Courtesy of Brandon Music
St. Petersburg Men’s Ensemble
Thursday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m. — BRANDON — The St. Petersburg Men’s Ensemble, an a cappella group from Russia, returns to Brandon Music for a night of Rachmaninoff’s “All-Night Vigil, Op. 37” and expressive Russian folk songs. The group performs Thursday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m. as part of its popular annual tour through the U.S.
The “All-Night Vigil, Op. 37” is an a cappella choral composition and is made up of settings taken from the Russian Orthodox all-night vigil ceremony. Hailed as Rachmaninoff’s finest achievement and “the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church,” the piece was composed in less than two weeks in January and February, 1915, and premiered in Moscow in March, 1915.
The “All-Night Vigil” is especially unique in that the composition masterfully combines both ancient Russian Orthodox chant and Romantic-styled composition, woven together by Rachmaninoff to such an expert degree that the chant melodies take on a life of their own, so to speak, thus making this work a genre of its own.
The Ensemble will present exclusive adaptations of 10 fragments of “All-Night Vigil” adapted by Alexander Govorov (Men’s choir “Soglasie”) and Kirill Sokolov (St. Petersburg Men’s Ensemble).
In addition to introducing audiences to Russian spiritual music, they also present the unforgettable diversity of picturesque and expressive Russian folk songs. A few of these include the humorous “Tula Harmonica,” the fast-paced Russian dance tune “Barynya,” and the “Song of the Volga Boatmen,” possibly the best known folk song in the world.
Concert tickets are $20. A pre-concert dinner is also available for $20. Reservations are recommended for the show and required for dinner. Venue is BYOB. Call 802-247-4295 or e-mail info@brandon-music.net for reservations or for more information. Brandon Music is located at 62 Country Club Road, Brandon.
