GabrielCremeens
Music Director at St. George, Albuquerque, NM
Good evening everyone,
Attached are 2 doxastika (the Aposticha Doxastikon and the Praises Doxastikon) for the feast of St. Nicholas.
My thoughts about the Aposticha Doxastikon:
I prefer the second beginning (the one on the second page).
Also, I like the second option for "be not silent," where the... silence is more obvious.
My thoughts about the Praises Doxastikon:
There are a lot of spots that could potentially be chromatic. The ones in the original score that are chromatic are:
1) "ye sinners, your advocate"
2) "the present necssity"
However, there are also ways to make the following lines chromatic as well:
1) "terrifying dream"
2) "unjustly shut up in prison"
Even though it's a long piece, I feel like four modulations to the hard chromatic genus is a bit much. So maybe we could pick 2-3 of these spots to modulate in.
The original Greek has the old sticheraric thesis on πρόφθασον ("be swift"). However, to me it seems much more appropriate to put it on the Saint's name. I used the old sticheraric thesis on his name in the score proper, and then included an alternate line at the end that puts it elsewhere. Given the climactic nature of the phrase, though, I think it might be better to have it on "Nicholas" in the English setting.
Comments or improvements welcome!
In Christ,
Gabriel
Attached are 2 doxastika (the Aposticha Doxastikon and the Praises Doxastikon) for the feast of St. Nicholas.
My thoughts about the Aposticha Doxastikon:
I prefer the second beginning (the one on the second page).
Also, I like the second option for "be not silent," where the... silence is more obvious.
My thoughts about the Praises Doxastikon:
There are a lot of spots that could potentially be chromatic. The ones in the original score that are chromatic are:
1) "ye sinners, your advocate"
2) "the present necssity"
However, there are also ways to make the following lines chromatic as well:
1) "terrifying dream"
2) "unjustly shut up in prison"
Even though it's a long piece, I feel like four modulations to the hard chromatic genus is a bit much. So maybe we could pick 2-3 of these spots to modulate in.
The original Greek has the old sticheraric thesis on πρόφθασον ("be swift"). However, to me it seems much more appropriate to put it on the Saint's name. I used the old sticheraric thesis on his name in the score proper, and then included an alternate line at the end that puts it elsewhere. Given the climactic nature of the phrase, though, I think it might be better to have it on "Nicholas" in the English setting.
Comments or improvements welcome!
In Christ,
Gabriel
