Credits:

Leonard Slatkin

Description:

Alexander Kastarsky (18561926) studied at the Moscow Conservatory and made a name for himself as a composer of choral works. In 1891, he became the director of the long-established Moscow Theological Seminary Choir, exerting a strong influence on composers such as Rachmaninoff and Grechaninov. This RequiemFor Our Fallen Comrades is an orchestral work accompanied by a large choir, composed by a composer who grieved over the loss of life and the devastation of the world brought about by World War I. Although it was originally composed in 1915 as a 12-movement version, Kastalsky added additional movements after the premiere, completing it as a grand work consisting of 17 movements. While adhering to the standard form of a requiem, various elements are arranged like a mosaic; amid a blend of languages from several different countries and Gregorian chant, the sobs of a mother who has lost her son