Music
UPDATE: Seven Successful Candidates to Receive Certificates in Byzantine Music
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article appeared last week, before the examinations had taken place. This entry serves to report on the outcome of the examinations. For the first time in history, an American academic institution has awarded a Certificate of Byzantine Music. Eight applicants were examined by a board of five renowned Byzantine cantors last weekend…
Continue reading »Concert—Deep Roots Are Not Reached by the Frost: The Enduring Russian Sacred Choral Tradition, 1830 to the Present
On May 31, at Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Danbury, CT, the St. Tikhon of Zadonsk Chamber Choir will give a concert of Russian Orthodox liturgical music in the final installment of the church’s third annual “Music on the Mount” concert series. The St. Tikhon of Zadonsk Chamber Choir is an ensemble of Orthodox professional…
Continue reading »Review of Cappella Romana’s Passion Week Performance
(the Wall Street Journal also reviewed this performance:’Passion’ and Resurrection) During Capella Romana’s recent performance of Soviet composer Maximilian Steinberg’s lost work, something became evident to the singers and the audience: while Steinberg’s Passion week is a very complex and lovely piece of choral music, it is a profound confession of faith. Vladimir Morosan gave…
Continue reading »Lost Russian Passion Week Cycle , Opus 13, by Maximilian Steinberg to debut 90 years after composition
Living in a University town offers many benefits. One of the most delightful is meeting Orthodox scholars from all over the world. It was my pleasure to meet Alexander Lingas, the author of the following article. Knowing of Father Dan Skvir’s love of music, his discovery of a long forgotten piece of music and…
Continue reading »Some New Musical Repertoire in Honor of the Mother of God
One of the rewards of working with a group of professional-level singers such as Archangel Voices (www.archangelvoices.com) is the opportunity to explore and record, often for the very first time, some newly composed or newly arranged Orthodox sacred choral repertoire. Even more rewarding is to hear on occasion that our efforts have met with approbation…
Continue reading »PaTRAM Master Class held in Holy Trinity Monastery and Seminary during Cheese-Fare Week
Editor’s Note: The following is a guest submission from Deacon Ephraim Willmarth of Holy Trinity Seminary. ____________________________________________ From Monday, February 24 to Thursday, February 28, a group of church singers and directors gathered in Holy Trinity Monastery and Seminary to rehearse and study with Maestro Vladimir Gorbik, choirmaster of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra Dependency…
Continue reading »Boston Byzantine Music Festival 2014
I am pleased to pass along news of the upcoming Boston Byzantine Music Festival. The two-day event is hosted by the Mary Jaharis Center for Art and Culture at Hellenic College Holy Cross, and will take place on February 24-25. Byzantine art is commonly associated with mystical iconography and majestic architecture of domed cathedrals, but…
Continue reading »Magnificat: Hymns to the Mother of God from East and West
St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary’s male octet (which can be heard here) will be performing on November 25 in New York City in a joint performance with a Schola from St. Joseph’s (Roman Catholic) Seminary. The SVS section of the program will feature hymns from all the feasts of the Church year, thus illustrating the life…
Continue reading »PaTRAM Institute Launches Website
The Patriarch Tikhon American Music Institute is part of the same effort behind the Patriarch Tikhon Choir who’s latest concert received wonderful reviews. Under the continual guidance of Vladimir Gorbik, the institute offers many solutions for training North Americans who wish to increase their ability to chant in the Russian tradition. As usual, our own…
Continue reading »The current state of things with the Saint John of Damascus Society’s Psalm 103 project
Back in April, I posted about the Saint John of Damascus Society‘s Kickstarter campaign for the first phase of the Psalm 103 project. I’m happy to say that it was more than successful, and we’re just about to deliver on one of the first parts this phase. Before I get to that, let me tell…
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