Sacred Suite

Description

The idea for Sacred Suite came to me quite a long time ago. Upon arrival in the USA, I began to compose vocal choral music based on biblical texts while working as a choir director and organist in churches. The music and texts at church services were Catholic or Protestant. However, coming from a country where the Russian Orthodox Church was dominant, I combined both Catholic and Orthodox choral traditions in creating my music. Having fallen in love with the sound of flutes and flute choirs, I realized that the flute as an instrument is very close to the human voice, and that vocal choral works can be beautifully arranged for performance by flute choirs. Sacred Suite consists of four parts, three of which were written under the influence of biblical texts, specifically those texts that are found in Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox bibles. The first part, “The First Prayer: Beatitudes” was inspired by Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. The second part, “The Second Prayer: Our Father” was inspired by the main prayer of Christian believers. The fourth part, “Cherubic Hymn,” has three sections, in the Orthodox tradition. Finally, the third part, “Eternal Music,” is dedicated to the memory of my first composition teacher. This part is the plainest in language and resembles a simple church hymn. In other parts I use interweaving voices, many canons, imitations, but no particularly complex polyphonic techniques, so that this music could be played by flute choirs of any level. In my music, I tried to show serenity and calm, gravity, human reflections, beauty, a certain detachment from worldly vanity, as well as prayerful appeals to God. The Sacred Suite ends on a bright and optimistic Alleluia.