St. John's Concert Series: Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil
Donations welcome
Eric Banks and the Esoterics sing Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil, all 15 movements, to celebrate the centenary of this piece, the pinnacle of Russian Romanticism. Free concert, free reception, free babysitting.
The first performance of the vigil took place in Moscow on March 10th, 1915. Rachmaninoff wrote his 70-minute, 15-movement vigil in January and February of 1915, and it was first performed as a fundraiser for war relief efforts. Rachmaninoff's masterpiece proved to be so popular with both critics and the public that it was performed five more times within the month. Rachmaninoff based 10 of his 15 movements on extant chants from various traditional styles, including Greek, Kievan, and the Russian "Znamenny" style. The remaining five movements were entirely of the composer's own creation, although he admitted their style to be "a conscious counterfeit of the ritual." For this concert series, The Esoterics has expanded to 48 voices, and will intersperse Rachmaninoff's movements with phrases of Slavonic chant.