Sergei Taneyev is probably best known as a teacher (his pupils included Scriabin, Rachmaninov and Gliere) and as a close friend of Tchaikovsky. Recordings of Taneyev’s own music, apart from a few chamber works, are few and far between, so this marvellous recording of his final composition is not to be missed.

The title ‘At the Reading of a Psalm’ perhaps suggests a slow moving, contemplative piece rather than the thrilling, dramatic and full-blooded. choral work we have here. It is a setting of a poem by AS Komyakov that reflects upon, and elaborates, the meaning of Psalm 50. Many regard it as Taneyev’s masterpiece, a view with which I would certainly concur on the basis of Mikhail Pletnev’s totally committed performance.

The Cantata is in three movements each of which is divided into three sections.

The opening plunges us into a fiery ‘allegro tempestuoso’ introducing us to the lusty singing of the superb St. Petersburg State Academic Choir. A richly melodic Double Chorus follows, and the movement ends with a massive Triple Fugue marked ‘allegro molto’ interspersed with joyous orchestral outbursts.

At the start of the second movement in a section notable for Taneyev’s imaginative use of percussion, the orchestra vividly depicts the “streams of fiery metal” in the depths of the earth, then, in what is the longest single section of the work (10.55), the solo quartet appear for the first time singing fervently of “…flowers smelling sweet beneath the dew…”. They are a well-matched group of fresh sounding young singers including a particularly fine Alto, Marianna Tarassova, who sings her solo Aria in the third movement with ravishing tone.

Taneyev begins the final movement with an orchestral Interlude, almost a small tone poem, played magnificently by the RNO. Then comes the beautiful Aria, referred to above, which has an almost Elgarian nobility and includes an ethereal violin solo.

The Finale, another Double Chorus, gradually builds in intensity to bring the Cantata to its impressive close crowned with resplendent brass.

This terrific live recording made at concerts given in the Philharmonic Hall, St. Petersburg in May 2003 has no audience noise whatsoever and what I have no doubt was thunderous applause at the end has been excised.
The huge forces involved have been captured in outstandingly vivid, almost tangible sound by PentaTone recording producer Job Maarse and the Polyhymnia team of Erdo Groot, Jean-Marie Geijsen and Roger de Schot, while at the same time the atmosphere of the live concerts and illusion of ‘being there’ has been perfectly achieved in the multi-channel mix.

Presentation values are equally high. The SACD is supplied in a digi-pak with extensive background notes and full texts and translations in four languages.

This is undoubtedly one of the finest choral recordings to appear in recent years and another splendid achievement by PentaTone!

Copyright © 2007 Graham Williams and HRAudio.net

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