Vocal Arts Ensemble: Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil

Rachmaninoff’s beloved unaccompanied All-Night Vigil (Vsénoshchnoye Bdéniye) from 1915 has been called “the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church.” Inspired to create a work that would recover the true spirit of Orthodox worship services that he remembered fondly from his youth, Rachmaninoff chose time-honored chant melodies used in Orthodox services and wrapped them in wondrously rich harmonies. The work’s 15 movements are written with a breadth of complexity and vocal texture, each one passionately and eloquently expressing the drama and nuance of these treasured texts. The words are from the sung portions of the All-Night Vigil service, which includes the evening service of Vespers and the morning service of Matins. As such, they embody the act of remaining hopeful while waiting for night’s bleak darkness to come to an end and a new day to begin with the joyous light of dawn. Infused with multiple layers of meaning and metaphor, the hourlong All-Night Vigil can speak profoundly to all people, whether religious or not, even sung in Church Slavonic.

We invite you to hear the 35 singers of the Vocal Arts Ensemble perform this sublime music and to experience its transcendent beauty in the incomparable acoustical setting of Duke Chapel.