Favorite Religious Music

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My inner musician feels compelled to ask: are there any arrangements of Church services, psalms or certain prayers which happen to strike you in a certain way?

For example, I’ve been listening lately to Rachmaninoff’s settings to the [Divine Liturgy (
) and the [Vespers (
).

I’ve also been listening to a lot of Byzantine Chant lately, like this setting of [Psalm 23(22) (
).

Here’s some other music which has stuck with me over the years:
  • I once participated in [Ein Deutsches Requiem (
    ). I absolutely loved Brahms’ treatment of several verses pulled from Psalm 84, “How lovely are Thy dwelling-places.” in the fourth movement (which is linked in this bullet)
  • I once learned the bass Aria from Bach’s Mass in B minor, [Et in Spiritum Sanctum (
    ). It’s funny looking back on it, because I had much trouble with the word, “filioque” (this was before my conversion to Orthodoxy) simply because of how awkwardly Bach set it. It was so tempting to take a breath incorrectly between filio and que with the way that Bach set it.
  • The [Requiem Aeternam (http://youtu.be/3eN5EUMXBQo) and [Dies Irae (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B522Fm-WhB8) from the Dvorak Requiem I always found particularly haunting.
  • There’s also Verdi’s famous setting of [Dies Irae (http://youtu.be/pW1Uc-grcMs) from the Requiem, but from the Verdi Requiem, I much prefer the [Ingemisco (http://youtu.be/Dzx5JM6fW7A) section of the Dies Irae movement.
  • While I’m on the topic of Requiems, I also love the Mozart Requiem, although I admit that I don’t listen to it as much as I should. Here’s the [Lacrimosa (http://youtu.be/k1-TrAvp_xs) section.
  • I also enjoy the Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. Here’s Beethoven’s [setting of the Creed (http://youtu.be/R9ktXTeRKdo) and the [Agnus Dei (http://youtu.be/l3-BLiDj9X8), complete with a nice Germanic pronunciation of the word, “Agnus” :D.
  • Going back a few centuries, here’s Gregorio Allegri’s famous setting of Psalm 51, [Miserere Mei Deus (http://youtu.be/24UnJlSKgYk).
  • Several more centuries from the past, here’s Perotin’s setting of [Viderunt Omnes (http://youtu.be/bpgaEFmdFcM). It’s a particularly good example of the Notre Dame school of polyphony from around the 12th and 13th centuries.
  • And finally, the grandfather of all Dies Irae settings, the original [Gregorian Chant, Dies Irae (http://youtu.be/Dlr90NLDp-0) which dates from around the 12th century. Mozart was rumored to have said once that he would have traded his entire oeuvre to have been the composer of the original Dies Irae.
So, with all of that being said, what sort of settings of hymns, liturgical services or psalms do you like to listen to?
 
Hi, I would need time to get the links but here are some of mine: Rachmaninov, “Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom”, “The Vespers”; Tchaikovskyi, the same, especially Dostoino ‘Yest (Axion estin); Grechaninov, “Divine Liturgy” especially Vieruju; The Greek Byzantine Choir (Lycourgos Angelopoulos) “Divine Liturgy”, and “Roman Chant”; Gregorian Chant; The English School (William Byrd and John Taverner, especially); Perotin; Mozart; Bach; Monteverdi; Gabrieli; Palestrina; Beethoven; Josquin dez Prez; Johannes Ockhegem; Guillaume Dufay; Faure’; and many more.

I will need time to look for the links but some I have not found in the past (especially Grechaninov). The rest I’ll have to dig for.

Hope this helps a little.

George Largess
 
“Cavaradossi” would prefer Verdi’s Ingemisco, wouldn’t he? 😛
 
I enjoy much of the contemporary sacred music that is heard in Mass or otherwise, but I have a deep attachment to 18th century-style, four part hymns. Nothing, absolutely nothing, beats the sound of a huge, well-built pipe organ in the acoustic environment of a cathedral, playing a majestic and heartfelt rendition of any of the timeless hymns written in the four part chorale style, in my humble opinion. 😃
 
I hope this isn’t just for classical music…I find most of that too stuffy for my tastes…

I have been on a Mozarabic kick over the past few weeks after finding a copy of the “Misa Flamenca - Misa Mozarabe” LP (Philips, 1967) at a local record fair. It must be my pseudo-Hispanic heritage coming out, cos I think this stuff is GREAT! Especially in the capable hands of Marcel Peres and the Ensemble Organum.

I would post the Coptic liturgies, but those don’t really have “classical” musical settings like Byzantine chant does. 🙂

From the Syriac Orthodox, I haven’t found too many examples of their liturgies on YT (Malphono showed me a complete one, but I lost track of it somewhere; there are several clips of their liturgy being celebrated in Jerusalem), but their individual hymns are really special to me, for instance Sogdinan La Slibo (We bow to the Cross).

The Indians have a special way of intoning their liturgies and Syriac hymns that always gets to me. I’m fond of posting this video whenever I can even though it’s not even in Syriac (because it’s the best fidelity recording I’ve ever heard of Aju Philip Matthew’s amazing voice), but there are plenty of good examples of their Syriac hymns, like this and this (and of course I am also quite taken with the Syriac hymn posted in my sig this week, too).

And Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox mezmurs…wow…seriously, just listen to them…I can’t even believe that this was made by people…you know that famous quote about how Prince Vladimir of Kiev’s visitors to the Divine Liturgy could not tell if they were on heaven or on earth? That’s how I feel when I listen to Ethiopian mezmur (Coptic hymns, too)…and it’s not even used in their liturgy! Their liturgy…well…from the youngest baby to the oldest monk, the devotion that comes through is amazing!

Could go on and on…there’s so much out there!
 
I bookmarked this thread after my wife walked by and heard me playing one of the links. We are coming back to this thread again just to listen. A big thanks to all who have supplied the links!👍
 
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