Rachmaninov - “Bogoroditse Devo” All-Night Vigil (Oktavist, Yuri Vishnyakov)

The MDR RUNDFUNKKOROR sings Sergei Rachmaninov's “All-Night” op. 37, with Risto Joost conducting, December 2nd, 2016. Oktavist Yuri Vishnyakov drops to F1 on the final note.

Known by most people as a composer of complex piano pieces with and without orchestra, Sergei Rachmaninov considered his All-Night Vigil to be his finest work. Often simplistically referred to as Vespers, the piece incorporates texts from the Russian Orthodox Vespers, Matins, and Prime service hours. Thus, when the entire piece is taken into consideration, “Vespers” truly only refers to the first six of fifteen movements. “Bogoroditse Devo” stands as the most famous of the movements. It is a setting of the familiar “Ave Maria” text, familiar to all Catholics and Orthodox Christians. The larger work splits at times into parts are complex as eleven, but this movement is essentially written as an SATB chorus, which frequently divides duties at the octave, resulting in a texture which feels far more dense than it really is. For this arrangement, I removed those octavo divisi, and have only split to a fifth voice part in the final few measures.

On a personal note, this was one of the pieces I learned in college for a concert with a visiting Russian bass, and it has stuck with me as one of my favorite choral pieces for these decades since.

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🎙🎵🎶 HYMN OF THE CHERUBIM ~ USSR Ministry of Culture Chamber Choir - Composer Piotr Illitch Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893)
https://rumble.com/v2ea3ry-hymn-of-the-cherubim-ussr-ministry-of-culture-chamber-choir-composer-piotr-.html
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🎙🎵🎶 Our Father - Russian Chamber Choir (Octavist, M. Zlatopolsky)
https://rumble.com/v2egtcw-our-father-russian-chamber-choir-octavist-m.-zlatopolsky.html
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🎙🎵🎶 USSR Ministry of Culture Chamber Choir - Praise the Lord O My Soul
https://rumble.com/v2eqqe2-ussr-ministry-of-culture-chamber-choir-praise-the-lord-o-my-soul.html
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🎙🎵🎶 Lord Have Mercy - Liturgy Of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 31; Fervent Supplication - Sergei Rachmaninov
https://rumble.com/v2zg9we-lord-have-mercy-liturgy-of-st.-john-chrysostom-op.-31-fervent-supplication-.html
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🎙🎵🎶 Rachmaninov - “Bogoroditse Devo” All-Night Vigil (Oktavist, Yuri Vishnyakov)
https://rumble.com/v3fzy16-rachmaninov-bogoroditse-devo-all-night-vigil-oktavist-yuri-vishnyakov.html
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🎙🎵🎶 "We Praise Thee" (Better Audio) - St. Petersburg Chamber Choir (oktavist, Vladimir Pasyukov)
https://rumble.com/v3gaj84-we-praise-thee-better-audio-st.-petersburg-chamber-choir-oktavist-vladimir-.html