The Choir of King's College, Cambridge, makes a solid effort with this piece. Rachmaninov meant for this music to be used during an actual service, building the choral parts around the chants of the Russian Orthodox priest and deacons, and after all, singing for services is what this choir does on a daily basis. However, if you are going to listen to this performance for the sake of the music, your enjoyment of it may depend on two things: one, do you have absolute pitch to the point of distraction, and two, do you like the ...
Read More
The Choir of King's College, Cambridge, makes a solid effort with this piece. Rachmaninov meant for this music to be used during an actual service, building the choral parts around the chants of the Russian Orthodox priest and deacons, and after all, singing for services is what this choir does on a daily basis. However, if you are going to listen to this performance for the sake of the music, your enjoyment of it may depend on two things: one, do you have absolute pitch to the point of distraction, and two, do you like the sound of boy choirs? There are a couple of points where the celebrant begins a section with his normal chant, at the bottom of his range, but when the chorus comes in, you realize that his pitch is very slightly higher than everyone else. Also, the timbre of the upper voices is not as rich and warm as mature female voices would be, and in some of the forte and fortissimo phrases the boys seem to struggle to keep it together. Although Rachmaninov's music is harmonically rich, the...
Read Less
Add this copy of Rachmaninov: Liturgy of St John Chrysostom to cart. $9.65, good condition, Sold by Stephen White Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Bradford, WEST YORKSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2004 by EMI.