Rachmaninoff – The All-night Vigil
Rachmaninoff wrote the All-Night Vigil in 1915, when it was used in concert to raise money for the Russian war effort. It was his favorite choral composition. The vigil is a traditional Russian Orthodox divine service celebrated before major feast days or on Saturday evenings. It combines three of the ancient seven short prayer services observed by monasteries—Vespers (sunset), Matins (ending at dawn), and Prime, or First Hour (at around 6 am). The Vigil is comprised of these three services back-to-back to prepare one for the mass the next day and can take as short as an hour in parishes or as long as three hours in a monastery. Like all traditional Russian church music, it is a cappella, as instruments are not permitted in Orthodox services. The text is in Church Slavonic, the liturgical language of the Russian Orthodox Church, which derives from Bulgarian. In his settings, Rachmaninoff used traditional chants, most notably znamenny [zih-NAM-menny] chant, the oldest unison, melismatic chant, from the 11th century, when Christianity came to Russia from Byzantium. The entire Vigil by Rachmaninoff takes over an hour. This evening we will sing six of his settings and one other as a solo, but to a different chant.
Divine Service of Vespers
1 The choir sings ‘Amen’ (‘Ameen’ in Church Slavonic) in response to the priest’s blessing introduces a sonorously fervent summons four times to the faithful
Amin. O come, let us worship and fall down before the Lord Christ, our God and Maker.
3 The text comes from Psalm 1, the verses alternating with Alleluia. The verses are mainly sung by middle voices (alto and tenor) and the refrain by the full choir.
The nine Alleluia statements describe a grand arch dynamically (pp, p, mp, mf, mf, f, mf, p, pp).
Blessed is the man that hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly. Alleluia…
Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. Alleluia…
4 This is the Phos Hilaron, the evening hymn of light, sung for Candle-lighting. It is the oldest Christian hymn, dating from the 3rd century, it was called “cherished” (so, old) in the 4th century. During the singing of this psalm all the lights of the church are gradually lit.
O Gladsome light of the holy glory of the Immortal One…Now that we have come to the setting of the sun and behold the light of evening, we praise (thee).
6 The last movement of Vespers is a hymn to the Mother of God, who is highly venerated as the Theotokos—the Carrier of God, a great mystery. We sing this in the language of the Russian Orthodox Church, Old Church Slavonic, which is derived from Bulgarian, but still close to Russian. It is often performed as a separate piece and is one of Rachmaninoff’s most popular compositions.
O Virgin Theotokos (God-bearer, God-carrier), rejoice, Mary, full of grace, God is with you. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, for thou hast borne the Savior of our souls.
Matins
8 This section, ‘Laud (Praise) ye the name of the Lord’, with words from Psalm 135 (136) features two musical layers: the thundering znamenny chant sung by the altos and basses, while above it, the sopranos and tenors hover and swirl like angel choirs of cherubim and seraphim.
Laud ye the Name of the Lord. Alleluia…
O praise it, ye servants of the Lord. Alleluia…
O give thanks unto the God of heaven. Alleluia. And his mercy endureth forever. Alleluia…
13 This Resurrection hymn returns to a traditional znamenny chant, expressing reverent gratitude for God’s mercy.
Today hath salvation come to earth:
Let us praise our Saviour, who arose from the tomb;
For he is the Author of our life;
For by destroying death by death, he hath given us the victory and great favour.
Prime – First Hour
15 The Vigil ends with the ancient Hymn to the Mother of God. It is a prayer of thanks to the Virgin Mary after an unsuccessful siege of Constantinople in 626. Rachmaninoff’s setting ends the All-Night Vigil in a suitably splendid fashion.
To you, highest Leader, triumphant victor, O Mother of God.
Since thou hast saved us from all evil,
Hymns of thanks and songs of joy do thy servants offer unto thee, thou who barest God…
Deliver us from every calamity:
We then shall cry, Hail to you, O Bride, and ever Virgin.
Spirituals
The songs of the black slaves in the American south are a rich gift to our land. They sprung up spontaneously from need and are in the truest sense, folk song. They also carried to North America the rhythms of their homeland in West Africa. These rhythms are an integral part of their vitality and their immediate appeal to so many people.
Songs were widely used in the everyday life of the African slaves. Singing served to inspire and motivate the slaves in their burden of manual labour. Singing helped express their sorrow and pain at their plight. Singing was used to express their values and solidarity with one another and in worship. Songs helped retain information and communicate. They brought the people together in community, the most important thing in the lives of the slaves.
Well-known spirituals of the mid-eighteenth century are much more complex than they first appear. Codes, which take the form of railroad terminology for use with the Underground Railroad and biblical analogies, were encoded in spirituals, allowing supporters and fugitives to communicate discreetly with one another. For instance, “being bound for the land of Canaan” for a white slaveholder could mean “ready to die” or “go to heaven”, but to a slave it meant “getting ready to go to Canada”. The lyrics appear to hold different and non-threatening meanings to the slaveholders. As well, “Moses” meant abolitionist Harriet Tubman, and the “Jordan River” stood for the Ohio River, which marked the boundary between the American South and the free North. To express this title, “Swing Low” would mean Come into the Deep South, and “Sweet Chariot” referred to the Underground Railroad.
We hope you enjoy this half of our concert this evening, as we go deeper into the spirituals and discover their “code” and layers of meaning.