CD Review: Rachmaninov Liturgy of St John Chrysostom (Estonian Chamber Choir) BIS2571

For Rachmaninov, the liturgy of the Russian Orthodox Church and the music associated with it had a deeply personal significance. He expressed this with a masterful command of vocal expression in his 1915 setting of the All Night Vigil Service, or Vespers, Op. 37. Less well known, and far less acknowledged for its beauty and importance, is a work from five years earlier, the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Op. 31. 

As Andrew Huth observes in his excellent accompanying liner notes, “It consists of a sequence of prayers, psalms and hymns, which are sung or chanted by various participants: the celebrants, choir and congregation. The language is not modern Russian but the form of Old Church Slavonic preserved to this day in Orthodox services.” He goes on to outline the unique path that Rachmaninov took in composing his acapella setting by using his own melodies. This was in opposition to the traditional practice of singing in unison or the approaches of predecessors including Tchaikovsky or Rimsky-Korsakov.

It is likely that Rachmaninov wrote the Liturgy for performance within a church service. Although written for four-part choir, the lower voices dominate the setting. At key moments though light is added through the soaring soprano lines. There is a richness to the performance by the excellent Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir under the direction of conductor Kaspars Putniņš. As a whole, the performance has great beauty, resulting from the carefully blended vocal lines. Individual movements stand out to illustrate both the quality of this recording and the primacy of the text. The Lord’s Prayer is captured within an apt sense of reverence, whilst The Prayer for Peace reflects the sense of tender reflection that infuses much of Rachmaninov’s writing. Raul Mikson’s nasal tenor tone is well suited to the role of the Celebrant and Olari Viikholm bass adds a touch of inky drama to the part of the Deacon. The recording, made in the Niguliste Church in Tallinn, captures the resonant acoustic and this adds much atmosphere to the listening experience.