[…] Choir and Orchestra, directed by renowned international conductor Richard Sparks. The work extends the genre of the Missa solemnis: a sublime setting of a Traditional Latin Mass for choir and orchestra. Listeners will discover a new masterwork: a rich modern tapestry with serene Gregorian chants, folk melodies from 18th-century regions of México, and florid […]
[…] liturgies (one in English), and he continues to write music for the church. In addition he has written numerous arrangements/compositions for chorus and piano and chorus and small orchestra based on Greek folk and popular songs. In 1976 he received the Patriarchal title of “Offikion” (letter of patent) from Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios and was […]
[…] historical Kassianí contributed far more than a single “hit” to Orthodox services. Scholars now view Kassía, as she probably called herself, as the outstanding figure among the small group of women known to have written texts and music for Byzantine public worship. Her independence of thought, accomplishments as a composer, and devotion to Christian […]
This remarkable album…is a magnificent listening experience as well as a very useful cultural document.
the music is dense and rich but always bows to the lyrical messages of charity and devotion…the singing by the Benedict XVI Choir is consistently outstanding.
[…] ambit of Russian Orthodoxy, even with the innovative touches noted in the accompanying interview. … the Saint Tikhon Choir under the composer’s direction is simply beyond praise for excellence (including some superb basso profundos). The recorded sound of the CD is exquisite in warmth and amplitude; the booklet provides extensive notes by the composer, the […]
[…] as a composer. Just listen to the first five minutes, as singers enter one-by-one — there are only eight — to the accompaniment of a single solitary cello… Speaking of the choir, the Cappella Romana here demonstrates why it has a devoted fan-base in the Pacific Northwest and, via records, across the globe. There […]
[…] music.…The work itself is the sort of thing musicologists dream about: a treasure of inestimable musical value, hidden away in some attic or dusty library stack, unknown for nearly a century. Similar to conductor Johann von Herbeck happening upon Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony nearly forty years after the composer’s death, the discovery of Steinberg’s Passion […]
[…] floating from your speakers. Steinberg’s melodic material is of course based on traditional chant, but his harmonisations are at times delectably juicy. He doesn’t go in much for dissonance, but a rich spread of voice parts and added notes create moments which might lead you to think of all kinds of associations, from Herbert […]
…Pärt is an especially agreeable contemporary composer for the Byzantine liturgy, and that brings a high recommendation to this new issue.
“a tapestry of sound that is beautifully crafted… The soloists, orchestra, and choir are all superb and give musical and committed performances
[…] California. The CD comes with a deluxe 20-page booklet with extensive essays and full-color photography of the stunning St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church in Santa Barbara, California, for whose choir Dr. Michaelides wrote several liturgical works, including the hymn in honor of St. Barbara included on this present recording. Sung primarily in English, the […]
