The Dynamis Byzantine Ensemble – A New Recording Showcasing the Best of Byzantine Chant in English

Byzantine chant is an ever-evolving art form, responding to the advances put forth in both music and hymnography by the great personalities who have shaped it, such as Saint Romanos the Melodist, Saint John of Damascus, Saint John Koukouzelis, and Peter the Peloponnesian. However, all the men mentioned above were active within a wider movement…

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Benedict Sheehan: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (2018)

Liturgical Music in America Liturgical music is closely bound up with the people that sing it. Language, history, culture, experience, education, social class, all of these things shape the sound-world of worship. The people that founded Orthodox parishes in America more than a century ago—for the most part, immigrants from Russia, Greece, Eastern Europe, and…

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In Defense of Metrical Translations

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…

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Heaven and Earth: The Psalm 103 Project Comes to Life

It has been over five years since The Saint John of Damascus Society commissioned The Psalm 103 Project, a big idea that brought together the work of six great composers, Matthew Arndt, John Michael Boyer, Alexander Khalil, Kurt Sander, Richard Toensing (+2014), and Tikey Zes, to create a unique, collaborative choral work that would be a model of…

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Sacred Choral Treasures of the Russian Emigration Premiered at the Moscow Conservatory Marking the Centenary of the Revolution: 1917–2017

In late 2016, as the tragic centenary of the Russian revolutions was approaching, conversations began among musicians in Russia and the U. S. regarding an appropriately solemn and musically significant way to pay homage to the memory of those who had been affected by these events—in particular, composers, choirmasters, and church singers—both those who suffered…

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The Typika Psalms and Beatitudes: A Liturgical Opportunity

Editor’s note: This article addresses the Typika Psalms and Beatitudes in the Divine Liturgy, and describes the differences in usage among contemporary North American Orthodox jurisdictions. In particular, the author considers opportunities in which choirs in the Greek and Antiochian Archdioceses might expand their use of these liturgical texts. It is frequently observed that the Psalter is the chief source…

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