The beautiful Sacred Treasures: Choral Masterpieces From Russia assembles a variety of performances from Russian and Bulgarian choirs interpreting the music of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Sung by the finest Russian and Bulgarian choirs, this extraordinary collection of transcendent prayers and hymns highlights a timeless Russian tradition of faith and devotion. For sheer beauty, there is little to match it anywhere in the world. The solemn ecstasy in the music of the Russian Orthodox Church can trace its roots back to the earliest days of Christian worship, via the great Byzantine Empire of the Near East. It presents an uncompromising search for peaks and depths of expressive fervor, aloof from all gimmicks. That was true of the music's multi-cultural roots as monastic chant, and was maintained as it evolved into full choral harmony in the late Romantic period.

Produced by Ellen Holmes - following upon her much-loved 1987 Hearts of Space radio show “Music from a Russian Cathedral”.

2-HOS-11109

Credits

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Leva R. Hill
A&R Stephen Hill
MASTERING Bob Olhsson and Stephen Hill
at Hearts of Space, Sausalito, California
ART DIRECTION Stephen Hill
DESIGN Stephen Hill and Jeremy Hulette
ICONS Andrew Davis, Russian House Ltd, NYC
SPECIAL THANKS to Robin Landscadel for
technical assistance extraordinaire, Daniel Reidy
for keeping it together, Charles Amirkhanian,
Mary Berg, Stephen Hill, Dawn Nagengast, and
Anna Turner at KPFA Radio, 1985, for helping
me get started, Holy Virgin Cathedral, San
Francisco for inspiration, and to Special Angels
for many gifts along the way.