All-Night Vigil (arr.)

Arranged for Brass Ensemble (Movements II, V, and VI)

Instrumentation: 3 Horn in F, 4 Trumpet in C, 3 Trombone (1 Bass), Tuba

An All-Night Vigil is a religious service originating from the Eastern Orthodox Church, comprising the three canonical hours of Vespers, Matins, and the First Hour. The vigil is celebrated on the eves of Sundays and major liturgical feasts and has been set for chorus by a number of well-known composers. Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil (Всенощное бдѣніе) is a culmination of a period of intense interest in Russian sacred music, beginning with Tchaikovsky’s own 1882 setting of the Vigil.

Though similarities exist between the works, Rachmaninoff is much more adventurous with his use of harmony, textual variety, and polyphony. All-Night Vigil was one of Rachmaninoff’s two favourite compositions, alongside The Bells, and has been heralded as “the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church”.

The second movement, Bless the Lord, oh My Soul (Благослови, душе моя, Господа) is based off of a Greek-style recitational chant and originally features an extended, lush solo for contralto. Though harmonically simple and concise, the movement is a warm and reflective responsorial work, a marvelous setting of Psalm 104.

The fifth movement, Now Lettest Thou (Нынѣ отпущаеши) is a singular jewel in the Vigil and was requested by Rachmaninoff to be sung at his funeral. When he initially played this passage through for his colleagues in preparation for the first performance, Rachmaninoff recalled that:

“Danilin shook his head, saying, "Now where on earth are we to find such basses? They are as rare as asparagus at Christmas!" Nevertheless, he did find them. I knew the voices of my countrymen...”

The sixth movement, Rejoice, O Virgin (Богородице Дѣво) is one of the most frequently performed movements of the work, and features simple and inviting harmonies. This movement is the final in the original six Russian Orthodox Vespers adaptions of All-Night Vigil