Durham Singers: Rachmaninov - Vespers

Durham Singers

The greatest service in the Russian Orthodox Church calendar is the Easter All-Night Vigil, a celebration of Christ’s resurrection that begins at midnight on Holy Saturday and continues to dawn, when the joyous Resurrection hymns greet the Easter sunrise. In 1915, just before the Bolshevik Revolution snuffed out the candles of the Russian church, Rachmaninov composed his choral setting for the All-Night Vigil (known in English as his 'Vespers'), distilling the wonders of that holy night into an intense hour of unaccompanied choral singing, built on orthodox chants and suffused with the distinctive sound of Russian bells.

Instead of hours of psalm chanting between the choral movements, we offer you instead short readings from Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Chekhov describing the Easter liturgy and processions, to help set the music in context.

Tickets are available from the Durham Singers website or contact the choir on 0779 0148062 to reserve tickets on the door.