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S. Rachmaninov started work on
"Bells" (verses by E.Poe, translated into Russian by K. Balmont) in
spring of 1913 in Rome where the clavier of "Bells" was completed on
March 27, 1913. The score was finished in Ivankovka, Russia on July 27 of the
same year. Soon after that, the first concert performance of the "Poem for
orchestra, chorus and soloists" (as the composer called it) took place.
Rachmaninov conducted "Bells" at the premiere
– first in St. Peteersburg (November 30, 1913), then in Moscow (February 8,
1914).
"Bells" is one of the most outstanding
works of vocal-symphonic music of the 20th century. It consists of
four parts, as if reflecting periods of a human life: serene, hilarious green
years; happy youth, bursting with love; mature years filled with fight and
suffering and the tragic finale of being – death. A definite musical poetic
analogue, a bell chime, accompanies theses pictures. In each part, its sound
obtains different meaning and gains a new shade of color.
"Spring" Cantata, Op.20, created in 1902, is
uses lyrics by N. Nekrasov's "Green Noise" for baritone, chorus and
orchestra. Particularly successful are the choral episodes so typically of
Rachmaninov reflecting the feeling of nature’s poetry. In some respects these
episodes are related to the "Spring Waters" Romance.
The USSR People’s Artist, Lenin prize winning
conductor Evgeni Svetlanov, was educated at the Gnessin Pedagogical Institute of
Music, then at the Moscow Conservatory both in the class of composition (under
Professor Yu. Shaporin) and conducting (under Professor A. Gauk). Svetlanov
worked with the USSR Radio Symphony Orchestra, later took over the USSR Bolshoi
Theatre Orchestra and since 1965 he has been Chief Conductor of the USSR
Symphony Orchestra.
S. Rachmaninov (1873 – 1943)
Bells
Poem for symphony orchestra, chorus and soloists, Op. 35
Verses by E. Poe, translation by K. Balmont
- Allegro ma non troppo – 6:48
- Lento – 13:19
- Presto – 8:51
- Lento lugubre – 12:41
5. Spring
Canata fo Baritone, chorus and orchestra, Op. 20
Verses by N. Nekrasov – 17:54
Total time – 59:33
Alexei Maslennikov, tenor (1:1)
Galina Pisarenko, soprano (1:2)
Sergei Yakovenko, baritone (1;4, II)
Yurlov Russian Choir
Artistic directors - Yuri Ukhov (I), Stanislav Gusev (II )
The USSR Symphony Orchestra
Conductor - Evgeni Svetlanov
Design by Evgeni Kostitsyn
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