All-Night Vigil - Based on the Melodies of the Valamo Monastery [Digital Download]

The Ancient Chants: All-Night Vigil - Based on the Melodies of the Valamo Monastery

Performed by Orthodox Singers

Valery Petrov, conductor

This musical manuscript is the result of seven years' work, the main objective of which has been the adaptation of the ancient Russian musical language to the modern era. Some renderings are reconstructions of original Valamo chants, other have been composed in the spirit of the musical traditions of divine service held at the Valamo Monastery. This music may be performed both at concerts, and at church services. The rather flexible forms of each hymn allow them to be performed both as separate melodies, and as a logical combination of such melodies assembled into a single musical liturgy.

The length of time it took to complete the work was conditioned by the fact that the conductor had to address each setting a great number of times, since full comprehension of spiritual melodies requires time. The more deeply the conductor understands the breadth and richness of the interpretation, the more he is able to pass it on to the performers, and in turn to the audience--thus this magnificent music, which no one is capable of fully understanding, penetrates the more deeply into the souls of people.

- V. Petrov