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Hymns of Paradise:
Hymns of Life and Hope
Compact Disk,
54 mins
Price. £12.99
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This is perhaps one of the most important recordings of Byzantine liturgical
chant in English produced to date for two reasons: first, it presents this
rich musical tradition artistically sung in modern English and second, it
provides a rich body of texts concerning the mystery of death and paradise
generally unfamiliar to Western culture.
For those of us who use English as our first language, Fr. Apostolos Hill
and his supporting singers give a truly prayerful and artistic performance,
letting us experience these ancient chants with a refreshing immediacy. The
singing captures the Greek vocal style and ornamentation of the vocal lines
while preserving a pristine clarity of the texts. The musical clothing of
the vernacular flows naturally and convincingly. The musical effect as a
whole is soothing and suitable for private meditation.
However, it is the nature and scope of the texts themselves that provide the
listener from Western religious traditions with new theological approaches
to the mystery of death and resurrection. The Orthodox funeral service
presents images that are significantly different from Catholic and
Protestant celebrations in ways that are both complementary and challenging.
For instance, the hymns of St. John of Damascus form a meditation on the
immediate feelings of separation and fear of death experienced by the
surviving family and friends of one who has recently died. While Western
liturgies tend to focus on the deceased being welcomed in the heavenly
community of saints and angels, these intensely pastoral Orthodox texts
address the immediate feelings of pain, sorrow, and confusion experienced by
the survivors.
The accompanying texts included with the CD are of outstanding quality. They
very clearly outline a theology of death and paradise in a way
comprehensible to those who may have no connection with Eastern Christianity
or even a basic formation in any form of Christianity. Particularly
effective is the explanation of Paradise as the original blissful state
created by God for humanity, and also as the goal and promise for those who
live by faith.
Review
by Joe Metzinger
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