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American Record Guide

Back in the 70s and 80s, there were folks working overtime at the Union of Soviet Composers, seeing to it that Vyacheslav Artyomov’s music would not see the light of day. His works were banned from performance, his name couldn’t be mentioned in official circles, and he was not offered public money for his efforts. But Mstislav Rostropovich became a champion of Artyomov’s work, which resulted in major commissions and a measure of acclaim in the West. Since those days, of course, the Soviet regime has passed from the scene, and Artyomov (b 1940) has become one of Russia’s most celebrated living composers. Every so often, thank goodness, the cause of aesthetic justice is served.

This Requiem to the Martyrs of Long-Suffering Russia is a full-length traversal of the Roman Liturgy for the Dead—a Requiem Mass in Latin. The only overt tip of the cap to Russian Orthodoxy I can hear is Artyomov’s ’Domine Jesu’ There he has the choir intoning an exquisitely quiet Slavic-sounding hymn as flutes, bells, and heaven knows what else pierce the sense of repose from above. There are other placid interludes, such as an ‘In Paradisum’ that seems suspended in air, surrounded by the gentle calls of birds. The rest of the way, though, this is a dark, visceral, gut-wrenching affair crafted to grate on the conscience of mankind. There are eerie hisses and whispers (‘Rex tremendae’); and when the liturgy unleashes itself into primal scream therapy (‘Tuba mirum,’ ‘Dies irae’) the effect is overwhelming. Most affecting of all is Artyomov’s writing for his soloists, who represent Mother Russia weeping for her untold millions of children. By the time this thing ends, you’ll know you’ve been somewhere.

But there is a major problem with the recorded sound. The booklet informs us that the master copy of the premiere performance recorded by Melodiya in concert (1988) was not usable. As a result, this release (like an earlier incarnation that was made available by the Moscow Studio Archive in 2006) comes from recordings made at the rehearsals before the premiere. There are places where balances collapse and important contributions go distant. So while this issue is “definitive” in musical terms, we await a recording blessed with state-of-the-art sonics. A blockbuster of a work demands to be heard in blockbuster sound.