Bogoroditse Devo, Rachmaninoff. Russian pronunciation and translation

[@Julian-v6w]

Thank you so much! I have learnt a lot about Russian singing from this. At the same time, doing some research, I've found other people saying that this text should be sung with the Old Slavonic / Church Russian pronunciation, rather than modern Russian, so that /о/ should always be pronounced "o", never "a", and Твоего should be pronounced "tvoyego", rather than "tvoyevo". What would you say to this? Do we know whether Rachmaninoff intended the modern pronunciation or the church pronunciation?

[@KindConservatory]

Thank you for your thoughtful question. It's true that traditional Russian choral works, on sacred or historical themes, are better performed using Church Slavonic pronunciation to honor the text's origins. You can hear it clearly in the original chant's recordings (not Rachmaninoff's composition) However, from a practical standpoint, the subtlety of these vowel distinctions often gets lost in the dense, resonant texture of Rachmaninoff's compositions. The rich harmonies and overlapping voices can make it nearly impossible for listeners to pick up on the difference between "Г" and "В" in inner parts. I myself, after listening to multiple recordings of native Russian speakers, find it hard to distinguish if they sing "TвоеГо" or "Tvaevo".

[@Julian-v6w]

@@KindConservatory thank you. That helps understand it!