Vyacheslav Artyomov: Symphony In Spe / Latin Hymns
Vyacheslav Artyomov is considered by many to be Russia’s greatest living composer. His music is deep, ultimately spiritual and brilliantly crafted, with influences from the Russian symphonic tradition colored by Mahler, Scriabin, Honegger and Messiaen to name a few – but melded into a unique voice.
The Divine Art Artyomov Retrospective (which to date has received wonderful reviews internationally) is a mix of new recordings and former Melodiya and Boheme releases. This is the tenth album, containing 2018 recordings of two majestic and brilliant works. The Symphony In Spe (In Hope) with concertante violin and cello broke new ground in Artyomov’s writing in its use of polydynamic, ever-changing textures while retaining his deep spirituality.
Latin Hymns presents four sacred texts in the most virtuosic writing for choir and soloist, not only prayers to the Virgin Mary but recreating her persona in music. The performance by Nadezhda Pavlova is simply stunning.
NOTE: The digital version of the album has the Symphony (which is in one movement) in a single track. On the CD, the Symphony is indexed into 21 continuous tracks.
Track Listing
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Vyacheslav Artyomov (b.1940):
- In Spe - Symphony with Violin and Orchestra (47:07)
- Latin Hymns - I. Miserere Mei (7:23)
- Latin Hymns - II. Ave Maria (6:10)
- Latin Hymns - III. Salve Regina (7:01)
- Latin Hymns - IV. Ave Maris Stella (9:48)
Reviews
“[Artyomov] writes music that’s galactically huge, by which we mean it gives the impression of space and endless time; the music of the spheres. It’s imposing, but it’s not hard to listen to… enervating and uplifting,.. it also contains many moments of beauty. (joint review with DDA 25164 and 25176)
” —Jeremy Condliffe
“[The Symphony] is a massive work, in one movement but twenty-one sections which play continuously. The idiom is more reminiscent of Scriabin’s Prometheus than anything else, but is considerably more turbulent though shot through with moments of calm and beauty. [The Hymns] are set in very rich, indeed lush, late romantic-expressionist idiom, with very full writing for the choir and a solo soprano. This disc is newly recorded and very well too, in a reverberant acoustic which suits the music.
” —Stephen Barber
“In Spe…is very rhythmic, very rich in contrast and brightly coloured. [In] Latin Hymns, the composer uses the solo voice in a very original way, setting it against the commenting choir. With colouristic accents, a fascinating play of shadows and light and sometimes ethereal sounds, it is a work of great emotional spirituality.
” —Remy Franck
“These superbly committed performances can hardly be better presented then they are here. The attentive listener will be sufficiently impressed as to want to explore the symphony fuller through repeated listening – in which case, the recording here offers the perfect solution. Collectors of this most important series need not hesitate.
” —Robert Matthew-Walker
