Gladsome Light

Just as Rachmaninoff's Vigil tends to eclipse his Liturgy in the awareness of choral musicians, so in the case of Tchaikovsky, the reverse is true: his Liturgy, opus 41 is much better known and more oft-performed than his Vigil, opus 52. Within the Vigil, however, one finds true gems of inspiration and technique, based on the ancient chants of the Russian church, which served as models for composers who followed, and which stand wonderfully on their own as well. “Gladsome Light” is one such gem. In it one finds many of the quintessential characteristics that would come to characterize the Russian choral school of the early 20th century.