In the past thirty years, I have attended almost 7000 liturgies in the United States, Canada, Russia, and Greece. Some of these have been in small candlelit chapels in the desert of Mount Athos; others have been in magnificent imperial monasteries with a thousand years of history. I have beheld liturgies celebrated by patriarchs and […]
The appearance of Kurt Sander’s Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, which was released simultaneously on April 26, 2019, in recorded form by Reference Recordings and in print form by Musica Russica, in many ways represents a unique and unprecedented event in the realm of Orthodox liturgical singing in North America. The work was created […]
A liturgical craft that ideally draws very little attention to itself is that of translation — particularly, the translation of hymnography. The English texts that we hear in church were translated by somebody, and that translator also had to make them natural-sounding and singable in English. In addition, there is also the question of whether […]
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on John Graham’s website featuring his tours of Georgia and Georgian liturgical music. We are reposting it here because it will be of great interest and assistance to any choirs who would like to add Georgian settings of ‘Christ is risen’ to their repertoire. Since posting this, John has added additional […]
This is post 3 of 6 in the series “Notes from The Psalterion” Richard Barrett gives us practical advice for the discipline of liturgical music in a local parish context. Notes from the psalterion, updated and annotated – Part I, First Principles Notes from the psalterion, updated and annotated – Part II, Getting Started Notes […]
The mission of The Saint John of Damascus Society is “revealing Orthodox Christianity through its sacred music”, and one part of how we seek to do this to be a collaborative partner for existing arts organizations and entities on projects promoting Orthodox liturgical music. Our first collaboration to reach the public eye is a segment […]
This is post 2 of 6 in the series “Notes from The Psalterion” Richard Barrett gives us practical advice for the discipline of liturgical music in a local parish context. Notes from the psalterion, updated and annotated – Part I, First Principles Notes from the psalterion, updated and annotated – Part II, Getting Started Notes […]
This is post 1 of 2 in the series “The Creation of a Christian Culture” Nicholas Kotar shows us how liturgical art and traditional forms can inspire the creation of para-liturgical and secular works of art. The Creation of a Christian Culture The Creation of a Christian Culture, Part 2 “Christianity has a great calling, […]
This is post 1 of 2 in the series “A ‘Small Entrance’ into Orthodox Christian Sacred Music” Benedict Sheehan Traces the hierarchy, function and story of sacred music. A ‘Small Entrance’ into Orthodox Christian Sacred Music: Part One -The Song of the Angels A ‘Small Entrance’ into Orthodox Christian Sacred Music: Part Two – The […]