Orthodox Church

In the Russian Orthodox Church, "only human voices are allowed to take part in the worship of the Lord." Directed by Lawrence Havriliak, the St. John's Russian Orthodox Choir of Spring Valley, New York sings a capella Ukrainian Christmas carols. Sung in Church Slavonic.

This analogue recording was first issued in 1982 and features music written for the Russian Orthodox Church, ranging from anonymous medieval motets through to the first recording of John Tavener's Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete via Rachmaninov and Stravinsky.

The Armenian Apostolic Church has a wealth of spiritual chants known as sharakans. In the course of the centuries have grown in number. The collection of hymns in the Armenian Church is called Sharaknots (Hymnal). Our blessed holy fathers, founders of the literature of translation, along with translating the Old and New Testaments, introduced' Armenian Christian Hymnology and initiated Armenian national church music. The first sharakans were written as early as 5th century AD. Some of the most inspired and multiple talented sharakan writers, who were responsive for the composition of words and melodies combined, are St. Mesrop Mashtotz, St. Moses Khorenatzi, and Patriarchs Sahak and Partev…

The Armenian Apostolic Church has a wealth of spiritual chants known as sharakans. In the course of the centuries have grown in number. The collection of hymns in the Armenian Church is called Sharaknots (Hymnal). Our blessed holy fathers, founders of the literature of translation, along with translating the Old and New Testaments, introduced' Armenian Christian Hymnology and initiated Armenian national church music. The first sharakans were written as early as 5th century AD. Some of the most inspired and multiple talented sharakan writers, who were responsive for the composition of words and melodies combined, are St. Mesrop Mashtotz, St. Moses Khorenatzi, and Patriarchs Sahak and Partev…

Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Op. 31, is a musical work by Sergei Rachmaninoff, one of his two major unaccompanied choral works (the other being his All-Night Vigil). The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is the primary worship service of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Rachmaninoff composed the work in July, 1910 at his summer estate Ivanovka, following his American tour of 1909. Writing to his friend Nikita Morozov, Rachmaninoff said of the work, "I have been thinking about the Liturgy for a long time and for a long time I strove to write it.

In the 16th and 17th centuries the vast majority of images of cornetto players are depictions angel musicians, often in the company of angelic voices, viols, violins, trombones, organs and harps. Taking this image as a point of departure, Hana Blažíková and I, following the success of our project “Breathtaking”, have developed and recorded a new program around the pairing of the voice and the cornetto. Once again we explore the wonderful way the voice and cornetto can play off of each other in diverse repertoires from the 17th century to the present day.

The Patriarch Tikhon Russian-American Music Institute strives to present Russian Orthodox choral music in its highest possible form, uniting deep spirituality, a profound love for the rich traditions of Orthodox Christian singing, and an uncompromising standard of musical professionalism rooted in the great traditions of Russian choral composers.