Kurt Sander: The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom PaTRAM Institute Singers & Peter Jermihov

• 1 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 1, Great Litany 05:05
• 2 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 2, Bless the Lord, O My Soul 02:48
• 3 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 3, Small Litany 01:24
• 4 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 4, Praise the Lord, O My Soul 02:46
• 5 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 5, Only-Begotten Son 02:19
• 6 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 6, Small Litany 01:50
• 7 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 7, The Beatitudes 05:25
• 8 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 8, O Come Let Us Worship 00:56
• 9 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 9, O Lord, Save the Pious 01:17
• 10 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 10, Trisagion 02:37
• 11 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 11, Alleluia 01:17
• 12 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 12, Litany after the Gospel 05:14
• 13 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 13, Litany of the Catechumens 01:52
• 14 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 14, Litany of the Faithful 01:20
• 15 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 15, Second Litany of the Faithful 02:30
• 16 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 16, Cherubic Hymn 07:35
• 17 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 17, Litany of Oblation 04:03
• 18 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 18, The Anaphora 09:03
• 19 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 19, Hymn to the Theotokos 02:59
• 20 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 20, And Each and Every One 01:47
• 21 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 21, Litany Before the Lord's Prayer 03:23
• 22 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 22, The Lord's Prayer 04:58
• 23 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 23, One Is Holy 01:07
• 24 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 24, Praise the Lord from the Heavens 04:11
• 25 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 25, Blessed Is He That Cometh in the Name of the Lord 00:36
• 26 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 26, Receive the Body of Christ 03:48
• 27 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 27, We have Seen the True Light 01:02
• 28 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 28, Let Our Mouths Be Filled with Thy Praise 01:22
• 29 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 29, Small Litany 02:58
• 30 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 30, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord 00:56
• 31 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: No. 31, Many Years 01:31
• Total Runtime 01:29:59

Info for Kurt Sander: The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

Reference Recordings is very pleased to present the second release in our series from the PaTRAM Institute, rising stars whose debut album on our label, Chesnokov: Teach Me Thy Statutes, has recently garnered a GRAMMY® nomination for Best Choral Performance. The music performed on this new recording of Russian Orthodox choral music in the English language was written by Dr. Kurt Sander.

Conductor Peter Jermihov writes: “The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom by Kurt Sander is unique in several respects. Within the body of repertoire contained in the Russian-based jurisdictions of North America (Moscow Patriarchate, Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, and the Orthodox Church in America), it is the first and only complete setting of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom in English. Rooted in the 19th Century Russian models of such masters as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Gretchaninoff, and others, Sander’s Liturgy grows out of the monumental choral edifices of these masters and rightfully belongs in their midst.”

The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is performed by the PaTRAM Institute Singers, a highly professional group of Russian and American male and female vocalists, joined by soloists Evan Bravos, Keven Keys, Protodeacon Vadim Gan, Glenn Miller, and Daniel Shirley. PaTRAM Institute Singers and Reference Recordings are planning several more releases over the next 5 years with Dr. Peter Jermihov as artistic director and conductor.

Alexis and Katherine Lukianov, Cofounders of PaTRAM Institute state: “The Patriarch Tikhon Russian American Music Institute strives to present Orthodox sacred music in its highest possible form, uniting deep spirituality, a profound love for the rich traditions of Orthodox Christian singing, and an uncompromising standard of musical professionalism rooted in the great traditions of Russian choral composers. In addition, we seek out unique church venues for our recordings to couple the music with an acoustically rich, Orthodox Worship environment. We trust that the listener will thoroughly enjoy the merits of this important and beautiful new Divine Liturgy delivered in English by Drs. Sander and Jermihov and our talented artists in the New Gracanica Church.”

This release was recorded and mastered by the team at Soundmirror, whose outstanding orchestral, solo, opera and chamber recordings have received more than 100 Grammy® nominations and awards. For over 40 years, Soundmirror has recorded for every major classical record label, including Reference Recordings.

PaTRAM Institute Singers
Peter Jermihov, conductor

Peter Jermihov
Born in Chicago of Russian-émigré parents, Peter Jermihov is an American conductor with Russian roots. An advocate of the Russian School of Conducting, he has cultivated a versatile career by combining professional conducting engagements with teaching appointments, choral with orchestral conducting, and music-making with research.

An internationally recognized specialist in Russian music and Orthodox liturgical music, Jermihov is also a devoted proponent of East-West cultural exchange. Here in the United States, he has promoted the music of Valery Gavrilin, Sofia Gubaidulina, Gennadiy Lapayev, Arvo Pärt, Rodion Schedrin, Alfred Schnitke, and Georgy Sviridov, and many other Russian and Eastern-European composers. In Soviet Russia, he conducted premiere performances of Samuel Barber’s Symphony No. 1, Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Charles Ives’ Symphony No. 4 with the country’s leading orchestras; and, in Post-1991 Russia, he introduced the compositions of numerous American and British composers, such as Ben Johnston, Ivan Moody, Kurt Sander, Phillip Schroeder, John Tavener, and Tikey Zes. Jermihov’s doctoral dissertation was dedicated to Georgy Sviridov, and he continues to champion the music of this major composer in the West.

Jermihov came to the St. Petersburg State Conservatory as a Fulbright-Hays Fellow and International Research and Exchanges Board Scholar to study orchestral conducting under the legendary master teacher Il’ya Musin. After two years of intensive studies he was invited to guest-conduct the country’s top ensembles: the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, and the St. Petersburg and Moscow Chamber Choirs, among others. Subsequently, he made guest-conducting appearances with major orchestras in the Far East and Europe, such as the Shinsei Nihon Symphony Orchestra of Tokyo and the Pro Arte Orchester Wien. In 1988 he participated in a historic celebration of a Thousand Years of Christianity in Russia by conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and Symphony No. 5. He continues to guest-conduct internationally acclaimed choirs and orchestras in the Orient, Eastern Europe, Russia, and the United States.

During his formative years, Jermihov studied conducting under such renowned choral masters as Eric Erickson of Sweden, Vladimir Minin of Russia, and Helmuth Rilling of Germany. He was invited to the Tanglewood Music Center under Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa as a Conducting Fellow and to the American Orchestra League’s Conducting Seminars under Kurt Masur and Leonard Slatkin as an Active Participant. Appearing with the Louisville Symphony Orchestra, Jermihov was selected as a Finalist in the Affiliate Artists Conductor’s Program. He had the privilege of serving as Robert Shaw and Vladimir Minin’s assistant in preparing Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem at the 2nd World Symposium on Choral Music in Stockholm.

Jermihov has served as director of choral and orchestral activities at several major state universities and private colleges. His articles and editions of choral music appear in the Choral Journal, International Federation of Choral Music Journal, Musica Russica, Inc., PSALM Music Press, and numerous other publications. His translation of Il’ya Musin’s landmark book, On Educating a Conductor, will be published in 2014.

Saint Tikhon
The Choir is named for Saint Tikhon (Belavin), a saint who is uniquely honored for his accomplishments and vision in both North America and Russia. While serving as Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of the Aleutians and North America, from 1898 to 1907, he did many things to facilitiate the spread of Orthodoxy in America, including the founding of St. Tikhon’s Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, and ministering to the various ethnic groups of Orthodox in America, both in their native languages and in English. Upon his return to Russia, his reputation as an extraordinary archpastor grew, whereupon he was elected Patriarch of All Russia in 1917, the first to hold that high office since the year 1700. Shepherding the Russian Orthodox Church during the extreme difficulties brought on by atheist Communist repression and persecution of religion, Patriarch Tikhon endured immense physical and spiritual trials, including several arrests and imprisonments, which resulted in a martyr’s death in 1925. In 1989 he was glorified as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church.

The educational vision and missionary zeal of Patriarch Tikhon while he was Bishop in North America is reflected in the long-term mission of the Patriarch Tikhon Choir’s organizers. Besides concert activities, a series of educational initiatives are being planned—choral workshops, master classes for conductors, and musical resources—aimed at having a positive impact upon the cultivation and practice of Orthodox liturgical choral singing in North America.

For more information about the life of St. Tikhon, visit the website of the Orthodox Church in America.

Vladimir Gorbik
(b. 1970) began his musical studies in Yekaterinburg, Russia, and continued them at the Moscow State Conservatory, completing a specialization in choral conducting in 1998 and in orchestral conducting in 2000. Since 1996 he has served as the choir director at the Moscow Respresentation Church (Metochion) of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery, and since 1998 has been the Artistic Director and Conductor of the professional men’s chorus formed at the Metochion. With this choir he has made more than a dozen outstanding recordings, of both liturgical services and concert programs. The choir has on numerous occasions sung at Patriarchal services in the Dormition Cathedral in the Kremlin, and they accompanied Patriarch Alexy II on his trip to the Holy Land in 2000. The repertoire of the Metochion’s Men’s Chorus cultivates the finest repertoire and interpretive traditions of the Moscow School and the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. For his outstanding achievements and service, he has received an award of recognition (gramota) from the Patriarch, and the medal of the Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, 2nd Degree. In September 2012, he was appointed to the conducting faculty of the Moscow State Conservatory. Since then he was awarded awarded a “Blessed Letter of Commendation” by Merkuriy, Metropolitan of Rostov and Novocherkassk , chairman of the Synodal Department for Religious Education and Catechesis of the Russian Orthodox Church, for the January 29, 2014 participation of the Men’s Choir of the Moscow Representation of Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery (Lavra) in the Kremlin Concert Hall and the Concert Hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in the context of the XXII International Christmas Educational Readings.

Booklet for Kurt Sander: The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom