Cappella Romana - Lay Aside All Earthly Cares: Orthodox Choral Works in English (2020)

This exhilarating and top-selling recording of sacred choral music, “Lay Aside all Earthly Cares,” represents the pioneering musical and pastoral work of Father Sergei Glagolev (b. 1927) to use English in Orthodox services. Hear the spirit of the Russian choral tradition in English. The CD booklet features an important essay on liturgical composition by Father Sergei as well as complete texts of the musical selections. Listeners will hear Father Sergei's mellifluous voice singing the priest's lines on this CD in perfect balance with the inspiring voices of Cappella Romana.

“The Spirit of the Russian Sound–in English” Destined to be a devotional classic, Cappella Romana’s release, Lay Aside All Earthly Cares, features Russian-styled choral works in English by the visionary priest, composer, and teacher Father Sergei Glagolev (b. 1927). These works can be considered seminal in the liturgical repertoire of American Orthodoxy.

Drawing upon a variety of stylistic idioms, from Russian znamenny and common chant, to Byzantine chant, to the works of Chesnokov and Gretchaninoff, Fr. Sergei Glagolev creates choral settings that employ the sound and cadence of the English language as their starting point. This recording is made possible by a generous grant from the Virginia H. Farah Foundation.