Search - Sergey Rachmaninov, Korniev, Olga Borodina :: Evening Star: The Rachmaninov Vespers

Good but not great

Mary Emerson | 05/11/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this years ago with the Liturgy, also done by St. Petersburg, and became annoyed when they kept adjusting the tempo and words--faster, then slower. I couldn't concentrate on prayer or Scripture while listening, because they rushed through so much that should be sung slowly, with more attention to melody lines that needed to be brought to the listener's attention. They were singing so that the building's echo and other acoustics could be highlighted; as I listen more to this, the performance is for art's sake, not for the message. I've ordered a couple other versions recommended in some reviews (one is Polansky's); I've heard excerpts of the Liturgy on a CD by the Kyiv chamber choir which is so good I wish Kyiv would perform these compositions. Kyiv's choir brings out nuances that I never heard in the St. Petersburg version, because Kyiv sings slowly, with more attention to detail and no need to rush through it so much. Some of the sopranos in the St. Petersburg recordings sound like opera stars, not like choir members; they can be very distracting when they don't blend in very well.

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