All-Night Vigil, a massive devotional work

Mention Sergei Rachmaninoff and right off thoughts turn to his extravagant, virtuosic piano concertos or the beauty of his heart-on-your-sleeve symphonies.

For many it’s a surprise that this composer of robust music gravitated to the liturgy of the Russian Orthodox Church and created a quiet, reflective moving work.

Composed in 1915 at time of political upheaval in Russia, it is not surprising his All-Night Vigil Op. 37 was more introspective than usual. Interestingly enough, although Rachmaninoff was not a deeply religious man, he possessed a deep sense of faith.

As Kappella Kyrie Slavic Chamber Choir realizes its fifth anniversary, it will sing the All-Night Vigil as a church service on two consecutive Saturdays – June 6 at St. Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church and June 13 at St. John Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral.

Mireille Rijavec (alto) and Markian Gowda (tenor) ably fill the solo parts.

“This is our fifth anniversary as an ensemble. We started in June 2010 and for this year I thought ‘wouldn’t it be great to do something more significant? Our anniversary also collided with the 100th anniversary of the vigil. Isn’t it a wonderful correlation?” explains conductor Dr. Melanie Turgeon.

In the choral repertoire, this two-hour plus piece is a significant work. Many choirs sing all or portions of Rachmaninoff’s vigil in concert halls.

However, Turgeon believes this is the first time a Canadian choir returns the piece to its roots and performs it as a church service complete with clergy, a selected hierarchy, a sprinkling of incense and icons in full view.

“It’s a lot of music to work with and you have to be well versed in the liturgy and feel comfortable leading in that style. Not everyone feels that comfort.”

Rachmaninoff structured the 15 movements from three parts of the liturgy: the evening Vespers, the morning Matins and the First Hour, an allegory of dusk to dawn.

The composer refracted the rituals through his own romantic prism and created exquisite eight-part harmonies. Certain movements employ traditional Russian church chants while others use free form.

“We’ve chosen two Saturdays so we can have a more elaborate service on those days.”

The 33 choirs are fairly split between vocalists of Slavic descent and other nationalities interested in singing sacred music.

“Initially we had very few in the choir to pull off a work like this. It was a huge stress for us. But it caused us to push the bar higher and the singers are doing quite well.”

St. Albert’s Andy Tarnawski (tenor) and Maryan Threndyle (alto) are also part of the ensemble. Along with other choristers, they learned Russian diction with a Ukrainian slant to sing the beautiful long-spooling lines.

Threndyle, who joined the choir in 2013 spoke about challenges facing vocalists.

“For me, it was a steep learning curve. I was not familiar with the language and the length of the All-Night Vigil is massive. It’s definitely more vocally challenging than anything I’ve done.”

And she gives full credit to Turgeon for bringing out the artistic truth in Rachmaninoff’s composition.

“She has a way of inspiring us and she’s very gifted as a choral conductor. This is her area of expertise and she’s very committed to the Ukrainian liturgy.”

Because of the liturgical underpinnings, the score is rhythmically smooth and harmonically rich.

“It’s going to be very inspirational and to experience it in the context of the church will be very powerful. It’s one of the most famous choral works and a favourite of many musicians. It’s a privilege to work with Melanie and the other choir members, and we’ve worked hard to have a good outcome.”