The Cambridge University Chamber Choir, St John’s Voices and conductor Graham Walker have launched a new recording on the Naxos label of four motets by the neglected master Pavel Chesnokov, alongside his All-Night Vigil No.2.
The two choirs joined forces to form an ensemble of some fifty singers. The resulting sound is sumptuous and luxurious, and includes some remarkable low bass singing, including one passage down to a G below the stave.
Update – July 2023
The recording was an Editor’s Choice in the July 2023 edition of Gramophone magazine, which wrote “the assembled forces of St John’s Voices and the Cambridge University Chamber Choir under Graham Walker penetrate deep into this attractive corner of Russian repertoire. Their sound is gorgeously blended and resonant, aided only in part by the warm acoustics of St John’s College chapel”.
