An entrancing and hypnotic disc. This is a great outing for Hillier's Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir & on the basis of this disc I shall certainly be looking out for their Baltic Voice series.
This is not the most passionate nor refulgent version I have ever heard but Hillier ensures that the score is scrupulously followed whilst combining this with an audible sense of devotion. A nice touch is that the chants from the (one) Basso Profundo are included which gives more atmosphere than those recordings that omit them. The phrasing is at once musical and involving and it really sounds like a religious experience; the tone is also glorious, quite exceptionally fine, exhibiting some of the nicest sounds I have heard from a chorus outside of Renaissance music.
The alto and tenor soloists are very good too and blend nicely with the choral body around. Tuning is almost always impeccable, although there are one or two small moments that upper voices appear under a little stress. It should be observed though that this does not detract in any serious manner from the overall execution of this work.
The sound is as rich as the harmonies that Rachmaninov composed and overall I cannot fault anything in either stereo or MCH. Recommended.
Review by jlaurson October 10, 2007 (2 of 3 found this review helpful)
Performance: Sonics (S):
In short: This is a magnificently enchanting recording (no pun intended) of the Vespers that immediately draws the listener in. The detailed and beautiful singing as well as the style in which Rachmaninov composed his Vespers remind of Russian music from before his time - with plenty of Orthodox frankincense thrown into the mix. There is also a bit of Taneyev's psalm setting that peeks through. I know that other choral recordings - like the Bolcom songs - are up for the slightly more prestigious Grammy Awards, but for what it is worth, this was my choral recording of the year 2005. Stunning... and so very different from what people might usually expect from Rachmaninov.
Sonics (S/MC):
