The School of Ecclesiastic Music

The Concert of Easter Hymns (A Cappella)

A collection of Easter Hymns sung live at St. Georges church - Broumana

Our success story

The first officially recorded live concert of SEM choir.

After 3 years of starting the school (in 1997), and after performing many concerts (in Dhour El Chweir (first appearance of the choir with 50 members) and in Antelias (at the Armenian church, where the choir represented the Orthodox youth choirs) and at Balamand (where the choir represented the Archdiocese of Mount Lebanon) and in other parishes), the choir was ready for its first official appearance.

The concert took place at Saint George Orthodox Church (Brumana- Lebanon) in the year 2000 directly before the travel of the choir to Greece to represent the Antiochian chair.

The chanters entered chanting “Tin Oreotita” from the back door of the church. They were all wearing black ecclesiastic dresses and holding candles in their hands. It was the first time the audience listens to SEM’s style in composing and performing Byzantine music, the first time the Antiochian audience watches such an organized and professional Byzantine Antiochian concert.

The recording of this CD was done by Mr Kamal Saikali. It was the first time an Arabic Byzantine recording is done by a professional sound engineer. However, Mr Saikali was totally new in Byzantine Music, yet, it was the beginning of an important expertise in recording Byzantine Music in Antioch.

That concert was the beginning of a new renaissance for the Byzantine Choirs of Antioch.

Read the full story...

1.	Verses (Troparion) from the Service of the Virgin Praise (Acathistone) - Greek poem translated into arabic and chanted with an Antiochian character in the third tone.	(04:04)
2.	Glory Hymns (Doxastikon) from the Service of the Pentecost Matins - A new Antiochian sentence structure in the second plagal tone. Muscal text composed by the first chanter Andreas Mouaikel.	(02:30)
3.	Ninth Ode (Antiaxionestin) of the Holy Spirit Monday - A new Antiochian Byzantine edition in the fourth tone. Musical text composed by the first chanter Dimitrios El Murr.	(02:28)
4.	The Second Verse (Kathysma) of the Christmas Matins - Greek poem translated into arabic and chanted with an Antiochian character. Musical text composed by the first chanter Elias Khoury in the second plagal tone (nenano).	(01:56)
5.	Verses (Troparion) of the Service of the Five Breads - Emphasizes the authentic Byzantine spirit chanted in Arabic. Musical text composed by Father Pandeleimonos Farah in the first plagal tone.	(02:06)
6.	Verses from Psalm no. 135 (Polyeleos) - The original Greek musical text was composed by the first chanter Petros Bereketis (1715) in the second plagal tone (nenano). Adapted to Arabic by the head of the School of Ecclesiastic Music in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Mount Lebanon, Joseph Yazbeck. It proves the possiblity of chanting the old Byzantine music sentences perfectly adapted to the Arabic text.	(05:38)
7.	Verses from the Good Friday Service - set into music by Joseph Yazbeck in the first plagal and third tones.	(11:56)
8.	Prokemenon of the Good Saturday Eve Service - set into music by Joseph Yazbeck in the third plagal tone.	(01:38)
9.	Easter Odes - set into music by the first chanter Dimitrios El Murr, in the first tone.	(03:24)
10.	Ninth Ode of the Easter Feast - the masterpiece of the first chanter Dimitrios El Murr in the first tone.	(03:28)
11.	Easter Verses - set into music by the first chanter Dimitrios El Murr in the first plagal tone.	(03:38)
12.	Glory Hymns (Doxastikon) from the Services of Easter Matins - Musical text composed by the first chanter Andreas Mouaikel in the first plagal tone.	(04:13)
13.	Easter Verses (Troparion) - in the first plagal tone.	(02:00)
14.	Prayer for the Metropolitan - set into music by Father Nicolas Malek in the enharmonic first plagal tone.	(01:10)

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