Performer: James Bowman, Holst Singers
Conductor: Stephen Layton
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Hyperion
Catalogue: CDA66928
Release: 1997
Size: 231 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Sviridov: Three Choruses from Tsar Feodor Ioannovich
01. I. Molitva ‘Prayer’
02. II. Liubov sviataya ‘Sacred love’
03. III. Pokayannïy stih ‘A verse of repentance’
Sviridov: Pesni Bezvremenya ‘Songs of troubled times’
04. I. Osen’ ‘Autumn’
05. II. Yasnïye polia ‘Bright fields’
06. III. Vesna i koldun ‘Spring and the sorcerer’
07. IV. Ikona ‘The ikon’
Grechaninov: Liturgy No 2, Op 29
08. Movement. Kheruvimskaya Pesnya ‘The Cherubic Hymn’
09. Kalinnikov: Svete tihiy ‘Radiant Light’
Tchaikovsky: Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Op. 41
10. VI. Tebe poem ‘We praise you’
Grechaninov: Liturgy No 2, Op 29
11. Movement. Veruyu ‘The Creed’
Tchaikovsky: Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Op. 41
12. III. Kheruvimskaya pesnya ‘The Cherubic Hymn’
Grechaninov: Liturgy No 2, Op 29
13. Movement. Otche nash ‘Our Father’
14. Tchaikovsky: Blazheni, yazhe izbral ‘Blessed are they, whom thou hast chosen’
15. Pärt: Magnificat
16. Gorecki: Totus Tuus, Op. 60
17. Bach, Nystedt: Immortal Bach
James Bowman regards this disc as the most inspiring he has recently recorded; and the Managing Director of Musica Russica writes: ‘I have thoroughly enjoyed working on this project … I hope this will not be the last recording of Russian music by the excellent Holst Singers!’ The tradition of Russian choral music stands today as rich and diverse as at any time in its long history, and this recording brings movements from the Liturgies by Tchaikovsky and Gretchaninov together with seven beautiful pieces by Georgy Sviridov, including three Sacred Choruses which he successfully steered through Communist prohibition under the guise of incidental music for the theatre. As an appendix, works by Gorecki, Part and Nystedt show how the Orthodox tradition has affected neighbouring countries (Poland, Estonia and Sweden, respectively); Immortal Bach is a particularly evocative worka ‘free’ exploration of Bach’s chorale ‘Komm, susser Tod’.