Netherlands Radio Choir sings Rachmaninov's Vespers

Rachmaninoff used ancient Greek and Russian techniques in his Vespers. Stillness and drama, sung by the Netherlands Radio Choir. Conductor Peter Dijkstra makes the singers 'breathe as one body', according to NRC.

Rachmaninoff

From sunset to dawn: Rachmaninoff's Vespers cover the whole night. The Netherlands Radio Choir sings a capella one of the works the composer himself felt most connected with. He even wanted the fifth movement, 'Nunc dimittis', to sound like a 'vigil' at his funeral.

Netherlands Radio Choir and Peter Dijkstra

Peter Dijkstra let the singers breathe as one body', wrote the NRC in reference to one of his earlier performances of Rachmaninoff's Vespers. The conductor 'led them in detail but smoothly through striking colour shades and dynamic nuances'. Today Dijkstra is conducting the Groot Omroepkoor in this piece written for the Russian Orthodox Church. Rachmaninoff immersed himself for years in traditional singing methods, and incorporated centuries-old Greek and Russian techniques in the Vespers. A morning concert full of stillness and drama.