RACHMANINOFF: The Bells/TANEYEV: John of Damascus.(Review)

RACHMANINOFF: The Bells/TANEYEV: John of Damascus [] Mescheriakova; Larin, Chernov; Moscow State Chamber Choir, Russian National Orchestra, Pletnev. Transliterated texts and translations. DG 289 471 029-2

Though Rachmaninoff's lush, mellifluous style seems at odds with the obsessively clangorous language of Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Bells" (even in Konstantin Balmont's more lyrical Russian adaptation/ translation), it is not difficult to understand why the composer was drawn to these verses. The poetry's rhythms sway like an Orthodox priest's censer, and the poems emotional progression from youthful joy to funereal gloom gave Rachmaninoff the opportunity to create his own Pathetique Symphony. He once claimed The Bells was his favorite of all his works.

Mikhail Pletnev taps into the music's profound melancholy without sacrificing any of its sonic glitter or dramatic brio. In the opening movement, one can almost feel the icy breeze as the sleighs jingle by, and the quick transition into the hushed central section is absolutely magical, thanks in large part to tenor Sergei Larin's exquisite mezza voce. The second movement ("Hear the mellow wedding bells") is languorous, hypnotic and ...