Alexander Kastalsky was a student of Tchaikovsky and a mentor to Rachmaninoff, becoming director of the Moscow Synodal School until the Bolshevik regime banned all sacred music, including the extraordinary Requiem for Fallen Brothers which consequently lay forgotten for over a century. The Requiem is a rich and varied mosaic that honors those who perished in the First World War, poignantly combining Orthodox and Gregorian chant with hymns from the allied nations, even including Rock of Ages. This unprecedented and peerless monument to those who made the ultimate sacrifice was acclaimed on it's 1917 premiere as a 'uniquely Russian requiem that... gave musical voice to the tears of many nations.' This is a world premiere recording.
5 Confutatis: Among the Piles of Smouldering Bones
6 Lacrymosa
7 Domine Jesu - Now the Laborer's Task Is O'er
8 Beati Mortui
9 Hostias
10 Interludium
11 Sanctus: Holy, Holy, Holy... Blessed Is He
12 Agnus Dei
13 What Sweetness in This World Is Not Mixed with Grief?
14 Rock of Ages
15 Kyrie Eleison - Absolve, Domine
16 Interludium: Hymn to Indra
17 Requiem Aeternam - Memory Eternal
Alexander Kastalsky was a student of Tchaikovsky and a mentor to Rachmaninoff, becoming director of the Moscow Synodal School until the Bolshevik regime banned all sacred music, including the extraordinary Requiem for Fallen Brothers which consequently lay forgotten for over a century. The Requiem is a rich and varied mosaic that honors those who perished in the First World War, poignantly combining Orthodox and Gregorian chant with hymns from the allied nations, even including Rock of Ages. This unprecedented and peerless monument to those who made the ultimate sacrifice was acclaimed on it's 1917 premiere as a 'uniquely Russian requiem that... gave musical voice to the tears of many nations.' This is a world premiere recording.
