Concert introduction: Rachmaninov and church music

Saturday March 16, 20:00-20:30
(Doors open at 19:45)
Oslo Cathedral
For concert ticket holders only

Duration: 30 minutes
NB! The introduction will be held in Norwegian

Asbjørn Eriksen, speaker

Rachmaninov composed two great church music choir works: Liturgy of St John Chrysostom (1910) and the much better known Vigil (1915). They appear as isolated islands in Rachmaninov’s list of works, written in a different style to his other music. But Rachmaninov had good prerequisites to compose them: In childhood, he often attended church services, where he listened excitedly to the monks chanting, and at the Moscow Conservatory he was taught about the history of Russian church music. At the beginning of the 20th century, he made contact with a group of church musicians who wanted to cleanse Russian church music of Western influence, and instead make music that recreated the spirit of old Orthodox church singing. In Rachmaninov’s Vigil (Russian title: Vsenoščnoe bdenie = All-night vigil),
10 of the 15 movements are based on old Russian church chants, many from the Middle Ages. In this introduction, you will learn more about the background of this great work, the form of the composition, and a little bit about the style. The speaker argues that the Vigil is not as far removed from the composer’s other works as may appear.

Asbjørn Øfsthus Eriksen is professor emeritus at the Department of Musicology at the University of Oslo, where he has researched and taught music history and musical analysis with an emphasis on the 19th and early 20th centuries. He is especially interested in Norwegian Romantic composers (Kjerulf, Svendsen, Grieg), Russian music (Rachmaninov, the Russian symphony’s history), and musical humour.

Photo: Universitetet i Oslo