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The Massachusetts-based Gloriae Dei Cantores choir spent over two years studying and preparing extensively for this epic recording of Rachmaninoff's masterpiece All-Night Vigil. The search for authenticity, direct empathy with each word and phrase and the premise of a religious approach prompted and sustained the vision for the performance, conducted by Peter Jermihov, recognized internationally for his knowledge of Russian and Orthodox liturgical music. Expressing an ongoing vision of unity through music, the ensemble welcomes members of the St. Romanos Cappella, the Patriarch Tikhon Choir and the Washington Master Chorale, with soloists Dmitry Ivanchenko and Mariya Berezovska from the National Opera of Ukraine in Kiev joining the 77 singers for a landmark collaboration. The album was engineered and mastered by Grammy winner "Prof." Keith O. Johnson from Reference Recordings. "As an exchange student in Europe, my first time away from home, I was introduced to a memorable choral experience at St. Petersburg. The voices were around me, powerful, immersive and the performance deeply moving. The music and its Russian passion has stuck with me. For years, I've designed and built recording equipment to capture the 'you are there experience' so important for this musical performance. We recorded this album at the Church of the Transfiguration, in Orleans, Massachusetts. This outstanding acoustic space, constructed of solid block materials and designed by one of our very great acousticians helped create the visual acoustic staging and perceptual reality needed for serious involved listening. During the recording and production, everyone was very understanding and supportive and the spiritual connection created by this great choir is memorable." - Keith O. Johnson