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Orientale lumen - Light of the East. The title of the encyclical of St John Paul II was borrowed by the Saint Ephraim Male Choir for their concert series in St Stephen's Basilica, launched in December 2012. Already in its first season, the series was highly successful and instantly embraced by the audience; thousands wanted to listen to the "vocal pieties" encompassing the unusually broad repertoire of Byzantine liturgical music. BMC Records released a compilation CD for Christmas 2013, featuring memorable moments from the second season of Orientale lumen. During its second and third seasons Orientale lumen grew to be one of the most popular church music events in Budapest: both professionals and choral music lovers have spoken highly of it. The Saint Ephraim Male Choir has continued to invite internationally renowned artists to perform at the concerts: the series hosted the Hungarian début of Soeur Marie Keyrouz, Nektaria Karantzi, Dragoslav Pavle Aksentijević and Barilli Women's Choir. Also, after a ten-year hiatus the Russian Patriarchate Choir of Moscow returned to Hungary to perform together with the Saint Ephraim Choir, and nor should we overlook the magnificent performances by Márta Sebestyén, Tünde Szabóki, Bishop Fülöp Kocsis and Anatoly Fokanov - all of whom were guest performers in the series. Two classic Russian pieces were also presented: Saint Ephraim Male Choir was expanded to a mixed choir with the help of the Schola Cantorum Budapestiensis and the NIKA Chamber Choir to perform Tchaikovsky's Divine Liturgy and Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil. Bulgarian, Greek, Hungarian, Russian, Ruthenian, Serbian, and Ukrainian prayers can be heard on the recording, conveying and representing the religious sentiments from numerous decades, of various nations and diverse peoples to the audience in St Stephen's Basilica, who sometimes also participate in the joint prayers. This compilation ventures to convey this quite unique milieu.

Track Listing

Press Quotes

Magnificent. This is folk art at the highest refinement of the expression, combining early and modern liturgical compositions from the Greater Russian tradition with Greek-Byzantine hymns and paraliturgical songs with Moldavian religious songs, Bulgarian and Demestvenny material. (...) The whole package combines ritual and performance in an entirely logical way. (...) One of the choral records of the year.

     —Brian Morton, Choir & Organ, November 2015