Nocturne: Rachmaninov Vespers, Byzantine Hymns in Bloomington, MN

Many recordings of Western church music attempt to place compositions in their liturgical context, but for Russian Orthodox compositions, the art is in its infancy. Conductor
Simon-Pierre Bestion
and the choir
La Tempete
get the ball rolling here with probably the most unusual version of the
Rachmaninov
All-Night Vigil, Op. 37
, on the market.
's musical movements alternate with Byzantine chant, sung by vocalist
Adrian Sirbu
, who has studied Byzantine chant and also recorded music of
Gesualdo
. There's quite a shift between his singing and the choral
movements, and one wonders why music from parts geographically closer to
wasn't used, but the contrast between the stark sound of the chant and
's settings, here done in an especially lush way, is striking, and listeners may find it worth the tradeoff.
Bestion
also fools with
's own musical text (sample the "O come, let us worship" movement at the beginning) in search of heightened musical effect, and here too, listeners must make their own judgments. Few, however, will dispute that the album is beautifully recorded and that
is an impressive choral conductor. ~ James Manheim