Grechaninov: Vespers (CD Review - The Guardian, 1999)

Three years before Rachmaninov wrote his Vespers, Gretchaninov, in 1912, wrote this mellifluous setting of the same Russian Orthodox texts – not so tough or austere, but offering equally rapt and dedicated choral writing, close in spirit to the music of modern composers such as Tavener and Pärt. Two years ago, on a disc called Ikon, the Holst Singers gave us a flavour of Gretchaninov's religious music, including the popular setting of the Creed. This seductive performance is both more ambitious and more beautiful still.