This Melodiya edition contains an anthology of Russian Orthodox choral singing, sung broadly and sonorously by various Russian choirs. Despite the generous offer (8 CDs) it is a bit of a shame that Rachmaninov's major cycles have not been recorded in full. The documentation could also have been more extensive. For example, we read nothing about cruel despots and workers' revolutions, which have
… nevertheless taken a heavy toll on the ecclesiastical events. The booklet does discuss the different choir schools in Moscow and St. Peterburg in the 19th and early 20th century. The interaction with the 'real' composers (Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Shchedrin, Schnittke) is also discussed. It is precisely this interaction that is interesting because liturgical and musical interests constantly contend for each other's precedence. However, no one made it as colorful as Rodion Shchedrin: his The Sealed Angel is even a mix of liturgy with secular literature, to which a flute was added. Initially Shchedrin composed this choral piece for the desk drawer because of the communist censorship. After the fall of the wall, however, the composer received the state award for this work from - ironically - President Boris Yeltsin. (HJ)more
