Ancient Echoes

Alexander Sheremetiev (Composer), Alexander Nikolsky (Composer), Nikolai Golovanov (Composer), Strokin (Composer), Dimitry Bortnyansky (Composer), Alexander Grechaninov (Composer), Riutov (Composer), Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (Composer), Pavel Chesnokov (Composer), Academy Chorus (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Academy Chorus
• Composer: Alexander Sheremetiev, Alexander Nikolsky, Nikolai Golovanov, Strokin, Dimitry Bortnyansky, et al.
• Audio CD (March 14, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003FTV
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,375 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #28 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Anthems

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Compare These 3, April 18, 2004

By 

John D. Dooley "PhiloX" (Southern California United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ancient Echoes (Audio CD)

There are 3 different CD's about Russian Choir "A Cappella" music which can be discussed & reveal a certain enjoyment to different people with different needs or means:

"Ikon" sung by the Holst Singers on Hyperion is the middle ground that gives a well balance & beautiful music from an English choir group. If you did not know they were English, you would think of them as Russian. Most songs are Russian classics from Sviridov, Gretchaninov, Kalinnikov, & Tchaikovsky with modern versions from Part, Gorecki, & Nystedt. The highlight is from the female sopranos which give an angelic & awl inspiring spiritual uplift that must not be missed.

"Sacred Treasures" sung by several groups including The Russian State Symphony Cappelle, The Leningrad State Academic Choir, The Bulgarian National Choir, & a few other groups on Hearts of Space give the most authentic Russian that to English ears may sound slow & uneventful. Yet to a person that knows Russian, this CD will cause the most goose bumps due to its rightful intensity with music from Rachmaninov, Bortniansky, Kedrov, Gertchaninov, Tchaikovsky, Christov, Turchaninov, & Lvovski.

"Ancient Echoes" sung by the Chorovaya Akademia on RCA Victor may give the best first impression due to its well made production that will give a serious work out to any professional stereo system, yet with further study will reveal an over dramatized style that may get in the way. Songs from the composers Sheretiev, Nikolsky, Golovanov, Strokin, Bortnyansky, Grechaninov, Riutol, Tchaikovsky, & Chesnokov.

If your into Russian "A Cappella" music, give these 3 CD's a try & decided for yourself.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Measure all other Russian choral albums by this one., December 13, 1999

By 

James A. Thorson "James A. Thorson" (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ancient Echoes (Audio CD)

The members of Chorovaya Akademia are all graduates of music conservatories. Their singing shows it. It is clear and precise, not to mention of the highest quality. Some of the Russian choral albums I have (e.g., the Monks of Zagorsk; the Yale Russian chorus) have shown sloppiness in their articulation and harmonies. Not this group. This album is by far the best of the 40 or 50 Russian choral albums in my collection. It is the standard by which to measure all others.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Might of the Russian Male Choral Sound, October 2, 2005

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ancient Echoes (Audio CD)

The Russian liturgical music, especially that for the high holy days of Christmas and Easter, owns a mystery all its own. This splendid recording by the Chorovaya Akademia conducted by Alexander Sedov is a fine a sound as any produced on recording. Though few of the composers (with the exception of Tchaikovsky and Grechaninov) are well known outside Russia, the works are all beautifully composed and hauntingly performed. There is somewhat of a sameness to these religious works (little variation in tempi, expressive range, dynamics) but the overall effect is one of humble spirituality.

This is a fine example of the Russian choral music that is growing in popularity one the recorded repertoire and it is for this listener one of the best. Grady Harp, October 05