Nativity 3

Georgy Sviridov, a leading composer of the late Soviet era in Russia, wrote a good deal of religious music, influenced by the Russian Orthodox legacy and by sacred works. The last years of Soviet rule saw a relaxation of official atheism, and these works earned Sviridov critical acclaim. Indeed, Sviridov greeted the Perestroika era and the impending fall of the Soviet Union with trepidation, and annotator Alexander Belonenko does well to compare the music here to Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil, written in 1915 in a similar period of instability. (The Red Easter, however, refers not to Communism but to texts printed in red in an Orthodox liturgy.) Sviridov's a cappella sacred music has a different effect than Rachmaninov's; he uses less of the sub-bass sounds of the Russian tradition.

Executed flawlessly and recorded with crystal clear presence, the eight tracks that make up this album present Airto at his most diverse. Vocalist Ruben Rada makes both “Meni Devol” and “La Tumbadora” come to life with falsetto forays that soar above Airto's complex and organic groundwork. Furthermore, the percussive battery is supported additionally by masters Manolo Badrena and Laudir de Oliveira (a member of the pop group Chicago at the time). As an added bonus, the late Jaco Pastorius contributes a typically fine lead voice to the dark and brooding “Nativity”.