Chants play a central role in the Russian Orthodox liturgy: almost the entire service is sung. This mystical a cappella singing is characterised by a Byzantine tonal system and its bass foundation.

This results in a fascinating archaism that deeply impressed Rachmaninov even as a child ("I was less interested in God and the religious ceremony than in the singing of incomparable beauty") and which he later masterfully combined with his own musical language in his All-Night Vigil, op.37.

Florian Helgath has established himself as one of the leading choral conductors of the younger generation. As artistic director and conductor of Chorwerk Ruhr and the Zürcher Sing-Akademie, he shaped the ensembles into top international choirs of the highest calibre, both with cappella music as well as in the field of choral symphonies.