Cherubic Hymn - St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral Choir Greek Festival 2008

This is a setting of the Cherubic Hymn composed by Nicholas Roubanis that the Choir normally sings during the Divine Liturgy.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Cherubic
• Hymn
• Saint
• George
• Greek
• ORthodox
• Cathedral
• Greenville
• SC
• Nicholas
• Roubanis
• Festival
• 2008

[Jenx10sen]

She had been a 5 time cancer survivor. She had played the organ in our parish as a little girl. And for whatever reason, this nostalgia is what kept her close to the church. And before she died, she was coming to church regularly, but was too weak to play anymore. She was partaking in the sacraments, meeting with Father and by God's grace and that stupid organ..."endured until the end". Who am I to complain? I only hope to be so blessed.

[CantorNikolaos]

@Jenx10sen I am also a cancer survivor.

[cgnabod]

@Drepani13 So, do you also think that the microphones/speakers that the priests use in church should be forbidden, since they are electric and man-made? What about electric lights? Pews are man-made too...but all these things have been accepted by the Orthodox Church. Why can't an organ be permitted too?

[CantorNikolaos]

@cgnabod I do think electronic organs should be forbidden. They sound horrible. They are highly distracting, nauseating and they are a compromise of musical integrity. I would be extremely happy to have a pipe organ however. Unlike a factory mass-produced electronic mockery of an organ, a pipe organ represents the best of our abilities and resources. Offering God a mass-produced buzz-box is an insult.

I am a pipe organ builder and have offered to give the church a small pipe organ.

[dimitriupetru]

My Orthodox brothers!!! Organs are forbidden as instruments of worship in the Orthodox church!! The human voice is the ultimate musical instrument and God does not need artificial instruments!! May God forgive you and show you the right way.

[CantorNikolaos]

@dimitriupetru All this Pharisaical nonsense about using instruments in church needs to go! Bells are instruments. Those wood things monks hit are likewise. Before you get all self-righteous about what the canons forbid, go find it in the Rudder and point it out to everyone! I doubt it's there!

Are you one of those guys who wears a large, conspicuous prayer rope and peasant costume in church? Do you stand in the middle of the church and make huge metanias for everyone to see?

[Jenx10sen]

Glad to hear you are a survivor, but I am sorry you had to go through cancer. In the case of our woman who played the organ, her faith was exemplified on the TV news as she did a lot of "cancer runs" and "walks for the cure" and things like that. She talked about God openly on the news and about being Greek. The grace of God was definitely with her to the end.

[Jenx10sen]

I chant in our choir and do not like the organ anymore than other traditionalists. We have even joked about accidentally pushing it over the balcony or allowing "mice" to eat the wiring. It was brought into our parish in the 1960s. HOWEVER, I was very humbled one day, when the woman who played the organ whom we only saw on major feast days (and cringed), sat down and told us what she was going through...

[LiturgicalChants]

Finally we can note, that in a collection of 1000 compact disc/LP recordings focusing entirely on Gregorian, Byzantine and other orthodox and catholic chant we find perhaps only 1 or 2 which contain organ or instrumental acompaniment in them. Showing that among the pure ideals of both academics and church hierarches "acappella" (of the chapel) singing is nearly always held as the standard.

[LiturgicalChants]

@CantorNikolaos "As the singing should always have the principal place, the organ or other instruments should merely sustain and never oppress it." Any instance in which an organ obscures the human voice, so that you hear more the organ than the people and can not understand the words, means that the instrument has abused it's purpose and must be stopped. It originated as assistance and to give the pitch, much like "ison". All other forms are inappropriate abuses.

[LiturgicalChants]

"From the tenth century, primitive organs were used in some monasteries and cathedrals, most famously at Winchester as also probably at Canterbury by the later twelh century. The very nature and use of medieval organs remains problematic so that "the organ remains the element of greatest obscurity among such musical resources as were available at the greater English fourteenth century churches" - A history of music at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin by Barra Boydell, 2004

[LiturgicalChants]

I as well, think that instruments in church should be forbidden generally. However in within Latin tradition which I come from, it is difficult to be an advocate of this pure approach which was once normal in the entire Church.. the worst problem here is that this music does not even sound greek to me. it is entirely western so it is replacing ones original culture with a very different much more modern protestant influenced form of music.

[mspinchey]

All Greek Orthodox choirs should be acapella. They only use an organ when the choir has pitch discrimination problems.

[apostolosk]

This Cherubic Hymn was NOT composed by Nicholas Roubanis. It is found in George Anastassiou's choir hymnal (p. 29) and titled "The Hymn of the Angels" (Russian Cheruvikon). It was dedicated to George Anastassiou by Nicholas Karlash, who is undoubtedly the composer.

I read the arguments regarding instruments in the church and, in fact, this is true. The tradition of the Church has been that the ONLY instrument allowed in the Church during worship is the human voice.