C APPELL A ROMANA

J O H N M I C H A E L B OY E R

5 T H PA R A L L E L U N I V E R S E
WITH 4
H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROM AN A - 1
 I KON O F L I G H T JOHN TAV E N E R

H E AV E N A N D EARTH : A S O N G OF CR E ATI O N
T I K E Y Z E S · RI C HA RD TOEN SI N G · K U RT SA N D E R
A L E XAN D E R K H ALI L · JOHN MI C HA EL BOY ER · MAT T H E W A R N DT

C APPELL A ROMANA
J O H N M I C H A E L B OY E R

I T H 4 5 T H PA R A L L E L U N I V E R S E
W
H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROM AN A - 2
 H E AV E N A N D E A R T H
Cappella Romana
John Michael Boyer, associate music director & conductor, with 45th Parallel Universe

Ikon of Light Sir John Tavener | Heaven and Earth: A Song of Creation Matthew Arndt ·
John Michael Boyer · Alexander Khalil · Kurt Sander · Richard Toensing · Tikey Zes

disc 1 – Ikon of Light John Tavener (1944–2013) cappella romana, 45th parallel universe

1 Φῶς / Phós I 3:59

2 Δόξα / Dóxa 4:14
3 Τρισάγιον / Triságion I 3:20
4 Mystic Prayer to the Holy Spirit 20:20
5 Τρισάγιον / Triságion II 3:25
6 Φῶς / Phós II 3:57
7 Ἐπιφάνεια / Epiphánia 4:16

disc 1 total 43:37

disc 2 – Heaven and Earth: A Song of Creation cappella romana

1 “Come, let us worship… Bless the Lord, O my soul” John Michael Boyer (1978–) 4:38
2 “Stretching out the heavens” Boyer 2:49
3 “The deep, like a cloak” Tikey Zes (1927–) 3:33
4 “He waters the mountains” Alexander Khalil (1969–) 5:40
5 “He made the moon” Kurt Sander (1969–) 5:49
6 “There is the sea” Matthew Arndt (1976–) 7:19
7 “May the glory of the Lord endure to the ages” Richard Toensing (1940–2014) 8:52
8 “Glory to the Father… Both now…” Boyer 1:14
9 “Alleluia… Glory to you…” Toensing 4:10

disc 2 total 44:10

total 87:47
H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROM AN A - 3
 C APPELL A ROMANA
John Michael Boyer
associate music director & conductor

soprano alto tenor bass

Jessica Israels Kristen Buhler Richard Barrett Benjamin España
Vakarė Petroliūnaitė Susan Hale Daniel Burnett Erik Hundtoft
Photini Downie Kerry McCarthy Nicholas Fine David Krueger
Robinson Nadia Tarnawsky Leslie Green Glenn Miller
Catherine van der Salm David Hendrix Mark Powell
Miriam Sheehan Michael Hilton

RALLEL UNIVERSE
4 5 T H PA
violin Ron Blessinger
viola Greg Ewer
’cello Marilyn de Oliveira

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROM AN A - 4

HOW M AG N IFI ED AR E created order—Psalm 103 (lxx)— with silences. Here the silences are Heaven and Earth
YO U R WOR KS , O LOR D the six collaborating composers another way to represent uncreated
focused their attention on created light, and the string trio’s further Like Ikon of Light, Heaven and
light. This is the light of creation statements of the Triságion re- Earth is a dynamic, ecstatic work
that reveals God through the emphasize the soul’s yearning. The that also explores the relationship
Voice and light, mystical and between voice and light, while
practical natural world: “You have clothed Triságion serves as an invitatory
yourself with thanksgiving and for the central movement, in which taking a different creative path to
In the Orthodox tradition, light majesty, wrapping yourself in Tavener sets St. Symeon the New get there. The composers aimed
signifies truth: both supernatural light as a cloak[.]” Paired together, Theologian’s “Mystic Prayer to the to present a musical “unity in
and natural, mystical and practical. these two works reveal that the Holy Spirit.” diversity” that reflects the psalmist’s
To know the uncreated light of light of the physical universe is depiction of the diversity of the
the Transfiguration is the goal of not radically separate from the Throughout this invocation, cosmos. To the extent that God
hesychastic spiritual contemplation. uncreated light that the disciples Tavener’s setting grows ever more is openly virtuosic in his divine
Constantinople’s Hagia Sophia saw on Mount Tabor in the melodically ecstatic and expressive. creation, so too are the composers
manifested this contemplation Transfiguration account. Rather, He escalates its intensity over a virtuosic in their human
materially: the cathedral’s surfaces Creation itself is an epiphany, four-octave range, building towards subcreation. Their collaboration
reflected and amplified natural a divine manifestation of the a sustained manifestation of the results in a musical kaleidoscope—
sunlight visually as well as human indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Mystic Prayer. At the same time, differently shaped fragments of the
voices acoustically. Hagia Sophia the dynamism and expression is same material reflecting the same
mingled the two into a single Ikon of Light always in the service of interior light in diverse ways that come
sensory experience that replicated contemplation, as underscored together into something new. The
Ikon of Light’s contemplation of by the presence of the string trio unified whole of the experience
heaven on earth for the worshipper. the uncreated light begins with throughout the movement. Tavener elevates everyone’s work into
Sir John Tavener’s Ikon of Light the opening statements of “Φῶς / first gives the strings interludes something transcendent.
(1983) and the work here by six Phós” (Light) and “Δόξα / Dóxa” between sections of text, and then
Orthodox composers, Heaven (Glory). In these movements, weaves the string parts together As discussed, Tavener constructed
and Earth: A Song of Creation the choir is in musical dialogue with the choir, suggesting the Ikon of Light as musically and
(2018) are complementary musical with a string trio, with the voices yearning soul’s ultimate union with textually symmetrical. Symmetry
compositions that focus on representing God “in his uncreated God. Following St. Symeon’s prayer, is certainly an option for setting
these parallel aspects of light— energies” and the strings “the the final section of Ikon of Light Psalm 103, and other composers
supernatural and natural—in soul yearning for God,” according is a mirror image of the opening, have emphasized this. Benedict
Orthodox spirituality. Tavener to the composer. The Triságion with restatements of the Triságion, Sheehan’s recent setting overlays
takes the uncreated light as his hymn (“Holy God, Holy Strong, Dóxa, and Phós concluding the a chiastic (ABCBA) framework
main theme, exploring the inner, Holy Immortal, have mercy on work. The epilogue, Epiphánia, over the text, for example (see
mystical illumination of the soul. us”) follows. Here Tavener has ties off its nested, symmetrical Sheehan 2021). With Heaven and
Heaven and Earth complements arranged two medieval melodies structure. Earth, however, the composers
Tavener’s project. In setting the to be performed by strings and built their collaboration around
psalmist’s paean to the divinely choir in alternation, punctuated a linear structure. John Michael

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROM AN A - 5

Boyer sets the opening statement concluding his section with a metrical ambiguity, especially at exterior, created order. In addition
with the refrain, “Glory to you, O majestic statement of the refrain. “this dragon which you fashioned to the invitatory, the composers
God, Alleluia” in received-tradition to sport in it.” He ends likewise also refer to the Anoixantaria, the
Byzantine chant in mode Plagal Alexander Khalil (“He waters the with harmonic ambiguity, building practice—peculiar to the Byzantine
IV followed immediately by the mountains”), like Boyer, employs his concluding statement of the chant repertory—of singing the last
invitatory of Byzantine offices, the melodic théseis of Byzantine refrain from fifths and octaves. ten verses of the Vesperal psalm
“Come let us worship and fall chant, but devises yet another slowly and melismatically, troping
down before God our King…” He choral configuration, writing for a Richard Toensing (“May the each with a Trinitarian doxological
then hands the melody from voice unison ensemble with a seamless glory of the Lord endure to the statement and the refrain “Glory to
part to voice part, treating each four-octave range. The sections ages”) directs the ensemble to you, O God. Alleluia.”
as a unison antiphonal Byzantine overlap as the singers each enter configure itself into one final
chant line. He builds his movement and exit the chant within their own variation, a double choir of eight Byzantine-informed performance
around the théseis (“formulae”) personal vocal ranges. voices each. Imbuing the melodic
line with momentum through In Cappella Romana’s presentation
idiomatic to Byzantine music and Kurt Sander (“He made the moon”) of these two works, a “Byzantine-
hands it off between the burnished the movement, he narrows and
contributes a lush, flowing anthem expands the vocal texture, building informed” performance practice
timbre of the men to the glittering strongly influenced by Slavic choral emerges. While neither work is a
sound of the women. This firmly to a dramatic, ethereal restatement
traditions. The grand climax of of the crux of the entire work: chant composition in and of itself,
establishes the refrain’s melody in his movement is, fittingly, the both nonetheless borrow and quote
its own idiom while also hinting at “O Lord, how magnified are your
text central to Heaven and Earth’s works. With wisdom, you have chant material. To execute this
the sonic journey to come. concept: “How magnified are your appropriately, the performers must
made them all.”
The composers then set their works, O Lord. With wisdom, you be aware of the musical tradition
sections of the psalm in their have made them all.” His sweeping Liturgical context beyond what is indicated on the
own compositional voices, with vocal gesture tapers into a simple page. Key to this awareness is a
intonation by a soloist, fading out In both Ikon of Light and Heaven sensitivity to the cantorial concept
the refrain as a vital leitmotif. and Earth, the composers have
This leitmotif unifies the musical with a still, controlled statement of of hyphos (“style),” referring
the refrain. consciously crafted concert works to the execution of unwritten
material, serves as a point of as communal experiences that
development, and marks off the specifics of performance practice.
Matthew Arndt (“There is the sea, acknowledge a common liturgical Alexander Khalil describes two
overall structure of the work. great and wide”) brings to bear an shape. In Ikon of Light, Tavener
Tikey Zes (“The deep, like a ways of explaining hyphos: 1)
extensive harmonic and rhythmic uses the Triságion, a liturgical musical expression, or “proper
cloak”) reframes the choral vocabulary, taking inspiration text, to frame St. Symeon’s
approach to the material, drawing presentation” of the notated
from the so-called “contrasted” personal discourse on interior line, and 2) interpretive melodic
heavily from Renaissance modal polyphony of Georgia and the contemplation, suggesting the
polyphony and the vocabulary realization—that is, the realization
Caucasus, with three partially accessibility of Symeon’s vision to of the notated line and the
of his own Orthodox choral improvised sung parts. He paints all. Similarly, Heaven and Earth
works. He alternates between freedom to do so within unwritten,
the more unsettling aspects of the builds on the use of Psalm 103 internalized constraints.
dense homophonic part writing psalm with liberal dissonance and in worship to meditate on the
and independent moving lines,
H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROM AN A - 6
How both understandings of In the present recording, Cappella usual approach, both modern between composers and ensemble;
hyphos inform the performance Romana’s performance of two cantorial practice as well as current they are all able to mold the refrain
practice of Byzantine-influenced Byzantine-inspired works relies on research into the interpretation into a new idea, at once identifiable
works is a much-debated the common thread of hyphos. The of medieval Byzantine musical as itself while also sounding
question. This is true even within performance tradition and sound manuscripts shape the ensemble’s of a piece with their respective
Byzantine chant itself. Western world that the chant borrowings execution of the Triságion compositional outputs. Throughout
chant scholars in the early 20th imply are treated as central to here. The result sounds at once Heaven and Earth’s musical
century tended to interpret and inseparable from the notated idiomatic to Tavener as well as to tapestry, Boyer’s direction always
medieval psaltic manuscripts melodies themselves. Byzantine chant. Boyer is able to ensures that Cappella Romana
through a lens heavily tinted by apply his knowledge of modern sings the chant as chant—with the
Solesmes’ Gregorian chant revival. In Ikon of Light, for example, and medieval chant repertoire appropriate hyphos—while also
In response, Greek cantors and Tavener’s use of medieval to the manuscript transcription, bringing to life each composer’s
musicologists made an aggressive Triságion melodies brings this and while not correcting it, he reshaping of it with sensitivity
case for greater continuity of to the foreground. He gives the nonetheless executes it in the way to the intended approach. The
performance practice. Marcel choir a direct quotation of Dimitri that can credibly represent what ensemble thus highlights the
Pérès and Lycourgos Angelopoulos Conomos’ published staff notation Tavener surely meant. Byzantine material appropriately
pioneered the application of this transcription of the Triságion from in each musical language while
latter approach to Western music MS Athens 2622 (see Conomos Heaven and Earth reflects also keeping the compositional
in Ensemble Organum’s recordings 1974), with the direction to sing “Byzantine-informed” performance approaches distinct. The chant
of Old Roman chant manuscripts, it “freely, as in Byzantine chant” in both its composition as well as refrain allows the sections to
an undertaking fundamentally in a “strong and solemn” manner. its execution, albeit from a different cohere and to be themselves, a true
shaped by Angelopoulos’ expertise Perhaps Tavener is advocating angle than Ikon of Light. As already unity in diversity: “How magnified
as a Byzantine cantor. Their here the “musical expression” discussed, in setting Psalm 103, are your works, O Lord! With
collaboration has served as a key framework for hyphos in the the collaborators drew influence wisdom, you have made them all.”
source of inspiration and guidance performance. However, without and structure from the Byzantine
for Cappella Romana’s own related any additional information or Anoixantaria with its tropes and Richard Barrett
work. For example, John Michael context, a choir might execute it as refrain. The refrain’s common
Boyer has guided ensembles in the a self-conscious, angular insertion Byzantine chant melody serves
interpretation of Tavener’s works of musical material unfamiliar as unifying thematic material,
for much of his career, including to performers and audience. providing clear cohesion to what
work with Chanticleer to show Under Boyer’s direction, Cappella would otherwise be very disparate
proper sensitivity to the composer’s Romana re-interprets and executes sections.
borrowing of Byzantine material, this written melody with specific
attention to the understanding At the same time, the refrain is
lest it devolve either into a non- also the motivic engine for the
specific vocal oddity or a clumsy of hyphos as melodic realization.
In line with Cappella Romana’s composers to exercise musical
appropriation. creativity. Here is a clear synergy

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROM AN A - 7

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Conomos, Dimitri E. Byzantine Spirituality in the Music of John accompanying booklet, The Saint
Trisagia and Cheroubika of the Tavener, edited by Boyce-Tillman, Tikhon Choir, Benedict Sheehan:
Antonopoulos, Spyridon. “The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries: June and Anne-Marie Forbes, Vol. Vespers. Cappella Records CR423,
Liturgical Origins and Practice of A Study of Late Byzantine Liturgical 11. Music and Spirituality, XXIV. 2021, compact disc.
Psalm 103 and the Anoixantaria: Chant. Thessaloniki: Patriarchal Oxford: Peter Lang, 2020.
Liturgical Origins, East and West.” Institute for Patristic Studies, 1974. Sherman, Bernard D. “A Different
In Heaven and Earth: A Song of Moody, Ivan. “Icons of Light: Sense of Time: Marcel Pérès on
Creation, xiii–xvii. Encenitas: Khalil, Alexander Konrad. “Echoes Enlightenment and Illumination Plainchant.” In Inside Early Music:
Musica Russica, 2020. of Constantinople: Oral and in the Music of John Tavener.” In Conversations With Performers,
Written Tradition of the Psaltes Enlightenment and Illumination: 25–42. Oxford: Oxford University
Barrett, Richard. “Foreword and of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Essays on Sacred Music East and Press, 2003.
Acknowledgments.” In Heaven and Constantinople.” Ph.D. dissertation, West, edited by Moody, Ivan, 259–
Earth: A Song of Creation, ix–xi. University of California, San Diego, 71. Prague: Univerzita Karlova — Tavener, John. The Music of Silence:
Encenitas: Musica Russica, 2018. 2009. Pedagogická fakulta, 2020. A Composer’s Testament. Edited by
Keeble, Brian. London: Faber &
———. “The Psalm 103 Project: Lewis, Caleb. “Heaven and Earth: A Pentcheva, Bissera V. Hagia Faber, 1999.
A Collaborative Orthodox Conductor's Guide.” D.M. Thesis, Sophia: Sound, Space, and Spirit
Composition In Progress.” In Indiana University, Bloomington, in Byzantium. University Park: Woszczyk, Wieslaw. “Acoustics
Creating Liturgically: Hymnography 2020. Pennsylvania State University of Hagia Sophia: A Scientific
and Music. Proceedings of the Press, 2020. Approach to the Humanities and
Sixth International Conference Lingas, Alexander. “Performance Sacred Space.” In Aural Architecture
on Orthodox Church Music, Practice and the Politics of Pentcheva, Bissera V., and Abel, in Byzantium: Acoustics and
University of Eastern Finland, Transcribing Byzantine Chant.” Jonathan S. “Icons of Sound: Liturgy, edited by Pentcheva,
Joensuu, Finland, 8-14 June Acta Musicae Byzantinae 6 (2003): Auralizing the Lost Voice of Hagia Bissera V., 176–97. Abingdon:
2015, edited by Moody, Ivan and 56–76. Sophia.” Speculum 92, no. S1 Routledge, 2017.
Takala-Roszczenko, Maria, 46–62. (October 2017): S336–60.
Joensuu: The International Society ———. “Sir John Tavener and the
for Orthodox Church Music, 2017. Search for an English Orthodox Sheehan, Benedict. “A Composer’s
Musical Language.” In Heart’s Ease: Introduction.” Essay in

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 Texts and Translations
disc 1 – Ikon of Light
“He saw nothing but light all around him, and did not know whether he was standing on the ground....
Instead he was wholly in the presence of immaterial light, and seemed to himself to have turned into light.”
—Discourse xxii, St. Symeon the New Theologian

1 Φῶς / Phós I

“It shines on us without evening, without change, with-

out alteration, without form...”
—St. Symeon the New Theologian

Φῶς. Light.

2 Δόξα / Dóxa

Δόξα. Glory.

3 Τρισάγιον / Triságion I

Ἅγιος ὁ Θεός, Ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, Ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησόν Holy God, Holy Strong, Holy Immortal,
ἡμάς. have mercy on us.

4 Mystic Prayer to the Holy Spirit

—St. Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022)

Ἐλθὲ τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινόν. Come, true light.

Ἐλθὲ ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή. Come, life eternal.
Ἐλθὲ τὸ ἀποκεκρυμμένον μυστήριον. Come, hidden mystery.
Ἐλθὲ ὁ ἀκατονόμαστος θησαυρός. Come, treasure without name.
Ἐλθὲ τὸ ἀνεκφώνητον πρᾶγμα. Come, reality beyond all words.
Ἐλθὲ τὸ ἀκατανόητον πρόσωπον. Come, person beyond all understanding.
Ἐλθὲ ἡ ἀΐδιος ἀγαλλίασις. Come, rejoicing without end.
Ἐλθὲ τὸ ἀνέσπερον φῶς. Come, light that knows no evening.

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Ἐλθὲ πάντων τῶν μελλόντων σωθῆναι Come, unfailing
ἡ ἀληθινὴ προσδοκία. expectation of the saved.
Ἐλθὲ τῶν κειμένων ἡ ἔγερσις. Come, the raising of the fallen.
Ἐλθὲ τῶν νεκρῶν ἡ ἀνάστασις. Come, the resurrection of the dead.
Ἐλθὲ ὁ δυνατός, ὁ πάντα ἀεὶ ποιῶν καὶ Come, all-powerful, for unceasingly you create,
μεταποιῶν καὶ ἀλλοιῶν μόνῳ τῷ βούλεσθαι. refashion and change all things by your will alone.
Ἐλθὲ ὁ ἀόρατος καὶ ἀναφὴς πάντῃ ἀψηλάφητος. Come, invisible, whom none may touch and handle.
Ἐλθὲ ὁ ἀεὶ μένων ἀμετακίνητος καὶ καθ᾿ ὥραν ὅλος Come, for you continue always unmoved, yet at every
μετακινούμενος καὶ ἐρχόμενος πρὸς ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἐν τῷ instant you are wholly in movement; you draw near
ᾅδη κειμένους, ὁ ὑπεράνω πάντων to us who lie in hell, yet you remain higher
τῶν οὐρανῶν. than the heavens.
Ἐλθὲ τὸ περιπόθητον ὄνομα καὶ θρυλούμενον, Come, for your Name fills our hearts with longing and
λαληθῆναι δὲ παρ᾿ ἡμῶν, ὅπερ εἷς, ἤ γνωσθῆναι, is ever on our lips; yet who you are and what your
ὁποῖος ἤ ποταπός, ὅλως ἡμῖν ἀνεπίδεκτον. nature is, we cannot say or know.
Ἐλθὲ ἡ αἰώνιος χαρά. Come, eternal joy.
Ἐλθὲ τὸ στέφος τὸ ἀμαράντινον. Come, unfading garland.
Ἐλθὲ ἡ πορφύρα τοῦ μεγάλου Come, purple vesture of our great
Θεοῦ καὶ βασιλέως ἡμῶν. God and King.
Ἐλθὲ ἡ ζώνη ἡ κρυσταλλοειδὴς καὶ διάλιθος. Come, belt of crystal set with precious stones.
Ἐλθὲ τὸ ὑπόδημα τὸ ἀπρόσιτον. Come, sandal that none dares to touch.
Ἐλθὲ ἡ βασίλειος ἁλουργὶς καὶ αὐτοκρατορικὴ Come, royal robe and right hand
ὄντως δεξιά. of true sovereignty.
Ἐλθὲ, ὅν ἐπόθησε καί ποθεῖ Come, for my wretched soul has ever longed and ever
ἡ ταλαίπωρός μου ψυχή, longs for you.
Ἐλθὲ ὁ μόνος πρὸς μόνον, ὅτι μόνος εἰμί, Come, Alone to the alone, for as you see
καθάπερ ὁρᾷς. I am alone.
Ἐλθὲ ὁ χωρίσας ἐκ πάντων καὶ Come, you have separated me from all things and
ποιήσας με μόνον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, made me to be alone upon the earth.
Ἐλθὲ ὁ γενόμενος πόθος αὐτὸς ἐν ἐμοὶ καὶ Come, for you are yourself the desire that is within me,
ποθεῖν σε ποιήσας με, τὸν ἀπρόσιτον and you have caused me to long after you, the wholly
παντελῶς. inaccessible.
Ἐλθὲ ἡ πνοή μου καὶ ἡ ζωή. Come, my breath and my life.
Ἐλθὲ ἡ παραμυθία τῆς ταπεινῆς μου ψυχῆς. Come, the consolation of my humble soul.
Ἐλθὲ ἡ χαρὰ καὶ ἡ δόξα καὶ ἡ διηνεκής μου τρυφή. Come, my joy, my glory, my endless delight.

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROM AN A - 10

5 Triságion II

Ἅγιος ὁ Θεός, Ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, Ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, Holy God, Holy Strong, Holy Immortal,
ἐλέησόν ἡμάς. have mercy on us.

6 Φῶς / Phós II

Φῶς. Light.

7 Ἐπιφάνεια / Epiphánia

“I can’t look at you, Father, because the light flash-

ing from your eyes and face is brighter than the
sun and I’m dazzled...” —St. Seraphim of Sarov

Ἐπιφάνια. Epiphany.

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROMAN A - 11

 Cappella Romana in the Portland premiere of Heaven and
Earth: A Song of Creation. St. Mary’s Cathedral, 13 October
2018. Photo: Cappella Romana.

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROM AN A - 12

 disc 2 – Heaven and Earth: A Song of Creation

Psalm 103 (lxx), with additional texts from the Horológion

1 “Come let us worship… 3 “The deep, like a cloak” to make the face cheerful with oil, and bread
Bless the Lord, O my soul” strengthens the human heart.
The deep, like a cloak, is its covering; waters The trees of the plain will be satisfied, the ce-
Glory to you, O God. Alleluia. will stand upon the mountains. dars of Lebanon that you planted.
At your rebuke they will flee; they will quail at There the sparrows will build their nests; the
Come, let us worship and fall down before the the voice of your thunder. heron’s dwelling is at their head.
King, our God. Mountains ascend and plains descend to the The high mountains are for the deer; and rocks
Come, let us worship and fall down before place that you established for them. a refuge for hares.
Christ, the King, and our God. You fixed a limit that they will not pass, nor
Come, let us worship and fall down before will they return to cover the earth, Glory to you, Holy One; glory to you, Lord.
Christ, himself, the King, and our God. sending out springs in the valleys; waters will Glory to you, Heavenly King.
Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, run between the mountains.
you have been greatly magnified. They will give drink to all the beasts of the Glory to you, O God. Alleluia.
You have clothed yourself with thanksgiving field; the wild asses will await them to
and majesty, wrapping yourself in light as a quench their thirst. 5 “He made the moon”
cloak, Beside them the birds of the air will make their
dwelling: from among the rocks they will He made the moon to mark the seasons; the
2 “Stretching out the heavens” sing their song. sun knew the hour of its setting.
You appointed darkness, and it was night, in
stretching out the heavens like a curtain, Glory to you, Holy One; glory to you, Lord. which all the beasts of the forest will prowl;
roofing his upper chambers with waters, Glory to you, Heavenly King. young lions roaring to plunder and to seek
placing clouds as his steps, walking on the their food from God.
wings of the wind, Glory to you, O God. Alleluia. The sun rose and they were gathered together
making winds his messengers and flames of and they will lie down in their dens.
fire his ministers, 4 “He waters the mountains” Man will go out to his labor; and to his labor-
establishing the earth on its sure base; it will ing until evening.
not totter to age on age. He waters the mountains from his upper How magnified are your works, O Lord. With
chambers; the earth will be filled from the wisdom have You made them all, and the
Glory to you, Father; glory to you, Son; glory fruit of your works. earth has been filled with your creation.
to you, Holy Spirit. He makes grass spring up for the cattle, and
green shoots for the service of mankind;
Glory to you, O God. Alleluia. to bring bread out of the earth, and wine
makes glad the human heart;

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROM AN A - 13

Glory to you, Godhead in three persons: Father, 7 “May the glory of the Lord endure to the 7 “Glory to the Father… Both now…”
Son, and Spirit; you we worship and glorify. ages”
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the
Glory to you, O God. Alleluia. May the glory of the Lord endure to the ages. Holy Spirit.
The Lord will rejoice at his works, Both now and forever, and to the ages of ages.
6 “There is the sea” He that looks upon the earth and makes it Amen.
tremble. He that touches the mountains, and
There is the sea, great and wide; in it there are they smoke. 8 “Alleluia”
creeping things without number, living I shall sing to the Lord while I live; I shall chant
creatures small and great. to my God while I exist. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Glory to you, O God.
There ships go to and fro; this dragon which you May my meditation be pleasing to him; as for
fashioned to sport in it. me, I shall rejoice in the Lord.
All things look to you to give them their food in May sinners perish from the earth, and the
due season. When you give it them, they will wicked, so that they are no more.
gather it. Bless the Lord, my soul!
When you open your hand all things will be The sun knew the hour of its setting: you ap-
filled with goodness. But when you turn pointed darkness, and it was night.
away your face they will be troubled. O Lord, how magnified are your works. With
You will take away their spirit, and they will wisdom have You made them all!
perish and return to their dust.
You will send forth your spirit, and they will be Glory to you, O unbegotten Father; glory to you,
created, and you will renew the face of the O begotten Son; glory to you, O Holy Spirit,
earth. proceeding from the Father and resting in
Glory to you, O Father without beginning; the Son, O Holy Trinity, glory to you.
glory to you, O Son, as well without
beginning; glory to you, O Holy Spirit, Glory to you, O God. Alleluia.
consubstantial and co-reigning.
O Holy Trinity, glory to you.

Glory to you, O God. Alleluia.

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROM AN A - 14

The genesis of Heaven and Earth: A Song of Creation. Above, l-r: Richard Toensing,
John Michael Boyer, Matthew Arndt, Alexander Khalil, Tikey Zes, Kurt Sander.
Below: Boyer’s initial sketch of the refrain. Bloomington, Indiana, 11-13 October 2013.

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conductor/composer work that brought him to widespread attention, halted his progress for a time, and also caused
The Whale (1966), was premiered in 1968 by the him to withdraw somewhat from spiritual
John Michael Boyer (conductor, composer, London Sinfonietta at their inaugural concert themes. In his final years, he returned to his
associate music director) is Protopsáltis (First and released on The Beatles’ Apple Records love of Tolstoy and Mozart, and continued to
Cantor) of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of label. be deeply influenced by Hindu metaphysical
San Francisco, Founder and Director of the St. thought. Some of the resulting works are Three
John Koukouzelis Institute of Liturgical Arts, Although many of his early works were inspired Shakespeare Sonnets (2010), La Noche Oscura
Founder and Artistic Director of Próto. He by the mystical aspects of Roman Catholicism, (2012), Three Hymns of George Herbert (2012),
is a graduate of the University of California, his interest in tradition had led Tavener to The Death of Ivan Ilyich (2012), and Krishnalila
Berkeley and of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox believe that the Western Christian Church was (The Play of Krishna) .
School of Theology, where he now also serves a corrupted and corrupting force. Following
as Adjunct Instructor. Through the Koukouzelis his conversion to Orthodox Christianity in 2007 saw the completion of Tavener’s Flood of
Institute, John teaches both Liturgics and 1977, Tavener produced a slew of works heavily Beauty, a setting of the Soundarya Lahari, a
Byzantine Music, focusing on the liturgical and influenced by Orthodox liturgical texts, Sanskrit poem concerning Tavener’s perennial
theological context of Greek Orthodox worship Russian and Greek writers and themes, and the theme of the Eternal Feminine. At the end of his
texts. His book, Byzantine Chant – The Received Orthodox tone systems. During this period, life in 2013, Tavener finished Requiem Fragments
Tradition: A Lesson Book, will be released in Fall Tavener had largely cut himself off from the which concerned suffering and existence,
of 2022. Other forthcoming publications include contemporary music scene, withdrawing into another of his perennial themes.
Sun of Justice: Byzantine Chant for the Nativity himself and his faith in the hope of achieving a
Tikey Zes was born in Long Beach, California
of our Lord, The Resurrectionary, a traditional clarity worthy of his preferred subjects.
on October 10, 1927, and began his musical
Anastasimatarion in English, and Byzantine
Throughout his life Tavener suffered training on the violin and piano at the age of 5.
Mysteries, a bilingual Liturgical and musical
periodically from extreme ill health, one serious Upon graduation from high school he studied
anthology of Orthodox sacraments. John is
instance occurring in the 1970s, another in the harmony, counterpoint and orchestration
currently Protopsáltis at Holy Trinity Greek
early 1990s and another in the mid-2000s. In from Dr. Gerald Strang (assistant to Arnold
Orthodox Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. He
between he continued to write pieces strongly Schoenberg). He received his Master of Music
and his wife, Evangelia, split their time between
influenced by Orthodoxy and by literature. degree in violin and composition, and his
Portland and Pyrgetós, Greece, with their twin
Though still an Orthodox Christian, the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition
daughters, Mariam and Photeiní.
Universalist belief that all organized religions under Ingolf Dahl from the University of
composers are simply different interpretations of the same Southern California. In the early 1960s he
underlying forces informed most of Tavener’s conducted the Berkeley Chamber Singers,
John Tavener was born in 1944. His musical work of this period and beyond. Emergency a semi-professional choral group in the San
education took place in the midst of Modernist
heart surgery in Switzerland, followed by Francisco Bay area.
fervor, a movement of which he felt an many months in intensive care subsequent
instinctive and increasing mistrust. The first to the completion of Towards Silence in 2007

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROMAN A - 16

He became Professor of Music at San Jose State Folk and Popular Music, and lastly he received His first teaching job was in the fine arts
University in 1964 where he taught Theory and the Humanitarian Award from the Folk Dance department at Uppsala College in East Orange,
Composition until 1991 when he retired. During Festival of the San Francisco Greek Orthodox New Jersey. In 1973, Toensing joined the faculty
this time he was concert-master of the Musicke Metropolis for his work in church music. of the College of Music at the University of
Faire Chamber Orchestra for many years. Colorado, where he taught composition, as
Since 1978 Dr. Zes has been an active member well as music analysis and theory, until his
While on sabbatical leave in 1976 he studied the of the National Forum of Greek Orthodox retirement in 2005. At the College of Music, he
notation and transcription of Byzantine Chant Church Musicians. He was appointed Music served at various times as director of the New
and made numerous transcriptions and choral Minister for the then San Francisco Diocese Music Ensemble, head of the Electronic Music
arrangement based on the chant. (now Metropolis) in 1993 and has organized and Studio and convener of the CU Festival of New
presented numerous Church Music Institutes
Dr. Zes has directed Greek Orthodox choirs Music. He trained dozens of undergraduate and
throughout the San Francisco Metropolis. In
since 1950 and has been the director of the St. graduate students who went on to successful
2005 Dr. Zes inaugurated a Conductors Training
Nicholas Choir of San Jose, California since careers as composers and musicians. He was
Academy for choir directors, the first of its kind
1971. He has been guest conductor and clinician well known at the College for his high academic
in the United States.
for Greek Orthodox Church Music Federations and musical standards and his professional
throughout the United States and has Dr. Zes has lived in San Jose California since integrity, and he became a mentor to younger
composed/arranged extensively for the services 1964. With his beloved wife, Teddi of blessed colleagues. He was chair of his department from
of the Greek Orthodox Church, including five memory, he has three grown children, Athan, 1984-2001, and was named professor emeritus
liturgies (one in English), and he continues to Evan, and Anna-Matina and two grandchildren, upon retirement.
write music for the church. In addition he has Alex and Evan. Toensing’s compositions span a variety of styles,
written numerous arrangements/compositions
Richard Toensing was born and raised in St. from the gestural, free atonal work of the 1960s
for chorus and piano and chorus and small
Paul, Minnesota. In his youth he decided that he and 1970s to a renewed interest in various forms
orchestra based on Greek folk and popular
wanted to create music as well as conduct others of diatonic music in more recent years. He has
songs. In 1976 he received the Patriarchal title
performing it. Together, these two passions were written numerous works for chorus, chamber
of “Offikion” (letter of patent) from Ecumenical
the centerpiece of his professional life. Toensing music in various genres, and works for large
Patriarch Demetrios and was conferred as
received his B.Music degree with honors from ensembles. His later compositions, particularly
“Archon of the Great Church of Christ” for
St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, from the late 1990s onward, are informed by
his distinguished work in church music. On
and his M.M. and D.M.A. degrees from the his careful study of the Orthodox Christian
September 27, 2014 he received an award from
University of Michigan, where he studied with sacred musical tradition and suffused with his
the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute
Ross Lee Finney and Leslie Bassett, two of the deep religious faith. Reviewers of Toensing’s
for his work in church music.
great American composers of the 20th century. works, sacred and otherwise, have said that the
In 2015 he received an award from Modern At both St. Olaf and Michigan, he also received listener is struck by a transparency of sound, a
Greek Studies, San Francisco State University formal training in choral conducting. simplicity that exists inside complexity, and a
for his arrangements and performances of Greek sparkling clarity of parts.

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROM AN A - 17

Toensing won numerous awards for Lutheran Church, both in Boulder, and more Sander has also acquired notoriety for his
composition, including the Joseph H. Bearnes recently at St. Luke’s Orthodox Church in Erie. chamber and orchestral writing. He was recently
Prize from Columbia University, two BMI In later life, he wrote several pieces intended for named a finalist in the American Prize for his
student composer awards, a Guggenheim Orthodox church choirs. song cycle “Ella’s Song” about the life of St.
Fellowship, and a commission from the National Elizabeth, Grand Duchess of Russia. Other
He will be long remembered with tremendous
Endowment for the Arts. He was named a instrumental works have been performed by
love and great respect.
MacDowell Colony Fellow three times. the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra,
Kurt Sander’s compositions have been per- the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, the
Toensing’s music has been performed on four
formed in 15 countries on five different con- Brasov Philharmonic (Romania), the Pleven
continents, and in such U.S. venues as Carnegie
tinents. Much of his choral and instrumental Philharmonic (Bulgaria), the Cleveland
Hall and the John F. Kennedy Center for the
work takes its inspiration from the sublime di- Chamber Symphony, Synchronia, the Corbett
Performing Arts. With the help of grants and
mensions of the Eastern Orthodox faith and its Trio, the Solaris Wind Quintet, and the St.
private donations, he released several recordings
rich artistic traditions.​ Petersburg Quartet.
of his compositions. His sacred music has been
featured on National Public Radio and local His sacred choral work has been recorded S​ ander currently serves as Professor of
stations. In the summer of 1998, the choir at the and performed by professional ensembles Music and Coordinator of Music Theory
Church of St. Luke in the Fields in New York throughout the world including Cappella and Composition at Northern Kentucky
recorded the Responsoria, a complete setting of Romana, the Kastalsky Choir (Russia), the University. He holds degrees in composition
the Tenebrae services sung at Roman Catholic Cincinnati Camerata, the Cantata Singers of from Northwestern University, the Cincinnati
worship during Holy Week since the sixth Ottawa (Canada), the St. Romanos Cappella, the College-Conservatory of Music, and Cleveland
century. Toensing called this work a “vast, three- Clarion Choir, Archangel Voices, the Patriarch State University where he studied with Bain
movement choral symphony;” it follows in the Tikhon Choir, and The Orthodox Singers Murray, Alan Stout, Rudolph Bubalo, and
tradition of several medieval, Renaissance and (Russia) and the PaTRAM Institute Singers. Andrew Imbrie.
early modern composers who have set parts or
In 2017, he received a commission by the Sander’s choral music is published through
all of the responsory texts. The Responsoria was
Patriarch Tikhon Russian-American Music Musica Russica.
released as a set of three compact discs in 2000.
Cappella Romana recorded a second major Institute (PaTRAM) for a new English-language Alexander Khalil is an ethnomusicologist and
choral work, Kontakion of the Nativity of Christ, setting of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. cognitive scientist. He is a cantor in the Greek
for the Orthodox Christmas season of January This 90-minute work was recorded by the Orthodox tradition, having studied under
2009. PaTRAM Institute Singers under the direction the late John Mestakides, former first cantor
of Peter Jermihov and released as a 2 CD set on of Jerusalem. As a cantor, Khalil has served
In addition to his work in his studio and the Reference Recordings label in 2019. The CD of both the Greek and Antiochian Orthodox
classroom, Toensing served as choir director this work was nominated for a GRAMMY® in Archdioceses of America. He has contributed
at Atonement Lutheran Church and Grace 2020 under the “Best Choral Album” category. as a cantor to efforts of both Cappella Romana

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROMAN A - 18

and the Mount Lebanon Choir, and has taught University of Colorado at Boulder, and a B.A. Schoenberg, Robert Johnson, Theolonius Monk,
at workshops for the Koukouzelis Institute. His with honors in Music Composition from Lewis Olivier Messiaen, Jacques Ibert, Arvo Pärt, and
doctoral research, completed at the University of & Clark College. At the University of Colorado others. Besides his contribution to Heaven and
California, San Diego, investigates the present- at Boulder, he studied with Richard Toensing of Earth, other recent compositions include four
day tradition at one of its most significant blessed memory. Professor Arndt has taught at sonatas and a theme and variations for flute and
centers: the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Mercer University, Lawrence University, and the piano, all of these works dedicated to his wife,
Constantinople. More recently, he has extended University of Wisconsin–Madison. He studies Katherine, several liturgical pieces, a choral
his work to communities in diaspora. Khalil musical poetics, three-voiced chant from the setting of the Jesus Prayer, and a piano fantasy
also holds an MFA in music composition from Republic of Georgia, and other instances of on that setting.
California Institute of the Arts and has created spirituality in music. He has arranged Georgian
music in a wide variety of media from resonant chant for the Divine Liturgy of Saint John
stones to sonification of human brainwaves. Chrysostom into English. He is the author
of The Musical Thought and Spiritual Lives
Matthew Arndt is an Associate Professor of of Heinrich Schenker and Arnold Schoenberg
Music Theory at the University of Iowa. He (Routledge, 2018) and several articles. Professor
holds a Ph.D. in Music Theory with a double Arndt primarily composes music for choir, flute,
minor in Music Composition and Philosophy and piano. His music is influenced by Georgian
from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, chant, Byzantine chant, Bach, Beethoven,
an M.M. in Music Composition from the

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROM AN A - 19

“Chords unfurl in reverberant bloom” New York Times Music Director

“Like jeweled light flooding the space” Los Angeles Times Alexander Lingas, music director and founder of Cappella Romana,
is a Professor of Music at City, University of London, and a Fellow of
Cappella Romana is a professional vocal ensemble dedicated to the University of Oxford’s European Humanities Research Centre. He
combining passion with scholarship in its exploration of the musical completed his doctorate on Sunday matins in the rite of Hagia Sophia
traditions of the Christian East and West, with emphasis on early at the University of British Columbia and then, with the support of
and contemporary music. The ensemble is known especially for its a SSHRC postdoctoral fellowship, moved to Oxfordshire to study
presentations and recordings of medieval Byzantine chant, Greek theology with Metropolitan Kallistos Ware. His present work embraces
and Russian Orthodox choral works, and other sacred music that not only historical study but also ethnography and performance. His
expresses the historic traditions of a unified Christian inheritance. awards include Fulbright and Onassis grants for musical studies in
Founded in 1991, Cappella Romana has a special commitment to Greece with cantor Lycourgos Angelopoulos, the British Academy’s
mastering the Slavic and Byzantine musical repertories in their original Thank-Offering to Britain Fellowship, research leave supported by
languages, thereby making accessible to the general public two great the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and the St. Romanos the Melodist
musical traditions that are little known in the West. Critics have medallion of the National Forum for Greek Orthodox Church
consistently praised Cappella Romana for their unusual and innovative Musicians (USA). In 2018 His All-Holiness, Bartholomew I, Archbishop
programming, including numerous world and American premieres. of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, bestowed on
The ensemble presents annual concert series in Portland, Oregon; him the title of Archon Mousikodidáskalos.
Seattle, Washington; and San Francisco, California, in addition to
touring nationally and internationally, most recently to Hungary, Serbia,
Romania, and the UK. Cappella Romana returns to the Utrecht Early
Music Festival in 2021 for the third time with Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia
performed in the virtual acoustics of Hagia Sophia as the festival’s
finale concert. Heaven and Earth is Cappella Romana’s 27th release.
cappellaromana.org

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROMAN A - 2 0

Singers for her “wonderful sensitivity,” and “sparkling Photini is the Founding Director of Yphos
soprano tone.” Vakarė earned both her bachelor’s and Studio where she teaches voice lessons that
master’s degree in Vocal Performance and are tailored to the unique needs of Orthodox
Jessica Israels is an accomplished singer who Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College cantors and clergy. She is the Lampadarios
has captivated audiences in both jazz and in Princeton, New Jersey. Her Portland (second cantor) at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox
classical music throughout the United States. appearances have included the US premiere Cathedral in Portland. She teaches Byzantine
She performs with her jazz trio and the Chuck of Ēriks Ešenvalds’ Passion and Resurrection Chant through the Koukouzelis Institute of
Israels Jazz Orchestra, which has been featured with Oregon Repertory Singers and Classical Liturgical Arts and is on the faculty of the
at The Detroit Jazz Festival, The Portland Revolution PDX and performances with Artefact Institute. Photini holds a B.M. in Vocal
Jazz Festival, Dizzy’s Jazz Club, and performs multiple ensembles, including Amber Coast, Performance from DePauw University and a
regularly in Portland. She is currently the Music a folk duo with her brother. Vakarė lives in Certificate in Byzantine Music from Hellenic
Director at St. Gabriel Episcopal Church in Portland with her beloved Alaskan Huntsman College Holy Cross. She is currently pursuing
Portland. She also teaches Voice at Clackamas husband, David. a Master of Divinity in a hybrid curriculum
Community College, and is the founder and
Photini Downie Robinson has performed with between the Portland Seminary and Holy Cross
conductor of the Multnomah Women’s Chorus.
Cappella Romana since 2007 and just finished Greek Orthodox School of Theology. Photini
Vakarė Petroliūnaitė has been praised by critics is passionate about the intersection between
her second term on the Board of Directors.

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROM AN A - 21

liturgical music and pastoral ministry, and she is alto at Portland State University. She lives in Wilson-
in high demand as a singer, speaker, writer, and Kristen Buhler is a genre-defying musician, ville, Oregon with her husband Paul Klemme, a
workshop leader. praised for her “smooth and heartfelt” church musician and conductor in Salem.
Catherine van der Salm is a versatile musician singing (Artslandia). She has sung with Kerry McCarthy has sung with Cappella Ro-
praised for her “agile, supple and richly Cappella Romana since 2006, and performed mana since 1994. She is a musician and author
expressive” voice (The Oregonian). She is an professionally with many ensembles including known for her work on the English Renaissance,
active collaborative artist singing with Cappella Portland Baroque Orchestra, The Saint Tikhon and a regular collaborator with many early music
Romana, In Mulieribus, The Ensemble of Choir, 45th Parallel, The Julians, In Mulieribus, ensembles. Her new biography of the composer
Oregon, Cantores in Ecclesia, Portland Baroque Cantores in Ecclesia, and Resonance Ensemble. Thomas Tallis, published with Oxford University
Orchestra, Resonance Ensemble and Oregon Born and raised in Oregon, Kristen earned Press, was given the 2021 AMS award for early
Catholic Press. She has appeared as a guest B.A. degrees from George Fox University in music book of the year. She is now working on
artist with 45th Parallel, Newport Symphony both Vocal Music Performance and Writing/ her fourth book, an exploration of the lives of
Orchestra, Third Angle, Willamette Master Literature, then went on to Portland State professional singers in Tudor England. She also
Chorus, Musica Maestrale and Bach Cantata University where she garnered a M.M. degree enjoys cooking, bicycling, and her multilingual
Vespers at St. James Lutheran Church. Catherine in Choral Conducting and a M.S. degree in duties as Cappella’s music librarian.
makes her home in Vancouver, Washington, Special Education. By day, Kristen teaches braille Nadia Tarnawsky has recently returned to the
with her husband, Ruud, and their daughters and assistive technology to students with visual United States after completing a year of research,
Juliana and Annelies. impairments. She has been a co-author of a study and teaching in Ukraine as a recipient of a
Miriam Sheehan is a Vocal Performance major national braille curriculum entitled Building on Fulbright Award. She has been studying Eastern
at Portland State University in Oregon, studying Patterns for the last fifteen years. In her spare European singing techniques for nearly three
under Ethan Sperry, and a recipient of PSU’s time, she is always up for pub quiz, or a spur of decades and has taught Ukrainian village style
competitive Hinckley Scholarship in Vocal the moment trip to anywhere. singing in workshops for the Ukrainian Catho-
Music. Her first-ever public solo performance Susan Hale has been actively involved with lic University in Lviv, Ukraine, the Center for
was at the age of eight, singing June Tabor’s choral music for many years in the Portland area Traditional Music and Dance in New York, Vil-
ballad “Willie Taylor” alone on stage at the as an ensemble singer, soloist and educator. She lage Harmony, and the Kitka Women’s Ensemble
Citadel in Charleston. She has been performing has sung with In Mulieribus, Choral Cross-Ties, among others. In 2011 she received a Traditional
as a singer ever since. She has sung in concerts Cappella Romana, Trinity Consort, Portland Ba- Arts Fellowship from Artist Trust and an Artist
with Cappella Romana, The Saint Tikhon Choir, roque Orchestra Chorus, and Cantores in Eccle- Support Residency from Jack Straw Productions.
Bard College Chamber Singers, and many local sia. She has recently completed a long tenure as Nadia sang with Ensemble Hilka of New York in
and state choirs in her earlier years. She has six choral director at Tigard High School. Susan’s commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the
younger sisters, who all sing, and loves to make love of music education has encompassed el- Chornobyl disaster in Ukraine. A recording of
music with her whole family. ementary, middle school, and high school vocal this repertoire was released on the Smithsonian
music as well as private instruction. She is now Folkways label. She is also a longtime member of
mentoring student teachers in music education Apollo’s Fire and Quire Cleveland.

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROMAN A - 2 2

tenor and Portland Summer Festival. Rev. Burnett also David Hendrix sings professionally throughout
Richard Barrett is an Orthodox church holds a Master of Divinity from Multnomah the Pacific Northwest as a soloist and ensemble
musician, choral singer, and scholar. He sings Biblical Seminary and works as a Clinical member. Most recently he has sung and
regularly with Cappella Romana, the Patriarch Chaplain in a hospital setting. He is currently recorded with Tudor Choir, Byrd Ensemble
Tikhon Choir, Psaltikon, and other ensembles. preparing for Board Certification. He lives in and Cappella Romana. David is the Director of
He has served as Director of Music for Gresham with his wife and their three wildling Music at Edmonds United Methodist Church
Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox daughters. He enjoys hunting, fishing, hiking, and a collaborator with Coastland Commons,
Church in Somerville, MA since 2015. He has biking, and anything else that gets him away a community of Seattle based clergy and
a performer’s certificate in Byzantine music from the bustle of the city and into Creation. artists dedicated to creating new works of art
from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School Nicholas Fine is an avid singer of Orthodox around the greater church narrative. He lives in
of Theology, and has served as an invited liturgical music from both the Byzantine and downtown Edmonds with his wife, Sarah, and
clinician, speaker, and guest cantor at Orthodox Slavic traditions. In addition to singing with their twin boys, Forest and Alden. In his spare
churches throughout the country. In addition, Cappella Romana, he is a member of the time, he enjoys cooking, coaching at his local
he is the Director of Publications, Grants, and recently formed Byzantine chant ensemble, CrossFit gym and spending time out and about
Operations for Cappella Romana. As Artistic Dynamis. Nicholas is currently a seminarian at with Sarah and their boys.
Director of the Saint John of Damascus Society, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological seminary in Michael Hilton has been an active choral singer
he oversaw the commission and development New York pursuing a Master of Divinity. in the Portland area since an early age. He has
of Heaven and Earth: A Song of Creation, and Leslie Green is in high demand as a soloist been the featured soloist in J.S. Bach’s Cantatas
served as Managing Editor for Musica Russica’s in the Northwest. Praised for his seemingly 106 and 130, Robert Kyr’s Santa Fe Vespers,
publication of the score. He has been married effortless, expressive singing, Mr. Green Brahms’s Zigeunerlieder at the Oregon Bach
to Megan Barrett since 2001, and they have two performs a wide variety of literature ranging Festival Youth Choral Academy, and Britten’s
children, Theodore and Katherine. from Bach arias to contemporary art songs. Rejoice in the Lamb. In 2014 Michael was part
Rev. Daniel Burnett has found a home singing Green has appeared throughout the Northwest of the world premiere of Maximilian Steinberg’s
and recording with Cappella Romana for over with many of the finest ensembles, recently with lost masterpiece Passion Week (Страстная
15 years. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Cappella Romana as soloist for The Akáthistos Седмица), Opus 13 as well as the premier
Performance and a Master of Music in Choral Hymn. Green originally hails from the Midwest recording with Cappella Romana later that year.
Conducting from Portland State University. where he received a Bachelor of Music in Vocal In addition to Cappella Romana Michael is also
He had performed and recorded with many Performance from Ball State University. He a member of Cantores in Ecclesia, and St. James
of the finest organizations across the country resides in Vancouver, Washington and teaches Collegium Musicale.
including the Seattle Symphony, St. Tikhon’s voice at Pacific University as well as working as bass
Choir, PaTRAM Institute Male Choir, and St. a clinician and adjudicator. An avid runner, he Benjamin España is a conductor, performer,
Paul’s Chamber Singers (Salem, OR), Oregon puts in 14-18 miles in an average week. and award-winning composer born and raised
Catholic Press recording, Resonance Ensemble, in Oregon. In addition to singing with Capella

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROMAN A - 2 3

Romana, Ben has been a featured soloist with has worked with a number of fine ensembles twin pillars of his career both as performer
the Bach Cantata Choir, Cantores in Ecclesia, throughout the Northwest. He loves traveling and executive. As a singer, he has toured and
the Portland State Chamber Choir, and various and being a dad. recorded extensively with Cappella Romana and
choirs throughout the State. Ben also directs Glenn Miller is well known as an oktavist. His with a number of professional vocal ensembles
Humanis, a group of professional singers who has performed, recorded and toured with many in the US and in Europe, including The Tudor
donate their time and talent by partnering professional choral ensembles throughout the Choir, Seattle; the Chœur de Chambre de
with charitable organizations and performing United States including Cappella Romana, Namur, Belgium; and Wakefield Cathedral
to raise funds for social justice and human Clarion (NYC), Conspirare (Austin), Skylark Choir, England. He has also served as a choir
rights campaigns. When he is not singing, (Boston), the Choir of Men and Boys of St. director, cantor, and composer/arranger for
Ben is a personal injury attorney who works Thomas Church (NYC), the Yale Choral Artists Greek Orthodox churches in Seattle and
out of Portland; in 2022, Ben was recognized and Schola Cantorum, Audivi (Detroit), the Portland.
by The National Trial Lawyers as one of their Saint Tikhon Choir, the PaTRAM Institute
Top 40 Under 40 civil plaintiff attorneys. Ben Choir, and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale.
obtained his BA in Music Education from Pacific He was the featured soloist on Conspirare’s
University, his MM in Choral Conducting from recording The Sacred Spirit of Russia, which was
Portland State University, and his law degree awarded the GRAMMY® in 2015 for best choral
from Lewis & Clark Law School. recording. His career as an oktavist began as a
Erik Hundtoft is a singer, performer, and member of the Robert Shaw Festival Singers,
teacher, working and living in Portland Oregon. recording the Rachmaninoff Vespers, a work that
For over twenty years he has appeared regularly has been the cornerstone of his career, and most
in Oregon choral and operatic ensembles recently made his fifth recording of this work.
including Portland Opera, Opera Theater Recently he provided a chapter on oktavism for
Oregon, Obsidian Opera, Portland Summerfest, the book, Conducting Men’s Choirs. He lives in
The Oregon Symphony, The Ensemble, The Birmingham, Michigan, where he is active as a
Resonance Ensemble, and Cappella Romana. church musician, organist, and conductor.
Erik is a member of the St. Mary’s Cathedral Mark Powell has sung with Cappella Romana
Choir and the Portland Opera Chorus. since 1995, and also serves as its executive
David Krueger is grateful to have been director. He earned a B.A. in music from Seattle
performing, touring, and recording with Pacific University and an M.A. in musicology
Cappella Romana since 1997, as a bass II from the University of Washington with a
and isokrat. His experience includes theater, thesis on the music of Arvo Pärt. Devotion
jazz, folk, world, and sacred music, and he to the choral art and to early music form the

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 45th Parallel Universe Violist Greg Ewer, hailed by The New York Times for his “refinement and
spirit,” has been a member of the Oregon Symphony since 2001. Greg is
We are a collective of musicians who also well known to Portland audiences for his regular appearances with
come together to celebrate great chamber the Portland Baroque Orchestra, and Pink Martini. He is also the founder
music with intimate artistic experiences. and previous artistic director of 45th Parallel. Greg has appeared as a
Passion for great music is what defines us guest recitalist at Yale University, and at the National Library in Mexico
and Portland is our stage. City. He has performed at numerous summer festivals, including the
Since 2009, 45th Parallel has happily Tanglewood Music Center, San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, Grand Teton
demolished distinctions between old and Music Festival, Moab Music Festival, and the Montana Baroque Festival.
new chamber music, bluegrass and jazz, Brazilian cellist Marilyn de Oliveira has been the assistant principal
fiddle and folk. By bringing fragmented in the Oregon Symphony cello section since September 2009. Prior to
audiences together, 45th Parallel reflects joining the Oregon Symphony, Marilyn was a member of the San Antonio
Portland’s surging creative communities Symphony for three seasons, during which she was both a member of the
in fresh and imaginative ways. section and acting assistant principal.
45th Parallel executive director and violinist Ron Blessinger is a Marilyn received her Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University
proud Oregonian, with degrees Oberlin Conservatory and a Masters under cellist Emilio Colon and her Master of Music degree at Rice
with distinction in performance from the New England Conservatory University with Norman Fischer. Some of her live solo performances
of Music. Ron joined the Oregon Symphony in 1990, and has been a can be heard regularly on National Public Radio’s Performance Today.
frequent soloist and chamber music performer. In 2014, he was elected as Marilyn is married to Oregon Symphony cellist Trevor Fitzpatrick.
a player representative to the Oregon Symphony’s Board of Directors. Ron
is a passionate advocate for the music of living composers, producing and 45thparallelpdx.org
performing on fourteen recordings of new music, with a special emphasis
on the music of Oregon composers.

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROMAN A - 2 5

PRODUCTION CREDITS Dedicated to
Producer: Blanton Alspaugh, Soundmirror Richard Toensing (+2014)
Recording Engineer: Mark Donahue, Soundmirror and
Mixing & Mastering Engineer: Mark Donahue, Soundmirror Archimandrite Ephrem (Lash) (+2016)
of blessed memory
Original recordings: © & ℗ 2022 by Cappella Records, a division of
Cappella Romana, Inc. All rights reserved. Recorded at St. Stephen
Catholic Church, Portland, Oregon, July 19-22, 2021. Special thanks to
Performing editions: Ikon of Light is published by Chester Music, Inc.
(www.wiseclassicalmusic.com), catalog number SOS 502515. His All-Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople-New
Heaven and Earth: A Song of Creation is published by Musica Russica, Inc. Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch
(www.musicarussica.com), catalog number HE-SC. The Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis, Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Throne
English translations: Translation of St. Symeon the New Theologian by Elaine Howard Ecklund
Met. Kallistos (Ware). Translation of Psalm 103 and additional liturgical The Rev. Fr. Ivan Moody and the International Society for Orthodox
material by Archimandrite Ephrem (Lash). Church Music
Booklet essay: ©2022 by Richard Barrett. All rights reserved. Rev. Paul Paris, proïstámenos; Gail Morris, parish administrator (Holy
Photography: Group photography: Mark Powell; composers and refrain Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Portland)
sketch: Richard Barrett; Cosmic cliffs in Carina Nebula (Webb Telescope, Rev. Eric Andersen, pastor (St. Stephen Catholic Church, Portland)
nasa, public domain); Earth and Space (licensed from istockphoto.com,
public domain).
Packaging Design: Mark Powell, Richard Barrett ©2022 Cappella
Records.
Consulting Producer: Richard Barrett
Executive Producer: Mark Powell, Cappella Records

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROMAN A - 2 6

 Special acknowledgments for
Heaven and Earth: A Song of Creation

The following individuals made this recording

possible through their generous support:

Rev. Fr. Michael Abrahamson · Matthew Arndt

Alexis Balkowitsch · Rev. Fr. Dn. Justin Bosl
Cody Chasen Burkett · Rev. Fr. Lucas Christensen
This recording of Heaven and Earth: A Song of Tracey Edson · Matushka Elizabeth Frase
Creation is the fruit of a special collaborative effort Kevin Fritts · Sarah Gyurkovitz · Margaret Haig
between The Saint John of Damascus Society and Michael Hawes · Kim Hawes
Cappella Romana. The Society commissioned the Scott David Hendricks · Rev. Fr. Mikel Hill
work in 2013 for Cappella Romana to premiere Rosalie Hoffman · Amy Hogg · Ken Hutchins
and record, and we are grateful beyond words to Jessica Israels · Christ Kamages
Cappella Romana for their gracious and supportive Constantine Kokenes · Marija Krupoves-Berg
spirit at every step of this effort. Paul Krysa · Jeffrey Alan Lee · Caleb Lewis
Alexander Lingas · Rev. Fr. Joseph Lucas
We offer our most heartfelt thanks and gratitude David Lucs · Constantine Maniakas
to Carol Toensing, Chris Toensing, and Peter and Chris Mandalides · Emmanuel Manos
Kari Toensing for their support in honor of Richard Laura Monforte · Vladimir Morosan
Toensing, beloved husband and father. Panos Niarchos · Nicolette Psyllas Panagopoulos
May his memory be eternal. +Gregory & Mary Pantages · Gregory Pantages, Jr.
johnofdamascus.org · thepsalm103project.org Ted Papas · Lois Pappademos · Nancy Retsinas
Photini Downie Robinson · Mike Rogalewski
This recording has been made possible in part by a Brian Rogers · Harold and Sandy Sabbagh
generous grant from The National Forum of Greek Catherine van der Salm · Pedro Sarsamă
Orthodox Church Musicians. Nancy Agris Savage · Irene Tresh Shewchuk
Laura Short · Yaulanda Wing-Yan Spyrou
Rev. Fr. Dn. Anthony Stokes · Theresa Thomas
Jason Thoms · Courtney Tomaselli · Zoe Turton
Adam Whiting · Joe and Shirley Wilson · Tikey Zes

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROM AN A - 27

 CR424
Also available from Cappella Records

Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia For Kontakion on the Nativity of

1000 years, Hagia Sophia was the Christ American composer Rich-
largest domed interior in the world. ard Toensing's choral concerto and
Its stunning reverberation—of Christmas carols create a vibrant
over 11 seconds—is re-created here, musical synthesis of East and
“full of
“Chords transporting you back in time to sensitive West with new settings of ancient
unfurl in
reverberant bloom” medieval sound and ritual in Con- wonder” Choral Orthodox Christmas texts, bridg-
The New York Journal
Times stantinople: an aural virtual reality. ing the gap between Byzantine and
On Billboard for 44 weeks! American hymnody.

Tikey Zes Choral Works Cappella The Divine Liturgy of St.

Romana's first disc remains as John Chrysostom This highly
“exceptionally
popular as ever. A collection of original Liturgy by Tikey Zes
beautiful music”
“Signif- sacred and secular compositions by Leitourgia is cumulatively opulent in its
icant, historical, variety and ecstatic polyphonic
Greek-American composer, Tikey
and important”
Audiophile Aud. Zes, with a cappella choral pieces climaxes, achieving a balance of
and two selections with organ splendor with restraint that is, in an
accompaniment, including his inculturated and dignified musical
beloved “Soma Christou.” idiom, thoroughly Byzantine.

Sun of Justice This début release by Live in Greece: From

Music
PRÓTO presents traditional chants Constantinople to California
for Christmas “music
in Greek, Arabic, and in Greek, Arabic, and English Ancient Byzantine chants,
of endless
English for the Byzantine celebration of fascination” encounters with Crusaders
Gapplegate and Venetians, and music by
Christmas, including selections
from The Royal Hours, Vespers, Californians Frank Desby, Tikey
Matins, and the Divine Liturgy. Zes, and their peers and Athenian
John Michael Boyer, director. composer Michael Adamis
(1929–2013).

The Divine Liturgy in English Sheehan: Vespers Sung in English

“Luminous
in Byzantine Chant The by the GRAMMY®-nominated
and uplifting”
complete service on two CDs, Choir and Saint Tikhon Choir and inspired by
featuring music drawn from the Organ the great All-Night Vigil setting by
most authoritative traditions Rachmaninoff, Benedict Sheehan
“a
of Byzantine chanting. 40-page expands the genre with full settings
gift to the
Orthodox world” booklet with extensive essays on of Psalms, each of which expresses a
Again liturgy and Byzantine chant. full range of human emotion.

H EAVE N AND E ARTH - C APPE L L A ROMAN A - 2 8