Newly Composed Liturgical Melodies
I am an Orthodox Christian based in London, UK, and a member of several Orthodox communities in the city: the Antiochian and Macedonian parishes, as well as the Deanery of Great Britain and Ireland, within the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain.
On this website, I share original melodies for existing Orthodox liturgical texts, rather than new texts of my own. In composing them, I try to bring together elements from three major Orthodox musical traditions—Russian (Obikhod/Znamenny), Greek (Byzantine), and English liturgical choral music.
The chants are presented in two formats: standard notation (simplified Obikhod style, with melody and ison only) and pointed notation (see the Digital Pointed Notation Guide).
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From Obikhod, I take the practice of cycling through two or three melodies per tone across the verses, before concluding with a final cadenza melody.
From the Byzantine and Znamenny traditions, I adopt two-voice singing—an ison (drone bass) supporting the main melody. Occasionally a composition may include two voices singing in thirds, but this is the exception rather than the rule.
From English choral music, I take my rhythmic approach—the way the words are placed within the melody so that their natural stresses are respected and the text remains clear to the ear. From works such as the Cambridge choir's settings of the Psalms of David, I also draw a sense of mystery and reverence.
These are the structural principles behind my compositions. When writing the actual melodies, I am guided first by the content of the text, and then by its natural rhythm in English.
Although I was baptised in Greece as a child, I grew up in socialist, officially atheist Yugoslavia. I began to rediscover Orthodoxy as an adult, initially through theological reading. Writers such as Alexander Schmemann consistently pointed back to the services of the Church, insisting that all theology is contained there. It was not until I began organising Children's Vespers that I truly grasped what this meant. I was mesmerised by the depth of the liturgical texts.
It took me many years to realise that, as beautiful as Russian and Greek chant traditions are, they were composed for other languages. Even when sung in English, it can be difficult to follow the words, let alone meditate on them.
So my vision became this: to compose melodies that serve and illuminate the liturgical texts, especially at Vespers. I am still learning along this path, but I feel deeply that I am pursuing something truthful and genuinely needed.
To gain initial reactions and feedback, I have consulted a priest and several choir leaders within the Deanery of Great Britain and Ireland, a priest at the Monastery of St John the Baptist in Essex, a priest from the Deanery UK, and a priest of the Antiochian Church in Britain.
You can see a listing of all original melodies here.