Tenebrae: Rachmaninov Vespers by Candlelight by Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff, Od (2023/2023), Dirigent Nigel Short, St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, United Kingdom

Soul music from the heart of a vanished Russia, as Nigel Short and Tenebrae perform Rachmaninoff’s Vespers. Passionate, serene, and rooted in a deep and heartfelt faith, Sergei Rachmaninoff said that he loved his Vespers above all his other works. Written as an act of consolation in the depths of the First World War, grounded in ancient Orthodox chants but clothed in all the lushness and fantasy of late-Romantic Russia, they gave their composer “an hour of the most complete satisfaction” – and every performance generates an unrepeatable atmosphere. Just a few days into the Orthodox new year, Nigel Short directs Tenebrae on this midwinter evening at St Martin-in-the-Fields: music (and singing) that will glow in the dark.