Seen and heard today at Divine Service (November 3, 2013)

The White High Holy Day vestments, the beautiful All Saints' Day collect (see below) - and, happily (since the Book of Common Prayer lectionary is now permitted again), this wonderful reading for All Saints' Day:

Ecclesiasticus 44:1-10,13-14

1 Let us now sing the praises of famous men,    
          our ancestors in their generations.
2 The Lord apportioned to them great glory,
          his majesty from the beginning.
3 There were those who ruled in their kingdoms,
          and made a name for themselves by their valour;
          those who gave counsel because they were intelligent;
          those who spoke in prophetic oracles;
4 those who led the people by their counsels
          and by their knowledge of the people’s lore;
          they were wise in their words of instruction;
5 those who composed musical tunes,
          or put verses in writing;
6 rich men endowed with resources,
          living peacefully in their homes—
7 all these were honoured in their generations,
          and were the pride of their times.
8 Some of them have left behind a name,
          so that others declare their praise.
9 But of others there is no memory;
          they have perished as though they had never existed;
          they have become as though they had never been born,
          they and their children after them.
10 But these also were godly men,
          whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten;
13 Their offspring will continue for ever,
          and their glory will never be blotted out.
14 Their bodies are buried in peace,
          but their name lives on generation after generation.

As far as I can tell, this was introduced for the first time in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer as the Old Testament reading on All Saints' Day.  It was one of the first readings I ever heard in the church, and I found it exquisitely beautiful.

Instead of a Psalm - unusual - we sang hymn #560, "Blessèd are the poor in spirit."  It's a Richard Proulx arrangement of a Russian Orthodox chant; in the Orthodox liturgy, I'm learning, the Beatitudes are chanted as the Gospel Book is carried in procession to the sanctuary for the Gospel reading.  That's a wonderful liturgical practice!    (The Beatitudes are, of course, the Gospel reading for All Saints' Day every year.)

Here's the hymn, here sung at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Jacksonville Florida:



Here are the words, from Hymnary.org:

[Antiphon:]
Remember your servants, Lord,
when you come in your kingly power.

1 Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2 Blessed are those who mourn;
for they shall be comforted.
3 Blessed are the meek;
for they shall inherit the earth.
4 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness;
for they shall be satisfied.
5 Blessed are the merciful;
for they shall obtain mercy.
6 Blessed are the pure in heart;
for they shall see God.
7 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called the children of God.
8 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake;
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
9 Blessed are you when the world reviles you and persecutes you;
and utters all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake:
Rejoice and be exceeding glad;
for great is your reward in heaven.

[Antiphon:]
Remember your servants, Lord,
when you come in your kingly power.

Source: Hymnal 1982: according to the use of the Episcopal Church #560

It's really a beautiful song, with terrific harmonies - and of course the text is superb.

This sounds like it may be the Russian version Proulx worked from, sung by a choir at Holy Trinity Church (OCA) in Yonkers, NY:



The YouTuber wrote there that:

The Beatitudes were pronounced by Jesus during his Sermon on the Mount and were recorded by St. Matthew. ........In the Gospel writings, the beatitudes introduce the teachings of Jesus and are traditionally considered to contain the most concise summary of the spiritual life of man. In the Orthodox Divine Liturgy, the beatitudes are chanted when the Book of the Gospels is carried in solemn procession to the sanctuary to be proclaimed as the Word of God to the faithful. Thus it is the clear teaching of the Gospel and the Church that one enters into the mysteries of Christ and the Kingdom of God only by way of following the Lord's teachings in the beatitudes. And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for your reward is great in heaven (Matthew 5:2-12; Cf Luke 6:20-26)

Here, BTW, is Arvo Pärt's setting of the Beatitudes; gorgeous as usual:




The preacher noted that All Saints' Day was the only feast of the year that could be celebrated twice - once on November 1, and again on the Sunday after November 1.  Quite interesting, really, that this is so; to me, this makes a powerful statement about the importance of this day - and I've felt that since the first time I ever attended an All Saints' Day service.  All Saints' is one of the four days on which baptism is "especially appropriate," too, according to the BCP; the first time I attended a service on this day, there were four baptisms.  All of that, and the readings and music, makes All Saints' a uniquely resonant experience; today, for the first time really, I truly got an understanding of the church as the mystical Body of Christ, and of all Christians, everywhere and from every era, as disciples, all living a common life and under a common vision.

I sort of like it that in Anglicanism, All Saints' and All Souls' Days have been collapsed into one thing; I like that idea, again, of that complete statement about "discipleship," and the notion that the whole church is celebrated.  (I'm also quite happy that many parishes offer a requiem mass on All Souls' Day, too, even though it's not an official Holy Day.   Nothing at all wrong with any of that.)

Here's the beautiful Collect for All Saints:

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Hatchett's Commentary says about this one that:

This collect was composed for the 1549 Book.  The 1662 revision substituted "blessed" for "holy," and "in all virtuous and godly living" for "in all virtues, and godly living."  The present revision replaces "unspeakable" with "ineffable" since "unspeakable" has so changed and negative a connotation in modern English.  The collect expresses in an admirable way Saint Paul's conception of the church as the Body of Christ.

I heard this song at my first All Saints' Day service, too, and again today:

Holy is the True Light,
and passing wonderful,
lending radiance to them that endured
in the heat of the conflict.
From Christ they inherit
a home of unfading splendour,
wherein they rejoice with gladness evermore.
Alleluia!

Words from the Salisbury Diurnal by G.H. Palmer

For the last hymn, it was Ralph Vaughan Williams' "For All the Saints."  I used to cry when I sang this one; I don't really know why.  (I have a feeling it may partly be all that martial imagery, in combination with this majestic melody!)  I remember singing this one when I was a child, and it always moved me then - and whenever I heard it later on in life.  I was watching people in the choir as they came down the aisle singing, and saw some really blissful faces - so I know it still has that effect on people.  Not me, though; now I weep at other hymns, and not at this one anymore.

Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil

This seems to the whole thing - 45 minutes of beautiful music.  YouTube page notes below.

Serge Rachmaninoff - Vespers - All-Night Vigil.


Olga Borodina, mezzo-soprano.
Vladimir Mostowoy, tenor.
St. Petersburg Chamber Choir.
Nikolai Korniev.

The All-Night Vigil (Russian: Всенощное бдение, Vsenoshchnoe bdenie), Opus 37, is an a cappella choral composition by Sergei Rachmaninoff, written and premiered in 1915. It consists of settings of texts taken from the Russian Orthodox All-night vigil ceremony. It has been praised as Rachmaninoff's finest achievement and "the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church". It was one of Rachmaninoff's two favorite compositions along with The Bells, and the composer requested that one of its movements (the fifth) be sung at his funeral. The title of the work is often translated as simply Vespers, which is both literally and conceptually incorrect as applied to the entire work: only the first six of its fifteen movements set texts from the Russian Orthodox canonical hour of Vespers.

Rachmaninoff composed the All-Night Vigil in less than two weeks in January and February 1915. The first performance was given in Moscow on March 10 of that year, partly to benefit the Russian war effort. Nikolai Danilin conducted the all-male Moscow Synodal Choir at the premiere. It was received warmly by critics and audiences alike, and was so successful that it was performed five more times within a month. However the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the rise of the Soviet Union led to a ban on performances of all religious music, and on 22 July 1918 the Synodal Choir was replaced by a nonreligious "People's Choir Academy". It has been written that "no composition represents the end of an era so clearly as this liturgical work"

1. Приидите, поклонимся
Priidite, Poklonimsya
Come, Let Us Worship


2. Благослови, душе моя (греческого роспева)
Blagoslovi, Dushe Moya
Praise the Lord, O My Soul (Greek Chant)


3. Блажен муж
Blazhen Muzh
Blessed is the Man

4. Свете тихий (киевского роспева)
Svete Tikhyi
O Gentle Light (Kiev Chant)

5. Ныне отпущаеши (киевского роспева)
Nyne Otpushchayeshi
Lord, Now Lettest Thou (Nunc Dimittis) (Kiev Chant)



6. Богородице Дево, радуйся
Bogoroditsye Devo, Raduisya
Rejoice, O Virgin (Hail Mary (Ave Maria))

7. Шестопсалмие
(alternate: Slava V Vyshnikh Bogu)
The Six Psalms (alternate: Glory To God in the Highest)

8. Хвалите имя Господне (знаменного роспева)
Khvalite Imya Gospodne
Praise the Name of the Lord (Znamenny Chant)

9. Благословен еси Господи (знаменного роспева)
Blagosloven Yesi, Gospodi
Blessed Art Thou, O Lord (Znamenny Chant)



10. Воскресение Христово видевше
Voskreseniye Khristovo Videvshe
Having Beheld the Resurrection

11. Величит душа моя Господа
Velichit Dusha Moya Gospoda
My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord (Magnificat)

12. Славословие великое (знаменного роспева)
(alternate: Slava V Vyshnikh Bogu)
The Great Doxology (Znamenny Chant) (alternate: Glory to God in the Highest)

13. Тропарь: Днесь спасение (знаменного роспева)
Dnes Spaseniye Miru Byst
Troparion: Today Salvation is Come (Znamenny Chant)

14. Тропарь: Воскрес из гроба (знаменного роспева)
Voskres Iz Groba
Troparion: Thou Didst Rise from the Tomb (Znamenny Chant)

15. Взбранной Воеводе (греческого роспева)
Vzbrannoy Voyevode
O Queen Victorious (Greek Chant)

"Apolytikion and Kontakion for the Feast of The Holy Transfiguration"

The YouTube page says:

The Feast of The Holy Transfiguration Apolytikion and Kontakion sung in English.

The OCA Website has the words:

Troparion — Tone 7

You were transfigured on the mountain, O Christ God, / revealing Your glory to Your disciples as far as they could bear it. / Let Your everlasting Light also shine upon us sinners, / through the prayers of the Theotokos. / O Giver of Light, glory to You!

Kontakion — Tone 7

On the Mountain You were Transfigured, O Christ God, / And Your disciples beheld Your glory as far as they could see it; / So that when they would behold You crucified, / They would understand that Your suffering was voluntary, / And would proclaim to the world, / That You are truly the Radiance of the Father!

Wikipedia says this about "Apolytikion":

The Apolytikion (Greek: Ἀπολυτίκιον) or Dismissal Hymn is a troparion (hymn) said or sung at Orthodox Christian worship services. The apolytikion summarizes the feast being celebrated that day. It is chanted at Vespers, Matinsand the Divine Liturgy; and it is read at each of the Little Hours. The name derives from the fact that it is chanted for the first time before the dismissal (Greek: apolysis) of Vespers. In the Orthodox Church, the liturgical day begins at sunset, so Vespers is the first service of the day. The term apolyikion is used in Greek tradition. In Slavic tradition the term troparion is specifically used to stand for Apolytikion,　whilst troparion is of more generic usage in Greek tradition.

The apolytikion could be compared in the Western liturgy to the collect or post-communion, inasmuch as it changes for each feast-day of the year and specifically commemorates the subject of the feast.  

"Communion Hymn from the Paraklesis to Saint Mary Magdalene The Myrrh-Bearer"

On the eve of her feast day:



The blurb at the YouTube page says this:

Communion Hymn from the Paraklesis
To Saint Mary Magdalene The Myrrh-Bearer.
Plagal 4th tone.
Chanted By"Monks of the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petra, Mount Athos.

Text in English: "Her sound has gone forth into all the earth, and her words unto the end of the world, Alleluia (cf.Ps19-5)

Liturgica.com has a listing for this in their web store.

Here's the beginning section of Wikipedia's entry on "Paraklesis":

A Paraklesis (Greek: Παράκλησις) or Supplicatory Canon in the Orthodox Christian Church and Eastern Catholic Churches, is a service of supplication for the welfare of the living. It is addressed to a specific Saint or to the Most Holy Theotokos whose intercessions are sought through the chanting of the supplicatory canon together with psalms, hymns, and ekteniae (litanies).

The most popular Paraklesis is that in which the supplicatory canon and other hymns are addressed to the Most Holy Theotokos (the Mother of God). There are two forms of this service: the Small Paraklesis (composed by Theosterictus the Monk in the 9th century), and the Great Paraklesis (composed by Emperor Theodore I Ducas Lascaris in the 13th century). During the majority of the year, only the Small Paraklesis to the Theotokos is chanted. However, during the Dormition Fast (August 1—14, inclusive), the Typikon prescribes that the Small and Great Paraklesis be chanted on alternate evenings, according to the following regulations:

• If August 1st falls on a Monday through Friday, the cycle begins with the Small Paraklesis. If August 1st falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the cycle begins with the Great Paraklesis.
• On the eves of Sundays (i.e., Saturday nights) and on the eve of the Transfiguration (the night of August 5) the Paraklesis is omitted.
• On Sunday nights, the Great Paraklesis is always used unless it is the eve of Transfiguration.

The Troparion of Pentecost (Georgian chant, "K'urtkheul khar shen")

Another Pentecost treat: some lovely Georgian chant.



From the YouTube page:

Troparion of Pentecost, sung by the choir of the convent of Sameba-Jikheti. It can be found on their CD "Chant melodies."

"Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God, Who hast revealed the fishermen as most wise by sending down upon them the Holy Spirit - through them Thou didst draw the world into Thy net. O Lover of Man, glory to Thee!"

I just love Orthodox hymnody! The texts are always splendid. Here's a PDF of the same text (although not, I think, the same music), from the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North American.

According to OrthodoxWiki:

A Troparion (also tropar; plural troparia) is a type of hymn in Byzantine music, in the Orthodox Church and other Eastern Christian churches. It is a short hymn of one stanza, or one of a series of stanzas; this may carry the further connotation of a hymn interpolated between psalm verses.

The term most often refers to the apolytikion (or "dismissal hymn"), the thematic hymn which closes Vespers. (In Greek churches, the apolytikion troparion is known simply as the apolytikion; in most other churches, it is known simply as the troparion.) This troparion serves as a thematic hymn and is repeated at every service of the day.

Troparia are also found as the stanzas of canons. Such troparia are modeled on the irmoi of the ode.

Troparia are also sometimes used as refrains for chanted psalm verses, though stichera more often serve this function.

Another kind of hymn is the Kontakion:

A Kontakion (also kondakion, kondak, and kontak; plural kontakia, kondakia) is a type of thematic hymn in the Orthodox Church and other Eastern Christian churches. Originally, the kontakion was an extended homily in verse consisting of one or two proemia (preliminary stanzas) followed by several strophes called oikoi (also ikoi; singular oikos, ikos), usually between 18 and 24. The kontakia were so long that the text was rolled up on a pole for use in the services -- the genesis of the name kontakion, which means "from the pole" in Greek. It is typical of the form that each of the proemia and strophes end with the same refrain. Acrostics are also a hallmark of this hymnographic form.

In current practice, the kontakion has been greatly abbreviated. Only the (first) proemium and first strophe are sung or read after the sixth ode of the canon at orthros. The proemium alone is sung at the Divine Liturgy, following the troparia, and most other services of the daily cycle. The kontakion is not sung at vespers.

According to tradition, Saint Roman the Melodist wrote the first kontakion, the Kontakion for the Birth of Our Lord, by divine inspiration. Legend aside, Roman established the kontakion in the form it retained for centuries, and he is the most famous composer of kontakia.

Orthodox Byzantine Chant for Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday: "By Raising Lazarus"

The first song on this video is a beautiful "Lazarus Saturday & Palm Sunday Troparion" - and it includes some interesting theology! ("By raising Lazarus from the dead before Thy passion, Thou didst confirm the universal resurrection, O Christ God!"). The singer is Vassilis Hadjinicolaou - he may also be the composer/arranger, I'm not sure - and this song is followed by two others: "Six days before the Feast of Passover" and "Behold the Bridegroom." They all come from a recording called "Holy Week."


Here's a page about this recording at Liturgica.com; here's the blurb there about it:

Holy Week is the fourth recording to appear under the general title Byzantine Music in the New World. It is an effort to place the Byzantine musical tradition of the Orthodox Church within an English-language context and it is directed mainly to English-speaking Christians around the world. The composer and performer, Vassilis Hadjinicolaou, is a talented musician who hails from Thessaloniki (Greece) and who resided for many years in Montreal (Canada). While there, he witnessed the great need amongst North American Orthodox for a Byzantine musical expression in their own language. This recording features selections from Holy Week (the week between Palm Sunday and Pascha or Easter) sung in traditional Byzantine melodies.

He's great, isn't he?

Here's a page from OCA.org about Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, plus an excerpt:

The week following the Sunday of St Mary of Egypt is called Palm or Branch Week. At the Tuesday services of this week the Church recalls that Jesus’ friend Lazarus has died and that the Lord is going to raise him from the dead (Jn 11). As the days continue toward Saturday, the Church, in its hymns and verses, continues to follow Christ towards Bethany to the tomb of Lazarus. On Friday evening, the eve of the celebration of the Resurrection of Lazarus, the “great and saving forty days” of Great Lent are formally brought to an end:

Having accomplished the forty days for the benefit of our souls, we pray to Thee, O Lover of Man, that we may see the holy week of Thy passion, that in it we may glorify Thy greatness and Thine unspeakable plan of salvation for our sake. ...(Vesper Hymn)

Lazarus Saturday is a paschal celebration. It is the only time in the entire Church Year that the resurrectional service of Sunday is celebrated on another day. At the liturgy of Lazarus Saturday, the Church glorifies Christ as “the Resurrection and the Life” who, by raising Lazarus, has confirmed the universal resurrection of mankind even before his own suffering and death.

By raising Lazarus from the dead before Thy passion, Thou didst confirm the universal resurrection, O Christ God! Like the children with the branches of victory, we cry out to Thee, O Vanquisher of Death: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord! (Troparion).

Christ —the Joy, the Truth and the Light of All, the Life of the world and its Resurrection—has appeared in his goodness to those on earth. He has become the Image of our Resurrection, granting divine forgiveness to all (Kontakion).

At the Divine Liturgy of Lazarus Saturday the baptismal verse from Galatians: As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Gal 3:27) replaces the Thrice-holy Hymn thus indicating the resurrectional character of the celebration, and the fact that Lazarus Saturday was once among the few great baptismal days in the Orthodox Church Year. Because of the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead, Christ was hailed by the masses as the long-expected Messiah-King of Israel. Thus, in fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament, he entered Jenrsalem, the City of the King, riding on the colt of an ass (Zech 9:9; Jn 12:12). The crowds greeted him with brancfies in their hands and called out to him with shouts of praise: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! The Son of David! The King of Israel! Because of this glorification by the people, the priests and scribes were finally driven “to destroy him, to put him to death” (Lk 19:47; Jn 11:53, 12:10).

The feast of Christ’s triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, Palm Sunday, is one of the twelve major feasts of the Church. The services of this Sunday follow directly from those of Lazarus Saturday.

Palm Sunday for the West is this Sunday, April 1 - but in the East it's on our Easter day, April 8.

Znamenny Chant: The Lord's Prayer

ZNAMENNY CHANT, St. Petersburg, Russia (clip) - YouTube. This is apparently a composed version, by Nikolay Kedrov, and is very well known and loved. It's beautiful.

Отче наш, Иже еси на небесех!
Да святится имя Твое,
да приидет Царствие Твое,
да будет воля Твоя,
яко на небеси и на земли.
Хлеб наш насущный даждь нам днесь;
и остави нам долги наша,
якоже и мы оставляем должником нашим;
и не введи нас во искушение,
но избави нас от лукаваго.
Аминь.

TRANSLITERATION
Otche nash, susthiy na nebesah,
Da svyatitca imya tvoye,
Da priidet tsarstvye tvoye,
Da budet volya tvoya
I na zemle kak na nebe.
Hleb nash nasusthnyiy dai nam na sey den,
I prosti nam dolgi nashi,
Kak i myi prosthae dolnikam nashim,
I ne vvedi nas v iskushenye,
No izbav nas ot lukavogo. Amin.

PRONUNCIATION
Ot-che nash,
Ee-zhe ye see na nye-bye-sekh!
da svya-tee-tsya ee-mya Tvo-ye, da pri-ee-dyet Tsar-stvi-ye Tvo-ye:
da boo-dyet vol-ya Tvo-ya, ya-ko na nye-bye-see ee na zem-lee.
Khleb nash na-soosch-nui dazhd nam dnyes:
ee o-sta-vee nam dol-gee na-shya, ya-ko-zhe ee mui o-sta-vlya-yem dol-zhnee-kom na-shuim:
ee nye vvye-dee nas vo ees-koo-shye-ni-ye,
no eez-ba-vee nas ot loo-ka-va-go.

From the YouTube page:

Znamenny chant (Russian: Знаменное пение, знаменный распев).

As I was locally informed, no musical instruments accompanied chants in orthodox churches, because the human voice, one of the greatest achievements of God, cannot be polluted by man made musical instruments. The clip was taken (September 8, 2010) in St Peter and St Paul orthodox Cathedral (St Petersburg, Russian Federation), where the mortal remains of Tsar Nicholas II and family were laid to rest since July 17, 1998. The cathedral is located inside the fortress with the same name. For further information about Znamenny chant, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Znamenny_chant.

Here I do acknowledge @WeenisLad for the following amendment: formerly, I supposed that the chant was Gregorian; however, it is Znamenny. Many thanks.
According to a viewer (@frostymama), this version is by Kedrov - "We sing an english translation of this nearly every week at Church. It is my favorite arrangement of the Our Father."

"Hymn from the Feast of Transfiguration"

I wanted to post this beautiful hymn in Syriac and figured I could do it now, since the Transfiguration gets celebrated twice during the church year! The feast day itself is on August 6 - but the event itself occurs just before Palm Sunday and gets celebrated each year on the last Sunday before Lent begins (last week).



The link at the YouTube page points to the (quite beautiful) syrianorthodox website.  This comes from the Transfiguration page:

Qurbana Hymn after the reading of the Gospel

കീപ്പായും യോഹന്നാനും യാക്കോബും ചേര്‍ന്നു
താബോര്‍മല കര്‍ത്താവേറി മൂശായേ നീബോ
മലയില്‍നിന്നും - നിബിയേലീയായേ
വാനില്‍നിന്നും - ചെയ്താനാഹ്വാനം
ദൈവാത്മജമുഖകാന്തിയഹോ - ഭാവം മാറുകയും
ശോഭനമായൊരു മേഘം വന്നവരേ വേഗത്തില്‍
ഹാലേലുയ്യാ - ചൂടുകയം ചെയ്തു.

I'm sorry to say I don't have a translation of the text itself. Working on it!

"The all night vigil for Holy Trinity-Pentecost" in Moscow

Via New Liturgical Movement, here's a short video of a Pentecost Vigil celebration in Moscow. As you can see, the liturgical color for Pentecost is green, in the East. Springtime.



Some still photos at the link, too. Here's one:

Easter Lent (Eastern Orthodox) - Open To Me The Doors Of Repentance

HT Christopher.