Eternal Memory / Вечная память (with oktavist)



Our next piece has been suggested by Brian, one of our second basses, and this recording includes a reading by an oktavist. It comes from a recording made by the Don Cossack chorus, which was founded in 1921 by Serge Jaroff. In the aftermath of the First World War and period of revolution and civil war in Russia the choir migrated around Europe, eventually finding a permanent home in the United States of America.

Vechnaya pamyat', literally 'memory eternal' is sung at the end of a Russian Orthodox memorial service, or panikhida. This recording was dedicated by Serge Jaroff to the fallen soldiers of the White army.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ivan the Terrible, directed by Eisenstein, score by Prokofiev

Image
Still from Ivan the Terrible (Ivan Grozniy / Иван Грозный) The Swan Our next singer's choice comes from Andy, one of our basses, who recommends Prokofiev's soundtrack for Eisenstein's final masterpiece, Ivan the Terrible.  As Andy says, 'There is something for everyone on here.'  This excerpt, The Swan / Wedding Song, is one of the loveliest moments in the entire score.  Regretably Blogger isn't permitting film footage to be embedded this afternoon, however if the link above should take you straight to the piece on YouTube. If you haven't seen the film already, you're in for a treat. It was made in two parts (although Eisenstein intended it to have three); Stalin was delighted with the first part, released in 1944.  However he was less impressed by part two's portrayal of Ivan, a historical figure he apparently admired. Part two wasn't released until 1958, five years after Stalin and Prokofiev's deaths; by pure coincidence they both die...
Read more

Evening Bells, Traditional Song

Image
Our next selection, Evening Bells, has been made by George, our committee's Tenor Representative. He writes "This song is a family favourite and, interestingly, our familial love for it can be traced back at least a century. My great-grandfather George used to love it, my grandmother Alla loves it, my mum too and so do I. The lyrics of this song were adapted from a poem written by the Irish poet Thomas Moore, in his collection National Airs ." This version is sung by the Moscow Patriarchal Choir, and is borrowed with our thanks from Norman Fowler Sutton's extensive YouTube channel, where a  transliteration and translation of the lyrics can be found.
Read more

Anton Rubinstein: a possible recording?

Image
This entry is a little unusual, as it is about a musician rather than an individual piece. Anton Rubinstein is a hugely significant figure in the development of Russian music; he founded the St Petersburg Conservatory in 1862 and became its first Director. His brother, Nikolai, founded the Moscow Conservatory in 1866. Anton Rubinstein was famous in the nineteenth century for his bravura performances at the piano, and was a prolific composer of operas, piano concertos and symphonies. This recording was the focus of a presentation by Christoph Flamm at the recent Early Recordings: Methodologies in Research and Practice online conference. It comes from Julius Block's collection of wax cylinders, and while the pianist hasn't been definitively identified, it is very likely to be Rubinstein accompanying the tenor Vasily Samus . There are two short songs here, with a fragment of speech in between; the first, 'Yearning', is by Rubinstein and the second, 'Don Juan's Ser...
Read more