Liturgica
Music is pleased to offer the following recordings of traditional
Byzantine chant rendered in English. These recordings capture
the beauty and tradition of the hymnology and present it in
accessible form.
 Cycles of Grace: Hymns from the Great Feasts by Fr. Apostolos Hill:
Fr. Hill's third recording of Byzantine chant in English offers a selection of hymns spanning the cycle of Great Feasts that comprise the Church's liturgical calendar beginning on September 1 and running through August. The Feasts include the twelve fixed and variable Feasts, with Pascha (Easter in the West) the "feast of feasts" around which all the rest are centered. Pascha is the ultimate variable feast, with its date changing each year. Associated with Pascha are the feasts of Palm Sunday, Ascension and Pentecost that precede or follow it by a specific number of days. Thus these Great Feasts tend to be associated together.
This recording is comprised of two CDs, and is specifically focused on the Great Feasts of the Lord. Unlike Nativity and Pascha, which are also holidays in our culture and thus both visible and available for all who desire to attend, most of the Major Feasts occur on fixed days in the liturgical year and are often celebrated on week days, making attendance difficult for many. Thus at one level, this recording makes the hymnology of the Feasts more readily available. At another level, it offers a selection of representative hymns from these Feasts available in English.
Comprised of 40 hymns on two CDs, this superlative recording also includes thorough liner notes, comments from the artist, and complete hymn text in English. CD 2 includes a bonus track: a favorite liturgical hymn of Fr. Hill that is seldom recorded.
Fr. Hill is Assistant Priest of Assumption Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Denver, where he continues to chant and teach Byzantine chant.
Total play time is 95'52
 Gates
of Repentance by Fr. Apostolos Hill: This hugely popular recording of Byzantine chant in English has now been re-engineered and re-released with eight new hymns and complete liner notes and hymn text. It offers a wide range of the hymnology of Great Lent and Holy Week from the Eastern Orthodox liturgical tradition. Includes comprehensive liner notes and complete hymn text in English.
Comprising twenty seven Byzantine hymns from The Lenten Triodion, this recording clearly conveys the joyful sorrow characteristic of the season. It is a unique recording of the principal hymns that comprise the Eastern Orthodox Lenten period, and builds through the anticipatory Sundays of Lent and each day of Holy Week (from the Bridegroom Service to the Vespers of Good Friday). This compact disc contains all of the major hymns of this most important period in the Church's liturgical cycle. Fr. Hill is Assistant Priest of Assumption Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Denver, where he continues to chant and to teach Byzantine chant.
Total play time is 59’47
Having heard the new "Gates of Repentance" by Fr. Apostolos Hill, I am pleased to say that one more quality addition to Byzantine chant in English is now available to priests, chanters and the laity regarding the profound and inspirational words of the hymns of Great Lent and Holy Week. He has captured the understanding of the eight modal tones of Byzantine chant. Even though one of two hymns might not appear to be faithful to the Greek way of offering those hymns, he remains faithful to the prescribed tone. The recording has both modern English, as well as the King James English wording. To those of the Antiochian Orthodox tradition the older English will be acceptable, while they of the Greek Orthodox tradition will be partial to the modern English. I wholeheartedly endorse this CD for those who wish to learn the beautiful chants in English.
Metropolitan Isaiah,
Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver
Modern forms of Christianity have invented various vehicles for intense spiritual transformation: tent revivals, parish missions, weekend programs such as "Cursillio" or other events where people are invited to leave their daily lives, encounter the power of repentance in Christ and emerge from the experience radically transformed. The ancient church developed just such an experience for the benefit of those being baptized and as a renewal of fully initiated members: Lent and Holy Week. Many in the English speaking world have experienced Lent and Holy Week in Catholic and Protestant liturgical traditions, but these rich celebrations in the Orthodox tradition are less well known. While the journey of repentance through the Paschal Mystery in the Orthodox tradition follows the same basic plan, there are many elements in the Eastern celebrations that provide fresh insights and experiences.
This recording presents some of the venerable hymns of this rich season in English. The hymn texts of Lent give a very personal voice to the spirit of the person who seeks spiritual transformation. These are the fervent cries of a broken spirit in need: "Mine eyes are weighted down by my transgressions, and I cannot lift them up to see the height of heaven. But receive me, Savior, in repentance as the Publican and have mercy on me."
At the end of Lent, we encounter images of hope in the form of Lazarus and the image of Christ as the bridegroom. Perhaps the most powerful texts are those of the hours of Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Like the Reproaches of the Western tradition, these hymns capture the mystery--should we say irony?--of the all powerful Christ who submits to the power of death. An antiphon from the Holy Thursday Passion Gospels depicts this: "Today is suspended on the Tree, He who suspended the land upon the wasters. . . He is wrapped about with the purple of mockery, Who wrapped the heavens with clouds."
In this recording these venerable texts are sung prayerfully and artistically, always with crystal clear diction. Although readily understandable, I would have much preferred a translation into living English, rather than the archaic literary style full of "Thee's" and "Thou's." The accompanying booklet not only presents the texts, but also provides an excellent explanation of Great Lent by the renown Orthodox liturgical scholar, Fr. Alexander Schmemann. In all, this recording presents a wonderful introduction to the Eastern Church's ancient experience of renewal and transformation.
Joseph Metzinger
Director of Music Ministry
Gesu Catholic Church, Cleveland, OH
The original self-produced version of this CD was wonderful gift to the English-speaking Orthodox Church, and to those interested in Byzantine Chant. The Liturgica Music version presents a complete selection of Lenten and Holy Week hymnology in a high quality recording. Few recordings of Byzantine Chant in English contain the principal hymns of Great Lent or Holy Week, and this one contains all of the major hymns of this most important period in the Church's liturgical cycle. The quality of the recording, editing and mastering are very good, the hymn text is sung with bright clarity, and it is a recording that will move you to listen to it over and over again!
Ben Williams,
Liturgica.com, Portland, Oregon
 Hymns
of Paradise by Fr. Apostolos Hill: A recording of the hymnology of the Eastern
Orthodox funeral service performed in Byzantine chant. While it is "funeral music,"
the chant presentation in English is joyous and beautiful, conveying the theological underpinnings
of the Christian hope in the Resurrection. This recording is a first in English, and the musical
form represents that common in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America.
The 26-page booklet includes the complete hymn text (including
the Trisagion and the funeral service) as well as a commentary on the history and development of
the service, its theology and its hymns, and a personal note by the artist. The central elements
of this service are the hymns composed by St. Isaac the Syrian and St. John of Damascus, presenting
the historic Christian belief about death and resurrection. While seldom heard and appreciated,
both the hymnody and the content are uplifting and inspiring.
For Christians it is normal to face the reality of death, since it is inseparable from the
choices we make in life and our eternal condition. This constant reminder prepares us for the
Kingdom of Heaven. Many people who attend the Orthodox funeral service often times are not in
the position of carefully listening to the readings and hymns because of emotional sentiments.
This recording is therefore very beneficial to the listener, who will greatly appreciate the
richness of the theological content of this ancient service and will become spiritually edified
by the beauty of the Orthodox Christian Funeral Service.
Bishop Isaiah of Denver
Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver
November, 2002
"Hymns of Paradise" is an extremely welcome addition to the limited musical
literature available in the area of Christian burial. As an auditory example
of the funeral liturgy; as a textual resource for Christian education; as a
masterful performance — this CD and its accompanying booklet are invaluable.
Father Hill and those with him on the recording have given clergy and laity
alike a gem of what Fr. Alexander Schmemann called the "bright sadness" of
the passage from death to life. I am thankful that Liturgica.com has
produced this work.
Fr. George Gray
St. Nicholas Church, Portland, OR
December, 2002
This is perhaps one of the most important recordings of Byzantine
liturgical chant in English produced to date for two reasons: first, it
presents this rich musical tradition artistically sung in modern English
and second, it provides a rich body of texts concerning the mystery of
death and paradise generally unfamiliar to Western culture.
For those of us who use English as our first language, Fr. Apostolos
Hill and his supporting singers give a truly prayerful and artistic
performance, letting us experience these ancient chants with a
refreshing immediacy. The singing captures the Greek vocal style and
ornamentation of the vocal lines while preserving a pristine clarity of
the texts. The musical clothing of the vernacular flows naturally and
convincingly. The musical effect as a whole is soothing and suitable
for private meditation.
However, it is the nature and scope of the texts themselves that
provide the listener from Western religious traditions with new
theological approaches to the mystery of death and resurrection. The
Orthodox funeral service presents images that are significantly
different from Catholic and Protestant celebrations in ways that are
both complementary and challenging. For instance, the hymns of St. John
of Damascus form a meditation on the immediate feelings of separation
and fear of death experienced by the surviving family and friends of one
who has recently died. While Western liturgies tend to focus on the
deceased being welcomed in the heavenly community of saints and angels,
these intensely pastoral Orthodox texts address the immediate feelings
of pain, sorrow, and confusion experienced by the survivors.
The accompanying texts included with the CD are of outstanding
quality. They very clearly outline a theology of death and paradise in
a way comprehensible to those who may have no connection with Eastern
Christianity or even a basic formation in any form of Christianity.
Particularly effective is the explanation of Paradise as the original
blissful state created by God for humanity, and also as the goal and
promise for those who live by faith.
Joseph Metzinger
Director of Music Ministries, Gesu Catholic Church, Cleveland, OH
January, 2003
"Hymns of Paradise: Hymns of Life and Hope," by Fr. Apostolos Hill, is a
new compact disc recording of the hymns chanted during the funeral
service in the parishes of the Greek Orthodox Church in America,
specifically as performed in the Metropolis of Denver. The texts are
translations of hymns in ecclesiastical Greek, rendered into Modern
English, and compiled from three different sources. The music is an
adaptation of the Byzantine modes and melodies, not always precise, yet
reflecting the practice popular in the parish today. The performance
style is that of traditional chant accompanied by a drone (isson)
throughout, with the exception of one track that features polyphonic
harmonization. The colorful CD booklet includes the text of the hymns as
well as an essay discussing the themes of Paradise and death and
outlining the order of the funeral service.
I very much enjoyed listening to "Hymns of Paradise." I particularly
liked the polyphonic arrangement of "Holy God" (Track 3), which has a
characteristically Western and American sound. Fr. Hill's chanting also
sounds "American," and that is good. His style is articulate, unhurried,
unaffected and easy to imitate. The slow tempo is conducive to prayer
and reflection, and the overall performance is calm, clearly arising
from a peaceful soul and having a sobering effect on the listener. In
the accompanying CD booklet, Fr. Apostolos writes that he hopes the
recording "will be a source of comfort for those who grieve the loss of
their dear ones and a goad to more fervently pursue the Kingdom of
Heaven to those of us for whom death still looms in the future." Thus,
"Hymns of Paradise" is an excellent example of an emerging genre of
music that might be called "devotional listening."
As such, it is unnecessary to critique this music on the principles of
Byzantine chant. Fr. Apostolos was not chanting from a musical score but
from a compiled text (which differs slightly from the text provided);
and currently there is no intent to produce a musical score. However,
due to the growing demand for liturgical music in Modern English, there
will inevitably be chanters and other church musicians, like myself, who
will wish to use "Hymns of Paradise" as a training tape, so to speak,
from which they can learn to chant the funeral service. Perhaps as this
demand becomes greater, the text and music will be offered in a
liturgical format.
"Hymns of Paradise" was produced by Liturgica Music, and is moderately
priced at just under $17. Along with Fr. Hill's first CD, "Gates of
Repentance," this CD is a fine addition to the audio library of chant in
English, and it makes a perfect gift, especially to the bereaved.
Fr. Seraphim Dedes
June, 2003
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