Out of the Ashes of Smyrna: The Jewell of Asia Minor
Since the 18th century, the city of Smyrna, on the western shores of Asia Minor, was the most important commercial port in the Eastern Mediterranean. Through the early 20th century, both raw materials for industrial textiles as well as agricultural products were exported from Smyrna to the West. The resulting economic prosperity brought diverse populations…
Odes of Repentance Preview with Alexander Lingas
Dr. Alexander Lingas gives a quick look at our Odes of Repentance: Arvo Pärt and Galina Grigorjeva concert series (September 29-October 1): Odes of Repentance Seattle Friday 29 SEPTEMBER 2023, 7:30 P.M.St. James Cathedral Portland Saturday 30 SEPTEMBER 2023, 8:00 P.M.St. Mary’s Cathedral Portland SUNDAY 1 OCTOBER 2023, 3:00 P.M.THE MADELEINE PARISH Grigorjeva & Pärt
A Ukrainian Wedding (Program Notes from Nadia Tarnawsky)
The traditional Ukrainian wedding ritual lasts at least a week – sometimes longer. There are some variations from region to region and village to village, but the main outline of the ritual follows the same journey. The young couple is engaged. Various wedding items are made – the wedding bread, the wreaths for the young…
Somewhere In Between: Ivan Moody’s Greek Liturgy
For someone familiar with Greek Orthodox liturgy, today’s performance will echo the experience of actual services, with abbreviations appropriate to a concert. At the same time, those new to the form may experience the performance as though it were liturgically complete even with the adjustments made for a concert context. Cappella Romana presents here the…
Annunciation Program
Annunciation Portland Friday 17 March 2023, 7:30 P.M.The Madeleine Parish Seattle Sunday 19 March 2023, 4:00 P.M.St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church Chamber Music Based on Byzantine Chant Cappella Romana’s Annunciation program is a natural outcome of Cappella Romana’s first collaboration with virtuoso pianist and Byzantine cantor Paul Barnes. For the world premiere of the piano…
Psaltikon: The Day of Resurrection
The Historical Development of Easter The celebration of Easter (i.e., Pascha) for Orthodox Christians commences on Saturday morning with a Vesperal Liturgy that comprises psalms, hymns, and Old Testament readings, followed by the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. Pascha is formally inaugurated several hours later, at midnight, in a rush of blazing candles, exuberant…
Lost Treasures of Armenia
The Holy Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church continues to embody a living tradition of primarily monodic vocal music of exceptional richness and beauty. Though its hymnography is traditionally believed to have commenced with the invention of the Armenian alphabet in the fifth century, and the Hymnal as a canonical collection was definitively closed in the fourteenth…
Christmas in Ukraine
Khrïstos razhdayetsia! Slavite yeho! Christ is born! Glorify Him! When Cappella Romana invited me to prepare this concert “Christmas in Ukraine,” a wealth of musical memories came into my imagination. Since I am of Ukrainian descent, I felt instant inspiration and also a sense of responsibility. How can I represent the many centuries of Ukraine’s sacred…
They Are At Rest – Program Notes
At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, an armistice was signed which brought to a close the greatest human conflict so far known to man. What had begun as a border dispute in the Balkan States of South-Eastern Europe in 1914, expected to last but a few weeks,…
Venice in the East
Venice In The East: April 27-29, 2018 Program Notes by Alexander Lingas From its emergence as a significant political entity in the sixth century under the rule of the Eastern Roman (“Byzantine”) Empire to the dissolution of the Republic by Napoleon in 1797, the city of Venice remained closely tied to the Greek East. Following…
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…
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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