Sacred Treasures, Vol 5

Sacred Treasures, Vol 5

SACRED TREASURES V: FROM A RUSSIAN CATHEDRAL features mainly 20th century and<br>contemporary composers. There are several selections from Liturgy of Peace by Archbishop<br>lonafan (Yeletskyh) of Kiev in which the eastern Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is sung to the<br>melodies of Western Gregorian chants, creating a musical synthesis of the two traditions.<br><br>Nikolai Kedrov Sr. s famous setting of The Lord s Prayer is sung by the Eva Quartet in<br>traditional Bulgarian women s folk style. They appear again in To Thee We Sing by Dobri<br>Christov, Bulgaria s greatest sacred music composer.<br><br>The Ektenia by N. Frunza is an exquisite example of the Slavonic style in which a single<br>angelic voice floats above a dense carpet of a cappella voices. The Sound of Spirit by American<br>composer Georgia Kelly is not from the Orthodox tradition, yet is similar in structure and feeling<br>to the Ektenia. Kiev s Credo Chamber Choir gives a passionate rendition of Holy God by Russia s<br>Georgiy Sviridov. Three hymns from Rachmaninov s version of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom <br>and one from Tchaikovsky s version, along with O Gentle Light, are powerful examples of singing<br>by Russia s massive mixed choirs.<br><br>Estonian Urmas Sisask s spectacular Dominus Vobiscum, though not Orthodox, reveals<br>the influence of Orthodox chant. It is Truly Meet is one of many pieces by composers who left<br>the USSR and continued to create abroad. Shen Khar Venakhi is a lovely 12th century Georgian<br>hymn in honor of the Mother of God. The numerous repetitions of Amen, Alleluia and Gospodi<br>pomilui ( Lord have mercy ) throughout the compilation create a unifying theme.<br><br>All the pieces and performances are infused with a solemn and deeply devotional quality.<br>The singing is spacious and warm, creating an atmosphere of holiness and benediction. The<br>intention was to weave hymns and verses into a seamless tapestry in which the whole is greater<br>than the sum of its parts, and the individual elements of the compilation become movements in<br>a choral symphony of timeless beauty.<br><br>ELLEN HOLMES, PRODUCER