All-Night Vigil

Russian State Chorus directed by Aleksandr Vasil'evič Svešnikov
Sergej RachmaninovRicordi 2001


The hidden harmony is more powerful than the manifest, says Heraclitus in a profound statement. And these Vespers by Rachmaninov, in which earth joins heaven’s song, mask a full, certain and at the same time restrained joy, a joy that has not yet totally exploded, as though awaiting its complete manifestation. (...)
Christ, of Whom everything consists, has already begun manifesting His dominion over reality. And the chorus underlines this over and over again throughout the Vespers, now energetically, now peacefully. Everything must be seen, perceived, acknowledged, and accepted from within this depth, from this perspective, to which all the voices seem to allude.
It is the certainty of the Resurrection, the triumph of the Resurrection, that sustains the entreaty and ignites the joy in the song of these Vespers.

(Excerpt from the introduction by Luigi Giussani to the booklet enclosed in the CD)