Robert Shaw Festival Singers: Rachmaninoff – Vespers

Recorded in the warm, resonant acoustic of the Church of St. Pierre in Gramat, France, Robert Shaw's landmark Telarc recording captures the immense subterranean depths of Russian Orthodox choral tradition. Rachmaninoff's sacred setting relies entirely on unaccompanied human voices, anchored by legendary oktavist basses whose low B-flats resonate like double basses in a cathedral crypt. The balance between intimate candlelit liturgical chanting and glorious, surging hymns creates an overwhelming sensation of sacred space.