Sacred Treasures: Choral Masterworks From Russia

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com's Best of 1998
Although this collection intends to transport the soul, it has a tremendously potent low-end depth to it that earns high marks indeed in the worlds of vocal and liturgical music. Dmitri Bortniansky's "Hymn of the Cherubim" is performed with a gracefulness that gets a warming fatness from the production, as does Alexander Gretchaninov's "I Have Chosen the Blissful," which travels with a ringing resonance. In a year of fine choral works--check out Sequentia's Hildegard cycle box, 900 Years or Arvo Pärt's Kanon Pokajanen for a "something old, something new" mix--this collection is highly valued for its sonic integrity and its excellent anthological mix. --Andrew Bartlett

Amazon.com
Words cannot describe poignantly enough the exquisite, angelic voices that permeate the heart and exalt the soul on Sacred Treasures. The most highly regarded Russian and Bulgarian choirs sing the hymns of Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Lvovski, and other composers in the Russian Orthodox Church's tradition of "Divine Worship" (worship through chant). From the first tolling bells that open the CD with a willowy, floating piece from Rachmaninov's Liturgy of St. John, to the final bells closing the... read more

Sacred Treasures: Choral Masterworks From Russia

Tracks:

Russian Cathedral Bells
Rachmaninov / Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 31: Great Ektenia
Rachmaninov / Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 31: Hymn of Praise
Rachmaninov / Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 31: Hymn of the Cherubim
Bortniansky / Hymn of the Cherubim (excerpt)
Kedrov / Our Father
Rachmaninov / Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 31: Fervent Supplication
Rospev / The Noble Joseph
Tchaikovsky / Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 41: Amen. And with Thy Spirit
Russian Monastic Vespers (excerpt)
Rachmaninov / Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 31: Bless the Lord, O my Soul
Tchaikovsky / Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 41: Hymn of the Cherubim (excerpt)
Christov / Hymn of the Cherubim (excerpts/edited)
Tchaikovsky / Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 41: Our Father
Gretchaninov / I have Chosen the Blissful
Lvovski / Hymn of the Cherubim
Final Bells

Product Description

1. Russian Cathedral Bells
2. Great Ektenia
3. Hymn of Praise
4. Hymn of the Cherubim
5. Hymn of the Cherubim
6. Our Father
7. Fervent Supplication
8. The Noble Joseph
9. Amen. And with Thy Spirit
10. Russian Monastic Vespers
11. Bless the Lord, O My Soul
12. Hymn of the Cherubim
13. Hymn of the Cherubim
14. Our Father
15. I Have Chosen The Blissful
16. Hymn of the Cherubim
17. Final Bells

Format: CD

Amazon.com's Best of 1998

Although this collection intends to transport the soul, it has a tremendously potent low-end depth to it that earns high marks indeed in the worlds of vocal and liturgical music. Dmitri Bortniansky's "Hymn of the Cherubim" is performed with a gracefulness that gets a warming fatness from the production, as does Alexander Gretchaninov's "I Have Chosen the Blissful," which travels with a ringing resonance. In a year of fine choral works--check out Sequentia's Hildegard cycle box, 900 Years or Arvo Pärt's Kanon Pokajanen for a "something old, something new" mix--this collection is highly valued for its sonic integrity and its excellent anthological mix. --Andrew Bartlett

Amazon.com

Words cannot describe poignantly enough the exquisite, angelic voices that permeate the heart and exalt the soul on Sacred Treasures. The most highly regarded Russian and Bulgarian choirs sing the hymns of Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Lvovski, and other composers in the Russian Orthodox Church's tradition of "Divine Worship" (worship through chant). From the first tolling bells that open the CD with a willowy, floating piece from Rachmaninov's Liturgy of St. John, to the final bells closing the door on "Hymn of the Cherubim" (Grigory Lvovski), this CD creates a gentle, distinctly Byzantine glory. The rhythms slowly wisp along while the choirs' baritones, tenors, and sopranos mesh into one expansive blessing. Meant to comprehensively gather not all Russian liturgical pieces but rather hymns that emote an inner tranquility and celestial grace, Sacred Treasures plays like a piece of heaven on Earth. --Karen Karleski

Customer Reviews:

Inner beauty.......2007-02-07

The sense of beauty emerge within us as these chorals fill the space of our head and heart. A music written by real masters and interpreted by voices rarely heard. Beautiful.

Music for the soul.......2007-01-10

One of the best renditions of the Orthodox Liturgy most famous hymns.

Hauntingly beautiful.......2006-12-28

A terrific production...a wonderful selection; great phrasing. See also "Holy Love" by 'Rossica Choir'

Divine Beauty and Peace! .......2006-12-03

I am the producer of this CD and also of "SACRED TREASURES III: Choral Masterworks From Russia and Beyond" as well as "SACRED TREASURES IV: Quiet Prayers" and "CELTIC TWILIGHT 7: Sacred Spirit". In each case, my intention was to bring together the very best performances of exceptionally beautiful, slow and peaceful sacred music. Most of the pieces on this compilation (as on the other compilations mentioned above) are filled with lush harmonies sung by large mixed choirs. All the selections are deeply nourishing to the soul.

In many cases, I chose to use excerpts from longer pieces, omitting the exultant huge crescendos and very fast sections that are typical of Russian sacred music, presenting only the slow and quiet verses. One reviewer complained about the omission of the final (loud and fast) part of the Cherubic hymns, saying this is the best part, but I completely disagree! I feel that the slow "adagio" sections are by far the most beautiful parts, and that is what you will hear on these CDs.

Different types of music serve different needs, and in today's stressful and fast-paced world, one of the most important and often neglected needs is for time out from that world--to "lay aside all earthly cares" (as the "Cherubic Hymns" on this CD prescribe) and to rest in a magical, quiet space of slow, peaceful, beauty. That peaceful beauty is available to you on all of these albums, including this one, "SACRED TREASURES: Choral Masterworks from Russia"!

A Soviet version of Russian music.......2006-05-29

I admit to some strong bias here, having sung on the recording of Tchaikovsky's Liturgy available here from the Russian Chamber Chorus of New York. I was in that choir for five years, and our conductor's view of how to properly interpret Russian music became my own.

Because of Stalin's efforts to cleanse the country of the influence of religion, many musicians and composers were sent to Siberia. They were replaced with those from peasant backgrounds. The result was a huge change in how classical Russian music was performed, becoming less subtle, more interested in brute power and flash.

This recording features a massive and powerful choir. But the listener mostly hears a series of vowel sounds, with the consonants lost in the shuffle. Dynamic range is not as large as it could be. Phrasing is largely absent and we hear a steady wall of sound instead. Precision of rhythm is spotty, what consonants we do hear are frequently smeared. Pitch and richness of tone are good, but on high notes, inevitably given the size of the choir, some members strain.

Having performed and recorded Tchaikovsky's Liturgy I am very familiar with the piece. But listening to this recording of excerpts from it I sometimes barely recognized it as the same work. Tchaikovsky gives us great artistry, frequently crecendos and decrecendos on a single phrase. Each choral voice comes and goes like a wave, not all together like a tsunami in all but a few places. The balance of voices is constantly moving.

I encourage you to listen to the samples available here of the Russian Chamber Chorus's recording of Tchaikovsky's Liturgy, compare the same pieces. This recording is more a Vegas neon version of this great artwork than the fine art it deserves to be shown as. James Oestreich, the New York Times critic, put the Russian Chamber Chorus recording at #4 on his top ten list of classical releases for 2001, and said that if you had not heard it "You only think you know Tchaikovsky."

I hope you give the real Russian classical tradition a listen. It deserves your time, and it will pay you back with a huge amount of pleasure.

Sacred Treasures III: Choral Masterworks from Russia

Average customer rating:

Absolutely FANTASTIC CD !!
Sacred and a treasure!
Absolutely wonderful
More Divine Beauty and Peace!
It Doesn't Get any Better!!!

Sacred Treasures III: Choral Masterworks from Russia

Manufacturer: Hearts of Space
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Ancient Echoes
Russian Medieval Chant
Basso Profondo From Old Russia
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Russian Easter

ASIN: B00003XB5E
Release Date: 2000-02-22

Tracks:

Alleluia, Behold The Bridegroom
Sourp Sourp (Holy Holy)
Lord Have Mercy
The Mercy Of Peace (Excerpts)
Komm Susser Tod (Bach)
Serenade
Grant Us This O Lord
Our Father
Gloria (Excerpt)
Peaceful Light (Kiev Chant)
Praise The Lord O My Soul (Greek Chant)
Blessed Art Thou O Lord (Kiev Chant)
Chorale
Amen Alleluia

Amazon.com

What could be more sublime than a wall of dark, rotund Russian voices shimmering against the rising, ornate walls of a great cathedral? Not much, and this compilation of absolutely magnificent music proves it. The label Hearts of Space returns on this third choral collection to the ominous Slavic chant of their first choral album, Sacred Treasures I, which gathered together recordings of stunning Bulgarian and Russian choirs portraying the sacred works of Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, and other composers. Whereas Treasures I pulled from varied sections of sacred liturgies, including solo passages, Treasures III most often stays in harmonic chant with select voices occasionally rising and rolling in polyphonic heavenly calls. The collective voice draws the emotive tension taut here, as on Rimsky-Korsakov's "Our Father," which uses the absence of darkness to later juxtapose bold, rising drama. The Kiev chant "Blessed Art Thou O Lord" sends chills down the spine as the whispering consonants of the Russian language skip across the ancient repetition like sand skitters over a stormy beach. This is a collection as breathtakingly beautiful as the Cathedral of the Dormition itself. Not to be missed. --Karen K. Hugg

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely FANTASTIC CD !!.......2007-06-28

I'll keep this short: I'm not new to chant or choral music but there are SO MANY options out here that it's hard to know which ones are worth buying. I've got a few titles in my budding collection but I have to say that this particular recording is FANTASTIC. It is at once awe inspiring, meditative, and peaceful. Simply wonderful...

Sacred and a treasure!.......2007-06-11

Wow! This is as good as the first Sacred Treasures if not better. These holy and divine works are truly "the speech of angels".

Absolutely wonderful.......2006-12-28

I've really become taken with Russian choral music as of late. I've tried to get my hands on every recording I can, and amongst them all this is one of the very best. The phrasing, tonality and selection is terrific.

More Divine Beauty and Peace!.......2006-12-03

I am the producer of this CD and also of the first CD in the Sacred Treasures series called "SACRED TREASURES: Choral Masterworks From Russia" as well as of "SACRED TREASURES IV: Quiet Prayers" and "CELTIC TWILIGHT 7: Sacred Spirit". In each case, my intention was to bring together the very best performances of exceptionally beautiful, slow and peaceful sacred music. Most of the pieces on this compilation (as on the other compilations mentioned above) are filled with lush harmonies sung by large mixed choirs. All the selections are deeply nourishing to the soul.

In many cases, I chose to use excerpts from longer pieces, omitting the exultant huge crescendos and very fast sections that are typical of Russian sacred music, presenting only the slow and quiet verses. Different types of music serve different needs, and in today's stressful and fast-paced world, one of the most important and often neglected needs is for time out from that world--to "lay aside all earthly cares" (as the text to a Russian "Cherubic Hymn" prescribes) and to rest in a magical, quiet space of slow, peaceful, beauty. That peaceful beauty is available to you on all of these compilations, including this one, "SACRED TREASURES III"...

It Doesn't Get any Better!!!.......2006-10-09

Having collected a decent library of sacred music over the years I can readily attest that this is the best sacred music CD that I own, my second favorite being a requiem chant by the monks of Solesmes. Further, upon listening to this CD everyone I know seems to respond to it with the same enthusiasm. Track 10 is my personal favorite, but there are no weak pieces here. The entire production hangs together well. Can't recommend it enough to novice or seasoned liturgical music listener.

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