Cappella Romana - A Ukrainian Wedding - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Dr. Tikey Zes (b. 1927) is the most prolific composer of Greek Orthodox liturgical music in America. This highly original Liturgy, which Zes dedicated to Cappella Romana, bears the marks of a composer long engaged with the traditions of Orthodox worship. Cumulatively opulent in it's variety, level of musical difficulty, and ecstatic polyphonic climaxes, this Liturgy achieves a balance of splendor with restraint that is, in an inculturated and dignified musical idiom, thoroughly Byzantine. Vocal ensemble Cappella Romana combines passion with scholarship in it's exploration of early and contemporary music of the Christian East and West. It's name refers to the medieval Greek concept of the Roman oikoumene (inhabited world), which embraced Rome and Western Europe as well as the Byzantine Empire of Constantinople (InchNew RomeInch) and it's Slavic Commonwealth.

American composer Richard Toensing creates a vibrant musical synthesis of East and West with new settings of ancient Orthodox Christmas texts. Indebted to Slavic traditions, his virtuosic Choral Concerto for unaccompanied double choir and multiple soloists uses the dramatic words of St. Romanos the Melodist (6th c.) to recount the mystery of Jesus' birth. Toensing's more intimate New Orthodox Carols for the Nativity of Christ alternate between exuberant celebration and joyful contemplation as they bridge the gap between Byzantine and American hymnody. American composer and music educator Richard Toensing (1940-2014) received numerous award for composition during his lifetime, most notably from Columbia University, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts, and BMI.

The pianist Violina Petrychenko is a tireless and convincing ambassador of Ukrainian music. Through her initiative, numerous works from her homeland have been made known to a wider international public. Together with the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Volodymyr Syvokhip, she presents piano concertos by her compatriots Vasyl Barvinsky (1888-1963) and Viktor Kosenko (1896-1938) Each of them is an important milestone in Ukrainian music history, but unfortunately they have received little attention in the West.