San Francisco Classical Voice‘s Jens Ibsen was in attendance for Cappella Romana’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil, and we just had to share his review!

“Portland’s world-class chorus Cappella Romana graced the Bay Area with a rare visit, bringing a fresh presentation of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil to San Francisco’s Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. …

The concert opened with the first three movements of the Vespers. The brightness of the choir’s trebles, the tenors’ airy versatility, and the power of the oktavists (low basses specializing in the Orthodox repertoire) were readily apparent, with legendary bass Glenn Miller counting among them. All of the (many) low notes in the piece, both written in and interpolated, were full, powerful, and clean. 

…The beloved “Nunc Dimittis” — with its infamous concluding low B-flat — and the “Ave Maria,” (“Bogoroditse Devo”) were both astonishing and unimpeachable. …

Highlights included the beautifully contrasting textures in “Blessed Are You, O Lord,” the powerful, long crescendo towards the end of the “Magnificat,” and the skillful counterpoint and harmonic twists of “The Great Doxology.” 

This latter is arguably the most demanding movement and occurs close to the end, by which point most ensembles are mentally and vocally exhausted. Cappella Romana shrugged it off with ease and concluded strongly and succinctly. Then the group led the audience in a singalong rendition of the Ave Maria, allowing people who had sung the piece before, and newcomers, to become part of the experience. 

This performance was one of the best you could ask for. The chords were beautifully tuned, the low notes were mesmerizing, and the balance of the voices — especially the inner ones, which have to go from singing big melodies to backup — was constantly maintained. 

Presenting the piece in this quasi-liturgical style and adding the singalong was not only refreshing to the ear, but made the piece feel like it belonged not just to the virtuosi on stage, but to the people. The All-Night Vigil has been brought back to its populist roots.”

—Jen Ibsen, San Francsico Classical Voice