Hidden Music of the Russian Church: Sacred Chants after the Revolution 1917

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This is an astounding recording, on account of both the repertoire selected and the quality of the singing…performances throughout are of the highest standard…this is a revelatory disc, by any... — Gramophone Magazine, September 2016 More…

Release Date: 10th Jun 2016
Catalogue No: CHR77402
Label: Christophorus
Length: 54 minutes

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Alexandrov, Alexander: Bless the Lord, O My Soul

Work length3:49

$1.00

$1.30

Moscow Patriarchal Choir
Ilya Tolkachev
Recorded: February 2015
Recording Venue: Christ the Saviour Cathedral Moscow, Russia

Alexandrov, Alexander: In Thy Kingdom Remember Us, O Lord

Work length5:39

$1.00

$1.30

Sergey Godin (tenor)
Moscow Patriarchal Choir
Ilya Tolkachev
Recorded: February 2015
Recording Venue: Christ the Saviour Cathedral Moscow, Russia

Alexandrov, Alexander: We Hymn Thee

Work length2:04

$1.00

$1.30

Evgeniya Tschishikova (soprano)
Moscow Patriarchal Choir
Ilya Tolkachev
Recorded: February 2015
Recording Venue: Christ the Saviour Cathedral Moscow, Russia

Alexandrov, Alexander: The Lord's Prayer, "Our Father"

Work length3:26

$1.00

$1.30

Irina Taraburina (soprano)
Moscow Patriarchal Choir
Ilya Tolkachev
Recorded: February 2015
Recording Venue: Christ the Saviour Cathedral Moscow, Russia

Alexandrov, Alexander: Praise the Name of the Lord in A Major

Work length3:07

$1.00

$1.30

Moscow Patriarchal Choir
Ilya Tolkachev
Recorded: February 2015
Recording Venue: Christ the Saviour Cathedral Moscow, Russia

Alexandrov, Alexander: Praise the Name of the Lord in D Minor

Work length3:21

$1.00

$1.30

Moscow Patriarchal Choir
Ilya Tolkachev
Recorded: February 2015
Recording Venue: Christ the Saviour Cathedral Moscow, Russia

Alexandrov, Alexander: From My Youth

Work length1:58

$1.00

$1.30

Moscow Patriarchal Choir
Ilya Tolkachev
Recorded: February 2015
Recording Venue: Christ the Saviour Cathedral Moscow, Russia

Golovanov: He Who Closed the Abyss

Work length4:30

$1.00

$1.30

Moscow Patriarchal Choir
Ilya Tolkachev
Recorded: February 2015
Recording Venue: Christ the Saviour Cathedral Moscow, Russia

Golovanov: Cherubic Hymn (arr. M. Kotogarov for mixed choir)

Work length5:13

$1.00

$1.30

Moscow Patriarchal Choir
Ilya Tolkachev
Recorded: February 2015
Recording Venue: Christ the Saviour Cathedral Moscow, Russia

Nikolsky: O Gladsome Light

Work length3:10

$1.00

$1.30

Moscow Patriarchal Choir
Ilya Tolkachev
Recorded: February 2015
Recording Venue: Christ the Saviour Cathedral Moscow, Russia

Nikolsky: We Hymn Thee

Work length3:19

$1.00

$1.30

Moscow Patriarchal Choir
Ilya Tolkachev
Recorded: February 2015
Recording Venue: Christ the Saviour Cathedral Moscow, Russia

Chesnokov: Cherubic Hymn

Work length6:13

$1.00

$1.30

Moscow Patriarchal Choir
Ilya Tolkachev
Recorded: February 2015
Recording Venue: Christ the Saviour Cathedral Moscow, Russia

Chesnokov: It is Meet and Right to Bless You, O Theotokos

Work length2:21

$1.00

$1.30

Moscow Patriarchal Choir
Ilya Tolkachev
Recorded: February 2015
Recording Venue: Christ the Saviour Cathedral Moscow, Russia

Kastalsky: St. Simeon's Prayer, "Lord, Now Lettest Thou Thy Servant Depart in Peace"

Work length2:57

$1.00

$1.30

Sergey Godin (tenor)
Moscow Patriarchal Choir
Ilya Tolkachev
Recorded: February 2015
Recording Venue: Christ the Saviour Cathedral Moscow, Russia

Kastalsky: Let God Arise

Work length2:57

$1.00

$1.30

Moscow Patriarchal Choir
Ilya Tolkachev
Recorded: February 2015
Recording Venue: Christ the Saviour Cathedral Moscow, Russia

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The Patriarch Choir of the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow conducted by Ilya Tolkachov devotes the second of their CDs issued by Christophoros to Russian sacred music composed after the 1917 Revolution. Under the Soviet regime, most churches and the majority of monasteries were closed and the priests and monks expelled; ecclesiastical life became extremely difficult and was permanently under threat of reprisal. Numerous celebrated composers of sacred music were only permitted to publish secular compositions, but continued to work in secret. It is these hidden compositions which the Moscow Patriarch Choir would like to bring to light. The composers featured include prominent Russian personalities such as Golovanov, the director of the Bolshoi Theatre, and Alexandrov, the composer of the Russian national anthem (still sung today).

It is highly symbolic that the Moscow Patriarch Choir has devoted itself to this task as the Christ the Saviour Cathedral is itself a reflection of political developments and their consequences for the Russian Church. Consecrated in 1883 as a new centre for the Russian Church (under the musical direction of Rimsky-Korsakov and Balakirev), the building was blown up under Stalin’s rule (he had plans for the construction of a gigantic Soviet palace on the same site) and reconstructed according to the original plans in the 1990s during the era of Perestroika, thanks to donations by the Russian people. Today, the cathedral is the seat of the Russian Orthodox patriarch Kyrill and the centre and symbol of the reinvigorated Russian Church.

Reviews

September 2016

This is an astounding recording, on account of both the repertoire selected and the quality of the singing…performances throughout are of the highest standard…this is a revelatory disc, by any standards.

14th July 2016

the harmonic language is rousing, fragrant pre-revolution romanticism, and the Moscow choir under Ivan Tokachev sings it better than anyone: deep-purring basses, intense-vibrato tenors, ecstatic sopranos, and a rich vibrancy to the whole ensemble. This is a choral sound that just glows.

Hidden Music of the Russian Church

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