All-Night Vigil
Feb 28, 1998 - 7:30 PM
Program Notes
by Richard H. Trame, S.J.Between I9I0 and I9I5 Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) produced three great choral masterpieces. The first was his Liturgy of St. john Chrysostom, a work in which he began a process of re-evaluation and revision of the relationship of music to the Russian Orthodox liturgy.
While in Rome in I9I3 he composed his monumental choral symphony based on a Russion translation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Bells. His favorite of all his compositions, The Bells gave voice to aspects of the then troubled Russian national psyche concerning birth, marriage, terror and death.
The outbreak in I9I4 of The Great War temporarily quelled Rachmaninoff's compositional fervor. He toured Russia with that great double bass virtuoso and future conductor, Serge Koussevitzky, in order to raise funds for charity and the Russian war chest.
However, in a very short period during January - February, 1915, he completed what has come to be regarded as the greatest work of Russian liturgical music, his All-Night Vigil, commonly but inaccurately known as his Vespers. It was the last work he submitted to his revered teacher and critic, Sergei Taneyev (1856- 1915), who died four months later, after according the work high praise.
The All-Night Vigil had been variously set by numerous Russian composers from Tchaikovsky on through such as Ippolitov-Ivanov, Chesnokov, Nicholsky and Gretchaninoff. The latter's setting of 1911, in terms of epic scale and musical complexity, was the only one to rival Rachmaninoff's.
The Russian liturgical All-Night Vigil as sung on Saturday nights in a monastery, for example, was known as the Resurrection Vigil. Commencing at 6 p.m., it embraced not only Vespers or Evening Prayer, but continued on throughout the night with Matins or Morning Prayer and concluded at 9 a.m. From this extended spoken and sung liturgy, Rachmaninoff selected fifteen chants, six from Vespers and nine from Matins. He chose thus two in Russian "Greek" style (#'s 2 & 15 in the sequence}, two of Kievan derivation (#'s 4 & 5), and five Znamenny or ancient Russian neumatic chants (#'s 7, 8, 9, 13, & 14). In addition, Rachmaninoff composed six original chants of his own invention (#'s 1, 3, 6, 10, 11 & 12) which he described as "conscious counterfeits." With all of these chants he, in the words of the commentator Yuri Keldysh, created "a monumental epic canvas, worthily continuing the nationalist tradition of the 'Mighty Five' and embodying a fundamental understanding of the Russian people's life as being highly ethical in its essence but also embodying a sincere and heartfelt meditation on life and each person's obligation to one's neighbor and oneself."
So flexibly and innovatively has Rachmaninoff treated his materials that his All-Night Vigil has come to be generally regarded more as a liturgical concert work rather than one for a worship service. He welded his derived melodic material into a "symphonic" choral unity in which much emphasis was laid on the bass line, even though in his time such required Russian basses were considered "scarce as hens' teeth."
An alto member of the Moscow Synodal Choir, Alexander Smirnov, tells us that the All-Night Vigil was premiered on March 10, 1915. He notes that it received high acclaim from both music critics and listeners and "equally admired were the music and the quality of the performance ... following the final chord the audience burst into tumultuous applause." That March saw four subsequent performances in the Great Hall of the Russian Noble Assembly.
In 1917 Rachmaninoff. as a result of the political turmoil leading up to the "October" Bolshevik Revolution, left Russia with his wife and two daughters for Sweden, then on to Switzerland and finally to the United States where essentially he became a concert virtuoso.
Soviet musical policies proved inimical to the continuance of that golden age of Russian liturgical composition so fostered by him. He thus became its last great expositor and indeed its greatest.
By way of conclusion, let us quote Messers Vladimir Morosan and Alexander Ruggieri, editors of the All-Night Vigil's critical text used in this evening's performance. "The sacred musical works of Rachmaninoff stand as the highest achievement of the 'golden age' of Russian church choral art - the first two decades of the twentieth century. Since then they have assumed their rightful place among the great masterpieces of world choral literature, the 'standard repertoire' by which great choirs the world over measure their achievement. One can only express the hope that the present-day renaissance in Russia of those religious and cultural roots which inspired Rachmaninoff to write his sacred choral works will lead to the creation of new compositions that will stand as worthy successors of Rachmaninoff's legacy."
The audience may find its appreciation and enjoyment of the All-Night Vigil enhanced with these brief movement summaries based on Morosan's and Ruggieri's summary comments.
1. "Come, let us worship." Rachmaninoff in masterly fashion brings the faithful in from the realm of secular and worldy chaos to the peace and order of the spiritual domain.
2. "Praise the Lord, O my Soul" follows immediately without break, extolling the wonders of God's creation with selected verses from Psalm 103.
3. "Blessed is the Man" sets selected verses from Psalms 1, 2, and 3. Each segment ends with the three-fold Trinitarian refrain "Alleluia", followed by the Doxology "Glory to Thee, O God."
4. "O Joyful Light ... of the Immortal Father" is an entrance chant utilizing one of the oldest hymns of the Church. Rachmaninoff here first utilizes a modified form of choral counterpoint in his setting of the Kievan chant.
5. "Lord, let your servant now depart in peace." Rachmaninoff's favorite movement of the Vigil with its tenor solo describes the arrival in the Temple of the Messiah, an infant in Simeon's arms.
6. "Hail, Mother of God", or the Angelic Salutation, ended Vespers with reverent homage to the Virgin Mary. While the altos carry the text, the sopranos and tenors surround the melody with a beatific halo of sound.
7. "Glory to God in the highest" opened Matins with the ringing of bells. Hence the singular feature of this movement is the onomatopoeic sound of bells heard in the sopranos and tenors, culminating with a massive resounding final chord.
8. "Praise the Name of the Lord, Alleluia'' marked a high point in any Vigil service when, as the mercies of the Lord resound, the church's lights are illuminated as the vested clergy process in and the Royal Doors of the Iconostasis are opened.
9. "Blessed are You, O Lord" dramatizes the events of Christ's Resurrection using colorful contrasts of vocal scoring. The heavenly angelic council exhibits awe as the myrrh-bearing women discovered the angelic messenger at the empty tomb.
10. "We have seen the Resurrection of Christ" marks the congregation's response to the gospel account. Some of the most austere and powerful of Rachmaninoff's music occurs in this movement as the text recalls Christ's sufferings preceeding His ultimate triumph over death.
11. "My soul doth magnifY the Lord." Rachmaninoff treats Mary's words as an epic, prophetic utterance. The verses are set to a heavy chant-like melody found primarily in the basses and contrasted with the luminous angelic refrain exalting Mary's heavenly rank.
12. "Glory to God in the highest." This Great Doxology stands out as the main hymn of the Vigil Rahcmaninoff's music appropriately expresses every nuance of this ancient and revered text where once again he evokes the image of joyous bells.
13. "Today is Salvation come" and 14. "Thou didst arise from the tomb." Two resurrection hymns follow, serving as a point of repose after the musical intensity of the Great Doxology. One is invited to meditate on the exalted mystery of Christ's Resurrection
15. The All-Night Vigil concludes with the Kontakion (a poetic homily) "To thee, O Virgin, chosen guide." Rachmaninoff uses the Greek chant as the basis for a vibrant, dynamic setting of this martial hymn, providing, contrary to liturgical custom, a loud and rousing conclusion to his awesome masterpiece.
| Title | Composers/Arranger | Guest Artists |
|---|---|---|
| All-Night Vigil | Sergei Rachmaninoff |
Archival Recording
Program Notes
by Richard H. Trame, S.J. Between I9I0 and I9I5 Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) produced three great choral masterpieces. The first was his Liturgy of St. john Chrysostom, a work in which he began a process of re-evaluation and revision of the relationship of music to the Russian Orthodox liturgy. While in Rome in I9I3 he composed his monumental choral symphony based on a Russion translation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Bells. His favorite of all his compositions, The Bells gave voice to aspects of the then troubled Russian national psyche concerning birth, marriage, terror and death. The outbreak in I9I4 of The Great War temporarily quelled Rachmaninoff's compositional fervor. He toured Russia with that great double bass virtuoso and future conductor, Serge Koussevitzky, in order to raise funds for charity and the Russian war chest. However, in a very short period during January - February, 1915, he completed what has come to be regarded as the greatest work of Russian liturgical music, his All-Night Vigil, commonly but inaccurately known as his Vespers. It was the last work he submitted to his revered teacher and critic, Sergei Taneyev (1856- 1915), who died four months later, after according the work high praise. The All-Night Vigil had been variously set by numerous Russian composers from Tchaikovsky on through such as Ippolitov-Ivanov, Chesnokov, Nicholsky and Gretchaninoff. The latter's setting of 1911, in terms of epic scale and musical complexity, was the only one to rival Rachmaninoff's. The Russian liturgical All-Night Vigil as sung on Saturday nights in a monastery, for example, was known as the Resurrection Vigil. Commencing at 6 p.m., it embraced not only Vespers or Evening Prayer, but continued on throughout the night with Matins or Morning Prayer and concluded at 9 a.m. From this extended spoken and sung liturgy, Rachmaninoff selected fifteen chants, six from Vespers and nine from Matins. He chose thus two in Russian "Greek" style (#'s 2 & 15 in the sequence}, two of Kievan derivation (#'s 4 & 5), and five Znamenny or ancient Russian neumatic chants (#'s 7, 8, 9, 13, & 14). In addition, Rachmaninoff composed six original chants of his own invention (#'s 1, 3, 6, 10, 11 & 12) which he described as "conscious counterfeits." With all of these chants he, in the words of the commentator Yuri Keldysh, created "a monumental epic canvas, worthily continuing the nationalist tradition of the 'Mighty Five' and embodying a fundamental understanding of the Russian people's life as being highly ethical in its essence but also embodying a sincere and heartfelt meditation on life and each person's obligation to one's neighbor and oneself." So flexibly and innovatively has Rachmaninoff treated his materials that his All-Night Vigil has come to be generally regarded more as a liturgical concert work rather than one for a worship service. He welded his derived melodic material into a "symphonic" choral unity in which much emphasis was laid on the bass line, even though in his time such required Russian basses were considered "scarce as hens' teeth." An alto member of the Moscow Synodal Choir, Alexander Smirnov, tells us that the All-Night Vigil was premiered on March 10, 1915. He notes that it received high acclaim from both music critics and listeners and "equally admired were the music and the quality of the performance ... following the final chord the audience burst into tumultuous applause." That March saw four subsequent performances in the Great Hall of the Russian Noble Assembly. In 1917 Rachmaninoff. as a result of the political turmoil leading up to the "October" Bolshevik Revolution, left Russia with his wife and two daughters for Sweden, then on to Switzerland and finally to the United States where essentially he became a concert virtuoso. Soviet musical policies proved inimical to the continuance of that golden age of Russian liturgical composition so fostered by him. He thus became its last great expositor and indeed its greatest. By way of conclusion, let us quote Messers Vladimir Morosan and Alexander Ruggieri, editors of the All-Night Vigil's critical text used in this evening's performance. "The sacred musical works of Rachmaninoff stand as the highest achievement of the 'golden age' of Russian church choral art - the first two decades of the twentieth century. Since then they have assumed their rightful place among the great masterpieces of world choral literature, the 'standard repertoire' by which great choirs the world over measure their achievement. One can only express the hope that the present-day renaissance in Russia of those religious and cultural roots which inspired Rachmaninoff to write his sacred choral works will lead to the creation of new compositions that will stand as worthy successors of Rachmaninoff's legacy." The audience may find its appreciation and enjoyment of the All-Night Vigil enhanced with these brief movement summaries based on Morosan's and Ruggieri's summary comments. 1. "Come, let us worship." Rachmaninoff in masterly fashion brings the faithful in from the realm of secular and worldy chaos to the peace and order of the spiritual domain. 2. "Praise the Lord, O my Soul" follows immediately without break, extolling the wonders of God's creation with selected verses from Psalm 103. 3. "Blessed is the Man" sets selected verses from Psalms 1, 2, and 3. Each segment ends with the three-fold Trinitarian refrain "Alleluia", followed by the Doxology "Glory to Thee, O God." 4. "O Joyful Light ... of the Immortal Father" is an entrance chant utilizing one of the oldest hymns of the Church. Rachmaninoff here first utilizes a modified form of choral counterpoint in his setting of the Kievan chant. 5. "Lord, let your servant now depart in peace." Rachmaninoff's favorite movement of the Vigil with its tenor solo describes the arrival in the Temple of the Messiah, an infant in Simeon's arms. 6. "Hail, Mother of God", or the Angelic Salutation, ended Vespers with reverent homage to the Virgin Mary. While the altos carry the text, the sopranos and tenors surround the melody with a beatific halo of sound. 7. "Glory to God in the highest" opened Matins with the ringing of bells. Hence the singular feature of this movement is the onomatopoeic sound of bells heard in the sopranos and tenors, culminating with a massive resounding final chord. 8. "Praise the Name of the Lord, Alleluia'' marked a high point in any Vigil service when, as the mercies of the Lord resound, the church's lights are illuminated as the vested clergy process in and the Royal Doors of the Iconostasis are opened. 9. "Blessed are You, O Lord" dramatizes the events of Christ's Resurrection using colorful contrasts of vocal scoring. The heavenly angelic council exhibits awe as the myrrh-bearing women discovered the angelic messenger at the empty tomb. 10. "We have seen the Resurrection of Christ" marks the congregation's response to the gospel account. Some of the most austere and powerful of Rachmaninoff's music occurs in this movement as the text recalls Christ's sufferings preceeding His ultimate triumph over death. 11. "My soul doth magnifY the Lord." Rachmaninoff treats Mary's words as an epic, prophetic utterance. The verses are set to a heavy chant-like melody found primarily in the basses and contrasted with the luminous angelic refrain exalting Mary's heavenly rank. 12. "Glory to God in the highest." This Great Doxology stands out as the main hymn of the Vigil Rahcmaninoff's music appropriately expresses every nuance of this ancient and revered text where once again he evokes the image of joyous bells. 13. "Today is Salvation come" and 14. "Thou didst arise from the tomb." Two resurrection hymns follow, serving as a point of repose after the musical intensity of the Great Doxology. One is invited to meditate on the exalted mystery of Christ's Resurrection 15. The All-Night Vigil concludes with the Kontakion (a poetic homily) "To thee, O Virgin, chosen guide." Rachmaninoff uses the Greek chant as the basis for a vibrant, dynamic setting of this martial hymn, providing, contrary to liturgical custom, a loud and rousing conclusion to his awesome masterpiece.| Title | Composers/Arranger | Guest Artists |
|---|---|---|
| All-Night Vigil | Sergei Rachmaninoff |
