Maximilian Steinberg: Passion Week

AllMusic Review

Steinberg: Passion Week

Recommended, with something of a lost treasure of Russian choral music

“The whole story is told in the excellent notes here, but the music itself is the main attraction. The nearest comparison would be Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil, but it is far from a knock-off. Steinberg makes less use of the characteristic Russian bass voices, but his settings, combining solo and choral sections in a variety of configurations, are equally varied and have a certain mystical streak that’s very appealing. The work is nicely balanced by Rimsky-Korsakov’s Chant Arrangements for Holy Week, another example of the intriguing flowering of Russian sacred music that occurred before and around the advent of Communism. Recommended, with something of a lost treasure of Russian choral music.”

–James Manheim