Rachmaninov: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

Baikov (Artist), Karakuts (Artist), Gerasimova (Artist), Minin (Artist), Moscow Chamber Choir (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 13, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Moscow Studio
• ASIN: B000AMPZRQ
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #477,289 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: Bless the Lord, O My Soul

2. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: Glory to the Father and the Only-Begotten Son

3. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: In Thy Kingdom Remember Us, O Lord

4. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: Come, Let Us Worship

5. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: Lord, Save the Faithful and the Trisagion

6. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: Augmented Litany

7. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: Cherubic Hymn

8. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: The Creed

9. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: A Mercy of Peace

10. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: To Thee We Sing

11. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: It is Truly Meet

12. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: The Lord's Prayer

13. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: Praise the Lord from the Heavens

14. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: Blessed is He and We Have Seen the True Light

15. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: May our Mouths be Filled with Thy Praise

16. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: Blessed be the Name of the Lord

17. Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, for chorus, Op. 31: Glory be to the Father

Editorial Reviews

The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is a standard Russian Orthodox liturgical text; Rachmaninov used it for the earlier of his two great sacred choral works (the other is the Vespers, or "All-Night Vigil"). This work of symphonic proportions was composed in less than three weeks. After it was completed, Rachmaninov wrote to a friend that he had been carried away by the project and that it had been a long time since he had written music with such pleasure.

Vladimir Minin was born in St. Petersburg in 1929, where he received his early musical training singing in the boys’ choir. Minin went on to direct choirs throughout the former Soviet Union before founding the Moscow Chamber Choir in the early 1970s. With strong ties to various contemporary composers, Minin and his singers have premiered many works and have performed a wide range of repertory. In 2000, the choir recorded Rachmaninov’s The Bells and Taneyev’s cantata St. John of Damascus with Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon. The Moscow Chamber Choir can also be heard on a disc of Russian orchestral favorites in this series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worship Music that NEVER Goes Out of Style, January 11, 2006

By 

Warren Kelly (Southern Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rachmaninov: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Audio CD)

The term 'liturgy' can be confusing to some, so a brief definition and explanation. While the term normally describes any set formal worship procedure (as in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer), in the Orthodox Church it refers specifically to the eucharistic rite (which the Roman Catholic Church would call simply 'Mass').

St. John Chrysostom was called to be bishop of Constantinople in 398. He was known for his eloquence ('Chrysostom' means "golden-mouth"), and his extant sermons and commentaries are still widely used by Christians in all denominations. Unfortunately, many of his works have been misunderstood in modern times by those who would call him an anti-Semite.

Rachmaninov composed this choral work, his first of three choral pieces, in 1910. Up until then, the best-known choral interpretation of Chrysostom's Liturgy was Tchaikovsky's 1878 work, which the Russian church actually condemned as being too "frivolous." Rachmaninov intended his work to be performed in church, though he did not use any actual verbage from Chrysostom's liturgy in the actual work. Unfortunately, the church was unimpressed with Rachmaninov's work, though they considered it "wonderful ... but with such music it would be difficult to pray; it is not church music."

I would have to disagree with that assesment. The choral work in this recording is masterful, and the tone is deeply reflective and worshipful. "Come, Let Us Worship" absolutely soars, ecouraging the listener to join in worship. The bass singing the "Augmented Litany" gave me chills. The performance is powerful -- something that is often unfortunately lacking in modern worship. The fact that the work is performed in Church Slavonic heightens the historic feel to the piece -- the church historian in me loved that as much as the music fan in me enjoyed the beauty of the piece.

Our modern idea of worship music has devolved. We have gone from the majesty of this Liturgy to 'praise choruses.' We've gone from unaccompanied choral singing to praise and worship bands. Music is certainly a matter of taste, but after listening to this CD I found myself longing for worship music that is far richer than three verses, a chorus, and a guitar solo. I recommend this CD, but be careful -- it may change how you look at your own worship experience.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I wish I could give it 5 stars., September 24, 2008

By 

John Fowler Wyman (urbana, illinois) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Rachmaninov: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Audio CD)

This is an excellent performance of the music on the CD. Unfortunately, some of Rachmaninov's music is missing.
Rachmaninov's setting of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is in 20 sections. This CD omits No.1,The Great Ektenia ("Lord have mercy"),No.9, Ektenia of the Prothesis ("Lord have mercy"), and No.15, The Elevation ("One is Holy"). The missing music is in no way inferior to what is on this CD, and would have only added 10 minutes to the timing of 53:51.

Its not expensive, though, so I guess I could recommend it in addition to a really complete version. Surprisingly, the two best complete versions are not from Russia, or even Eastern Europe.

Matthew Best and the Corydon Singers of London (Hyperion label) have a wonderful single disc (79 minutes) of all Rachmaninov's music, plus a lot of the antiphons (traditional chants sung by the Deacon, usually a deep bass).

Best of all is the performance by the Kansas City Chorale conducted by Charles Bruffy; 2 mid-price CDs (95 minutes) on the Nimbus label. (USA!USA!) I don't know why this should be better sung than by a Russian choir, but it just is. This recording includes ALL the antiphons sung by bass Father Andre Papkov of the Russian Orthodox Church in America. A hypnotic and deeply moving performance.

The Hyperion and Nimbus discs include the text of the Liturgy in phonetic Russian and English. A lot of CD companies aren't so courteous to their customers. If you don't have an English translation, google "orthodox liturgy" and you will find several websites. (Warning: The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom takes up about 30 pages)

Wonderful music.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rachmaninov: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, August 27, 2008

By 

J. Atkins "Mother Effingby" (Greatest Satan on Earth) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rachmaninov: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Audio CD)

As with the Vespers, there are magnificent melodic pieces within this choral work. It is beautifully performed, deeply emotional.