representing the four evangelists, surround a larger, central dome, representing the figure of Christ. There is capacity for some 1,500 faithful to worship. When the new cathedral is completed the spiritual centre of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church will move from St. George’s Cathedral in Lviv to the capital of Ukraine, where currently the Greek Catholics only have two small churches.

The Cathedral of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is sited on a channel of the Dnipro River, and there is a special alleyway to allow for processions to the banks of the Rusanivka Channel for Epiphany celebrations. Noted Ukrainian architect Mykola Levchuk designed the structure, which took the top prize for contemporary building designs for religious structures at a recent architectural design contest in Moscow.Mykola Levchuk, 62, from Kiev, is the director of the renown local architectural practice Kyivproyekt.

Now playing - Orthodox Church Music from Ukraine sung by the monks of The Holy Trinity, St Jonah Monastery, Kiev. This monastery was founded in 1862, but was suppressed in 1934. Following the collapse of communism the monastery once again became a religous foundation centred on the monastic church, which dates from 1871. Services are also held in the Zverinetskoe cave complex nearby which has been a place of worship since the 13th century. This excellent CD of hymns from the All-Night Vigil is from a catalogue of more than 100 recordings of Orthodox music on the Ikon label which is linked to the Diocese of Sourozh in London, part of the Patriarchate of Moscow. If you like Rachmaninov's take on the Orthodox Vespers you are going to like the real thing - listen to this 1' 12" MP3 file of Antiphons of Ascent (Tone 4) from Matins -

* The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which is building the patriarchial cathedral in Kiev, is the largest of the Eastern Catholic Churches, and is a Church of the Byzantine rite which recognises Papal supremacy. The Holy Trinity - St Jonah Monastery is part of the Russian Orthodox Church which recognises the Patriarch of Moscow as its head.

* It is extraordinary that the Eastern Orthodox Church (of which the Russian Church is part) is not better known in English speaking countries. It has 240 million members around the world, making it the second largest Christian congregation after the Catholics. The Orthodox Church is the original Christian Church founded by the followers of Jesus, from which the Catholics and Anglicans split. St Stephen's Press, the publishing house of the Russian Orthodox Patriarchal Diocese of Sourozh, has an excellent slim introduction to the church. The title is The Orthodox Church, the author is Sergei Hackel (that link is to a biography well worth reading), the ISBN is 0951903721, the cover is shown here, and it is available from Amazon. Readers interested in liturgical music and the visual arts are urged to explore the riches of the Orthodox faith.

* Recommended web resources include Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church - Religous information service of Ukraine - History of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Orthodox links - Encyclopedia of Ukraine. IOCC is the official humanitarian aid agency of Orthodox Christians worldwide. It was founded in the US in 1992, and has field offices in Russia, Georgia, Greece, Yugoslavia, Bosnia Herzogovina, Romania and Jerusalem.

For more inspirational new cathedrals and monasteries with musical connections take An Overgrown Path to Evry Cathedral, and La Tourette in France, and Prinknash Abbey in England.
With many thanks to the French langauage newsletter of my spiritual home in France, the Benedictine L'Abbaye Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux, for the heads-up on this story. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Brilliant Russian sacred choral music

A wonderful concert by the Hermitage Ensemble of Russian singing sacred hymns and folk songs in the beautiful little Sibton Church of St Peter in Suffolk (the ruins of a Cistercian Abbey can be seen close to the church) took me down the overgrown path of Russian sacred choral music.

Two outstanding recent releases from the innovative Dutch super-budget label Brilliant Classics are highly recommended. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Paris is famous for its tradition of Russian Orthodox chant. In 1967, under their director Evgeni Ivanovitz Evetz, they recorded an anthology of Russian Orthodox Church Music. Evetz was born in Poland of Russian parents, and his status as a Russian 'displaced person,' meant that he made his reputation as a refugee building and conducting choirs, first in Morocco and then in Paris.

The anthology features composers ranging from Rachmaninov and Arensky to many lesser-known figures, and has now been released as a double CD. The sound isn't demonstration quality and the documentation is minimal, which is a shame as it would be nice to learn more about some of the more obscure composers, but at around £7 (US$13) for two hours and forty minutes of outstanding, and authentic, choral singing this is yet another Brilliant bargain.


Rachmaninov's Vespers Op 37 for unaccompanied choir, based on the Russian Orthodox All Night Vigil Service, is one of the works on yet another outstanding Brilliant Classics release. The Vespers are sung by the National Academic Choir of Ukraine in a fine recording made in Kiev Cathedral in 2000. But it is the coupling of the lesser-known Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Op 31 sung by the Russian State Symphony Capella directed by Valery Polyansky which makes this 3CD box so recommendable.

The Liturgy of St John Chrysostom was composed in 1910 and is the first of Rachmaninov's three major choral works, the others being The Bells (1913) and the Vespers (1915). In the Orthodox Church the term 'liturgy' is the equivalent to the Catholic Mass, and shares the major elements with the Roman rite. Full texts are provided, and at a price of around £10 (US$18) for almost three hours of singing, including three other Rachmaninov rarities, this is yet another outstanding Brilliant Classics bargain.


It may well have been Rachmaninoff’s great admiration for Tchaikovsky which inspired him to write sacred music., just as Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio, Op. 50 had inspired him to compose a piano trio of his own, Tchaikovsky’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 41 and his setting of the All-Night Vigil, Op. 52 were models for Rachmaninoff’s own liturgical compositions. It is a puzzle as to why Tchaikovsky's two sacred masterpieces are not better known today, but once again Brilliant Classics are poised to, at least partially, rectify that with their recent release of the Liturgy coupled with Alexander Gretchaninov's excellent setting of the Vespers Liturgy Op. 59. This is a 2CD set, the ensemble for the Tchaikovsky is once again the National Choir of Ukraine, while the Gretchaninov is sung by the Bulgarian Mixed Choir. Again it is easy to find these 2CDs for less than £10 ($18) delivered from Caiman Ivia Amazon marketplace) and others.

This music, and these recordings, speaks to us with a passion and directness which is rarely found in our Western world. A little while ago I featured the hand-crafted Bible that is being created by James Pepper at Highland Park Methodist Church in Dallas, and all the illustrations with this article are taken from the Pepper Bible. I recently received the following email from James, and I finish with it because it speaks with the same passion and directness:

Pliable - MP 3, yes I am not that advanced. I can still play my grandfathers one sided 78 of Enrico Caruso and a couple of Spike Jones records, sometimes when I am feeling technical I pull out the short wave radio and listen to the BBC. My TV set glows from the vacuum tubes and I write bibles.

I can still remember as a child a room full of Americans all sitting in our living room in a cottage we rented in Bermuda listening to the World Series because for some odd reason our radio could pick it up and it was the only one on the island that could! The place was packed!

Saint Seraphim is a big thing around here (Pliable - this is a reference to my article Orthodox Church of Saint Seraphim of Sarov). The local orthodox church is named St. Seraphim's, the bishop is a former Baptist preacher so its interesting; And they have an icon painter from Kiev working on the place. Also there is a St. Seraphim's in Moscow that our church is co-ordinating with in our missionary activities in Kazakhstan. We operate a church in Karaganda, we support the local missionaries, a few years ago we bought them a yurt. Karaganda was a gulag but is now a medical school and the students come from all over the Muslim world and they learn English by reading the Bible and we convert a lot of them. One of our missionaries started 30 churches in one year by converting Chieftain. Its very remote.

We went down to the Russian Orthodox Church on Good Friday and stood for the liturgy, it really is something to see. Previously I had made the mistake of kneeling for two hours which is really bad on your legs if you are not used to it. Injured while praying.

* Russian Orthodox Church Music is a 2CD set on Brilliant Classics 5029365765626
* Rachmaninov's Vespers and Liturgy of St John Chrysostom is a 3CD set on Brilliant Classics 5029365621526
* Tchaikovsky Liturgy of St John Chrysostom coupled with the Gretchaninov Vespers is on Brilliant Classics 5028421997629
* Brilliant Classics Russian Archives are well worth visiting for some bargain Gilels, Richter, Kissin and Rostopovich, while travelling away from the Russian theme their new release of the Reger and Hindemith Clarinet Quintets is also a gem.
* All illustrations, with permission from the Pepper Bible, see more via this link.
* The Hermitage Ensemble aim to bring the Russian traditions of church music and the motets of the Eastern Church closer to western audiences. More details from their web site where MP3 audio samples are also available.
* As well as sacred music the Hermitage Ensemble also perform Russian folksongs. Which takes us down another very worthwhile overgrown path to Jazz på Ryska (Jazz in Russia) by the superb jazz pianist Jan Johansson, click on this link for the full story and audio samples.

Now playing - G. I. Gurdjieff, Sacred Hymns played by Keith Jarrett (piano). Although Gurdjieff is often linked with Sufism he claimed to have studied more than 200 religions, and as a boy sung in his local Russian Orthodox Church in Kars (now part of Turkey), and his compositions are linked to Greek liturgical music. Keith Jarrett made this recording in 1980 with the support of followers of Gurdjieff. It is an important, and very undervalued, document.

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If you enjoyed this post take An Overgrown Path to 'L'Orgue Mystique' - the music and 'L'Orgue Mystique' - the images