Schnittke: Psalms of Repentance - Pärt: Magnificat Nunc Dimittis (2017)
Schnittke: Psalms of Repentance - Pärt: Magnificat Nunc Dimittis (2017)
Alfred Schnittke (1934 - 1998) Psalms of Repentance 01 No. 1, Adam Sat Weeping at the Gates of Paradise/Плакася Адамо предъ раемо съдя 02 No. 2, O Wilderness, Gather Me to Your Silent and Gentle Lap/Приимя мя, пустыни, яко мати чадо своё 03 No. 3, That Is Why I Live in Poverty/Сего ради нищъ есмъ 04 No. 4, My Soul, Why Are You in a State of Sin?/Душе моя, душе моя, почто во гръсех пребываеши 05 No. 5, O Man, Doomed and Wretched/Окаянне убогыи человъче! 06 No. 6, When They Beheld the Ship That Suddenly Came/Зря корабле напрасно приставаема 07 No. 7, Oh My Soul, Why Are You Not Afraid?/Душе моя, како не устрашаешися 08 No. 8, If You Wish to Overcome Unending Sorrow/Аще хощеши победити безвремянную печаль 09 No. 9, I Have Reflected on My Life as a Monk/Воспомянух житие своё клироское 10 No. 10, Christian People, Gather Together!/Придъте, христоносении людие 11 No. 11, I Entered This Life of Tears a Naked Infant/Наго изыдохо на плачь сеи 12 No. 12, (Wordless Humming)/Без слов Arvo Pärt (1935) 13 Magnificat 14 Nunc Dimittis Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir Kaspars Putnins - conductor
Alfred Schnittke's Psalms of Repentance (1988) are not biblical Psalms but take for their texts a set of non-liturgical poems by a 16th century Russian monk, recounting a story of martyrdom involved with the founding of Christianity in Russia. The work was first performed at ceremonies marking the millennium of that event. The Psalms have gained several performances by top choral groups, tending to support predictions that the late works of Schnittke, often religious, may prove to be his most significant. They build dense polyphony on top of chant-like bases, creating a muscular texture with an effect distinct from that of Arvo Pärt's holy minimalism, also represented on this album by the well-known Magnificat and Nunc dimittis. Performers can take it in different directions: monumental, more Pärt-like, or, as here, intense and sensuous. Conductor Kaspars Putnins obtains from the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir a sound quite different from what they may be used to with Pärt, building up tension that is dissipated in the ethereal wordless finale. They're backed by fine sound from the appropriate St. Nicholas' Church in Tallinn. Highly recommended, especially as an introduction to the late Schnittke style. ---James Manheim, AllMusic Review
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