Rachmaninov's Vespers | Bristol Choral Society

In honour of HM The Queen's 90th official birthday, which coincides with our concert, we start with four stirring works written for British Royal occasions.

After the interval we turn to a more reflective work. Composed at white heat in under a fortnight, Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil (also known as the Vespers) is a glowing icon in sound, a journey from the candlelit intimacy of Vespers, through the grey light of dawn to the blazing Kontakion of the Blessed Virgin. Suffused with an ethereal serenity, it was one of Rachmaninov’s favourite works, and he asked for a movement to be sung at his funeral – the Nunc Dimittis whose bass line descends so low the work’s first conductor asked ‘where are we to find such basses – they are as rare as asparagus at Christmas?’ With summer’s asparagus crop in plentiful supply, we end our season with a little taste of heaven on earth! In Bristol Cathedral’s glorious acoustic, the work stands sonorously revealed in all its majestic darkness-to-light serenity and fervour.