Favorite Orthodox Sacred Music

[Matrona]

I thought it would be nice if we had a thread listing our favorite CD's of Orthodox sacred music and describing them. Which are the ones that you love? What are you thinking about getting?

My personal faves are:

• Boston Byzantine Choir First Fruits (This is various hymns throughout the liturgical year)
• Eikona Paraklesis (the Small Supplicatory Canon that the Byzantine churches sing during Dormition Lent)
• Robert Shaw Festival Singers, Rachmaninoff's Vespers ("Blagoslovi Dushe Moya" is my favorite track. Contrary to its name, this is actually an All-Night Vigil, so there are Matins hymns in it, too.)
• Fr. Apostolos Hill Hymns of Paradise (Orthodox funeral hymns; I heard a track from this on Ancient Faith Radio and had to go out and get it the very next day. The Evlogetaria for the Dead is so beautiful.)

Thinking about getting:

• St. Ignatius Choir Akathist of Thanksgiving
• St. Seraphim Choir Attend O Heaven

 

[Oblio]

The works from M. Valaam are my favorites.

 

[e=mv^2]

I am a total newbie but the Kiev Chamber Choir with Pavlo Mezhulin and Viktor Ovdiy singing the Liturgy of St. John Chysostom is amazing.
I am also blown away by the choir at the parish I attend.

 

[HandmaidenOfGod]

"Sacred Treasures: Choral Masterworks From Russia" is one of my favorites. It has my ALL TIME favorite arrangement of the Cherubic Hymn by Bortniansky.

 

[Prawnik]

An old scratchy mono LP recorded in the ROCOR Cathedral in Paris in the 1950's. Emmanuel will know the Cathedral that I am talking about.

That was the second thing that started to turn my head towards Orthodoxy. I used to listen to that music and think to myself "if only it were true".

Now I only wish someone would re-release that LP on cd.

 

[ByzantineDixie]

I am a total newbie but the Kiev Chamber Choir with Pavlo Mezhulin and Viktor Ovdiy singing the Liturgy of St. John Chysostom is amazing.
I am also blown away by the choir at the parish I attend.

I got that recording as a result of your recommendation and I agree...it is top drawer. Love it.

Here is my other favorite.

Heruvymy Quartet: Come Let us Worship​

 

[Greg the byzantine]

I own:
Agni Parthene by the monks of simonopetra monestary

and. Sing Praises- Orthodox Hymns sung by Teen SOYO. I downloaded it off itunes.

Once I am old enough to get a credit card I am going to go crazy on liturgica.com. Here are the first five cd's I have on the top of my list when I am able to get them:


Akatalipton Esti by the nuns of Ormyllia convent

St. Mary Magdalene Vol. 1&2 also by the nuns of Ormyllia convent

Hymns of Paradise by Father Apostolos Hill

St. Catharine's Monastery Hymns chanted by the monks of the St. Catherines Monastery on Mt. Sinai

Parakleisis Mother of Light by Eikona

 

[ufonium2]

Arvo Part. His worst music is better than anything else written in the past 50 years.

 

[drewmeister2]

The works from M. Valaam are my favorites.

I like them alot too.

I also like the monks of St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery in Arizona.

 

[The Virginian]

I thought it would be nice if we had a thread listing our favorite CD's of Orthodox sacred music and describing them. Which are the ones that you love? What are you thinking about getting?

My favorite Orthodox sacred music, has got to be the first CD of the genre I purchased, Taste the Fountain of Immortality, by the Valaam Brotherhood Choir.
Right up there with that is the Troparia for the Transfiguration.


"...for where your heart is , there will
your treasure be also..."

 

[ByzantineDixie]

My favorite Orthodox sacred music, has got to be the first CD of the genre I purchased, Taste the Fountain of Immortality, by the Valaam Brotherhood Choir.

Yes, I have this CD as well and it is very good...even though it seems that English is not the first language for some in the choir they enunciate well and it is easy to hear the words and understand what is being sung.

 

[repentant]

I have a CD chanted by The monks of the Holy Monastery of Simonopetra on Mount Athos. The first hymn is Agni Parthene ( O pure Virgin) a hymn written to the Theotokos by St. Nektarios of Aegina. (my fav. hymn). It also has Exomologisthe to Kurio (Let us confess the Lord)This is a great CD. I also have a few others. I also like the CD done by St. Anthony's Monastery in Arizona. Fr. (not Elder) Ephraim is a wonderful chantor. Here is the Apolytikon of St. Anthony in Greek.
http://www.stanthonysmonastery.org/music/webchant.mp3

 

[The Prokeimenon!]

- Anything by Fr Apostolos Hill.

- Abouna's Angels (I think it's called)

- I love the Teen SOYO CD. At times, the singing is a little off, but I love it cause it's all hymns I'm familiar with, in arrangements that I'm used to.

- The Greek Byzantine Choir is also among my favorites

- and, of course, Make Ready, O Bethlehem by Anaphora, a group of Byzantine chanters which features two members of TAW

Moses

 

[Oblio]

Yes, I have this CD as well and it is very good...even though it seems that English is not the first language for some in the choir they enunciate well and it is easy to hear the words and understand what is being sung.

I love their accent, it almost gives the English hymns the same beauty of the native Slavonic.

Behold, zee Bridegroom comzzzzat meeEEeeEEdnite ....

 

[Matrona]

Behold, zee Bridegroom comzzzzat meeEEeeEEdnite ....

You forgot "waaAAaaaatcheeeng". It's like Bela Lugosi Sings Orthodox Hymns in English times thirty.

For other choirs, I've tried to like St. Vlad's choir, but they have too many deep voices (for obvious reasons). They need to get some of those seminary wives to sing. I like their Presanctified CD, but I don't like their Pascha CD.

 

[Oblio]

You forgot "waaAAaaaatcheeeng". It's like Bela Lugosi Sings Orthodox Hymns in English times thirty.

 

[Matrona]

bump