This episode of "Icons in Sound" celebrates "All the Saints of North America," featuring hymns in honor of such saints as St. Herman of Alaska, St. Innocent, Enlightener of North America, and St. John, the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco. Although this is a relatively recent tradition in the life of the North American Churches, the musical selections, drawn from a variety of chant styles and sung in English, demonstrate that the practice of commemorating the American saints is becoming increasingly widespread. Listen Now (mp3)! or listen below.

Extending this tradition into our present American reality, this week's episode of "Icons in Sound" (No. 013) celebrates "All the Saints of North America," featuring hymns in honor of such saints as St. Herman of Alaska, St. Innocent, Enlightener of North America, and St. John, the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco. Although this is a relatively young tradition, the musical selections, drawn from a variety of chant styles and sung in English, demonstrate that the practice of commemorating the American saints is becoming increasingly widespread.

This week's episode of "Icons in Sound" celebrates "The Sunday of All Saints," presenting a number of hymns in praise of such saints as Equal-to-the-Apostles SS Constantine and Helen, SS Cyril and Methodius, and St. Nino, Enlightener of Georgia; the great Hierarchs St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom; and great women saints, including St. Thekla and St. Elizabeth, Grand Duchess of Russia.

Just as Christ's Apostles were enabled on the Day of Pentecost to proclaim the Gospel in many different languages, so this episode of "Icons in Sound" proclaims the message of the feast in a variety of languages -- Greek, Church Slavonic, and English, and features a variety of musical styles, offering "praise with one voice." Listen Now (mp3)! or listen below:

This program celebrates the great feast of the Ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ -- one of the 12 major feasts of the Church, which is always observed 40 days after Pascha. Listen Now (mp3)! or click below to listen.

This program focuses on one of the most beloved hymns of the Paschal season--the festal Hymn to the Theotokos “The Angel Cried," and features 10 beautiful settings, ranging from chant to choral polyphony, sung in Greek, Church Slavonic, and English. Listen Now (mp3)! or click below to listen:

Why does the style of liturgical singing in some Orthodox churches differ so greatly from that heard in other churches? This is a question that has probably puzzled many newcomers to the Church, perhaps even without their realizing it. Click below to listen:

This program takes an in-depth look at the Paschal Canon "This is the Day of Resurrection," composed in the early 8th century by St. John of Damascus, comparing three recordings that feature very different musical interpretations of the same basic chant melodies.

Listen Now (mp3)! or click below to listen:

This week on Icons in Sound, we listen to two beautiful recordings of Paschal music that showcase the revival of Orthodox sacred music in Russia. Listen Now (mp3)! or listen below.

In this episode of Icons in Sound, Dr. Vladimir Morosan, a leading expert in Orthodox sacred music, focuses on liturgical music in English for Pascha from both the Byzantine and Russian traditions. Listen Now (mp3)! or listen below.