BBC Music Magazine, May 2024
Choral & Song Choice

Igor Morozov, Evgeny Kachurovski, Alexis V. Lukianov, Patram Institute Male Choir, Ekaterina Antonenko

In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Serge Rachmaninoff, PaTRAM Institute Male Choir invites you to experience the extraordinary beauty of his choral tour de force, the All-night Vigil, composed in 1915. The Vigil is a traditional Russian Orthodox evening worship service. Combining the offices of Vespers and Matins, it is celebrated on evenings in advance of Sundays and major feast days. Rachmaninoff’s setting of fifteen fixed texts appointed for Saturday evening services relies principally on traditional chant melodies. The ‘Rachmaninoff in the Holy Land’ project brought together experienced choristers from around the globe to unite as PaTRAM Institute Male Choir. The album was recorded in the Russian Orthodox Convent Monastery Church of the Ascension, set amidst an olive grove atop the Mount of Olives, in Jerusalem. Inspired by Alexander Gretchaninoff’s arrangement of ‘Glory to God in the Highest’ (hymn 7), the Choir turned to adaptations by Dmitrii Lazarev and Benedict Sheehan for male voice choir of the remaining hymns. Lowering the key of many of the pieces (to fit better with male voices) allowed the eight bass octavists featured on the recording to give an exceptional depth to the Choir’s sound.

"There are some jaw-dropping bass sonorities here, but the overall impression is far from sombre: indeed, what is most surprising is the sense of lightness and tenderness that emerges from using high male voices." - BBC Music Magazine, May 2024