SELECTIONS FOR THE NEW LISTENER

The recordings in this New Listener selection are very good examples of Russian choral liturgical music. Three of the four represent the "big sound" of Slavonic liturgical music that many people associate with the Russian Orthodox Church.

Russian New Listener Package. You save 12% off purchase price when you order this package, which includes these CDs: Grand Orthodox Slavic Liturgy, Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Sacred Treasures, and Russian Church Music. To buy this package, click here.

Details for the New Listener

• Grand Orthodox Slavic Liturgy, by the Rybin Choir includes many of the major hymns of the Divine Liturgy sung in Church Slavonic by the most well known composers (Bortniansky, etc.).
• Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, by the Sophia Chorale includes almost all of the hymns of the Divine Liturgy, and while sung by a large choir that captures the beautiful sound of the liturgy, it has a more circumscribed feeling of being in a church.
• Sacred Treasures, a collection of various choirs, provides the big, full and rich sound of Russian Orthodox music by a range of composers that include Bortniansky, Tchaikovsky, etc. It is a compilation from various times and composers, providing a real cross section while at the same time a surprisingly integrated feel.
• Finally, Russian Church Music, by the Slavyanka Men's Chorus delivers the same hymnology from the Divine Liturgy, but sung by a male chorus of a few voices. Thus while the text, and even many of the arrangements, are the same, the sound and feel is much more akin to what is actually heard and experienced in the typical Russian Orthodox parish church on a typical Sunday.

These selections balance the “big sound” of Russian choral liturgical music with some of the variety that exists within the historical spectrum of Russian Orthodox liturgical music by introducing simpler chant forms.

Russian Intermediate Listener Package. You save 12% off purchase price when you order this package, which includes these CDs: Sacred Treasures 3, Chrysostom, Seven Days of Passion, and Chants from Valaam. To buy this package, click here.

Details for the Intermediate Listener

• While Sacred Treasures 3 has a variety of composers represented, the majority of the compositions are by Rachmaninoff. That makes it both beautiful and a little eclectic, and does move the feeling of the recording away from the traditional Russian choral sound–it is still wondrous.
• In contrast, Chrysostom by the St. John of San Francisco Men's Chorale is a cross-section of Russian polyphony from many composers and various chant forms, and drawing from the hymns of the Vigil and Divine Liturgy services. While this group isn't well known this is their second CD), the performance is top notch and very representative. Mostly in Church Slavonic, with some hymns in English.
• The recording The Seven Days of Passion by The Russian Symphony Cappella presents Gretchanivov's monumental composition for Holy Week, composed in 1912 and here recorded for the first time. Very well performed and destined to become a Russian choral masterwork.
• Finally, Chants from Valaam is a contemporary recording of Valaam chant from the monastery of the same name, and delivers both a simple and living chant form in its contemporary form. Hymns are selected from the services of Great Lent and Holy Week, and convey the spirituality of the season.

A selection of Russian chant recoridngs that provides medieval chant of the Mass Proper as well as an example from other Latin rites.

Russian Advanced Listener Package. You save 12% off purchase price when you order this package, which includes these CDs: Sacred Treasures V, Orthodox Chants of the 17th & 18th Centuries, Ancient Slavonic Chants, and Good Friday: Bulgarian Orthodox Liturgy. To buy this package, click here.

Details for the Advanced Listener

• Sacred Treasures V: From A Russian Cathedral is a collection of mainly 20th century and contemporary composers, and performed by a range of choirs. Like the other Sacred Treasures collections, this one is thematic: the hymns that evoke the liturgical sound and movement during worship beneath the dome of a Russian Orthodox Cathedral.
• In contrast, Orthodox Chants of the 17th & 18th Centuries, performed by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir presents Russian chant from the period, as arranged by a variety of composers, and representative of the grand Slavic choral tradition.
• Ancient Slavonic Chants is an example of similarly early chant from Bulgaria, a country that shares the same religious history and liturgical language and music as Russia. Most of the hymns are from the Divine Liturgy, with some festal hymns included, and as a Monitor Recording were recorded live in various monasteries and churches.
• Finally,Good Friday: Bulgarian Orthodox Liturgy is a collection of the hymnology of Good Friday in Holy Week. It is not early chant, nor is it the big choral sound, but it uniquely conveys some of the nuances of Bulgarian liturgical music. The CD includes the three odes of the Lamentation services.