Fedor Chaliapm, stressing the importance of conveying the
meaning of words sung by an artist, once recalled those
singers he had known who, 'with magnificent voices, so perfectly
trained that at any moment they could sing piano or forte,
but who nearly all sang notes to which the words were merely
of secondary importance...' Here, on this compact disc,
is a collection of favourite hymns and chants of the Russian
Orthodox Church, in which words hold an obvious dominance:
it is through these words that the singers are able to give
each piece its distinctive character. Aspects of Christ's
life on earth and the prayer and faith of the Christian
Church are demonstrated in short, finished musical settings
which form a liturgical mosaic. There are soloists in some
of these settings, among whom Nicolai Gedda, the world famous
operatic tenor, stands out (he is himself a member of the
Russian Orthodox Church). Due to the interplay between soloist
and choir - a feature influenced by Western Europe and the
renaissance, and gaming ground in Russia in the 18th century
- the character of the music can be most dramatic. A more
traditional type of Church singing - without a soloist -
often relies on a given Church chant, a melody enshrined
in a century-long development and harmonized for performance
in parts by a choir. Here, one feature of Russian harmonized
singing is worth mentioning: it is the span of sound, the
very wide range which the voices encompass, including the
famous Russian bass part, and within it a centre of gravity
in the middle of the sound register, which gives the music
a sense of balance between the high and the low voices.
|
|
| N |
TRACK NAME |
LENGTH |
| 1 |
The Creed |
3'46 |
| 2 |
We Hymn Thee, We Bless Thee (From the Eucharistic
Canon) |
2'54 |
| 3 |
The Good Thief (Razboynika) Exapostilarion for Matins
of Good Friday |
5'15 |
| 4 |
The Beatitudes |
3'50 |
| 5 |
Blessed is He That Considereth the Poor and the
Needy... Psalm 41
|
6'07 |
| 6 |
Christ is Risen. Troparion for the Resurrection. |
1'27 |
| 7 |
Nunc Dimittis |
2'55 |
| 8 |
The Creed |
4'00 |
| 9 |
With the Saints, Give Rest... Kontakionfor the Departed
Traditional Kievan Chant. |
1'45 |
| 10 |
The Lord's prayer |
3'04 |
| 11 |
We Venerate Thy Holy Ikon... (Troparion for the
Feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, on the First Sunday
in Lent) |
1'39 |
| 12 |
The Lord's Prayer |
1'46 |
| 13 |
Prokeimenon for Pentecost |
2'10 |
| 14 |
The Creed |
4'31 |
| 15 |
At Thy Mystical Supper... (Sung in Place of the
Cherubic Hymn on Great and Holy Thursday at the Divine
Liturgy).
|
4'05 |
| 16 |
The Judgement of Pilate... |
3'37 |
| 17 |
Mnogaya leta! |
1'00 |
| 18 |
Open to Me the Doors of Repentance... |
4'10 |
| 19 |
The Threefold Litany |
4'17 |
| 20 |
The Angel Cried Unto Her...(Sung After the Eucharistic
Canon During the Easter Season in Place of the Hymn
"Meet It Is "). |
3'12 |
| 21 |
Russian Church Bells |
1'09 |
|
|
