On Saturday, March 23 at 7:30 PM, the 60-voice Bravo! Vancouver Chorale performs Solemn Vespers—or Vsenoshchnoye bdeniye as it is known in Russian—by Sergei Rachmaninoff. The concert is held at St. JosephChurch, 400 S. Andresen Road, Vancouver.
A virtuoso pianist and concert artist who toured throughout the United States from 1918-1943, Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) as a composer is best known for his four Piano Concertos and of course his famous Rhapsody of a Theme of Paganini for piano and orchestra. In fact, the Rhapsody has achieved true ‘cultural icon’ status, having been performed by every major concert pianist of the last 80 years and even appearing in such widely different Hollywood films as Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray and Somewhere In Time, starring Christopher Reeve.
Composed in just two weeks in January and February 1915, the Solemn Vespers receive its premiere in Moscow on March 1915 at a concert to raise money for war relief efforts. Written during the privations of World War I—but before the terror of the 1917 Russian Revolution—Rachmaninoff was 42 years old and at the height of his creative powers. As required by church tradition, the music is composed for unaccompanied choir.
Nine of the fifteen numbers in the Solemn Vespers are based on ancient Russian melodies: chants dating back at least to the 15th century and perhaps even earlier. Some of the music is based on Kiev Chants, reminiscent of Ukrainian folk music. Rachmaninoff’s Solemn Vespers is considered the finest of his sacred music, and has been praised as representing the greatest height reached by music of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Concert tickets are $25 for reserved seating. Tickets are available at www.bravoconcerts.com or at the Bravo! Box Office: 360-906-0441 or TicketsWest at www.ticketswest.com. For directions or accessibility questions call 360-696-4407 or for more information visit www.bravoconcerts.com.
