Track Listing

1. O Virgin Mary, Rejoice, Luike 1, 28 & 42
2. Stichere des Grandes Vepres de la Dormitron de la Mere 3. de Dieu
3. O Virgin Mary, Rejoice, Luke, 28 & 42
4. Tropaires de la lere et de la 8eme Ode et Megalynaires 6. du Canon de la Grante Paraclese
5. It Is Really Worthy of Blessing You, Mother of God
6. Trois Sticheres des Grandes Vepres de l'Annonciation de la Mere de Dieu
7. It Is Really Worthy of Blessing You, Mother of God
8. "Then He Will Speak to Them in His Anger"
9. Hymn of the Cherubs
10. Bless the Lord
11. Bless the Lord, O My Soul-Psalm 101-1-22
12. Virgin In this Day
13. Credo
14. Glory to God
15. Pater Noster (Our Father)
16. He Has Visited Us From the Heaven...
17. Magi, Kings of Persia
18. All Together the Angels in the Sky
19. Prayers of Offering

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47950 in Music
• Released on: 2006-04-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Album Description
A magnificent tribute paid to the splendors of Byzantine music, this amazing repertoire lies at the heart of the oldest Christian traditions. Byzantium's musical history has left a deep impression on our history through an immense musical heritage kept alive with the help of an undisturbed musical tradition in Greece and in the old Churches of Orient.

Customer Reviews

Excellent Blend of Two Styles of Byzantine Chant
The product description here doesn't tell you that this album features two different performing artists on alternating tracks.

Lycourgos Angelopoulos is well respected in the world of Byzantine chant musicians for his fine work at preserving this glorious ancient liturgical Christian music in the original Greek. Here we find examples of the more melismatic styles of Greek chant.

The surprise for me when I first listened to this recording was the delicate and angelic voice of the Serbian Orthodox woman, Divna Ljubojevic. For a brief moment I thought I was listening to Celtic music, but some of the melodies will be familiar to those who have attended Orthodox services where Slavic-style music is sung.

So here we have two alternating, and contrasting, versions of Byzantine chant. My first time through the recording, I was surprised at this juxtaposition of the two styles, but then I listened to the Greek separately, with its use of microtones, and then the Serbian, with its more Western-sounding tonal system. Now I find the combination to be a refreshing way to approach this prayerful and diverse music.

The track titles will give the listener a hint to the text that is being sung, but unfortunately there are no transliterated texts or translations in the liner notes.

For me, the exciting discovery on this recording is the voice of Divna. I will be looking for more works by her in the future.

The glorious voice of Ljubojevic
It is well worth the price of this album to be able to listen to the glorious voice of Divina Ljubojevic singing Psalm 102. The best performances on the album, IMO, are those which include female voices.

Sublime
I confess I haven't heard this particular CD, but I heard The Greek Byzantine Choir under the direction of Lycourgos Angelopoulos this very evening at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. They are truly wonderful -- there is great power in these austere melodies. They resemble Gregorian chants but are more enticing for reasons I cannot explain. As an atheist I was nonetheless deeply moved by this music.