Schnittke: Penitential Psalms

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a fine new recording … The choir and Rademann are completely inside this score, which they deliver with confidence and authority. — Choir & Organ, July/August 2016 More…

Release Date: 4th Mar 2016
Catalogue No: HMC902225
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Length: 54 minutes

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Schnittke: Twelve Penitential Psalms: I. Adam saß vor dem Paradies und weinte

Work length3:05

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Hans-Christoph Rademann, RIAS Kammerchor

Schnittke: Twelve Penitential Psalms

Work length9:46

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RIAS Kammerchor, Hans-Christoph Rademann

II. Es nimmt mich die Wüste auf wie die Mutter ihr Kind

Track length4:09

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III. Weshalb lebe ich in Armut

Track length3:21

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IV. Meine Seele, warum befindest du dich in Sünden

Track length2:16

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Schnittke: Twelve Penitential Psalms: V. O Mensch - Verdammt und armselig

Work length3:02

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Hans-Christoph Rademann, RIAS Kammerchor

Schnittke: Twelve Penitential Psalms

Work length7:44

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RIAS Kammerchor, Hans-Christoph Rademann

VI. Als sie sahen das Schiff

Track length2:18

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VII. O meine Seele, warum hast du keine Angst

Track length5:26

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Schnittke: Twelve Penitential Psalms: VIII. Wenn du die Zeitlosigkeit der Trauer überwinden willst

Work length2:02

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Hans-Christoph Rademann, RIAS Kammerchor

Schnittke: Twelve Penitential Psalms: IX. Über mein Leben als das eines Geistlichen habe ich nachgedacht

Work length7:20

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Hans-Christoph Rademann, RIAS Kammerchor

Schnittke: Twelve Penitential Psalms

Work length14:59

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RIAS Kammerchor, Hans-Christoph Rademann

X. Sammelt euch, ihr christlichen Menschen!

Track length3:27

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XI. Ich bin in dieses elende Leben gekommen

Track length3:57

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XII. (mit geschlossenem Mund)

Track length7:35

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Schnittke: Three Sacred Hymns

Work length6:30

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RIAS Kammerchor, Hans-Christoph Rademann

I. Gegrüßet seist du, Jungfrau, Mutter Gottes

Track length1:35

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II. Herr Jesus, Sohn Gottes

Track length1:34

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III. Vater unser

Track length3:21

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About

The 'Penitential Psalms' for mixed choir a cappella were first performed on Boxing Day 1988, in the concert hall of Moscow University, by the USSR State Chamber Choir under the direction of Valery Polyansky. They deal with the motif of original sin and refer to the story of the treacherous murder of Vladimir’s sons Boris and Gleb, later canonised and revered as martyrs, which their older half-brother Svyatopolk perpetrated in 1015 in the course of bloody conflicts over the succession.This masterpiece of exceptional density and rigour, at once contemporary and timeless, is performed here from the composer’s autograph manuscript, which includes significant divergences from the published edition.

In the autumn of 1983, at the Moscow premiere of the 'Faust Cantata', Polyansky had asked Schnittke to write a new a cappella piece for his ensemble, a request that was initially declined. It was only after repeated urging that Schnittke relented, and the very next day after this renewed plea, he thrust into the surprised conductor’s hand the manuscript of three choral movements setting prayers used in Russian Orthodox devotions – not without berating Polyasnky, tongue-in-cheek, as a ‘dreadful fellow’ for his tenacity. In comparison with the 'Penitential Psalms', the 'Three Sacred Hymns' are more strongly rooted in the Romantic tradition of Russian sacred music, such as Rachmaninov's 'All-Night Vigil'.

Reviews

July/August 2016

a fine new recording … The choir and Rademann are completely inside this score, which they deliver with confidence and authority.

May 2016

The demands [of the Penitential Psalms] on intonation and colouristic range are [intense]. The Berlin-based RIAS Chamber Choir cope admirably with all and with the Russian texts…the three Sacred Hymns are a small but not unattractive bonus.

May 2016

even without a score we know the notes are written exactly as it sounds here, because the RIAS Chamber Choir under Hans-Christoph Rademann (arguably the world’s best such ensemble) can be trusted to reproduce the music accurately, if nothing else. Beyond that considerable technical challenge, fortunately, they also invest the music with fervor so that it never sounds cerebral or dry or academic but instead written with an urgency, with passion, even warmth.

20th March 2016

Though fiercely complex and demanding, they have a piercing intensity, and the wordless final psalm with its aspiring harmonies is incredibly affecting. The sacred hymns that follow are much simpler, but equally well performed by the superb RIAS Chamber Choir.

17th March 2016

The extreme vocal demands are well met by Hans-Christoph Rademann and his Berlin singers, whose performance follows the composer’s autograph rather than the published score.

The Classical Reviewer 21st April 2016

For those that find some of Schnittke’s music difficult to assimilate this new disc will come as a surprise. Certainly there are very individual touches here but this is great choral music with many beauties. Hans-Christoph Rademann and the RIAS Kammerchor rarely let the temperature drop in these fine performances, full of passion, sorrow and tragic beauty. This is a stunningly vital disc.

Schnittke: Penitential Psalms

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