Search - Mikhail Lanskoi, Yevgeny Kibkalo :: Rachmaninov: Complete Works for chorus & orchestra - The Bells Op. 35; Three Russian Folk Songs, Op. 41; Spring (Cantata), Op. 20

Rachmaninov Rarities

D. A Wend | Buffalo Grove, IL USA | 06/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This disc contains all of the music Sergei Rachmaninov composed for chorus and orchestra. The foremost piece (and the composer's favorite) is The Bells, which receives a magnificent performance conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky (from 1991) and played by the State Symphony Orchestra of the Ministry of Culture. The soloists are excellent with tenor Igor Slutskovsky singing the first movement with the brightness and cheerfulness associated with birth; Natalia Mihailova sings with nice control and sensitivity in the marriage section but is a little thin on her high notes. Bass Mikail Lanskoy is fabulous in the final movement in conveying the desolation of death.



The Three Russian Folk Songs was written in 1927 and was first performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski on the same program with the premiere of the Fourth Piano Concerto. The first two songs were suggested to the composer by Chaliapin and the third was performed by a popular Russian singer at a small social gathering. The songs, perhaps not surprisingly have to do with dislocation - in the first a duck and drake are crossing a bridge when the duck is frightened away and in the second a wife is abandoned by her husband for the winter and the third has to do with a faithless wife. The cantata Spring was Rachmaninov's first large work for chorus. One is reminded of liturgical chants with the chorus singing and the music is dramatic, a precursor to The Bells.



The performances of the Folk Songs and Spring, conducted by Alexander Gauk, come from 1958 and 1968, and are well recorded. The performances are spirited and with the chorus doing a splendid job. The recording of The Bells has much clearer sound with better engineering but, altogether, the recordings on this disc are beautifully performed and should not be missed by anyone interested in Rachmaninov.

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