The Byzantine Choral Inheritance - Greek Orthodox Music from the Old and New Worlds
Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, NY, 10021
Friday, February 17 2023
The Byzantine Choral Inheritance
Greek Orthodox Music from the Old and New Worlds
New York Premiere of HEAVEN AND EARTH
Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity - 319 East 74th Street (between 1st and 2nd Ave's.)
Friday Feb 17, 2023
7:30pm
Great Music Under a Byzantine Dome and The Institute of Sacred Arts at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) will host a concert performance by the world-renowned ensemble, Cappella Romana, on Friday, February 17, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. The event will be held at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York.
Cappella Romana Music Director Dr. Alexander Lingas will lead the first half of the program with works in Greek from medieval Constantinople, followed by liturgical works by twentieth century Greek American composers including Tikey Zes, Theodore Bogdanos, and Frank Desby. The second half, led by Associate Music Director John Michael Boyer, will feature the East Coast premiere of Heaven and Earth: A Song of Creation, a setting of Psalm 103. Commissioned by the Saint John of Damascus Society to celebrate the discovery of the Higgs boson, six composers: Tikey Zes, +Richard Toensing, GRAMMY-nominee Kurt Sander, Alexander Khalil, John Michael Boyer, and Matthew Arndt, each set a portion of the Psalm, creating a seamless tapestry.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact: Richard Barrett, tel 812.219.0286
[email protected]
Cappella Romana returns to New York with
The Byzantine Choral Inheritance
Greek Orthodox Music Ancient and Modern
with the East Coast Premieres of Heaven and Earth
January 5, 2023
Cambridge, MA - Renowned vocal ensemble Cappella Romana will perform The Byzantine Choral Inheritance at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, February 17, 7:30pm. Tickets at https://byzantinedome.org
Emigrants from Greece and Asia Minor brought with them the sacred vocal music of the Byzantine inheritance to the New World. They passed it on to new generations of the faithful, singers, and composers here in America. In this program Cappella Romana will guide Greater Boston audiences through the historic traditions of Byzantine music to new works that draw inspiration from them.
Music Director Dr. Alexander Lingas will lead the first half of the program. The concert will begin with works in Greek from medieval Constantinople, followed by liturgical works by twentieth century Greek American composers such as Tikey Zes, Theodore Bogdanos, and Frank Desby.
The second half, led by Associate Music Director John Michael Boyer, will feature the East Coast premiere of Heaven and Earth: A Song of Creation, a setting of Psalm 103. Commissioned by the Saint John of Damascus Society to celebrate the discovery of the Higgs boson, six composers: Tikey Zes, +Richard Toensing, GRAMMY-nominee Kurt Sander, Alexander Khalil, John Michael Boyer, and Matthew Arndt, each set a portion of the Psalm, creating a seamless tapestry.
Critic Linda Holt of ConcertoNet calls the recording of Heaven and Earth by Cappella Romana (at cappellarecords.com) “music that is totally modern but bearing an indisputable imprint of Eastern Christian traditions. This balance and revelation is Cappella Romana’s unique gift to world music, a door opening to greater understanding and the expansion of our appreciation of beauty.”
Founded in 1991, Cappella Romana specializes in the sacred vocal repertoire of the Mediterranean East. Cappella Romana received national attention in The New York Times and NPR with their 2019 release Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia, presenting medieval Byzantine chant in the virtual reality of the cathedral’s unique acoustic signature (over 11 seconds of reverberation). At the Utrecht Early Music Festival in the Netherlands, they presented this program in a sold-out finale concert.
“We're thrilled to come back to New York,” said Executive Director Mark Powell. “Music from the living traditions of Byzantium - ancient and modern - give audiences a glimpse of the transcendent. It has touched souls and changed lives for more than a millennium, no matter one's background.”
The concert is made possible by generous support from St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary and Great Music Under a Byzantine Dome.
ABOUT CAPPELLA ROMANA
“Chords unfurl in reverberant bloom”
New York Times
“Like jeweled light flooding the space”
Los Angeles Times
Cappella Romana is a professional vocal ensemble dedicated to combining passion with scholarship in its exploration of the musical traditions of the Christian East and West, with emphasis on early and contemporary music. The ensemble is known especially for its presentations and recordings of medieval Byzantine chant, Greek and Russian Orthodox choral works, and other sacred music that expresses the historic traditions of a unified Christian inheritance. Founded in 1991, Cappella Romana has a special commitment to mastering the Slavic and Byzantine musical repertories in their original languages, thereby making accessible to the general public two great musical traditions that are little known in the West. Critics have consistently praised Cappella Romana for their unusual and innovative programming, including numerous world and American premieres. The ensemble presents annual concert series in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington, in addition to touring nationally and internationally, most recently to Hungary, Serbia, Romania, the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Cappella Romana returned to the Utrecht Early Music Festival in 2021 for the third time with Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia performed in the virtual acoustics of Hagia Sophia as the festival’s finale concert. A Byzantine Emperor at King Henry’s Court is Cappella Romana’s 30th release.
cappellaromana.org
Greek Orthodox Music from the Old and New Worlds
New York Premiere of HEAVEN AND EARTH
Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity - 319 East 74th Street (between 1st and 2nd Ave's.)
Friday Feb 17, 2023
7:30pm
Great Music Under a Byzantine Dome and The Institute of Sacred Arts at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) will host a concert performance by the world-renowned ensemble, Cappella Romana, on Friday, February 17, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. The event will be held at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York.
Cappella Romana Music Director Dr. Alexander Lingas will lead the first half of the program with works in Greek from medieval Constantinople, followed by liturgical works by twentieth century Greek American composers including Tikey Zes, Theodore Bogdanos, and Frank Desby. The second half, led by Associate Music Director John Michael Boyer, will feature the East Coast premiere of Heaven and Earth: A Song of Creation, a setting of Psalm 103. Commissioned by the Saint John of Damascus Society to celebrate the discovery of the Higgs boson, six composers: Tikey Zes, +Richard Toensing, GRAMMY-nominee Kurt Sander, Alexander Khalil, John Michael Boyer, and Matthew Arndt, each set a portion of the Psalm, creating a seamless tapestry.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact: Richard Barrett, tel 812.219.0286
[email protected]
Cappella Romana returns to New York with
The Byzantine Choral Inheritance
Greek Orthodox Music Ancient and Modern
with the East Coast Premieres of Heaven and Earth
January 5, 2023
Cambridge, MA - Renowned vocal ensemble Cappella Romana will perform The Byzantine Choral Inheritance at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, February 17, 7:30pm. Tickets at https://byzantinedome.org
Emigrants from Greece and Asia Minor brought with them the sacred vocal music of the Byzantine inheritance to the New World. They passed it on to new generations of the faithful, singers, and composers here in America. In this program Cappella Romana will guide Greater Boston audiences through the historic traditions of Byzantine music to new works that draw inspiration from them.
Music Director Dr. Alexander Lingas will lead the first half of the program. The concert will begin with works in Greek from medieval Constantinople, followed by liturgical works by twentieth century Greek American composers such as Tikey Zes, Theodore Bogdanos, and Frank Desby.
The second half, led by Associate Music Director John Michael Boyer, will feature the East Coast premiere of Heaven and Earth: A Song of Creation, a setting of Psalm 103. Commissioned by the Saint John of Damascus Society to celebrate the discovery of the Higgs boson, six composers: Tikey Zes, +Richard Toensing, GRAMMY-nominee Kurt Sander, Alexander Khalil, John Michael Boyer, and Matthew Arndt, each set a portion of the Psalm, creating a seamless tapestry.
Critic Linda Holt of ConcertoNet calls the recording of Heaven and Earth by Cappella Romana (at cappellarecords.com) “music that is totally modern but bearing an indisputable imprint of Eastern Christian traditions. This balance and revelation is Cappella Romana’s unique gift to world music, a door opening to greater understanding and the expansion of our appreciation of beauty.”
Founded in 1991, Cappella Romana specializes in the sacred vocal repertoire of the Mediterranean East. Cappella Romana received national attention in The New York Times and NPR with their 2019 release Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia, presenting medieval Byzantine chant in the virtual reality of the cathedral’s unique acoustic signature (over 11 seconds of reverberation). At the Utrecht Early Music Festival in the Netherlands, they presented this program in a sold-out finale concert.
“We're thrilled to come back to New York,” said Executive Director Mark Powell. “Music from the living traditions of Byzantium - ancient and modern - give audiences a glimpse of the transcendent. It has touched souls and changed lives for more than a millennium, no matter one's background.”
The concert is made possible by generous support from St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary and Great Music Under a Byzantine Dome.
ABOUT CAPPELLA ROMANA
“Chords unfurl in reverberant bloom”
New York Times
“Like jeweled light flooding the space”
Los Angeles Times
Cappella Romana is a professional vocal ensemble dedicated to combining passion with scholarship in its exploration of the musical traditions of the Christian East and West, with emphasis on early and contemporary music. The ensemble is known especially for its presentations and recordings of medieval Byzantine chant, Greek and Russian Orthodox choral works, and other sacred music that expresses the historic traditions of a unified Christian inheritance. Founded in 1991, Cappella Romana has a special commitment to mastering the Slavic and Byzantine musical repertories in their original languages, thereby making accessible to the general public two great musical traditions that are little known in the West. Critics have consistently praised Cappella Romana for their unusual and innovative programming, including numerous world and American premieres. The ensemble presents annual concert series in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington, in addition to touring nationally and internationally, most recently to Hungary, Serbia, Romania, the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Cappella Romana returned to the Utrecht Early Music Festival in 2021 for the third time with Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia performed in the virtual acoustics of Hagia Sophia as the festival’s finale concert. A Byzantine Emperor at King Henry’s Court is Cappella Romana’s 30th release.
cappellaromana.org
