Track Listing

1. I
2. II
3. III
4. IV
5. V
6. VI
7. VII
8. VIII
9. IX
10. X
11. XI
12. Xii

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #280467 in Music
• Released on: 1999-10-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

Amazon.com's Best of 1999
Of German-Jewish heritage, Alfred Schnittke converted to Catholicism yet drew upon Russian Orthodox musical traditions among many others for the collage-like "polystylism" of his music. Schnittke attains a new level of severely controlled beauty in the a cappella Psalms of Repentance, given here in a superb recording by the Swedish Radio Choir. --Thomas May

Amazon.com essential recording
Although Alfred Schnittke's Psalms of Repentance was written for the concert hall, its impact is unquestionably spiritual and its origins are centered in a deeply felt, highly personal credo. Eleven of the twelve psalms, whose texts are taken from a 16th-century collection of Old Russian writings, reflect the melodic and rhythmic inflection of Russian liturgical chant but bear little or no musical resemblance to the ancient forms. In fact, the music is marvelously and effectively eclectic--polystylistic, to use the term usually associated with Schnittke's music; yet it projects an unmistakable originality that owes much to Schnittke's masterful, seamless weaving of the old with the new, from thick-textured traditional harmonies to tone clusters, from chromatic passages to whole-tone scales. This is a tour de force for any choir, and Tonu Kaljuste's Swedish Radio Choir shows here why it is one of today's top contemporary-music ensembles. Highlights include the beautiful, otherworldly Sixth Psalm, and the final Psalm No. 12--an ethereal, wordless prayer, a masterpiece of choral writing and choral singing. Significantly, Schnittke revealed to an interviewer that he saw his task as a composer "not to think up or create music, but to listen." After hearing this music, we can't help but marvel and be moved by the remarkable sounds he heard. --David Vernier

Customer Reviews

Schnittke has done it again...
Alfred Schnittke has followed his amazing Choir Concerto with another masterpiece for a cappella choir. The dark texts in these Psalms of Repentance are exquisitely portrayed in Schnittke's writing. With influences from Russian Orthodox chant, (perhaps the most beautiful style of chant) Schnittke creates a mystical mist that is at times spirtually moving, and at times fearfully eerie. The work consist of several short psalms that each contain there own diverse character that on their own are masterpieces. The performance is wonderfully done, and there seem to be very few problems with intonation which is the biggest concern in a contemporary work for a cappella choir. Schnittke's writing embraces all styles, from chant, to traditional harmony, to extremely dissonant harmonies. Schnittke uses extreme dissonance to create pain within the listner as though they themselves were repenting. For a new composition this work is very accessible. I recommend this CD to those who love the choral music of both Arvo Part and John Tavener.

Transportation to a World Beyond this World
Though the works of composer Alfred Schnittke have not withstood the critics of the other mid to late 20th Century composers such as Part, Glass, Ades, Salonen, Adams, Lindberg etc, returning to works such as this very fine recording of the PSALMS OF REPENTANCE for Mixed Acapella Choir brings renewed value to his output. This work is wholly beautiful in its mood and the subtle variations of the vocal line. Thoroughly grounded in tonality does not mean that Schnittke does not take excursions into dissonance or sliding timbres of the vocal line. There are very creatively challenging portions (think Ligeti, Messiaen) embedded in these twelve setting from the Psalms. His blocks of vocal sound could move mountains, so wide is their spectrum of resonating harmonies.

For sheer beauty of choral singing it is difficult to stray form the 'Russian sound' that Schnittke captures here. Not only are the lyrics sung in Russian, but the extraordinarily fine choral sound produced by the Swedish Radio Choir under the sensitive direction of Tonu Kaljuste follows not only the plainsong of the opening psalms but plumbs the depths of resonance (as in the 5th psalm) of the massed full choral sound.

If you can sit through this 51 minute cycle of psalms without feeling transported from this troubled world to another more vast and ultimately comforting one....well, maybe try listening again.... Grady Harp, March 05

stark beauty of voices, humility and repentance
PSALMS OF REPENTANCE is a stunningly beautiful 1996 recording of the Swedish Radio Choir, conducted by Tonu Kaljuste, singing the compositions of Alfred Schnittke and a late 16th century Orthodox text. Schnittke, whose father was Jewish, converted to his mother's Catholicism in 1982, but he mainly used the Russian Orthodox tradition in his sacred music. The premiere performance in Moscow with Valery Polyansky conducting, on the second day of Christmas 1988, marked the 1000th anniversary of the Christianization of Russia.

PSALMS adheres "...closely to the melodic and rhythmic patterns of Russian liturgical chant, with its predominantly syllabic, declamatory rhythms and its characteristic melodic line dominated by half-tone and whole-tone steps oscillating around a very narrow tonal centre." (from the liner notes by Uwe Schweikert). Though inevitably reflecting Schnittke's complex influences (sounding like Ligeti from time to time!), the PSALMS are simpler and more traditional than the CHOIR CONCERTO of 1984/5, which was more clearly an example of polystylism. The stark black and white ECM packaging is typically elegant and appropriate.

We all have reason to repent, some more than others... This music is most relevant at this darkest time of year, the time of the Solstice, the time of Christmas.

"...and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us,"

AMEN.

For more Schnittke recordings and reviews, see my SCHNITTKE: A LISTENER'S GUIDE list. I consider Schnittke to be one of THE 12 BEST COMPOSERS OF THE LATE 20th CENTURY -- see my list by that name as well.