Classical Concert Reviews Cinci

@vaecinci concluded a fantastic 2024-25 concert season with a program of rarely-heard masterpieces by 6 giants of Russian and Ukrainian music under the title Voices in Exile.
Under the direction of the Russian-American conductor Elena Sharkova, the concert opened with two short movements from Rachmaninov’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, sung with impeccable grace and transient beauty. Three early sacred choruses by Igor Stravinsky, including two gorgeous settings of the Lord’s Prayer and Ave Maria were simpler stylistically but performed wonderfully.
The main highlight of the concert had to be a set of seven movements from the choral cycle Canticles and Prayers by the Russian composer Georgy Sviridov. Completed in 1994 and the last piece he composed before his death four years later, they showed many stylistic hallmarks reminiscent of composers such as Rachmaninov and Pavel Chesnokov but with a few hints of his own more modern flair, such as tighter harmonies and broader harmonic structures. The latter came to the fore in the final two movements, thanks to the sensitive, ardent and full-throated singing by Vocal Arts Ensemble’s 23 assembled performers.
Another standout performance was in engaging reading of a selection from the suite Homage to Marina Tsvetaeva by contemporary composer Sofia Gubaidulina, demonstrating a more atonal side of Russian choral composition not typically explored by many major chamber choirs.
Valentin Silvestrov is a composer receiving much more international recognition in the last 5-10 years, but somewhat less well known for his choral output. VAE concluded with a gorgeous set of four sacred works by Silvestrov drawing on both Russian Orthodox traditions and Ukrainian folk songs, ending with a sweetly voiced setting in Ukrainian of the Ave Maria, cast as a soft lullaby and ending in total darkness in the beautiful sanctuary of Cincinnati’s Christ Church Cathedral.
I can’t think of enough amazing things to say about this amazing group of singers. They are truly a shining light in the Cincinnati choral music scene and it is such a joy to see such enthusiastically engaged audiences experience this level of music making year after year.