Customer Reviews

Sacred Treasures: Choral Masterworks from Russia

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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.

Back in the 80's I recorded a Hearts of Space program on NPR called "Russian Cathedral" Since then, I've kept recording it to new tape every year to save it, because I could never find it again. I was in a music store the other day and froze in my tracks when I was astonished to hear parts of this same program coming over the store speaker. It was on this CD! This is without doubt, the most powerful, the most emotionally moving and healing music that I have heard in the last 30 years. This will never happen again. Religious or not, you want it.

Enveloping, uplifting, soaring, angelic music that lends a sense of serene ecstasy to one's activities. This is the sound of worship in the Holy Orthodox Church. What a joy to be able to have such great choirs and such great expression of the sacred in one's own home.

My opinion of this disk is easily stated. If I were allowed to keep only one of all the disks of all the types and styles of music I have in my collection, this is the one I would keep.

Most of the tracks on the CD are well-chosen, but a few make me wonder. The most beautiful tracks in my opinion are the Kedrov "Our Father," the Bortniansky "Cherubic Hymn," and the excerpt of the Monastic Vespers. There are a few things that I find funny about this disc, though. Being Russian Orthodox, it just seems weird listening to all of Poliansky's litanies without a deacon's exclamations. It's like listening to half of a telephone conversation. Another thing, there are 5 settings of the Cherubic Hymn and NONE of them are complete. They all have their endings cut off. WHY? It's the best part! Finally, the bells. They brag about beautiful bells, but there is only one bell tolling. Trezvon, or festal ringing of all church bells, are so much more beautiful and exciting to listen to. One couldn't gather it from this CD, but Russian bell ringing is much different than Western bell ringing. These points aside, it is a fine CD and should find its way onto everyone's shelf.

I am the producer of this CD and also of "SACRED TREASURES III: Choral Masterworks From Russia and Beyond" as well as "SACRED TREASURES IV: Quiet Prayers", "SACRED TREASURES V: From a Russian Cathedral", "CELTIC TWILIGHT 7: Sacred Spirit", "MUSIC OF GRACE: Amazing Grace" and "SACRED SONGS OF MARY". In each case, my intention was to bring together the very best performances of exceptionally beautiful, slow and peaceful sacred music. Most of the pieces on this compilation (as on the other compilations mentioned above) are filled with lush harmonies sung by large mixed choirs. All the selections are deeply nourishing to the soul.

In many cases, I chose to use excerpts from longer pieces, omitting the exultant huge crescendos and very fast sections that are typical of Russian sacred music, presenting only the slow and quiet verses. One reviewer complained about the omission of the final (loud and fast) part of the Cherubic hymns, saying this is the best part, but I completely disagree! I feel that the slow "adagio" sections are by far the most beautiful parts, and that is what you will hear on these CDs.

Different types of music serve different needs, and in today's stressful and fast-paced world, one of the most important and often neglected needs is for time out from that world--to "lay aside all earthly cares" (as the "Cherubic Hymns" on this CD prescribe) and to rest in a magical, quiet space of slow, peaceful, beauty. That peaceful beauty is available to you on all of these albums, including this one, "SACRED TREASURES: Choral Masterworks from Russia"!

I admit to some strong bias here, having sung on the recording of Tchaikovsky's Liturgy available here from the Russian Chamber Chorus of New York. I was in that choir for five years, and our conductor's view of how to properly interpret Russian music became my own.

Because of Stalin's efforts to cleanse the country of the influence of religion, many musicians and composers were sent to Siberia. They were replaced with those from peasant backgrounds. The result was a huge change in how classical Russian music was performed, becoming less subtle, more interested in brute power and flash.

This recording features a massive and powerful choir. But the listener mostly hears a series of vowel sounds, with the consonants lost in the shuffle. Dynamic range is not as large as it could be. Phrasing is largely absent and we hear a steady wall of sound instead. Precision of rhythm is spotty, what consonants we do hear are frequently smeared. Pitch and richness of tone are good, but on high notes, inevitably given the size of the choir, some members strain.

Having performed and recorded Tchaikovsky's Liturgy I am very familiar with the piece. But listening to this recording of excerpts from it I sometimes barely recognized it as the same work. Tchaikovsky gives us great artistry, frequently crecendos and decrecendos on a single phrase. Each choral voice comes and goes like a wave, not all together like a tsunami in all but a few places. The balance of voices is constantly moving.

I encourage you to listen to the samples available here of the Russian Chamber Chorus's recording of Tchaikovsky's Liturgy, compare the same pieces. This recording is more a Vegas neon version of this great artwork than the fine art it deserves to be shown as. James Oestreich, the New York Times critic, put the Russian Chamber Chorus recording at #4 on his top ten list of classical releases for 2001, and said that if you had not heard it "You only think you know Tchaikovsky."

I hope you give the real Russian classical tradition a listen. It deserves your time, and it will pay you back with a huge amount of pleasure.

This recording is a truly unique account of Russian Orthodox choral music. The music is deeply moving and the mastery of the choirs is nothing short of remarkable.

A must have for any music collection.

I first heard this recording last spring on a local PBS station. I was absolutely breathless at the conclusion. Being of Ukranian decent, I have long had an interest in the music of the Eastern church, and Sacred Treasures is probably the most moving collection of Russian Orthodox and Byzantine sacred music I have ever heard...

This is simply the most beautiful sacred choral music I have ever heard. The long, sustained, exquisite harmonies transport me to another place and time -- a welcome relief from our hurried and noisy world. It soothes, it lifts, it calms, and renews the mind, body, and soul. It is a frequently played favorite at our house.

Some slow-paced choral music bogs down and drags. Although slow and soothing, this never drags, but imparts a lovely energy even in its calm. My Catholic childhood probably allows me to feel particularly at home with this music, but this is not a prerequisite to loving this CD. We have aethiest friends who also count it among their favorites. It was their first choice for calming their infant daughter.

Please don't stay away from this CD because it is sacred music. Since it is not in English, you won't be distracted by the words. It is simply a sublime listening experience for anyone.