The Portland Symphonic Choir will sing Rachmaninov’s wonderful "Vespers" under the direciton of Steven Zopfi this weekend at St. Marys Cathedral and at the end of the month at St. Mary's Parish in Mount Angel. The "Vespers" contains 70 minutes of continuous unaccompanied singing—in Russian—will test the mettle of any choir.
Written in 1915, Rachmaninov's "Vespers" has been praised as "the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church;" and it certainly held a special place in Rachmaninov’s heart, as he asked for the fifth movement to be sung at his funeral. It also marks the end of an era, in that the Revolution of 1917 led to a ban on all religious music which caused Rachmaninov to flee Russia with his family, never to return.
St. Mary's Cathedral, NW 18th and Davis in Portland
Sat. May 16 - 7:30 pm or Sun. May 17 - 2:30 pm
Mt. Angel, Oregon - St. Mary's Parish Church, 575 E. College St.
Sun. May 31, 4 pm
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PS: I won't be singing in this concert, but fellow Northwest Reverb blogger Lorin Wilkerson will.
Actually, I won't be singing in it either but I do look forward to enjoying the concert this afternoon. Best of luck PSC!
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