Rachmaninov's Vespers

It's still snowing - we're had the heaviest fall in this area for year - but this afternoon I went to hear Rachmaninov's Vespers at St. George's Bloomsbury, which is near Tottenham Court Road and hosts regular Sunday afternoon concerts.

It was performed by the Pegasus Chamber Choir, which will be presenting it next Thursday at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square.  Uunfortunately the intended programme was a victim of the snow, but that did not detract from the performance; the important part, the choir, all managed to get there, and the church was packed.   One of the few seats still available when I arrived just before it started at 4 o'clock was right in the front, which was ideal - no large heads or hats blocking my view of the choir.

Alternatively called the "All Night Vigil", the work encompasses not just Vespers, but also Matins and Prime, and has 15 sections; there was a short interval after the first 12 to enable a representative from the choir to give a brief talk about it.

The music is haunting, with all the beauty of Russian Orthodox liturgical music mixed with more Western sounds to create something which is enchanting and never boring.

Written in 1915, it was performed in March that year in Moscow in aid of the war effort, but was banned under the communists along with other religious music - for this is, essentially, a religious work, and listenign to it, one is well aware of teh religious overtones.

Pegasus Choir put on regular concerts at various churches, often to raise money for charity.   Entry to this afternoon's performance was free, with a retiring collection for St. George's Church.