Rachmaninoff: Vespers - All-Night Vigil The Choir of King's College, London & Joseph Fort

• Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943): All-Night Vigil, Op. 37:
• 1Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: I. Come, let us Worship01:44
• All-Night Vigil, Op. 37:
• 2All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: II. Bless the Lord, O my Soul (Greek chant)04:02
• Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37:
• 3Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: III. Blessed is the Man05:09
• 4Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: IV. O Gladsome Light (Kyivan chant)02:25
• All-Night Vigil, Op. 37:
• 5All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: V. Now Lettest Thou (Kyivan chant)02:51
• Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37:
• 6Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: VI. Rejoice, O Virgin02:39
• 7Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: VII. Glory to God in the Highest (The Six Psalms)02:27
• 8Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: VIII. Praise the Name of the Lord (Znamenny chant)01:58
• 9Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: IX. Blessed art Thou, O Lord (Znamenny chant)05:43
• 10Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: X. Having Beheld the Resurrection of Christ03:14
• 11Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: XI. My Soul doth Magnify the Lord07:05
• 12Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: XII. The Great Doxology (Znamennyy chant)07:20
• 13Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: XIII. Troparion. Today Salvation is Come (Znamenny chant)01:42
• 14Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: XIV. Troparion. Thou Didst Rise from the Tomb (Znamenny chant)03:10
• 15Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: XV. To Thee, Victorious Leader (Greek chant)01:33
• Total Runtime53:02

Info for Rachmaninoff: Vespers - All-Night Vigil

Could the definitive recording of the best-loved Orthodox choral music of all come from an Anglican chapel choir? Delphian’s Paul Baxter thinks so.

The young King’s College London voices are bright, responsive and clear, and the recording is intentionally designed to bring out the bell-like phrases that ring through the whole piece. From the first second the sound grabs you and holds you close: it’s punchy, and bold – a new presentation of music we all thought we knew.

In a recording to honour Rachmaninoff’s 150th anniversary, Joseph Fort and The Choir of King’s College London stake their claim to be among the finest choirs in the business.

"This is an assuredly faultless interpretation of the divine masterpiece, luminous, richly textured, rapturous and reverent, every note and nuance clearly expressive, rich and passionate, yet movingly persuasive. The unison in the swelling choral passages carries what can only be described as a numinous quality - felt, intuited, experienced even completely detached as this critic is from the Russian orthodox ritualistic incantations, liturgical hymns and canticles and with little insight into the specific references. This in itself and the feeling of immediacy and Russian authenticity, not least in the bass voicing, is quite remarkable given that the All-Night Vigil was never written as a concert performance piece, and the musical spirituality is deeply embedded in the act of worship ... Although there have been some 30 prestigious recordings of the piece this century alone, this from Delphian’s burgeoning discography is a must-have for all who love Rachmaninoff" (The Yorkshire Times)

The Choir of King's College, London
Joseph Fort, direction

Joseph Fort
is a conductor and musicologist based in London. His performances with the Choir of King’s College London have been recognised as ‘English choral singing at its best’ (Choir & Organ), ‘a performance of astonishing intensity and musicality’ (Gramophone), and ‘superbly drilled’ (The Guardian). Orchestras with which he has worked recently include Britten Sinfonia, the English Chamber Orchestra and the Hanover Band. His growing discography with Delphian Records has received considerable critical acclaim, with the 2022 release of Edward Nesbit’s choral music Editor’s Choice in Gramophone.

Festival conducting appearances across the world include the Festival de México, the White Nights Festival of St. Petersburg, the Montreal Organ Festival, the London Handel Festival, the St Albans International Organ Festival and the conventions of the American Guild of Organists and the Royal Canadian College of Organists. At King’s, Joseph is responsible for chapel music, conducting the choir in the weekly Eucharist and Evensong services during term, as well as radio broadcasts, concerts and tours. He also serves as Director of Music at St Paul’s Knightsbridge, where he conducts the professional choir.

Joseph holds a PhD from Harvard University, and his academic research focuses on eighteenth-century music and dance. He is currently completing a monograph on Haydn and minuets. He has published in the Eighteenth-Century Music journal, and has chapters in books with Cambridge University Press and Leipzig University Press. Prior to Harvard, he studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he was the organ scholar, and at the Royal Academy of Music, who in 2017 elected him to their Associateship.

Booklet for Rachmaninoff: Vespers - All-Night Vigil