London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Bells

Rodion Shchedrin Concerto for Orchestra No. 2 (The Chimes)
Miaskovsky Silentium
Denisov Bells in the Fog
Rachmaninoff The Bells (Choral Symphony)

Vladimir Jurowski conductor
Tatiana Monogarova soprano
Sergei Skorokhodov tenor
Vladimir Chernov baritone
London Philharmonic Choir
London Symphony Chorus

Like a seductive mist, the sound of bells casts a long, beautiful spell over orchestra and voices in this concert. After resounding, bell-themed works by Denisov, Miaskovsky and Shchedrin comes Rachmaninoff’s creative response to his own fascination with the sound of bells. He believed they directly conveyed emotional human truths, depicting the silvery brightness of birth, the golden browns of marriage, the dark stillness of death and the serenity of peace. Passionate and rapturous music is tenderly woven through by the soloists and charged by full-throttle chorus in Rachmaninoff’s bellstrewn vision of human life.