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The Choir of King's College, Cambridge, makes a solid effort with this piece. Rachmaninov meant for this music to be used during an actual service, building the choral parts around the chants of the Russian Orthodox priest and deacons, and after all, singing for services is what this choir does on a daily basis. However, if you are going to listen to this performance for the sake of the music, your enjoyment of it may depend on two things: one, do you have absolute pitch to the point of distraction, and two, do you like the sound of boy choirs? There are a couple of points where the celebrant begins a section with his normal chant, at the bottom of his range, but when the chorus comes in, you realize that his pitch is very slightly higher than everyone else. Also, the timbre of the upper voices is not as rich and warm as mature female voices would be, and in some of the forte and fortissimo phrases the boys seem to struggle to keep it together. Although Rachmaninov's music is harmonically rich, the overall sound of the all-male voices brings to mind an unadorned, simpler church, whereas a mixed choir, which is probably what Rachmaninov intended, brings to mind one with the golden, glowing decorations normally associated with Orthodoxy. The minor problems with the performance prove how hard a cappella choral singing is. The sound quality is excellent, and really, this is a quite good performance; it just isn't superlative.
© TiVo
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Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Stephen Cleobury, Conductor, MainArtist - Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Choir, MainArtist
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Album review
The Choir of King's College, Cambridge, makes a solid effort with this piece. Rachmaninov meant for this music to be used during an actual service, building the choral parts around the chants of the Russian Orthodox priest and deacons, and after all, singing for services is what this choir does on a daily basis. However, if you are going to listen to this performance for the sake of the music, your enjoyment of it may depend on two things: one, do you have absolute pitch to the point of distraction, and two, do you like the sound of boy choirs? There are a couple of points where the celebrant begins a section with his normal chant, at the bottom of his range, but when the chorus comes in, you realize that his pitch is very slightly higher than everyone else. Also, the timbre of the upper voices is not as rich and warm as mature female voices would be, and in some of the forte and fortissimo phrases the boys seem to struggle to keep it together. Although Rachmaninov's music is harmonically rich, the overall sound of the all-male voices brings to mind an unadorned, simpler church, whereas a mixed choir, which is probably what Rachmaninov intended, brings to mind one with the golden, glowing decorations normally associated with Orthodoxy. The minor problems with the performance prove how hard a cappella choral singing is. The sound quality is excellent, and really, this is a quite good performance; it just isn't superlative.
© TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 23 track(s)
- Total length: 01:15:00
- Main artists: Choir of King's College, Cambridge Stephen Cleobury
- Composer: Serge Rachmaninoff
- Label: Warner Classics
- Genre: Classical
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
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