Rachmaninov Vespers

Although generally known as the Vespers, Rachmaninov’s great contribution to the history of Russian sacred music is in fact a setting of the services of Vespers, Matins, and the First Hour as they are celebrated in the Russian Orthodox Church known as Vsenoshchnoe Bdenie, or the All-Night Vigil.

Taking his cue from Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov had already composed a successions of choral works when he began to write the Vespers during a concert tour in 1913. The first performance was given two years later on 10 March 1915 by the Moscow Synodal Choir. Nine of the fifteen sections are built on chant drawn from various repertoires of the Russian Tradition, the final six are based on Rachmaninov’s own inventions. Drawn to the quality of Russian basses, Rachmaninov constantly uses the depths of their range within the Vespers to produce a rich, beautiful and reflective tone.

In the 70 minutes of richly varied unaccompanied singing, from the ethereal, sublime and delicate to the joyous and robust, Rachmaninov uses three to eleven-part harmony to give his music both a lightness of touch and a stirring sonority which will sound at their best in the glorious setting of Bristol Cathedral. This promises to be a truly breath-taking and inspirational evening.