Orthodox Music and Chant

Pascha in Tbilisi: "Aghdgomasa shensa" ("to Your Resurrection")


აღდგომასა შენსა, ქრისტე მაცხოვარ
ანგელოსნი უგალობენ ცათა შინა!
და ჩვენცა ღირს მყვენ ქვეყანასა ზედა
წმინდით გულით დიდებად შენდა!
-------------------------------
Aghdgomasa shensa kriste matskhovar
angelozni ugaloben tsata shina
da chventsa ghirs mkven kveqanasa zeda
tsmindit gulita didebad shenda!
-------------------------------
Your Resurrection, O Christ our Savior,
the Angels in heaven sing!
Enable us who are on earth
to Glorify You with a pure heart!
 


It took me ages to find this version of Only Begotten Son.

Every time I hear it in Church I find it so utterly beautiful, been listening to this on repeat

I can understand traditionalist objections to the “operafication” of Russian Orthodox music, as it really is spine-chillingly, achingly beautiful at times and as such it could be a distraction from prayer. But personally I find the beauty of it orients me to think of God.

I prefer it to Byzantine chant, and that’s my controversial non-theological orthodox take
 


When I lived in St. Petersburg that Naval church (above👆) on Kronstadt Island was still just a shell and had not been rebuilt after the Communist period. Neither was the big church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood (below👇). My dream is to go back and visit them and attend liturgy in them.

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We went to Jordanville for Pascha and the chanting was incredible. It was a tone I’d never heard before and someone finally told me it’s a Georgian style. Would’ve never guessed, not that I’m at all familiar with the history or styles of chanting.

There’s only small snippets available online that I can find, and the bookstore said they didn’t have any CDs made. Doesn’t do it justice, if you ever get the opportunity to hear it in person, it’s other worldly.

 
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