All-Night Vigil

Rachmaninov premiered the Vsenoshchnoye Bdeniye (All-Night Vigil, or Vespers Mass) in 1915. There was a great deal of contention between Rachmaninov and the conductor Nikolai Danilin, who claimed that the bass parts were toodifficult to sing, and basses able to sing them were 'As rare as asparagus at Christmas'. Despite this, the Vespers Mass stunned first audiences and earned it's status as a masterpiece. For SATB choir a cappella.