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Mykola Dyletsky. «God’s forebear David»

The concerts «God’s forebear David» (3 rd troparion of the 4 th Ode), «Thy boundless compassion» (1 st troparion of the 5 th Ode) and «We feast death’s slaughter» (2 nd troparion of the 7 th Ode) are dedicated to the Easter holiday, their lyrics rest on troparia of the Easter canon of Reverend John of Damascus in the version, common for the Kyiv Metropolitanate. The pieces are accepted as one cycle, since they are close by the subject, choral set (descant–descant–bass–bass, descant–descant–descant–bass) and musical material.

Similarly to the other Easter concerts, in the «God’s forebear David» Dyletsky resorts to colouristic effects, adapted to temple acoustics: multiple repetition of melodic phrases («dancing leaped», «rejoice the divine rejoicing») slow down and enlarge the harmonic structure of the pieces. Extensive descending and ascending canonical sequences that encompass more than an octave («Christ hath risen as almighty») impart a wide breath to the piece, producing a monumental musical fresco of the bright holiday of Resurrection of Christ.

English translation

God’s forebear David,
dancing, leaped
before the Ark, mere shadow,
but seeing the fulfilment of the symbols,
let us, o God’s holy people,
rejoice the divine rejoicing,
for Christ hath risen
as almighty.

Translation based on the texts used by the Church of Antioch in the United Kingdom and the Church of Antioch in the United States

Original text

Богоотец убо Давид
пред сѣнным ковчегом
скакаше, играя,
людие же Божии святии
образом событие зряще,
веселимся божественнѣ,
яко воскресе Христос,
яко всесилен.

Paschal canon of St. John of Damascus Ode IV, 3 rd troparion

Track list

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