Cappella Romana

Cappella Romana is a vocal ensemble founded in 1991 in Portland, Oregon. Its name, meaning "Roman Chapel", refers to the medieval Greek concept of the Roman oikoumene (inhabited world), which embraced Rome and Western Europe, as well as the Byzantine Empire of Constantinople ("New Rome") and its Slavic commonwealth centered at Moscow.^[1] It has become especially known for its exploration of Eastern Orthodox vocal music. It has collaborated with notable museum exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art ^[2] in New York and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

In 2010 it became a participant in the research project ‘Icons of Sound: Aesthetics and Acoustics of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul’, a collaboration between Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) and Department of Art & Art History.^[3] Cappella Romana completed a residency at Stanford again in 2013, which included further experiments with CCRMA, lecture demonstrations, and a live performance in Stanford’s new Bing Hall, featuring a medieval Byzantine chant sung in the virtual acoustic of Hagia Sophia before a sold-out audience.^[4]

The ensemble is directed by Alexander Lingas,^[5] a musicologist of Byzantine music at City University, London. Guest artists with similar interests regularly appear with the ensemble, including Ioannis Arvanitis, Peter Jermihov, Stelios Kontakiotis, Ivan Moody, and Vladimir Morosan.

It has pioneered the performance of Medieval Byzantine chant and contemporary works related to the Byzantine tradition.

Discography

• 2012 — Angelic Light: Music from Eastern Cathedrals (Valley Entertainment)^[6]
• 2011 — Mt. Sinai: Frontier of Byzantium^[7]
• 2011 — Choral Settings of Kassiani
• 2009 — Peter Michaelides: The Divine Liturgy
• 2009 — Byzantium in Rome: Medieval Byzantine Chant from Grottaferrata
• 2009 — Byzantium: 330-1453 (Royal Academy of Arts)
• 2008 — Kontakion on the Nativity of Christ
• 2008 — The Divine Liturgy in English in Byzantine Chant
• 2006 — The Fall of Constantinople
• 2005 — Epiphany: Medieval Byzantine Chant
• 2005 — Lay Aside All Earthly Cares: Orthodox Choral Works in English
• 2004 — Music of Byzantium (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
• 2003 — The Akáthistos Hymn by Ivan Moody
• 2000 — When Augustus Reigned: Christmas Music from the Byzantine Tradition
• 2000 — Tikey Zes Choral Works

See also

• Eastern Orthodox Church
• Byzantine Music
• Cherubikon
• Gregorian Chant
• Fall of Constantinople

References

1. Cappella Romana
2. Music of Greece CD - The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Met Museum Store
6. "Angelic Light: Music from Eastern Cathedrals". Valley Entertainment. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
7. "Recordings". Cappella Romana. Retrieved 23 March 2012.

External links

• Cappella Romana homepage