Vespers : Korniev / St Petersburg Chamber Choir, Borodina, Mostowoy

This collection of 15 canticles was composed in less than two weeks during 1914, and dedicated to the memory of Rachmaninov's friend and authority on medieval church music, Stepan Smolensky, who had died the previous year. It was intended to be sung during the night-long vigil in monasteries and on the eve of holidays in the Russian Orthodox Church. According to strict Church protocol, it was based largely on existing plainchant, although Rachmaninov was allowed greater freedom in just six numbers, which he called conscious counterfeits nos.1, 3, 5, 6, 10 and 11. He later requested that one of these, his favorite fifth canticle, be played at his funeral, although sadly in the event this proved impossible. Following years of neglect, the All-Night Vigil is now widely celebrated as one of Rachmaninov's most important scores, one which provides a vital key to his obsession with chant-like melody.