A blessed Western Calendar Good Friday to my readers, courtesy of the Christ, with Peter Gabriel providing a fitting soundtrack.
Religion
[Music] Chronos ensemble. Evgeny Skurat – Byzantine Passions
We celebrate the beginning of Great Lent with Byzantine music. From the website of the Chronos Ensemble:
Wonderful Byzantine Music!!!“Byzantine Passions” or “Chants of Holy Week” were recorded at 2012. This is a solo album of Evgeny Skurat, the art director of Chronos ensemble.
Last sermon of Christ, the anointing by a sinful woman and Judas betrayal, the Last supper, Passions, Crucifixion and Entombment of Jesus are chanted in Greek and Slavic.
The music of the most distinguished post-Byzantine composers is recorded on this double CD. These compositions by German of New Patras, Nikolaos of Smyrna, Petr of Peloponnese, Theodor of Phocaea and Petr Filanfidis one can not find even on the albums from Greece.
Most of the chanted texts were composed in VIII-IXth by John of Damascus, Cosmas of Maiuma, Theodore the Studite and Kassia – the saints of the Eastern church.
[Personal] Hristos Voskrese!
To our fellow Orthodox Christian believers, we wish you a blessed Paschal Feast and period. May there be peace in your homes, as well as a lot of music, culture and good food.
[Music] Year’s End / Jeff Gburek – Orthodox Ritual Singing @ Sighișoara, Roumania
We would like to thank all of you who ‘liked’, commented and generally supported the blog. It is because of your interest that we share these charming oddities with you. AMOT… plan to be very busy next year, and will also do more with Hip Priest and A Garden of Earthly Delights, our collective wiki.
We end the year courtesy of Jeff Gburek’s field recording in Romania, a small slice of heaven to end a good 2018 in the hopes that 2019 will be that much better. Consider purchasing the complete album here.
[Art] Sister Wendy Beckett, RIP
Whether it was discussing Caravaggio or nudes in paintings, Sister Wendy always did so with authority and a good laugh. She was a jovial presence in my younger days, when PBS really offered wonderful educational programming.
May the good Sister rest in the Bosom of Abraham now, and I, along with many others, thank her for proving that one could be devout and still have not only no fear, but a passionate love for art and culture.
PBS offers a short biography of her life here.
[Music] Eastern Orthodox Christmas Nativity Chant
And finally, a bit of actual Christmas music from the Greek Orthodox Church.
[Music] Bing Crosby – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (1942)
Christmas in Beijing is currently 62 minutes away. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, and celebrate with Bing Crosby. Expect a few chestnuts today.
[Music] Robert Goulet – Do You Hear What I Hear
As I prepare to spend Christmas alone in Beijing, it’s nice to be able to enjoy the dulcet sounds of the King of the Cameo, Robert Goulet.
[Music] ʻĀina – Lead Me To The Garden
Aloha Got Soul’s latest release is a reissue of a rare psychedelic Christian folk record by a Hawaiian project called ʻĀina, which, according to their Bandcamp album site, “means land or earth in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiian language.”
It’s definitely a product of the 1970s, full of hippy vibes, a naïve sense of idealism, and themes which would be recognizable to people who go to Pentecostal Churches. There was nothing bad about this release at all. It was a smooth, mellow and enjoyable listen.
[Music] Fairuz – Good Friday: Eastern Sacred Songs (1967)
Perfect Good Friday listening from Fairuz.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 