Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil is notable for its 'choral orchestration', using an enormous range of colour from the choir and frequent divisi passages in all voices.
Composer Biography
Rachmaninov had a special affection for the fifth number of the Vigil, the Song of Simeon (Nunc dimittis), and wished for it to be sung at his own funeral.
Composition History
Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil, though commonly known as 'Vespers', is a setting of Vespers, Matins, and the First Hour as celebrated in the Russian Orthodox Church.
Composition History
Rachmaninov completed the All-Night Vigil in just two weeks during January and February of 1915, while touring Russia to support the war effort.
Critical Reception
The first performance of the Vigil on March 10, 1915, by the Moscow Synodal Choir, was so well received that it had to be repeated four times that concert season.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Rachmaninov dedicated the Vigil to Stepan Vasilevich Smolensky, a theorist and scholar who introduced him to the sacred repertoire at the Moscow Conservatory.
Compositional Technique
Nine of the fifteen sections of the Vigil are based on traditional Russian chants, while Rachmaninov's other melodies are deeply imbued with the chant's spirit, creating a 'conscious counterfeit of the ritual'.
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