In Babel long ago they wanted to build a tower that would reach heaven, and in Belfast in 1912 they wanted to build a ship that nothing could sink. When, in April of that year, the Titanic did sink, the aspirations and pride of the late Victorian era sank with it. I like to think […]
South Canaan, PA—On August 28, the world-premiere recording of Alexander Kastalsky’s Requiem was released by Naxos Records. The recording—which was made during a live performance in the Washington National Cathedral in October of 2018 in celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the World War I Armistice—features the combined forces of multiple GRAMMY-winning ensembles, including the Cathedral Choral […]
In 1917, Russian composer Alexander Kastalsky wrote a monumental Requiem commemorating the Allied slain of World War I. He brought together melodies from all the religious traditions of the Allies, weaving them into a harmonious and triumphant whole, memorializing those who gave their lives in service to their nation. The work is testament to the […]
Blessed Art Thou among Women—a New Release by the PaTRAM Institute Singers, Peter Jermihov, Conductor Reviewed by Vladimir Morosan The liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church is extremely rich with hymnography in honor of the Virgin Mary—the Most Holy Theotokos or Mother of God, as she is typically referred to. Virtually every complex of Orthodox […]
As a designer of Orthodox churches, I am frequently asked whether a proposed church building will have good acoustics. Acoustics is a complex matter that cannot always be catagorized as simply “good” or “bad”. In order to shed some light on this topic, I am going to discuss the various acoustical characteristics encountered in churches, […]
Some years ago, a singer who was primarily active in Russian Orthodox choral music pulled me aside at a church music event. “Can I be honest with you about something?” this person said to me. “I don’t understand Byzantine music. To me, it looks like it’s either a soloist or a group of mostly men; […]
At the Name of Jesus, every knee shall bow … and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. —Phil. 2:10, 11 I You might remember the old song in which a man and woman argue about pronunciation. “You like potayto and I like potahto; you like tomayto and I like […]
On Wednesday, October 2, 2019, a very special choral masterclass was given in the lower room of the Great Bell Tower at the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. This monastery is considered the spiritual center of all of Russia and of its Orthodox Church. Several different factors contributed to the particular significance of this masterclass. The […]
The joke is at times heard that in the chapels of some of our seminaries, they “don’t worship but workshop.” The sense of this witticism is that what happens in their services is experimentation with rubrics, texts, service order, with an impulse towards “reform.” Over the course of this last summer, however, I was blessed […]
English-speaking Orthodox faithful in the United States who have wanted to learn the liturgical arts of the Orthodox Church — music, iconography, vestments, architecture and furnishings design, etc. — have historically had limited opportunities to study with knowledgeable teachers. Some have had the opportunity to go overseas to countries such as Greece and Russia to […]