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Machaut: Messe de Nostre Dame
Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377) Guillaume de Machaut’s Messe de Nostre Dame (c. 1360-65) began to attract great interest during the 20th century. It is the first mass composed for four voices with a known composer, and as such, it is widely considered to mark the beginning of a new musical era. In addition, Machaut himself…
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Byzantine Christmas: Sun of Justice – Taking the Journey
The ecclesiastical feast day celebrating the Nativity of Jesus Christ – which came to be called simply “Christ’s Mass,” or “Christmas” in English – was added to the calendar in the Eastern Church somewhat later than other major feasts. Originally, Christ’s Nativity and Baptism were celebrated on the same day: Epiphany (January 6). Much has…
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Sun of Justice: A Two-Fold Offering – Part Two
With this two-fold offering of traditional Byzantine Music, we seek to give the listener two distinct yet complementary experiences: first, that of being in a traditional Orthodox church somewhere in the Middle East, wherein one choir sings in Greek and the other in Arabic; and second: that of being in a traditional Orthodox church in…
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Cappella Romana Rehearses Arctic Light II
Cappella Romana rehearsing “Psalm 84” by Cyrillus Kreek with renowned Finnish choral director Timo Nuoranne. The Psalms of Estonian composer Cyrillus Kreek (1889-1962) take a pride of place in “Arctic Light II.” Kreek and his family converted from the Lutheran church to the Orthodox faith in 1896, when Kreek was just seven years old. His…
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Gramophone Review of The Akáthistos Hymn
Looking forward to our upcoming performances of Ivan Moody’s Akáthistos Hymn in Seattle and Portland, as well as the re-release of our original recording, we’re looking back at Gramophone Magazine’s 2003 review of our recording of the work: “The Byzantine Akáthistos Hymn probably dates from the early 6th century and comprises 24 stanzas, one for…
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Director Update – Associate Music Director John Michael Boyer to conduct Rautavaara All-Night Vigil in Portland and Seattle
John Michael Boyer will conduct Cappella Romana in this week’s performances of the All-Night Vigil by Einojuhani Rautavaara, replacing Timo Nuoranne. Nuoranne’s visa has been held up at the US Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, in part due to a State Department delay in the days leading to the inauguration. Film: John Michael Boyer in rehearsal…
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Steinberg: Passion Week a Recording of the Year!
MusicWeb International has released their 2015 Recordings of the Year, and we’re happy to report that our Maximilian Steinberg: Passion Week recording has been named a Recording of the Year by two MusicWeb critics! “One of the big choral rediscoveries of recent years combined with a stunning performance and recording, Steinberg’s sublime and eloquently moving…
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Byzantine Music in Cyprus
Manuscripts of Byzantine chant copied through the middle of the fifteenth century show that Cyprus remained closely tied to the musical mainstream of Byzantium. The two hymns (stichera) from the Greek office for St Hilarion included on the present recording are excerpts from a longer sequence of hymns interpolated on the eve of his feast…
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Good Friday In Jerusalem Concert Program
Our concert features excerpts from the “Service of the Holy Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ” as it would have been celebrated in Jerusalem during the tenth century. The ancestor of the service celebrated in the modern Byzantine rite on Holy Thursday evening, this is a stational version of the office of early morning prayer…
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Cappella Romana 2026–27 Season
chant encounters The 2026–27 Season october 16 & 17, 2026 NOVEMBER 13 & 14, 2026 DECEMBER 4 & 5, 2027 JANUARY 22 & 23, 2027 MARCH 5 & 6, 2027 MAY 14 & 15, 2027 ALL NIGHT VIGIL THE TUDOR CHOIR OLD SAINT NICK EPIPHANY KASSIA TONGUES OF FIRE For 35 years, Cappella Romana has…
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Kassia
Kassia Music for Lent by the World’s Earliest Female Composer Cappella Romana John Michael Boyer, Interim Music Director SEATTLE Fri 5 March 2027, 7:30 PMSt. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church2100 Boyer Ave E Seattle, WA 98112 PORTLAND Sat 6 March 2027, 2:00 PMSt. Mary’s Cathedral1739 NW Couch St Portland, OR 9720 Born in ninth-century Constantinople, Kassia the…
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Good Friday In Jerusalem Liner Notes
In the year 637 AD the orthodox Christian Patriarch Sophronios (d. 638) surrendered Byzantine Jerusalem to the Arab Caliph Umar, inaugurating a period of Muslim rule in the Holy City that would last until its conquest by Latin Crusaders in 1099. Although subject to tribute, Jerusalem’s Christian inhabitants retained the right to continue celebrating both…
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