Post Description

Sergei Vasilevich Rachmaninov: Vespers (Vsenoshchnoye Bdeniye), Op. 37 
In Church Slavonic Irina Arkhipova, mezzo-soprano (2) Victor Rumyantsev, tenor (4,5,9) 
The USSR Ministry of Culture Chamber Choir Conductor olv. Valeri Polyansky 
Recorded at the Smolensk Cathedral in 1986.

Mezzo-soprano Irina Arkhipova is one of Russia's most honored vocal artists, renowned throughout the world. She was one of the few Soviet artists who traveled extensively and was thus able to bring the distinguished traditions of the Russian style to opera houses and concert halls on every continent. Mme. Arkhipova has been awarded numerous prizes for her performances and her recordings. She is currently a professor at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. 
The Vespers (more correctly titled All-Night Vigil) is Rachmaninov's most famous liturgical work, filled with evocative, textured choral writing that quotes liberally from the rich chant of the Russian Orthodox Church. 
Valery Polyansky, now making a name for himself as an orchestral conductor, is well versed in choral music and has made several critically-acclaimed recordings of key Russian choral works. A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, Polyansky studied with Boris Kulikov and Gennady Rozhdesventsky. In 1992 he founded the Symphonic Cappella, a large, flexible, Moscow-based ensemble of choral singers and orchestral musicians.