Hymnes de l'Église Orthodoxe

Description

Born of the preaching of Saint Mark in Alexandria, the Coptic Orthodox Church carries within it the memory of a prestigious civilization, that of ancient Egypt. Accompanied by this aura of mysticism, the music of the Coptic rite has long preoccupied orientalists and other travelers, convinced that this millennia-old musical tradition was born from the bosom of pharaonic Egypt and remained unchanged for centuries. As in many other Eastern Churches, the Coptic liturgy is almost entirely sung by the priest, the deacons, and the cantor. This album offers an overview of the solemn hymns sung at Sunday Mass and during major feasts, generally in Coptic, the liturgical language derived from ancient Egyptian. These are prayers or psalms, supplemented by long and learned vocalises and sometimes accompanied by the pulse of a triangle and the alternating strikes and friction of a pair of cymbals to galvanize the singers.