Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Liturgy of St John Chrysostom - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

R. Leoncavallo - Pagliacci (Sung in English) [COMPACT DISCS] date 09/15/1998

Daniel Weissmann, Managing Director of the Liège Royal Philharmonic, is also a violist. Following an initial album released by Fuga Libera (2018) and chiefly devoted to German music, he continues his exploration of the chamber repertory for viola with this new album, here in partnership with the pianist Peter Petrov. The programme explores the French Romantic repertory, in a world premiere recording of the British musicologist Hugh Macdonald's remarkable and formidably difficult arrangement for viola and piano of Berlioz's Harold en Italie. The album is completed by 'fin-de-siecle' pieces by Vierne, Chausson and Tournemire (all three students of Cesar Franck), written between 1894 and 1897, which embrace the full expressive and melancholic potential of the instrument.

In 1877, Tchaikovsky wrote in a letter to Nadezhda von Meck InchI often go to the public worship; in my opinion, the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is one of the greatest works of art... Oh, I love all that terribly, it is one of my greatest pleasures.Inch Tchaikovsky enjoyed attending worship services, visited them regularly and was always interested in sacred music, especially in the music of the Orthodox Church. At a relatively early point in his career, in 1875, he issued InchA short textbook of harmony, adapted to the reading of spiritual and musical compositions in RussiaInch, which in 1881 was approved as a textbook of church singing in theological seminaries and colleges. The same year, Tchaikovsky even started editing the works of Dmitry Bortnyansky, a pioneer of sacred Orthodox music. However, he encountered problems with various institutions - the Imperial Chapel, the censorship authorities, as well as some conservative church officials who were more comfortable with smaller-calibre composers, since they could be manipulated if necessary. Tchaikovsky wished to reform sacred Orthodox music but at the same to draw inspiration from the traditions of past centuries. Prime example of this is Tchaikovsky's monumental work in sacred Orthodox music, the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 41. The Nine Sacred Choruses, which date to 1884-1885, is not a cycle in the basic meaning of the word, but rather a collection, and another affirmation of Tchaikovsky's skills as one of the greatest composers of Orthodox sacred music. In this album these works are being performed by the award-winning Latvian Radio Choir under the direction of Sigvards Klava.