Thursday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m.—BRANDON—The St. Petersburg Men’s Ensemble, an a cappella group from Russia, presents Masterpieces of Russian Choral Music: From Baroque to Classical at Brandon Music Thursday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. as part of their popular annual tour through the U.S. As usual, the first part of the program will be sacred music of the Russian Orthodox Church with pieces from the early 17th to the 20th century from a range of composers, the best known of whom is Rachmaninov, part of whose “All Night Vigil” will be presented.
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 second part of the concert concentrates on Russian art song, much of which displaying the characteristic wit of Russian writing and comes from many well known composers including Glinka, Arensky, Tchaikovsky and others.
The St. Petersburg Men’s Ensemble formed as an independent group in 2003 in order to bring to its audiences compositions which, in normal circumstances, require a large number of performers. This talented quartet has developed an extensive repertoire encompassing a wide range of works from ancient Russian chants and chorals of Western Europe to modern music. The Ensemble is comprised of Kirill Sokolov, Sergey Shapinskiy, Andrei Volikov, and Vadim Smantser.
This event is a part of Vermont Arts 2016, celebrating public funding for the arts.
Tickets are $20. A pre-concert dinner is available for $25. Reservations are recommended for the show and required for dinner. Venue is BYOB. Call 802-247-4295 or email info@brandon-music.net for reservations.
Brandon Music is located at 62 Country Club Road, Brandon. For more info, visit brandon-music.net.
Photo courtesy of Brandon Music
ST. PETERSBURG MEN’S ENSEMBLE
