In a rare move, Birmingham Bach Choir present an evening of seldom performed choral music from Eastern Europe.
Selected by conductor Paul Spicer, Great Russian Sacred Music combines pieces by Prokofiev and Rachmaninov with lesser known 18th, 19th and 20th century composers such as Chesnokov, Berezovsky and Golovanov.
For the audience, as Spicer says, the concert will be “wonderful voyage of discovery.”
Would it be fair to describe some of the pieces the choir are performing as, if not obscure, certainly rarely performed?
Yes, pretty well the whole of this programme will be unknown to the audience as it was to me. It has been a wonderful voyage of discovery.
How did you select the pieces?
A new volume came out from Oxford University Press [Russian Sacred Music For Choirs] which was devoted entirely to this repertoire, and it made real sense to build a programme round the great variety of pieces it contains, of period, length and mood.
How does the music broadly differ from European music from the same periods?
It has a unique sound world which focuses on traditional chant (and some newly composed which is based on traditional chant), and the Russians create an extraordinary rich texture from the bass upwards. The bass parts are incredibly low which is a real challenge for English singers, but it does make for a really exciting choral sound.
Do you have a particular favour piece, or pieces, from the concert? And if so, can you say a bit about why?
Difficult to say as they are different and have their own strengths but if pushed I would say Rachmaninov’s Ever-Vigilant Mother of God as it unfolds so organically and you can feel the quality of the music from such an extraordinary composer. It’s very moving.
Has rehearsing work in Russian presented any challenges for the choir?
Language! The music is not so very difficult, though it does present challenges, but the words are difficult for English speakers.
This the first concert of the choir's 2016-2017 season - what can we expect from the rest of the season?
More great performances from an outstanding choir singing a great range of music!
In a rare move, Birmingham Bach Choir present an evening of seldom performed choral music from Eastern Europe.
Selected by conductor Paul Spicer, Great Russian Sacred Music combines pieces by Prokofiev and Rachmaninov with lesser known 18th, 19th and 20th century composers such as Chesnokov, Berezovsky and Golovanov.
For the audience, as Spicer says, the concert will be “wonderful voyage of discovery.”
Would it be fair to describe some of the pieces the choir are performing as, if not obscure, certainly rarely performed?
Yes, pretty well the whole of this programme will be unknown to the audience as it was to me. It has been a wonderful voyage of discovery.
How did you select the pieces?
A new volume came out from Oxford University Press [Russian Sacred Music For Choirs] which was devoted entirely to this repertoire, and it made real sense to build a programme round the great variety of pieces it contains, of period, length and mood.
How does the music broadly differ from European music from the same periods?
It has a unique sound world which focuses on traditional chant (and some newly composed which is based on traditional chant), and the Russians create an extraordinary rich texture from the bass upwards. The bass parts are incredibly low which is a real challenge for English singers, but it does make for a really exciting choral sound.
Do you have a particular favour piece, or pieces, from the concert? And if so, can you say a bit about why?
Difficult to say as they are different and have their own strengths but if pushed I would say Rachmaninov’s Ever-Vigilant Mother of God as it unfolds so organically and you can feel the quality of the music from such an extraordinary composer. It’s very moving.
Has rehearsing work in Russian presented any challenges for the choir?
Language! The music is not so very difficult, though it does present challenges, but the words are difficult for English speakers.
This the first concert of the choir's 2016-2017 season - what can we expect from the rest of the season?
More great performances from an outstanding choir singing a great range of music!
Birmingham Bach Choir: Great Russian Sacred Music is taking place at Birmingham Cathedral on 19 November.