Gretchaninoff "All-Night Vigil” Burlington: Friday, January 16, 7:30 pm, St. Paul's Cathedral, 2 Cherry Street, Burlington
Brattleboro: Saturday, January 17, 7:30 pm, St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church, Brattleboro
Brattleboro: Sunday, January 18, 3 pm, St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church, Brattleboro 
Hauntingly beautiful and viscerally stirring, this unaccompanied work by Gretchaninoff makes use of double chorus to convey the lush harmonies of the Russian romantic era of sacred music with extraordinary imagination.
The Concert Choir (formerly known as the Brattleboro Community Chorus), under the direction of Susan Dedell, is making its second foray into the world of Russian Orthodox liturgical music, having sung the Rachmaninoff setting of the Vigil two years ago.
“The liturgical music of the “Golden Era” of Russian composition is fascinating and profoundly moving,” says director Susan Dedell. “After working on the Rachmaninoff, I became intrigued with digging into more Slavonic music. The musical language of these Russian works is quite different from traditional Western classical choral works -- distinctly Eastern in tonality and harmony, with more emphasis on chant, and much more variety and complexity in rhythmic patterns.”
Gretchaninoff composed his setting of the Vigil in 1912, three years before Rachmaninoff wrote his masterpiece setting in 1915. Censorship during the Soviet period prevented this work, as well as countless others, from being performed or studied. “We are still recovering major choral works from inside Russia: stored in libraries, universities, and monasteries. It is truly exciting to be able to dig in to this incredible body of music.”
Gretchaninoff’s setting is unmistakably “Russian” in sound, says director Dedell. “There is a rhythmic pulse found in Gretchaninoff’s vigil that creates a vigorous muscularity in many movements -- at times a drivingly primitive sound. But by contrast, there are many moments of simple beauty and translucent quiet.”
Extraordinary sustained low tones throughout the composition springing from the ancient znamenney chant tradition provide a ‘grounded’ earthy quality. Against this low, almost primeval anchor, the sopranos soar in a similarly sustained high range, providing an aural representation of the voices from beyond and above this world. “From spine-tingling pianissimos to towering pillars of sound this music will transport you to another world, one lit by candles and fragrant with incense.”
Admission: Adults $15; Students $10
Brattleboro Tickets available from the Brattleboro Music Center, 802-257-4523, or brattleborotix.com
A portion of Brattleboro concert proceeds will be donated to the Brattleboro Area Drop In Center’s overflow shelter at the First Baptist Church, run in conjunctions with Morningside Shelter. Burlington Tickets available from the Flynn box office, www.flynntix.org or 863-5966, and Hopkins Bookshop at St. Paul's Cathedral, 2 Cherry Street, Burlington, VT, www.hopkinsbookshop.com
Additional Burlington event information available at: www.cathedralarts.org |
