VALENTIN SILVESTROV: Liturgical Chants; Two Spiritual Songs; Two Spiritual Chants; Two Psalms of David; Diptych; Alleluia – Kiev Chamber Choir/ Mykola Hobdych, conductor – ECM 2117, 75:33 ***:
Silvestrov is a composer I greatly admire, and only later in life has he turned his attention to choral music, and here specifically sacred choral music. The Liturgical Chants are taken from the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and not intended as usable in the Orthodox Church itself. It sounds as though someone was peering into a prism through which is reflected an Orthodox service, though the diffusion of the rock structure makes it impossible to hear anything sequentially or in any sort of normal sequence, as if the composer was giving us an aural and sacred version of La Valse, out of time itself.
These works are rather slow moving, with the sound overly-resonant and covering up much detail (intentionally?) that makes the whole sound as a sort of choral amorphous mass. The initial lines are heard but they rapidly fade into the sound wash. There are some quite beautiful things to be heard along the way, but the lack of clarity is somewhat distracting. It reminds me of the recordings done in the cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Sofia Bulgaria, a place known for eating choir sound. This might not be a problem in other choral works, but Silvestrov mimics the lines of instrumental music in his choral pieces, and therefore the many strands of contrapuntal activity are often obliterated.
With these caveats, I certainly would not dissuade any fans of the composer (of which I am a big one) from purchasing this album. But those coming to him afresh would do better to start with some of his orchestral music first.
— Steven Ritter
