Customer Reviews

The Glory of Byzantium

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The product description here doesn't tell you that this album features two different performing artists on alternating tracks.

Lycourgos Angelopoulos is well respected in the world of Byzantine chant musicians for his fine work at preserving this glorious ancient liturgical Christian music in the original Greek. Here we find examples of the more melismatic styles of Greek chant.

The surprise for me when I first listened to this recording was the delicate and angelic voice of the Serbian Orthodox woman, Divna Ljubojevic. For a brief moment I thought I was listening to Celtic music, but some of the melodies will be familiar to those who have attended Orthodox services where Slavic-style music is sung.

So here we have two alternating, and contrasting, versions of Byzantine chant. My first time through the recording, I was surprised at this juxtaposition of the two styles, but then I listened to the Greek separately, with its use of microtones, and then the Serbian, with its more Western-sounding tonal system. Now I find the combination to be a refreshing way to approach this prayerful and diverse music.

The track titles will give the listener a hint to the text that is being sung, but unfortunately there are no transliterated texts or translations in the liner notes.

For me, the exciting discovery on this recording is the voice of Divna. I will be looking for more works by her in the future.

For about a year I have been looking to expand my Orthodox Church CD collection. I did find a few recordings on Amazon that were excellent--but unfortunately the performers were all-male choirs. I think female singers (along with males) represent a major difference with the Orthodox approach, in contrast to early Roman Catholic religious chant (i.e. Gregorian chant & male only choirs.)

I have discussed this aspect the female element plays in the Orthodox Church elsewhere. The Orthodox Church calls Mary, the mother of Jesus,The Holy Mother of God. This is an official designation, elevating her to a level closer to Divinity than the Catholic "Blessed Virgin Mary."

This wonderful CD opens with a male/female choir performing "Hail, Mary." It's depth of rich tonality is a good introduction to the lovely tapestry of sound & feeling to follow. 2 selections later an all-female choir sings yet another interpretation of "Hail, Mary" that is shorter in duration, but exquisite. In fact, the GLORY OF BYZANTIUM is exquisite in every detail. Each selection represents top of the line production value, as well as a pleasing variety of chant & singers. The art work is absolutely beautiful too.

This is one CD of several in the BYZANTIUM series--and you can believe I plan to include them all in my collection.

Orthodox Chants from Russia
Russian Chant for Vespers
The Orthodox Collection
Lay Aside All Earthly Cares: Orthodox Choral Works in English
Hymns to the Mother of God at the Moleben

It is well worth the price of this album to be able to listen to the glorious voice of Divina Ljubojevic singing Psalm 102. The best performances on the album, IMO, are those which include female voices.

When you dub this CD onto your PC (iTunes, etc.), separate the the Greek pieces (Lycourgos Angelopoulos) and Slavonic pieces (Divna Ljubojevic) into Disk 1 & 2. This will give a MUCH more satisfactory listening experience. Both are amazing performances, but "shuffling the deck" was not good idea.

I confess I haven't heard this particular CD, but I heard The Greek Byzantine Choir under the direction of Lycourgos Angelopoulos this very evening at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. They are truly wonderful -- there is great power in these austere melodies. They resemble Gregorian chants but are more enticing for reasons I cannot explain. As an atheist I was nonetheless deeply moved by this music.

Excellent quality recording in conjunction with very good performances. The very gifted female vocalist Divna Ljubojevic noticeably and delightfully enhances all of the work with her contributions. Give it a listen, it will be time well spent.

I am an Arab of Islamic origin, and I love listening to this kind of chanting because it is the closest I can find in the Christian tradition to the Middle-Eastern spirit. Now, I started mimicking this style of chanting while reading passages in Psalms (in Arabic and English)and I feel that it is a good fit for my "middle-estern" taste in worshiping.

Once I bought this CD I fell in love with the voice of Divna. When combined with the Byzantine melodies of the Greek choir it is a beautiful sound. If you love beautiful chanting in foreign languages you will love this.

Gorgeous - rich and varied. Excellent to foster the sense of sacred space in your world

This collection features solos and ensembles by two of the leading voices in the revival of Byzantine music. And the combination of Greek and Slavonic styles shows the remarkable variety of this sacred genre. I can't say enough good this about this recording. Just buy it!