In the third movement of the Symphonic Dances, Rachmaninov combines the 9th chant from the Russian Orthodox all-night vigil 'Blessed be the Lord' with the 'Dies Irae' from the Mass for the Dead.
Compositional Technique
In "The Bells," four types of bell sounds are symbolically compared to four fateful phases of human life.
Composition History
The Symphonic Dances are Rachmaninov's final work, composed during his American exile while he was still suffering from the loss of his homeland.
Performer Biography
Mariss Jansons, the conductor on this album, was born in Riga in 1943, the son of conductor Arvīds Jansons.
Composer Biography
Rachmaninov signed the completed orchestral score of his last work, the Symphonic Dances, with the Russian lines: 'I thank thee, God'.
Composition History
Rachmaninov's choral symphony, "The Bells," was inspired by an anonymous letter and Konstantin Balmont's translation of Edgar Allan Poe's poem of the same name.
Composition History
The anonymous admirer who inspired Rachmaninov to write "The Bells" was later identified as Maria Danilova, a pupil of his former fellow student and friend, Mikhail Bukinik.
