Rachmaninov's Liturgy of St John Chrysostom
Rachmaninov's Liturgy of St John Chrysostom
The Gramophone Choice
King’s College Choir, Cambridge / Stephen Cleobury
EMI 557677-2 (75' · DDD · T/t) Buy from Amazon
This recording may well consolidate its place in the repertoire, for it’s a triumph. Compared with the Vigil the writing is generally sober, though there are unforgettable moments such as the opening of the second Antiphon, which allows the boys’ crystalline tone to shine. In fact, the King’s choir make a virtue of an apparent limitation, producing an astounding choral blend in the simple responses of the litanies that punctuate the Liturgy.
The most famous section of the work is the lovely Lord’s Prayer, movingly sung with fine attention to detail. Other sections, such as the Beatitudes, ought also to attract the attention of any discerning choir director. Only in the Creed do the choir slightly lose the spring in their step; perhaps inevitable with such a lengthy setting in an unfamiliar language.
The great majority of the priest’s and deacon’s intonations have been included. This makes sense of the whole, and proves, if it needed proving, that Rachmaninov knew all about liturgical pacing. This aspect of the recording benefits from the magnificent bass and fluent Slavonic of Protodeacon Peter Scorer, who has the lion’s share. If Deacon Tobias Sims, singing the celebrant’s parts, can’t entirely disguise his English origins, the contrast between the two voices also helps convey the liturgical feeling. There are excellent booklet-notes by Archimandrite Kyril Jenner.
Additional Recommendation
Flemish Radio Choir / Kaspars Putnins
Glossa GCDSA922203 (65’ · DDD/DSD) Buy from Amazon
Rachmaninov’s Liturgy is less well known than his All-Night Vigil (‘Vespers’), but has nevertheless gained in popularity with Western choirs as a concert item in recent years, though the double-choir setting of the Lord’s Prayer has always enjoyed a certain renown, often being sung in an English paraphrase. It is far more than a mere sketch for the more famous work, too, though the links are clear – anyone hearing the opening psalm, ‘Blagoslovi, dushe moya’, for the first time will immediately make the connection.
The Flemish Radio Choir’s rendition is very fine indeed, reverent, well paced and at the same time electrically atmospheric (and also including sufficient of the celebrant’s petitions that it comes across neither as an artificial celebration nor a concert suite) and the magnificent SACD sound is just what such a riveting performance merits. The only criticism is of their very light ‘l’ sound, which truly gives them away as non-Russians.
There is strong competition but, curiously, none is Russian; indeed, the King’s College recording is as unrepentantly and beautifully English as you could wish for. In an ideal world one would have to have all of them, and if you have room on your shelves for one more, do add this new recording to your collection. There is one aspect in which the others score, however – they include full texts and translations, while for the new disc they must be downloaded.
