Customer Reviews

Ancient Echoes

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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

I bought this CD a couple of years ago and, unlike many of my CDs, I still listen to this one regularly. I love this music - it is incredible and I never seem to tire of it. This is an all male a capella choir with an -incredible- range of voices. It is SO spiritual and moving for me, and I'm not a religious person at all. Every time I listen to this CD, I am stunned by how powerful this music is! The recording is very good - a very spacious, well recorded CD, with great ambience. Listening to this CD is truly a spiritual experience! All I can think of to say is, "God, this CD is fabulous!". Just play this CD, turn down the lights, sit back in your chair, close your eyes, and listen to this incredible music.

I got this CD for xmas a couple years back, and it has remained my most listened to CD ever since then. The harmonies are incredible and overall the music is very soothing. This cd is a must-have!

This Awesome, ethereal, heavenly ANCIENT ECHOES was a gift of my friend, Dick Talley last year. Seldom does my early awakening miss listening to these choral chants of the Orthodox Monastery!

If I could choose the more interesting, comforting, fasinating polyphonic chants, they would be No.3 "The Only Begotten Son" of Golovanov, No.5 "The Lord Speaketh" and No.6 "Glory be to God in the highest" both by Bortnyansky!

Only Russian Choral Treasures are equally awesome, spiritually refreshing. When I awaken every morning around 4:00, I began listening to both these recordings, before reading or praying for friends, such as, Dick and Anita Talley.

Upon becoming 75 years of age, I tend to simplify my habit of listening to Choral Music. Most fondly reviewed by Retired Chaplain Fred W Hood, "Barbara377" (Fayetteville, GA USA)

I bought this CD a while ago and loved it. The harmonies produced I still have in my head, despite the fact that I lost the CD several months ago. Thus I'm writing this as I re-purchase the CD. THIS time I won't lose it. Although, even if I did, I'd still buy another one-it's that good.

I have eclectic musical tastes and listen to a wide variety of styles and performers. This CD contains some of the most beautiful pieces of music ever recorded...period. The 9th track alone is well worth the price of the CD. If you listen to this on headphones with your eyes closed, you will almost sense that you've been lifted into heaven itself.

The fantastic cover of this cd notwithstanding (the monk in red habit is a Catholic monk, probably a Carthusian, Orthodox monks wear a different habit), this is a cd of authentic Russian religious music for Christmas and Easter composed in the last 200 years and sung by an all-male choir: the Choravaya Akademia under the direction of Alexander Sedov.

The total length of this recording is 63:25 minutes.

Compared with other such cds available on Amazon.com like Sacred Treasures I and II, Ancient Echoes has a more vigorous and folk-song style. I do not want to sound sacrilegious or cynical in the least but many of the chants sound like Red Army songs.

So if you are looking for something virile and robust, something to bolster your resolution for moral rearmament, this is the kind of music that will delight you. If on the other hand you are looking for something tenderly contemplative, buy Sacred Treasures I or II or Rachmaninoff's Vespers by the Robert Shaw Festival Singers.

I was browsing for something interesting at the music shop and was intrigued by this cover. I asked the attendant to play it for me, and as I put the headphones on and heard the first phrases I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Simply some of the most glorious and inspiring music I've heard in years. This CD will be one of your best investments yet!