MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Sunday April 11, 4:00 pm
Dover, NH

Then concert is at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Dover, NH. Tickets $15, reception to follow the performance

The Choir will sing a famous piece of sacred music. The Rachmaninoff’s Vespers (also known as the All Night Vigil) is a concert work in 15 parts written by the composer in 1915 during a period of great turmoil in Russia. Many of the melodies in the Vespers are of Greek and Byzantine origin and date back to the ninth century when Russia was converted to Orthodoxy. Rachmaninoff added folk tunes from the oral tradition to give the music an unmistakable Russian sound.

The Rachmaninoff Choir, combining members of The Bowdoin College Chorus and the Down East Singers, was first formed in 1992 by Dr. Anthony Antolini, director of the Bowdoin Chorus. The group, consisting of between 60 and 80 singers, has performed at churches and cathedrals across New England, Canada, and Washington D.C.

In 2002, the Rachmaninoff Choir toured Russia and sang the Rachmaninoff setting of the St. John Chrysostom Liturgy. This remarkable work, long forgotten, was reconstructed by Dr. Antolini from surviving books at an Orthodoxy monastery in the U.S. and microfilm at the Library of Congress. The ensemble took this piece of music on tour again in 2009 across Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece.

The choir is now joining our Seacoast Community on April 11 as the last stop of their 2010 Spring Tour. The Rachmaninoff Vespers will be performed as a whole piece (fifteen parts) with no intermission. The performance will last about an hour and fifteen minutes. A reception will follow the performance.

The proceeds will benefit "My Friend’s Place" and the music ministries of the Annunciation.
By Litsa Georgakilas

For tickets please contact: Church office (603) 742-7667 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
OR Siroun Braun (603) 332-3914 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.