My apologies for the long absence from blogging! But I’m back and excited to share this recording of my setting of the “Byzantine Hail Mary.” I started with the melody from the Ruthenian prostopinije tradition, and harmonized it in 4 parts, following my own principles of composition – a Germanic style, as I’ve been told. It was a nice piece to write, but I wasn’t sure it would ever be sung. However, I happened to show it to some of my friends at a party I had, and we decided to give it a try. After tweaking the lineup (first I tried covering the alto and had my friend on bass until we switched parts and found he’s a natural countertenor!), we found an epic sound and knew we had to record it for the world. Thus, after several hours and numerous takes involving tiny adjustments to tone, balance, and dynamics, we finally got it just right and were satisfied. This is the first time one of my vocal works has been performed and recorded. I hope you enjoy it, and please share with anyone who might be interested.

Also, some more exciting news. I am honored to announce that my blog was selected by FeedSpot to be featured as one of the Top 25 Byzantine Blogs on the web! Please click on the link to check out the other fine blogs on this list.

May God bless you richly, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages, Amen!