Rachmaninoff: Vespers - All-Night Vigil The Choir of Kings College London & Joseph Fort

• Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943): All-Night Vigil, Op. 37:
• 1 Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: I. Come, let us Worship 01:44
• All-Night Vigil, Op. 37:
• 2 All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: II. Bless the Lord, O my Soul (Greek chant) 04:02
• Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37:
• 3 Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: III. Blessed is the Man 05:09
• 4 Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: IV. O Gladsome Light (Kyivan chant) 02:25
• All-Night Vigil, Op. 37:
• 5 All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: V. Now Lettest Thou (Kyivan chant) 02:51
• Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37:
• 6 Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: VI. Rejoice, O Virgin 02:39
• 7 Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: VII. Glory to God in the Highest (The Six Psalms) 02:27
• 8 Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: VIII. Praise the Name of the Lord (Znamenny chant) 01:58
• 9 Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: IX. Blessed art Thou, O Lord (Znamenny chant) 05:43
• 10 Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: X. Having Beheld the Resurrection of Christ 03:14
• 11 Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: XI. My Soul doth Magnify the Lord 07:05
• 12 Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: XII. The Great Doxology (Znamennyy chant) 07:20
• 13 Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: XIII. Troparion. Today Salvation is Come (Znamenny chant) 01:42
• 14 Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: XIV. Troparion. Thou Didst Rise from the Tomb (Znamenny chant) 03:10
• 15 Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: XV. To Thee, Victorious Leader (Greek chant) 01:33
• Total Runtime 53:02

Info zu Rachmaninoff: Vespers - All-Night Vigil

Könnte die endgültige Aufnahme der beliebtesten orthodoxen Chormusik von einem anglikanischen Kapellenchor stammen? Paul Baxter von Delphian ist dieser Meinung.

Die jungen Stimmen des King's College London sind hell, reaktionsschnell und klar, und die Aufnahme wurde absichtlich so gestaltet, dass die glockenartigen Phrasen, die das ganze Stück durchklingen, zur Geltung kommen. Von der ersten Sekunde an ergreift einen der Klang und lässt einen nicht mehr los: Er ist kraftvoll und kühn - eine neue Präsentation von Musik, die wir alle zu kennen glaubten.

Mit dieser Aufnahme zu Ehren von Rachmaninoffs 150. Geburtstag erheben Joseph Fort und der Chor des King's College London den Anspruch, zu den besten Chören der Branche zu gehören.

"Dies ist eine sicher fehlerfreie Interpretation des göttlichen Meisterwerks, leuchtend, reich strukturiert, schwärmerisch und ehrfürchtig, jede Note und Nuance klar ausdrucksvoll, reich und leidenschaftlich, dennoch bewegend überzeugend. Das Unisono in den anschwellenden Chorpassagen hat etwas, das man nur als numinose Qualität bezeichnen kann - gefühlt, geahnt, erlebt, sogar völlig losgelöst von den russisch-orthodoxen rituellen Beschwörungen, liturgischen Hymnen und Kantilenen und mit wenig Einblick in die spezifischen Bezüge. Dies an sich und das Gefühl der Unmittelbarkeit und russischen Authentizität, nicht zuletzt in der Bassstimme, ist ziemlich bemerkenswert, wenn man bedenkt, dass die Allnächtliche Vigil nie als Konzertstück geschrieben wurde und die musikalische Spiritualität tief in den gottesdienstlichen Akt eingebettet ist ... Obwohl es allein in diesem Jahrhundert rund 30 prestigeträchtige Einspielungen des Werks gab, ist diese Aufnahme aus der wachsenden Diskographie von Delphian ein Muss für alle Rachmaninoff-Liebhaber" (The Yorkshire Times)

Der Chor des King's College, London
Joseph Fort, Leitung

Joseph Fort
is a conductor and musicologist based in London. Since 2015 he has been College Organist & Director of the Chapel Choir, and Lecturer in Music at King’s College London, which role he took up immediately upon the completion of his PhD at Harvard University.

Joseph's performances with the Choir of King’s College London have been recognised as ‘English choral singing at its best’ (Choir & Organ), ‘a performance of astonishing intensity and musicality’ (Gramophone), and ‘superbly drilled’ (The Guardian). His expansive discography with Delphian Records has received considerable critical acclaim, including Editor’s Choice and the ‘best new classical albums’ lists in Gramophone. Recent orchestral conducting includes Britten Sinfonia, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Hanover Band and the London Mozart Players. He also directs the acclaimed professional choir of St Paul’s Knightsbridge.

Joseph’s academic research focuses on eighteenth-century music and dance. He is currently completing a monograph on Haydn and minuets. He has published in the Eighteenth-Century Music journal, and has chapters in books with Cambridge University Press and Leipzig University Press. His chamber arrangement of The Cloud Messenger by Gustav Holst is published by Stainer & Bell.

The Choir of King’s College London
is one of the leading university choirs in England, and has existed since its founding by William Henry Monk in the middle of the 19th century. The Choir today consists of some thirty Choral Scholars reading a variety of subjects. The Choir’s principal role at King’s is to provide music for Chapel worship, with weekly Eucharist and Evensong services offered during term, as well as various other services. Services from the College Chapel are regularly broadcast on BBC Radio. The Choir also frequently sings for worship outside the university, including at Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral.

In addition, the Choir gives many concert performances. Recent festival appearances in England include the Barnes Music Festival, London Handel Festival, Oundle International Festival, St Albans International Organ Festival, Spitalfields Festival, and the Christmas and Holy Week Festivals at St. John’s Smith Square. In 2017 the Choir joined forces with Britten Sinfonia to give the UK premiere of Samuel Barber’s The Lovers (Chamber Version) at Kings Place, the performance described in The Times as ‘sung beautifully, the voices judiciously blended’. The Choir tours widely, with destinations including Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Nigeria and the USA. In 2017 it served as Choir-In-Residence for the northeast convention of American Guild of Organists and Royal Canadian College of Organists in Montreal.

The Choir has made many recordings, and enjoys an ongoing relationship with Delphian Records. Recent recordings include the German Requiem of Johannes Brahms in its 1872 English-language setting, praised as ‘utterly uplifting’ (Norman Lebrecht, La Scena Musicale), ‘an intimate, highly charged performance’ (Stephen Pritchard, The Observer), and the Masses for Double Choir by Kenneth Leighton and Frank Martin, described as ‘a performance of astonishing intensity and musicality’ (Marc Rochester, Gramophone), and ‘a colourful performance . . . Joseph Fort’s superbly drilled Choir of King’s College London singing with shedloads of oomph’ (Graham Rickson, theartsdesk.com). More recent releases include Gustav Holst’s The Cloud Messenger, in a new chamber version by Joseph Fort.

Following some twenty years under the leadership of David Trendell, the Choir has been directed by Dr Joseph Fort since 2015.

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