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Fr. Sergei Glagolev
A highlight of the 2016 Pan-Orthodox Music Symposium held at Saint Mary’s Cathedral here in June 2016 provided an opportunity to sing new liturgical compositions of the post-Communion troparia by the Archpriest Sergei Glagolev, the preeminent composer of American Orthodox Church music. The International Society of Orthodox Church Music [ISOCM] is now pleased to announce that Father Sergei’s compositions are available on the Society’s web site, together with a recording of the symposium Divine Liturgy.
“Father Sergei’s contributions to the Orthodox Church go far beyond the English-speaking world,” said Father Ivan Moody, ISOCM Board Chairman. “While he is justly known for his work with liturgical music in English, the fact that his compositions and arrangements have been translated into multiple languages speaks for its universality, and the way in which the music is guided not only by the text but by the liturgical action it accompanies.”
The nearly 150 individuals who participated in the ISOCM-sponsored symposium had the unique opportunity to sing the settings during a liturgy for the very first time.
“It’s exciting to have new compositions because they represent a maturation of Orthodoxy here in North America,” said Toni Simmons, a symposium participant and member of Minneapolis’ Saint Mary’s Cathedral, site of the gathering. “We sing settings translated from Russian, Romanian, Serbian, and Greek, and now we have more and more settings written in English that represent our contribution to world Orthodoxy.”
For Father Sergei, the compositions allowed him to participate in the symposium from afar.
“God bless you one and all for the love you have for giving to the holiness we celebrate in worship,” he said. “May our loving Lord hear your singing and be pleased!”
