LOS ANGELES,CA. (Top40 Charts/ Angels
Chorale PR) - The Angeles Chorale, a world-class large chorale ensemble based in Los Angeles, led by world-renowned conductor and artistic director Donald Neuen, will perform the Sergei Rachmaninoff a cappella masterpiece Vespers: All-Night Vigil, Opus 37 on Saturday, March 24, 2007 at 8:00pm at the First United Methodist Church of Pasadena.
Accomplished Tenor Steve Kronauer, formerly of the Bavarian State Opera and head of the University of California Santa Barbara's vocal program, is the featured soloist. Alexander Ruggieri, co-editor of this preferred arrangement, will deliver a pre-concert talk on the composer and Vespers at 7:00pm. Notably, Ruggieri contributed to the comprehensive anthology 1,000 Years of Russian Sacred Music and conducted the Vespers Western U.S. premiere in 1974.
Rachmaninoff composed the All-Night Vigil in the a cappella tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church, premiering in Moscow in 1915. The piece has been lauded as one of Rachmaninoff's greatest works, and one of the greatest traditional Russian Orthodox musical achievements. Prohibited under Stalin's reign, Vespers resurfaced in the late 40's and 50's and is once again filling the hearts and minds of the Russian people, as well as audiences around the world.
'For centuries, sacred Russian a cappella choral music has seemed to possess a spiritualistic substance greater than any other on earth,' said Neuen, also Director of Choral Activities at UCLA and Conductor of the Crystal Cathedral Choir. 'This great singing comes from the center core of the human soul and encourages the full range of spiritual emotion for performers and audiences alike.'
The Angeles Chorale's 2007 season continues with the World Premiere of Magnificant by Paul Chihara at Royce Hall on Saturday, June 9th, 2007 at 8:00pm featuring the Angeles Chorale and the UCLA Chorale, conducted by Donald Neuen. In addition to its annual concert series, the Angeles Chorale also participates in guest appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, Glendale Symphony, and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, as well as other engagements and studio recordings.
