Boston Byzantine Choir

Since its inception in 1993, the Boston Byzantine choir has endeavored to make Byzantine Chant and the Orthodox Christian faith accessible to the English-speaking world. Over these past 25 years, Byzantine music in English has evolved considerably. Our first music drew from the best available published or recorded works in English as well as new compositions written by choir members or clergy we knew. Often times, the compositional approach involved taking an existing, familiar hymn in another language and adapting it into English. Our early emphasis was on simply demonstrating that Byzantine music could be sung well in English without diminution of form or essence.

The subsequent growth and acceptance of Byzantine chant in English spawned research into the theoretical underpinnings of Byzantine musical compositions. A new wave of high quality compositions in English has resulted from an approach that starts with the hymnological text to inspire melodies that also adhere to the inherent formulaic rules of Byzantine chant. It has been our privilege to work with Dr. Jessica Suchy-Pilalis, a pioneer in this research, as our composer-in-residence for this 25th Anniversary recording. Nearly half of the compositions on this recording are by her hand and we are blessed to be able to share them as a part of our latest offering to the English-speaking world.

Charles R. Marge
Director and Founder, Boston Byzantine Choir