Serene Ecstasy

Vladislav Agafonnikov (Composer), Alexander Andreyevich Arkhangel'sky (Composer), Pavel Grigor'yevich Chesnokov (Composer), Mikhail Mikhaylovich Ippolitov-Ivanov (Composer), Valery Kikta (Composer), Nikolay Lebedev (Composer), Alfred Schnittke (Composer), Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (Composer), Spiritual Revival Choir of Moscow (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Spiritual Revival Choir of Moscow
• Composer: Vladislav Agafonnikov, Alexander Andreyevich Arkhangel'sky, Pavel Grigor'yevich Chesnokov, Mikhail Mikhaylovich Ippolitov-Ivanov, Valery Kikta, et al.
• Audio CD (August 29, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Delos Records
• ASIN: B00004XSQC
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #406,966 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Contemporary Russian Orthodoxy, December 12, 2005

By 

Vladimir Berezansky, Jr. "VladBJr" (Moscow, Russia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Serene Ecstasy (Audio CD)

This album is for sophisticated listeners who already know their way around Russian music, and specifically around the Russian sacred choral tradition, at least more than just a little. (NOTE: By `sophisticated,' I do not mean to hint that the music on this album is obscure, dissonant, weird, inaccessible, etc. With the exception of Nos. 1 - 4 and 8 - 11, however, these selections are just lesser known - and undeservedly so.) This recording serves as fitting evidence that the Russian Orthodox choral tradition did NOT die when the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917. To the contrary, this tradition was maintained and revived by many of the composers represented on this album. The album's producers thoughtfully begin with some better known selections: a traditional chant, Tchaikovsky, Arkhangel'sky, Chesnokov and Ippolitov-Ivanov. But even in the case of Chesnokov - who makes a fitting bridge between the `choked off' tradition of the Soviet era and the present - the selections include a triptych of para-liturgical choral essays. (His `Angel Cried,' selection No. 10 on this album, is worth the purchase price alone. If you've never heard this work before, prepare to be transfigured!) Recording No. 11, the best known liturgical composition of Ippolitov-Ivanov, represents this choir's final genuflection to the `traditional' Russian sacred choral tradition, and then we're off! Agafonnikov, Lebedev and Kikta are all living composers who continue to make contributions to this genre. The late Alfred Schnittke, better known for his symphonic, operatic and other modern classical (secular) achievements, is also represented here - given possibly more than his fair share on this CD because of name recognition. If anyone who should be here is missing, that would be Georgiy Sviridov, who wrote a number of stunning para-liturgical pieces in the Russian Orthodox style; but Sviridov's choral work is well-represented elsewhere in the Russian Orthodox (and related) discography. I could raise other quibbles, but that would be unfair. Finally, the performers are equal to the music - suffice it to say that this is one of the finest professional choirs in today's Russia. If the Russian Orthodox liturgical tradition speaks to you, and if you've already become acquainted with the big names (Bortnyansky, Tchaikovsky, Rakhmaninov, etc.) then this recording is definitely for you.