Hymns of the Russian Orthodox Church (2 CD set)

This 2-cd set contains the landmark 3-LP set that was first released by the Moscow Patriarchate in 1968. For countless Russian refugees scattered abroad by the winds of war and revolution, this was the first audible glimpse of Orthodox liturgical singing from their homeland behind the "Iron Curtain." Nikolai Matveyev (1909-1992) was a rare "survivor" -- an Orthodox church choir director who directed the choir at the Moscow church "Joy of All the Sorrowful" (na "Ordynke") from 1948 until the end of his days. During this remarkable career, his choir, which was permitted to hire top choral singers in Moscow, made a number of LP recordings. Some, especially those made in the late 1960s, were sold widely in "Beryozka" currency shops and abroad, ostensibly to demonstrate that Orthodox church singing was "alive and well" in the land of the Soviets. Be that as it may, these recordings opened the eyes of many listeners (including this reviewer) to the riches of Russian sacred literature, especially those of the "new Russian choral school"--Kastalsky, Chesnokov, Gretchaninoff, Kalinnikov and Rachmaninoff, among others. Now, after a number of years of unavailability, they are once again available in re-mastered CDs and accompanied by beautiful collector-edition booklets to another generation of listeners. Evidently, hunger for these recordings is strong in Russia as well, because these re-issues are available to us in very limited quantities. No serious collection of Russian choral music can be without them, however.--V.M.