Alexander Andreyevich Arkhangel'sky, Russian Orthodox Chant, Alexander Tikhonovich Grechaninov, Ledkovsky, Alexei Fydorovich Lvov, P. Mironositsky, Apostol Nikolaev-Strumsky, Stepan Smolensky, Igumen Mitrofan, Novospassky Monastery Choir - Russian Divine Liturgy

Excellent option at good price

Ortodox liturgic music is sometimes as difficult as it can be considering the fact it belong to a very different liturgy no matter how christian it is.
This little gem can be helpful to understand not only this very important part of russian music but the soul of russian religiosity, guided by the superb performance of Novospassky Monastery Choir, that reminded me other great effort in the same way: the Choir of Santo Domingo de Silos Monastery.
Not always Naxos is the best choice, but in this case is definitely a must for those interested on religious music.
Five stars. March 25, 2007

It Touches the Soul

This cd is balanced with the melodic strains of the choir, and the rich, deep solos above it. It is an inspiration and I highly recommend it. May 2, 2005

Performance is fine, but recording and liner notes are poor

RUSSIAN DIVINE LITURGY is a performance by the Novospassky Monastery Choir of the Russian Orthodox liturgy celebrated by a bishop. The music of the Russian Orthodox liturgy consists only of the human voice singing in the Russian Church Slavonic language (a redaction of Old Church Slavonic made easier for speakers of Russian to pronounce). No instrumentation is included.

There is a great deal of passion in this performance as in the "Trisagion". There is also grace and sweetness, as in the "Great Litany" or the recitation of the Nicene Creed. This recording portrays those aspects of Orthodox worship which have wowed members of other denominations with their beauty and profound sincerity.

Though the performance was fine, the sound quality of this recording is unimpressive. Though a DDD studio recording, the engineers did not really explore the space of the venue and the voices are often muddled and indistinguishable. This probably would have sounded better in a church than in a studio with these engineers.

The liner notes are also of rather poor quality, as is unfortunately quite common with Naxos discs. There is no libretto, just excepts from several of the portions and descriptions. Church Slavonic text is missing entirely. The names of the Ukrainian cities Kyiv and Lviv are spelled according to the (often considered offensive) Russian manner of Kiev and L'vov. The commentary, which do not appear professionally edited, are uncredited.

If you are interested in Church Slavonic liturgy in music, I would recommend Arvo Part's setting of the "Kanon Pokajanen" penitence text. The disc released by ECM New Series features a detailed libretto with the Church Slavonic, fine translations, and an essay about this portion of Orthodox liturgy. Naxos has released here an authentic and sincere performance of the liturgy, but the poor liner notes and sound quality do little to recommend it. October 12, 2004

Inexpensive marvel from naxos

As someone new to choral sacred music, the price of this CD allowed me to experiment without risking to much financially.
I have never heard Russian Orthodox music before. It is more exuberant in many ways than western massesbut also has moments of serenity. This CD contains an amalgam of music from different cenuries which all fits together surprisingly well. The choir sings powerfully from start to fini. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the music of other cultures. July 16, 2003

Is like being in Heaven!

Beautiful version of the Orthodox Liturgy. If you aren't Orthodox, this might convert you. If you already are, it will bring tears of joy to your eyes. June 28, 2003

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