St. Vladimir’s Seminary Male Choir rehearsing for a concert last November. Selections from this and one other concert will be made available on a forthcoming album from SVS Press!

She who was preordained to be the Queen of all and the habitation of God has come forth today from the barren womb of joyful Ann. She is the divine sanctuary of the eternal essence. Through her, cruel hell has been trampled underfoot, and Eve, with all her line, is established secure in life. It is meet and right that we should cry aloud to her: blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!

“She who was Preordained”: a Hymn for Our Lady’s Birthday, Kievan Chant, Tone Two, harm. Hdn. Herman

Stichera at Vespers for the Feast of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God, Oct 1, 2013, sung by the St. Vladimir's Seminary Octet. Tone 1, podoben: “O Marvellous Wonder.”

Hymns for the Protection of the Mother of God

Stichera at Vespers for the Feast of the Apostle Andrew, sung at Three Hierarchs' Chapel, St. Vladimir's Seminary, St. Andrew's Day 2012. 

Tone four, prosomion: "Called from on high," arr. by Hierodeacon Herman

Image: Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, Chora Church, Constantinople

St. Andrew Vespers 2012 Stichera

St. Damascene Male Choir at St. Vladimir's Seminary, singing stichera at the Presanctified Liturgy on Holy Wednesday, 2014.
Keivan Chant, tone six.

Stichera for Holy Wednesday

Stichera from the Vespers of St. Nicholas (recorded as sung during Communion at Divine Liturgy, 7 December 2014 at St. Vladimir's Seminary); Tone two, podoben, "With what Garlands of Praise," harm. Nicholas Reeves, arr. Hierodeacon Herman

Stichera to St. Nicholas

When Augustus reigned alone upon earth, the many kingdoms of men came to end: and when thou wast made flesh of the pure Virgin, the many gods of idolatry were destroyed. The cities of the world passed under one single rule; and the nations came to believe in one sovereign Godhead. The peoples were enrolled by the decree of Caesar; and we, the faithful, were enrolled in the Name of the Godhead, when thou, our God, wast made man. Great is thy mercy: O Lord, glory to thee.
—Doxasticon of Christmas, by St. Cassia the Nun
Znamenny Chant, tone two, sung by the SVS male choir, 24 December 2014.

Image: Enrollment for Taxation in Bethlehem, moasaic, Chora Church, Constantinople

When Augustus Reigned: A Hymn for Christmas

St. Vladimir's Seminary Male Choir, dir. Hdn. Herman (Majkrzak)
Stichera at the Praises, Matins of Meatfare Saturday, the Commemoration of All the Dead. Common Chant, tone eight.

Come, brethren, before the end,
and let us all look upon our clay,
upon the infirmity and meanness of our nature.
Let us behold our end,
and the organs of the vessel of our flesh.
Let us see that man is dust, food for worms, and corruption;
that our bones grow dry,
and have no breath of life within them.
Let us gaze on the tombs.
Where is man’s glory? Where his outward beauty?
Where is the eloquent tongue?
Where the noble brow, and where the eye?
All is dust and shadow. 
Therefore, Savior, spare us all.

Why does man deceive himself and boast?
Why does he trouble himself in vain?
For he is earth, and soon to the earth he will return.
Why does the dust not reflect  
that it is formed from clay,
and cast out as rottenness and corruption?
Yet though we men are clay,
why do we cling so closely to the earth?
For if we are Christ’s kindred, should we not run to him,
leaving all this mortal and fleeting life,
and seeking the life incorruptible, 
which is Christ himself, the illumination of our souls?

Thou hast formed Adam  
with thy hand, O Savior,
and set him on the border between incorruption and mortality;
thou hast made him share in life through grace,
freeing him from corruption 
and translating him to the life that he enjoyed at first.
Give rest, O Master, to thy servants thou hast taken from us;
may they dwell with the righteous in the choir of thine elect;
write their names in the book of life;
raise them with the sound of the Archangel’s trump, 
and count them worthy of thy heavenly Kingdom.

Christ is risen,
releasing from bondage Adam the first-formed man  
and destroying the power of hell.
Be of good courage, all ye dead,
for death is slain and hell despoiled;
the crucified and risen Christ is King.
He has given incorruption to our flesh;
he raises us and grants us resurrection,
and he counts worthy of his joy and glory  
all who, with a faith that wavers not, 
have trusted fervently in him.

Meatfare Saturday Praises

Matins of Holy Thursday, Canon, ode nine:

Come, O faithful, let us enjoy the Master’s hospitality, the banquet of immortality, in the upper chamber with uplifted minds. Let us receive the exalted words of the Word, whom we magnify.

Lesser Znamenny Chant, tone six.

St. Vladimir's Seminary Male Choir, April 8th, 2015

Come, O Faithful: A Hymn for Holy Thursday

The kontakion of the Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete.
Arr. Nicholas Custer

Sung by the Male Choir of St. Vladimir's Seminary, Yonkers, New York, during the First Week of Great Lent, 2015. Hierodeacon Herman, directing

My soul, my soul, rise up! Why art thou sleeping? The end draws near, and soon thou shalt be troubled. Watch, then, that Christ thy God may spare thee. For he is everywhere present, and fills all things.

My soul, my soul, rise up!

Aposticha Stichera at Vespers for the Feast of Saint Andrew.
Russian Chant, Tone five: “Rejoice, life-bearing Cross“ harm. Archimandrite Matfei (Mormil); arr. Hierodeacon Herman (Majkrzak)

Recorded live at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, at Great Vespers, November 29, 2012.

Rejoice, O spiritual heaven, for you always declare the glory of God; you were the first to obey Christ fervently when he called you, and the first to join him without hesitation. Set aflame by him, you were seen as a secondary light, and you enlightened those in darkness with your lightning flashes, perfectly imitating his goodness. We therefore keep your all-holy feast, and with great joy we venerate the shrine of your relics, from which you pour forth salvation to those who ask, and great mercy.

V. Their proclamation has gone out into all the earth : and their words to the ends of the universe. (Ps. 18:4)

O godly-wise Andrew, after finding the first of things to be desired: him, who through his compassion, was clothed in our nature, and with ardent longing, you were intimately united to him, and you called out to your brother Peter, “we have found him whom the prophets preached in the Spirit: Come, and with his beauties, let us enchant both our soul and our mind, so that, guided by the light of his radiance, we may dispel the night of deceit and the darkness of ignorance, praising Christ who grants the world great mercy.”

V. The heavens are telling the glory of God : and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. (Ps. 18:1)

O honored Apostle, the nations that did not know God, you saved with the net of your words, as from the depths of ignorance. And as in Habakkuk’s vision, you plainly troubled the salt seas, appearing as a noble steed of him who is Master of the seas. You also dried up the decay of godlessness, casting your wisdom, as precious salt; and at this, O glorious Apostle, they were truly amazed, who without shame held wisdom made foolish, and did not know Christ, who grants the world great mercy.

V. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

In hymns let us honor Andrew the Apostle, the brother of Peter and disciple of Christ, the catcher of fish and the fisher of men, for by his dogmas, he has instructed all men in the teachings of Jesus, and his flesh he offered to lawless men as bait to fish, and caught them in his net. At his intercessions, O Christ, grant your people peace and great mercy.

V. Now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Tell us, O Joseph, how is it that you lead to Bethlehem, great with child, the maiden whom you received from the Holy of Holies? “I have searched the Scriptures,” he says, “and have been answered by an angel. I have come to believe that Mary will give birth to God in a manner that cannot be explained. Magi will come from the east to bow before him, worshiping him with precious gifts.” O Lord, who became flesh for our sake, glory to thee!

Image: Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, Chora Church, Constantinople



St. Andrew Vespers Aposticha

Troparia of Holy Saturday sung at Matins of Holy Saturday, 2015, at St. Vladimir's Seminary

The Noble Joseph, when he had taken down thy most pure Body from the tree, wrapped it in fine linen and anointed it with spices,  and placed it in a new tomb.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

When thou didst descent to death, O Life immortal, thou didst slay hell with the splendor of thy Godhead. And when from the depths thou didst raise the dead, all the powers of heaven cried out: O Lord and Giver of life, glory to thee!

Now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

The angel came to the myrrh-bearing woman at the tomb and said: ‘Myrrh is meet for the dead; but Christ has shown himself a stranger to corruption!

Troparia of Holy Saturday

7th Sunday of Pascha 2015, Gospel and Sermon

Hieromonk Herman chants the Gospel for the Sunday before Christmas (St. Matthew 1:1–25) with careful attention to the established American English pronunciation of all those names in the genealogy! (This is the NKJV translation, but the same form of the names are used in the RSV and [mostly] in the Holoviak's KJV Gospel.)

HDHerman

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