Search - Alfred Schnittke, Valery Polyansky, Russian State Symphonic Choir :: Schnittke: Choir Concerto

Not the Swedish Radio Choir, but the best on disc

ldfr79 | Toledo, OH United States | 10/11/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I too had the fabulous opportunity to hear the Swedish Radio Choir sing this piece in concert. I agree that this is not the polished version that we heard from the live choir. However, after having searched through the other options, I have found that this one is the best recorded version. The others have all seemed thin and whistling compared to the robust and full tones of this choir. Dynamically, this choir is fantastic. Blend however, is not their forte. The highest soprano notes are painfully flat and strained.
I also searched for Strauss's Deutches Motet after this same concert and had similar results. I anxiously await the Swedish Radio Choir to record this superb piece (in my opinion, one of the greatest and most powerful choral works I have yet heard). For a Swedish Radio Choir performance of Schnittke, I recommend the Psalms of Repentance. The tuning and blend on that disc are exactly as we remember from the concert."

Glorious

Christopher Culver | 03/26/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In exploring Alfred Schnittke's extensive output, I've generally thought of his work as two stylistic periods. On one hand, the music up to the end of the 1980s is zany, and he has a trademark way of taking a nice classical-sounding theme and then making it suddenly grotesque through dissonances. On the other hand, there's the slow and bleak music of his last years, after he suffered multiple strokes.



But Schnittke also had a deeply spiritual side that is, I think, much less widely appreciated. These works are his mystical Symphony No 4 and his a cappella choral works, of which the Choir Concerto (1984-85) is the most ambitious. The Choir Concerto is a setting in four movements of devotional poetry by the 10th-century Armenian monk Gregory of Narek, in Russian translation. Just the titles of the movements out to intrigue many to seek out this work: I. "O Master of all living, bestowing priceless gifts upon us...", II. "I, an expert in human passions, composed this collection of songs, where every verse is filled to the brim with black sorrow." III. "To all who grasp the meaning of these mournful words..." IV. "Complete this work which I began in hope and with Your name..."



Schnittke's writing for choir is unlike anything that I've ever heard before. The division of the choir into multiple voices varies over the course of the work, but throughout the sound is of downright orchestral fullness. The mood goes from loud and confident in the first movement to repentant in the middle two movements, to reconciliation and peace in the fourth. The choir brings the world to an end with a luminous series of Amens, releasing the listener for a long and powerful emotional journey.



Whatever one might think about Schnittke's other music, I can't imagine any classical fan not loving this remarkable piece. That there is only 43 minutes of music on the disc might give some pause, but the Russian State Symphonic Cappella and Valery Polansky give a flawless performance with excellent sonics."