COMPOSERS: Rachmaninov
LABELS: Signum
ALBUM TITLE: All Night Vigil
WORKS: All Night Vigil
PERFORMER: Tenebrae, Nigel Short
CATALOGUE NO: SIGCD 054
Rachmaninov Vespers recordings are
like London buses; you get none for a
while, and then a whole clutch appears
one after another – which is why this
Vespers review follows hard on the
heels of my last one, just three months
ago. The latest version is very fine,
too. Listening to it alongside all the
other versions was a very disconcerting
experience, because all the recordings
seemed to have shifted somewhat, as
if the arrival of this newcomer had
caused some sort of seismic shock.
The Finnish National Opera Chorus
(Naxos) appeared even more Slavic
and King’s College Choir (EMI)
even more restrained and English.
One thing, though, hadn’t shifted
at all, which was my perception that
my previous winner, the version
from the National Academic Choir
of Ukraine under Yevhen Savchuck,
still stood out from the crowd. So
this was a two-horse race, between
that version and this new one.
The virtue of Tenebrae’s recording
is its combination of finesse and
emotional power. The acoustic
is perfect, being simultaneously
pellucid and warmly resonant. The
clarity allows Rachminaninov’s
occasionally thick textures to resound
with total clarity, such as the tangle
of parts moving in contrary motion
in ‘Bogoroditse Devo’. And the
sound is more intense and sharply
characterised than some – the tenor
soloist, Paul Badley, wouldn’t sound
out of place in Kiev. The recording
is altogether excellent, and it’s only
that extra something in the Ukrainian
version – a heartfelt supplicatory
quality, especially in the ‘Nunc
dimittis’ – that for me keeps it ahead
of the competition. Ivan Hewett