The Feast

The chant and polyphony on this record is easier to approach than that on the Patriarchate Choir's Panikhida disc (OPS 30-97). The znamenny chant is "harmonized" in a way that shows clear Western influence: The parts often move in parallel thirds; six-four chords are common; the melodies seem to move toward a tonic. Fortunately, distinctive Russian elements remain. The basic melodies are typical of znamenny chant; there are plenty of passing-tone dissonances; and the most usual cadence is 1-4-5 (e.g., d-g-a), which gives a pleasing shimmer to the ending of each chant. The performance by Anatoly Grindenko and his singers is entirely persuasive. This is yet another valuable addition to the discography of this important, little-known repertory.

This recording presents a liturgical reconstruction of the Vigil for the Feast of St Joseph, the monastery founder. The music on this disc consists of 17th century chant originating from a collection of manuscripts originating from the library of the Volokolamsk Monastery, with other early manuscripts from between 1540 to 1560 and one from around 1670 being used to aid with the reconstruction. The Volokolamsk monastery library originally contained a collection of 48 chant manuscripts which provide crucial documentation of Russian chant from between the 15th to 17th centuries.

This release has much more in common with a previous solo acoustic offering, ‘Devil Moon’. The material is often low key, with just McFadden’s picked guitar and whispered vocals weaving a dark narration. Album opener ‘Headed for the Light’ and ‘Long Way Down’ are typical; and later the country-speckled/Carole King-like ‘I’ll Be Anything for You’ pulses through a similar vein.

Sofia Gubaidulina - And: The feast is in full progress - Ten Preludes for cello (1995) {col legno WWE 1CD 31881}
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© 1995 col legno | WWE 1CD 31881
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Concerto / Chamber Music

The second cello concerto, entitled: Y: la fiesta está en pleno apogeo – And: The feast is in full progress (1993), is based on a poem by the Chuvash poet Gennadi Aigi. The vision of a raging mass of people awaiting the last Judgment is transformed into music by the composer with gripping, immediate, expressive force, free of graphic patterns. A moment of glory not for Gubaidulina only, but for David Geringas on cello, too. And as a bonus on this CD: Diez Preludios –Ten Preludes for Cello, in Vladimir Tonkha’s equally inspired interpretation. Both cellists are the dedicatees of the works they perform.

Hungaraton's Codex Sanblasianus: Medieval Mass for the Feast of the Annunciation is a rather mysterious entry for a number of reasons. One will look in vain for the title "Codex Sanblasianus" anywhere outside the context of this disc, and that raises a red flag as to exactly what manuscript János Mezei and the Schola Cantorum Budapestiensis is referring. It is British Museum Add. 27630, a South German manuscript from the second half of the fourteenth century.