BRATTLEBORO — Considered by many to be the greatest piece of unaccompanied choral music ever written, the “All Night Vigil” of Rachmaninoff will be performed by the Brattleboro Concert Choir, under the direction of artistic director Susan Dedell, on Saturday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m., and on Sunday afternoon, May 15, at 4 p.m.
While closer to an hour than to “all night,” the Concert Choir nevertheless invites audiences to experience the power of Rachmaninoff's incredible music. In the 26 years Susan Dedell has directed the Brattleboro Concert Choir, the piece is the only one she has undertaken three times.
Although she delights in exploring new choral music, the return to an old friend presents an opportunity to explore and enjoy the music on a deeper level, she said in a news release. And the deeper she goes, the more simple and beautiful the music feels.
“The fascinating thing about this time around is that instead of finding the music more complex, I find it unfolding as a simpler piece,” she said in the release. “Perhaps simplicity is not the first thing that comes to many people's minds when they think about the 'Vigil.' But that is my goal with this performance - to allow the simplicity of the music to shine and not be outstripped by the effort it takes to achieve that point.”
If it is at heart a simple piece, then what is the purpose of its multilayered harmonies and rhythms? According to Dedell, these provide the sensory ambience that gives the piece its intense visceral quality: “In a Russian Orthodox service, one is surrounded with an overwhelming sensory tapestry of colors, sounds, and smells. The candles glow, icons gleam; the bells and chants range from almost inaudibly low to silvery highs; and the smells of incense and beeswax infuse the atmosphere. It is spiritual and sensual at the same time, just like Rachmaninoff's music.”
It is Rachmaninoff's musical genius and passionate heart that transform these sensations into sound. How is this possible? According to Dedell, this is where the greatness - even the magic - of the piece lies.
“The 'Vigil' is like a time-space transport machine,” she said. “From the moment of the first note, listeners should feel as if they have been lifted to a different time and place, even to a different state of reality. And as they pass through the individual movements of the Vigil, they will take a journey that is both emotional and physical, concluding with the happiest last movement that I know of in all of sacred music.”