I was surprised to see no comments here yet on the late night Prom on Tuesday. This was the first time I'd been to a late night performance and the difference in atmosphere was marked. I don't know what attendances are usually like, but there weren't many people up in the circle or gallery. I suppose, with a stalls ticket price of £11 that most people, unless they stood in the Arena, chose to buy a ticket downstairs. I liked the lighting and presentation from the platform of Fiona Talkington. The audience were very attentive - no annoying coughers/ talkers - and many were visibly moved by the performance of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. The performance wasn't as 'Russian' as I'd expected from a near neighbour, and I was a bit disappointed that Paul Hillier chose not to have solo voices in the few places where they are required - does he do this on his recording? But their sound was very beautiful - basses performed well with their subterranean notes at the end of the fifth movement - and I was pleased to be able to attend.

In the programme, recommendations for further listening included Chernushenko's recording on hm with the St Petersburg Academic Cappella. Is there anyone out there who's heard this one? It appears to be a relatively recent recording.

I've kept quiet up until now, since I didn't want to appear too negative: I missed the same forces in Perth last year - they were on the night I was in Heathrow on my way to last year's trek - but on their showing here I feel less disappointed. It seemed rather a contained, underpowered, secular reading: rather prim and polite, devoid of fire and fervour. The lack of soloists (why?) seemed rather perverse, especially as in the broadcast, the one strong super-bass totally dominated the others, turning the descent to the bottom Bb in the Nyne Otpushchaeshi/Nunc Dimittis into an accompanied solo - though that may have been a case of being too close to the mic.

Yes, I have that Chernushenko recording, which must be about ten years old now. It's OK, from what I remember, though I also remember it as being cursed with rather shrieky early digital sound*, and I've played it far less frequently than the Corydon Singers under Best on Hyperion, who marry the beautiful sound with more feeling, let alone the Bulgarian 'Svetoslav Obretenov' choir under Robev and, of course, the benchmark Sveshnikov. The latter two are both a little rough and ready as recordings, and some of the voices take a bit of acclimatisation (Slavic 'wobble' in the female voices), but that's the sound the composer must have envisaged, the whole experience is on a deeper, mystical level, which is surely what he intended.

*I thought it was still in the stores, but have just remembered that it came in a book-type cover, and that I'd transferred it to a slim CD case. It's here in front of me now: I'll give it a spin later.

I tend to agree with Ron too. My girlfriend, who is Russian, found the Estonia accent frustrating. I have ordered a SVESHNIKOV CD yesterday, and eagerly waiting its arrival

It was written for a concert performance, in 1915, partly to raise funds for the Russian war effort (and was so successful that it received four more performances that season). However, the choice of dedicatee (it was written in memory of the late Stepan Smolensky, who had introduced the composer to the sacred repertoire at the Moscow Conservatory) and choir (the Moscow Synodal Choir, Russia's finest practitioners of the repertoire, with an international reputation) make it clear that Rachmaninov intended the work to be part of the mainstream tradition. It does, however depart very slightly from the strict rules of Orthodox liturgical setting, which was enough to ensure its ban from liturgical use. Within three years, following the Revolution, the performance of all religious music was forbidden anyway.

It has certainly seen liturgical use in more recent years, though: the first time I ever heard it was in an Orthodox service broadcast on Radio 3 towards the end of 1990. I had missed the beginning, so had no idea who the composer might be, and was only aware that it was something very special indeed. I was quite staggered to find that it was Rachmaninov, a composer with whom up till then I had never ever connected. It was certainly a far more full-blooded performance than the one the Estonians gave us, which is how I've always understood the tradition to be - and certainly all the other performances and recordings I've heard are devoid of that antiseptic anæmia which seemed to pervade the offering at the Proms.

I heard live in our Church Rachmaninov's Vespers performed by Voskresenije vocal ensemble from St. Petersburg.  The conductor was Jurig Maruk  It was certainly was hairs on back of neck time with the bass profundo Anatoly Artamonov.  I still have the programme notes if anyone wants a liturgical context.

I too have a recording of an Orthodox service broadcast on R3, whether it is the same as Rons I don't know.

Arrived with euph at about 10:00, so rather than risking non-admitance went upstairs.

Aah...

Always interesting how Rachmaninov treats the choir as a vocal orchestra.  It's not just scored SATB (and I do know the parts divide variously a2 or a3) but there is a sense of colour throughout.

Not having a programme, I missed where the end was!  Still, big finishes are for warhorses.

I wondered if the choir was slightly understrength?  15 + 14 suggested it should have been 32.  And when the conductor thanked the choir by voice in the calls, I think there were only 4 tenors to 10 basses!

NB

Sorry for counting error.  I thought it supported my feeling that the tenor line (apart from where deliberately prominent) was often slightly underbalanced.

The sound up top was fine, but could have done with being a bit bigger.  I don't generally go to the gallery anyway because of the distractions from the people who actually promenande up there during the music!

NB