On Reading V. Shukshyn Choral Symphony
Russian composer Valery Gavrilin (b. 1939, Volodga: d. 1999, St. Petersburg) completed his thirteen movement composition Chimes in 1982 and subtitled it Upon Reading V. Shukshyn Miracle Play - Choral Symphony. Throughout the piece one finds the image of an endless road - as a river of life - travelled by generation to generation. The tenor solo and narrator are pivotal in this dark story-telling second movement while the chorus repeatedly responds with tolling bells and ticking clocks.