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 for Rachmaninoff: Vespers - All-Night Vigil

Could the definitive recording of the best-loved Orthodox choral music of all come from an Anglican chapel choir? Delphian’s Paul Baxter thinks so.

The young King’s College London voices are bright, responsive and clear, and the recording is intentionally designed to bring out the bell-like phrases that ring through the whole piece. From the first second the sound grabs you and holds you close: it’s punchy, and bold – a new presentation of music we all thought we knew.

In a recording to honour Rachmaninoff’s 150th anniversary, Joseph Fort and The Choir of King’s College London stake their claim to be among the finest choirs in the business.

"This is an assuredly faultless interpretation of the divine masterpiece, luminous, richly textured, rapturous and reverent, every note and nuance clearly expressive, rich and passionate, yet movingly persuasive. The unison in the swelling choral passages carries what can only be described as a numinous quality - felt, intuited, experienced even completely detached as this critic is from the Russian orthodox ritualistic incantations, liturgical hymns and canticles and with little insight into the specific references. This in itself and the feeling of immediacy and Russian authenticity, not least in the bass voicing, is quite remarkable given that the All-Night Vigil was never written as a concert performance piece, and the musical spirituality is deeply embedded in the act of worship ... Although there have been some 30 prestigious recordings of the piece this century alone, this from Delphian’s burgeoning discography is a must-have for all who love Rachmaninoff" (The Yorkshire Times)

The Choir of King's College, London
Joseph Fort, direction

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.

Booklet for Rachmaninoff: Vespers - All-Night Vigil