Two rarely heard masterpieces opening the 45th season of the L.A. Master Chorale! The Los Angeles Master Chorale will perform two fantastically contrasting works – Rachmaninoff’s monumental Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and then the grandest of Haydn’s masses, Harmonie Mass – in the Chorale's season opener at Disney Hall! Savor these two beautifully complementary works of aural richness – both rarely heard masterpieces.

Rachmaninoff’s lush harmonies embody the Russian soul yet display an unexpected simplicity and directness in this rarely heard a cappella masterpiece. The typically classical Haydn is at his most romantic and extroverted here — the Harmonie Mass having the biggest orchestration of any of the Haydn late masses, with a full contingent of woodwinds and brass plus organ.

The first half you'll enjoy the sublime a cappella performance by the 120-voice Chorale; following intermission, the orchestra joins the Chorale on stage for the Harmonie Mass.

Composed in 1910, the Rachmaninoff piece, one of only two major unaccompanied choral works by the composer, is, according to Gershon, “rife with big lush harmonies and a Russian soul but also has an austerity, a directness and simplicity to it that is surprising from this great Romantic composer.” A cosmopolitan man who traveled extensively and immigrated to the United States at the height of his career, Rachmaninoff seems to reconnect with his Russian roots and spirituality in this piece. Originally intended as part of a long service in the Orthodox Church, the Chorale presents a 40-minute segment, sung in Russian, from the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, as is typical when it is performed in concert.

When Haydn wrote Harmonie Mass, he knew it would be one of his last great masterworks and spent far more time composing it – over a year – than he did on any of his other masses. It is considered his most romantic and extroverted piece, which Gershon states, “definitely has a valedictory feeling to it, a summation of everything he explored.” It features a solo vocal quartet and is the only one of Haydn’s late Masses written for a full contingent of woodwinds, brass, strings and organ.