It seemed appropriate, somehow, on the Commemoration of the Beheading of St John the Baptist, to watch this production of Salome, possibly the greatest film version of an opera yet. Stratas could never have sung this in the theater, so we only have this, and what an actress she is! Salome, Herodias, Herod, all so vile and repulsive, and Bernd Weikl sings a magnificent Jokanaan. What music!
Wo ist er, dessen Sündenbecher
jetzt voll ist?
Wo ist er, der eines Tages
im Angesicht alles Volkes
in einem Silbermantel sterben wird?
Heisst ihn herkommen,
auf dass er die Stimme Dessen höre,
der in den Wüsten
und in den Häusern
der Könige gekündet hat.
22And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.
23And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.
24And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
25And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.
26And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.
27And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,
28And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.
29And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.
of the bulletin, right above the welcome statement.
To receive Holy Communion, one must be an Orthodox Christian who has prepared by prayer, by fasting, and by a recent confession of sin, according to the direction of one’s spiritual father.
Seen the redesigned ACROD site yet? Check out the virtual church tour in the prayer corner, and note the admirable liturgical music section, which yes, I will add to my liturgical music page when I get the time.
Thou wast transfigured upon the mountain, O Christ our God, showing Thy glory to Thy disciples as far as they were able to sustain. Shine forth also upon us sinners, Thine everlasting light, by the prayers of the Mother of God. O Giver of light, glory to Thee.
Kontakion
Thou wast transfigured upon the mountain, and Thy disciples beheld Thy glory, O Christ our God, as far as they were able so to do: that when they saw Thee crucified, they might know that Thy suffering was voluntary, and might proclaim unto the world that Thou art truly the Brightness of the Father.
Again, ten in the choir (SS-AA-TTT-BBB). The Nicene Creed, Carpatho-Russian setting (hey, it’s Pennsylvania). The recorder is right behind us (the basses). Still, lots of noise, but the church was packed Sunday (Bishop Melchisedek was there — you hear him first in the Creed clip, then Deacon A.)
The Lord’s Prayer, Kedrov. (That’s Fr. B. at the beginning.)
Placing the recorder right behind us helps, but like I said, I think I need a music recorder instead of this voice recorder. Ten in the choir (SS-AA-TTT-BBB).
Divine Liturgy, Beginning to the Beatitudes. The bass-baritone priest chanting “Blessed be the kingdom” and the conclusion to the first litany is Fr. J. Deacon A. chants the litanies, and the baritone priest chanting the conclusions to the following litanies is Fr. B. Our other deacon (with the ringing tenor that makes the windows rattle) is ill.
Yesterday (August 2 2009), ten total in the choir (SS-AA-TTT-BBB). This time, I put the recorder on the stand right behind us (the basses). More low frequencies, though it still sounds better when you’re actually there. I think I probably need a music recorder instead of a voice recorder.
First from Matins, the Magnificat, as always, with lots of congregational participation on the Megalynarion.
The Hierarchical Trisagion Hymn (beginning with the women and tenors, then the clergy, then the full choir).
There’s more, but I haven’t uploaded anything yet — and I’m waiting for an extremely important email message.
Saturday, August 1 2009, ten in the choir (SS-AA-TTT-BBB). The recorder was in the window, which created two problems. It caught a lot of the congregation, and it didn’t record lower frequencies very well. I decided that wasn’t the best place for the recorder.
Call to worship and Bless the Lord, O My Soul.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Blessed art Thou, O Lord, blessed art Thou.
Bless the Lord; bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul.
O Lord my God, Thou art very great, Thou art very great.
Blessed art Thou, blessed art Thou, O Lord.
How glorious are Thy works, O Lord.
In wisdom hast Thou made them all.
Glory to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee.
Who hast created, who hast created all.
+Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
now and ever, and unto ages of ages, amen.
+Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, glory to Thee, O God!
+Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, glory to Thee, O God!
+Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, glory to Thee, O God!
First, all I have is a little digital voice recorder. I’ve been experimenting with where to put it. Up in the window immediately behind the choir was one idea, but it wasn’t picking up the lowest frequencies very well. That’s where it was at Great Vespers last night (and yes, I’ll excerpt and post later). Today, I put it immediately behind us (the basses), and it worked better — but +Melchisedek was here, the church was packed, and as often as not, the congregation is singing along.
However, I did excerpt the Evlogitaria of the Resurrection from Matins. Three chanters (TTB), Znamenny Tone 5 (2 part, not harmonized), and what I consider to be the ideal prototype of liturgical music. Powerful and moving in its simplicity, the music highlights the text, which after all, is the point.
+Blessed art Thou, O Lord, teach me Thy statutes.
The assembly of angels was amazed to see thee numbered among the dead, Thou who hadst destroyed the might of death, O Saviour, and who hast raised up Adam with Thyself, and who hast freed all men from Hades.
+Blessed art Thou, O Lord, teach me Thy statutes.
Why do ye mingle myrrh with tears of compassion, O ye women disciples? The radiant angel in the grave addressed the myrrh-bearing women: Behold the grave and exult, for the Saviour hath arisen from the sepulcher.
+Blessed art Thou, O Lord, teach me Thy statutes.
At early morn the myrrh-bearers hastened to thy sepulcher with lamentation; but an angel came to them and said: The time for sorrow is ended; weep no more. And tell the Apostles of the Resurrection.
+Blessed art Thou, O Lord, teach me Thy statutes.
The myrrh-bearing women came with myrrh unto thy tomb, O Saviour, and they heard an angel saying unto them: Why do ye count the Living among the dead? For, as God, he is risen from the sepulcher.
+Blessed art Thou, O Lord, teach me Thy statutes.
+Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
We worship +the Father and his Son and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity, one in Essence, and we cry out with the seraphim:
+Holy, Holy, Holy are Thou, O Lord!
+Now and forever, and unto ages of ages, amen.
By giving birth to the Giver of Life, O Virgin, thou didst rescue Adam from sin, and thou didst grant Eve joy instead of sorrow; for the God and Man who was incarnate of thee guided back to life him that had fallen away therefrom.
+Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, glory to Thee, O God!
+Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, glory to Thee, O God!
+Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, glory to Thee, O God!
rightwingprof*gmail*com
301 Valley View Blvd
Altoona, PA
812-345-1979
Lord, Thou hast been our refuge from generation to generation. I said: O Lord, have mercy on me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee. O Lord, unto Thee have I fled for refuge, teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God.
St Mark of Ephesus
We seek and we pray for our return to that time when, being united, we spoke the same things and there was no schism between us.
St Raphael of Brooklyn
He shall be filled with the spirit of understanding; he shall pour forth his words of wisdom and give thanks to the Lord in his prayer.
St Herman of Alaska
O venerable Herman, ascetic of the northern wilderness and gracious advocate for all the world, teacher of the Orthodox Faith and good instructor of piety, adornment of Alaska and joy of all America: entreat Christ God, that He save our souls.
Posted by rwp 
Posted by rwp 
Posted by rwp 
