All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: Bogoroditse Devo
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Recording
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Painting
David Dalhoff Neal
Interior of St. Mark's, Venice, 1869
The piece
Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil (1915) sets the Russian Orthodox vigil service for unaccompanied choir. This sixth movement is the Slavonic Ave Maria, the angel's greeting and Elizabeth's blessing to Mary. It opens quietly, rises to a single loud climax and falls back.
The recording
BBC Music Magazine called this 1990 recording the first by a Western choir to match the weight of Russian choirs, with more accurate tuning and ensemble. The Corydon Singers are a large mixed chamber choir, with a fuller, darker sound than an English consort.
Other recordings
The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir under Paul Hillier (Harmonia Mundi), and Gloriae Dei Cantores under Peter Jermihov, BBC Music Magazine's top recommendation.