Cappella Romana will be premiering a new work from Peter Michaelides during the Be Radiant, O Peoples! tour this coming weekend. So in preparation, we wanted to share this review from our 2006 release of Peter Michaelides: The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom from AllMusic.com:
“Cappella Romana’s Peter Michaelides: The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is a recording of an amazing, latter-day manuscript discovery: a complete Greek liturgy in the English language from 1960 by Greek-born American composer Peter Michaelides. Michaelides had studied with Ingolf Dahl and Halsey Stevens at USC and had composed his Liturgy using simple, quartal-, or quintal-based harmonies and long stretches of Byzantine chant translated into English. This manuscript had lain unpublished, and apparently unperformed, in the attic of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Portland, OR, when it was discovered in the early ’90s by the leader of Cappella Romana, Alexander Lingas…
“…the sound of it is pure West Coast; cool, transparent harmonies and an unhurried approach to both rhythm and the overall form of the work. Later in the 1960s, Michaelides shifted his stylistic focus to a more international style in line with what Penderecki and Xenakis were doing. However, in 1960 he was closely allied with the Greek Orthodox church in California and would remain so until his departure to teach at the University of Northern Iowa. Nevertheless, Michaelides composed this monumental 66-minute work and it wasn’t used in services at first light given that it was in English and the musical style was a little too unorthodox for churches of that day, despite its concision and obvious devotional content…
“This is a fascinating disc; usually when a new, revelatory music manuscript is turned up, the composer is long dead. In this case, Michaelides is able to witness the fruits of his handiwork some 40 years after he laid it to rest; it is likely easier now to appreciate what an original and visionary conception this was from the standpoint of the 21st century than it would have been at anytime in the 20th. The choral singing — relaxed and faithful to the extremely restrained resources of the musical text — from Cappella Romana is just right, along with the hard work handling all of the spoken and semi-sung texts by Rev. Archpriest George A. Gray III, domestikos Mark Powell, and Lingas himself, serving as the reader.” — Uncle Dave Lewis, AllMusic.com
Read the full review on AllMusic.com
Purchase this recording on Amazon.com!
Hear Peter Michaelides’ new work during the Be Radiant, O Peoples! Tour:
The Easter Canon of St. John of Damascus (8th cent.)
World premieres by: Tikey Zes, John Vergin, Richard Toensing, Ivan Moody, Peter Michaelides, and Robert Kyr.
Lincoln City
Fri., May 18, 2012, 7 pm
Lincoln City Cultural Center, 540 NW Hwy 101
Presented by José Solano; made possible in part by
The Oregon Cultural Trust. Tickets 541-994-9994.
Portland
Sat., May 19, 2012, 8 pm
St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1739 NW Couch St (at 18th)
Seattle
Sun., May 20, 2012, 4 pm (matinée)
St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church
2100 Boyer Ave E, Seattle
Prices start at $25. Purchase Tickets Directly or call 800-494-8497 (phone service fee applies)
Discounts students, seniors, & Arts for All and student rush at door. Pre-concert talks one hour prior to concerts in Portland and Seattle.
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