Proms 2017 Prom 38: Rachmaninov – All-Night Vigil (Vespers) by Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff, De (2017/2017), Royal Albert Hall, Londres, Reino Unido

The Latvian Radio Choir performs a work hailed as ‘the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church’. Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil (Vespers) is also one of the loveliest works of any faith – a profoundly moving statement of belief. Hailed as ‘the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church’, Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil (Vespers) is also one of the loveliest works of any faith – a profoundly moving statement of belief and the last major work the composer completed before he left Russia. Sung unaccompanied, the Vigil is a choral tour de force, pushing the singers to the limits of both range and dynamics. The effect is strikingly dramatic, encompassing the ecstatic choral celebration of the Resurrection Hymn ‘Today salvation has come’ and the infinite tenderness of the ‘Ave Maria’. The Latvian Radio Choir returns following its performance of Orthodox chant in tonight’s earlier Prom.