Father Ephraim of St. Nektarios, Roscoe, NY

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to share the following recordings... I was just at St. Nektarios Monastery in Roscoe, NY, and heard Fr. Ephraim chant at several of the services. I thought some people might be interested...

Here's what I have found online, via St. Anthony's Monastery bookstore website:

http://www.stanthonysmonastery.org/downloads/DivLiturgyCD_sample.wma

(Or go here: http://www.stanthonysmonastery.org/ccp6/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=2STNEK01)

http://www.stanthonysmonastery.org/downloads/PresanLiturgy.wma

(Or go here: http://www.stanthonysmonastery.org/ccp6/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=2PRESLITURGY)

Having heard all three CDs from St. Nektarios, I must say that the Presanctified Gifts Liturgy CD is my favorite, but the others are good, also.

I have a recording on the computer as well, of Fr. Ephraim chanting the Hatziathansiou Axion Estin in pl. 1st mode (Phrygian, I think). If anyone's interested, I'll upload it. (It's not from any CD; I recorded it in the trapeza there at the monastery, when Fr. Ephraim chanted it for a friend of mine.)

Also, regarding their CDs... I can't upload, due to copyrights and stuff, but has anyone listened to the Presantified Gifts Liturgy CD and heard a couple of the tracks where it sounds like a couple of the other monks are singing a "non-unison" ison? I.e. it sounds as if a couple of the monks are singing some interval below the regular ison... like a third or a fifth or something. It's an interesting sound, but, if I understand correctly, such a practice is outside the realm of traditional Byzantine chant? The closest thing I can think of is transcriptions and arrangements from HTM which notate an ison in octaves, in which the upper octave occasionally goes into unison with the melody, and the lower octave continues to hold a note. Occasionally, I've also seen an ison which is notated as not being in unison (Mr. Basil, I think you sent me one of these once, the Axion Estin from Simonopetra in Pl. 4th mode).

TimGabe1992 said:

It's an interesting sound, but, if I understand correctly, such a practice is outside the realm of traditional Byzantine chant?

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For more information on this issue, see the detailed discussion of isokratema on analogion.com.

TimGabe1992 said:

I have a recording on the computer as well, of Fr. Ephraim chanting the Hatziathansiou Axion Estin in pl. 1st mode (Phrygian, I think). If anyone's interested, I'll upload it. (It's not from any CD; I recorded it in the trapeza there at the monastery, when Fr. Ephraim chanted it for a friend of mine.)

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Could you upload this one? I'd like to hear it.

phokaeus said:

Could you upload this one? I'd like to hear it.

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Please pardon the telephone in the background at first; we were in the trapeza when Fr. Ephraim recorded this for me and my friend.

hi there im new here and thought i say hello.I love this site and have foundmany beautiful recordings..i thought id share the answer you may have been searching for ..or may have found.Basically when holding ison for the chanter what i heard in the track is that they have held ison on octave lower than the chanter. and one or 2 of the isons may have sounded astray but are really holding the ison in the normal octave which does sound cool it makes it more colourful this way..lol

I hope this helps with your question..

nikolaos333 said:

hi there im new here and thought i say hello.I love this site and have foundmany beautiful recordings..i thought id share the answer you may have been searching for ..or may have found.Basically when holding ison for the chanter what i heard in the track is that they have held ison on octave lower than the chanter. and one or 2 of the isons may have sounded astray but are really holding the ison in the normal octave which does sound cool it makes it more colourful this way..lol

I hope this helps with your question..

Click to expand...

It's definitely not an octave... the resonance of a fourth or a fifth is too distinct a sound to be mistaken for that. Fr. Ephraim does, indeed, sometimes have the monks hold double ison (for instance, a Pa and a Di; or a Pa and a Ke), instead of just the normal single note, or even an octave. I've never asked him why, though.