Notes and Editorial Reviews
A Kremlin Christmas presents a mildly exotic, ethnic program of Russian Orthodox sacred choral music.
"The Moscow Capella, founded in 1991 by Gennady Dmitriak, became affiliated with the Kremlin Museum in 1994. Renamed the Moscow Kremlin Choir, it has undertaken the task of reviving a Russian choral tradition that was suppressed, but, remarkably, never lost, despite the best (or worst?) efforts of the Soviet era. Delos's survey of Russian Christmas music includes music from the distant past (Vasily Titov, 1650-1710) to the present (Alexei Larin, born 1954); composers well known (Sergei Rachmaninov), moderately familiar (Dmitri Brotnyansky, 1751-1825, and Alexander Kastalsky, 1856-1926), and obscure (Stepán
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Degtyariov, 1766-1813, and V. Zinoviev, no dates, no first name). As I hinted above, to call this program "exotic" is probably to overstate the case. Dmitriak takes us a bit off the beaten path—far enough to be intriguing but not so far as to be disorienting. The biggest surprise, in fact, comes in the most recent work, Larin's Christmas Carols, which is described as a cantata but acts more like a medley of Russian, Ukrainian, and Byelorussian folk songs until a very familiar tune by the non-Russian Franz Grüber suddenly fills the air."
-- George Chien, Fanfare
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Works on This Recording
1.
Christmas Chant by Alexandr Kastalsky
Performer:
Vladimir Reutt (Voice),
Yulia Korpacheva (Voice)
Conductor:
Gennady Dmitriak
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Kremlin Museum Capella of Moscow
Period: Romantic
Written: Russia
Date of Recording: 2000
Venue: Great Hall, Moscow Conservatory, Russia
Length: 6 Minutes 44 Secs.
Language: Russian
Notes: This selection is a medley which also includes "Christ is Born, Rejoice,"
"I Can See a Mysterious Scarament," "Hail to the Birth od Christ" and
"Virgin This Day."
2.
Christ is born today by Stepan Degtyaryov
Performer:
Eugenia Chizhikova (Voice),
Valentina Kuznetsova (Voice),
Natalia Tyatykh (Voice),
Sergei Popov (Voice),
Andrei Timokhin (Voice),
Valentin Goutov (Voice)
Conductor:
Gennady Dmitriak
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Kremlin Museum Capella of Moscow
Period: Classical
Written: Russia
Date of Recording: 2000
Venue: Great Hall, Moscow Conservatory, Russia
Length: 6 Minutes 53 Secs.
Language: Russian
3.
Christmas Liturgy: Letter of the Apostle Paul - Alleluia by Anonymous
Performer:
Alexander Gritsuk (Voice)
Conductor:
Gennady Dmitriak
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Kremlin Museum Capella of Moscow
Period: Romantic
Written: Russia
Date of Recording: 2000
Venue: Great Hall, Moscow Conservatory, Russia
Length: 4 Minutes 48 Secs.
Language: Russian
4.
Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Op. 31: We sing unto thee by Sergei Rachmaninov
Performer:
Natalia Tyatykh (Voice)
Conductor:
Gennady Dmitriak
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Kremlin Museum Capella of Moscow
Period: Romantic
Written: 1910; Russia
Date of Recording: 2000
Venue: Great Hall, Moscow Conservatory, Russia
Length: 3 Minutes 7 Secs.
Language: Russian
5.
Vespers, Op. 37: no 6, Hail, Virgin, Mother of God by Sergei Rachmaninov
Conductor:
Gennady Dmitriak
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Kremlin Museum Capella of Moscow
Date of Recording: 2000
Venue: Great Hall, Moscow Conservatory, Russia
Length: 2 Minutes 56 Secs.
Language: Russian
6.
Christmas Cantata by Alexei Larin
Conductor:
Gennady Dmitriak
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Kremlin Museum Capella of Moscow
Period: 20th Century
Written: Russia
Date of Recording: 2000
Venue: Great Hall, Moscow Conservatory, Russia
Length: 14 Minutes 28 Secs.
Language: Russian
Notes: This selection is based on the Russian, Ukranian and Belorussian folk songs "Heaven and Earth," "New Joy," "Silent Night," "Holy Evening," "Angels in Heaven" and "Christmas Caroling is Here."
7.
Vespers, Op. 37: no 7, Glory be to God on high "Hexapsalm" by Sergei Rachmaninov
Conductor:
Gennady Dmitriak
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Kremlin Museum Capella of Moscow
Period: Romantic
Written: 1915; Russia
Date of Recording: 2000
Venue: Great Hall, Moscow Conservatory, Russia
Length: 3 Minutes 12 Secs.
Language: Russian
8.
Christmas Sticheron: Rejoice you righteous by Vasily Polikarp Titov
Conductor:
Gennady Dmitriak
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Kremlin Museum Capella of Moscow
Period: Baroque
Written: Russia
Date of Recording: 2000
Venue: Great Hall, Moscow Conservatory, Russia
Length: 3 Minutes 22 Secs.
Language: Russian
9.
The virgin today by Dimitri Bortniansky
Conductor:
Gennady Dmitriak
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Kremlin Museum Capella of Moscow
Period: Classical
Written: Russia
Date of Recording: 2000
Venue: Great Hall, Moscow Conservatory, Russia
Length: 1 Minutes 54 Secs.
Language: Russian
10.
Christmas Liturgy: Who is the Great God? by Anonymous
Performer:
Sergei Popov (Voice)
Conductor:
Gennady Dmitriak
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Kremlin Museum Capella of Moscow
Written: Russia
Date of Recording: 2000
Venue: Great Hall, Moscow Conservatory, Russia
Length: 5 Minutes 17 Secs.
Language: Russian
11.
Sacred Concerto for Chorus no 6 "Glory to God in the highest" by Dimitri Bortniansky
Conductor:
Gennady Dmitriak
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Kremlin Museum Capella of Moscow
Period: Classical
Written: Russia
Date of Recording: 2000
Venue: Great Hall, Moscow Conservatory, Russia
Length: 4 Minutes 56 Secs.
Language: Russian
12.
God is with us by Vassily Zinoviev
Performer:
Vladimir Reutt (Voice),
Valentin Goutov (Voice),
Valentina Kuznetsova (Voice)
Conductor:
Gennady Dmitriak
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Kremlin Museum Capella of Moscow
Written: Russia
Date of Recording: 2000
Venue: Great Hall, Moscow Conservatory, Russia
Length: 3 Minutes 41 Secs.
Language: Russian
Sound Samples
Christmas Sticheron: Rejoice You Righteous
Letter of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians - Alleluia
Troparion: Thy Birth, Christ, Our Lord
Kontakion: Virgin this Day
This Day Christ is Born in Bethlehem
Sacred Concerto No. 7, "Glory to God in the highest": I. Glory to God in the highest -
Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 31: Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Op. 31: We hymn thee
All-night Vigil, Op. 37, "Vespers": Hail, O Virgin Mother
All-night Vigil, Op. 37, "Vespers": Hexapsalms: Glory to God on high
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