The Musica Russica edition of the Rachmaninov All-Night Vigil (its proper title) has both a translation and a very precise English-oriented-for-the-IPA-illiterate transcription.

 

--

Regards,

Jaakko Mäntyjärvi

Helsinki, Finland

Ben, if you're using the Musica Russica edition (the best one currently available), Vlad Morosan at MR can help with a complete translation, his own transliteration system used in the score (along with the Cyrillic), and a pronunciation CD (one copy for a nominal price that you can copy or post on your web site).  He knows more about this literature than anyone out there and is more than willing to go the extra mile to support preparation.  http://www.musicarussica.com/

 

- Tom Lloyd

I have found Musica Russica's transliteration system unbelievably easy to work with and to teach--even to amateur choirs that had trouble with Latin. And a native Russian speaker said that the choir sounded correct when we used that system. And, she also said that they couldn't get Russian music as good as MR's editions in Russia, another point in its favor.

 

Run, don't walk, to Musica Russica for help

 

Robert

http://www.robertparkermusic.com

Sherri Moore Weiler's dissertation on Russian diction might interest you.  It's free online.  There are some inconsistencies with my Russian teacher and how I was coached in opera and choral work to pronounce Russian in singing, but it's a start.

 

E me and I will forward it to you.  I have it on my box.

 

Good luck,

 

D

 

Dear Ben Spalding and Colleagues,

 

Please be aware that the Rachmaninoff All-Night Vigil (aka Vespers) is NOT in Russian. It's in Church Slavonic. There are major differences between modern Russian and Church Slavonic, particularly regarding vowel pronunciation. This is why some Russian teachers who do not know Church Slavonic may give incorrect advice about pronunciation. To make matters a bit more murky, Church Slavonic is pronounced somewhat differently in the various countries of Eastern Europe. For example, the same text in Church Slavonic would be pronounced differently by a Bulgarian or Serbian choir than a Russian or Ukrainian choir. This accounts for differences heard on recordings. (Compare this to the differences between an Italian choir singing Latin and a German choir singing the same text.)

 

I'd like to second Jaako Mäntyjärvi's observation that the Musica Russica edition's transcription, though not IPA, is perfectly comprehensible to singers. IPA isn't really well suited to these texts for choral singers; Musica Russica does a much better job.

 

I will be publishing a new, bilingual edition of this work (with a slightly different transliteration) with E.C. Schirmer sometime soon (no publication date set yet). Please feel free to contact me with questions about text pronunciation or other details of this spectacular work.

 

Anthony Antolini, Ph.D.

Bowdoin College Music Department

Brunswick, Maine 04011 USA

<aantolin(a)bowdoin.edu>