O Gladsome Light

O Gladsome Light

Artist: Eikona
Item number: AB003
Category: Byzantine
Chant Type: Byzantine
Language: English
Label: Eikona
Period: Contemporary
Length: not published
Release date: 1996
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Price: $16.00 USD
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You may need RealPlayer or Windows Media Player to listen to the music samples below.

1. Introductory Prayer

2. Psalm 57

3. Let The Children Come

4. Left to Dry

5. Crown Them

6. The Covenant

7. Prayer (Reprise)

8. O Lord of The Powers

9. Body Of Christ

10. Let My Prayer Arise

11. O Theotokos

12. O Gladsome Light

13. Thrice-Holy Hymn


The purpose of this recording is two-fold. Through our contemporary Christian songs, we wish to address issues and values which our current age is avoiding and abandoning. Music is a powerful medium, and all too often the lyrics in today's songs lead us away from God rather than lead us towards God. By including a selection of hymns of the Church, we hope to encourage our listeners to be that which we are meant to be: worshippers of the living God. Our Orthodox Christian Faith teaches us that when we gather as the body of Christ in liturgical song and prayer, we manifest the reality of the eternal and unceasing worship of God in Heaven.

By: Fr. Apostolos Hill

Since an entirely different review criteria is required to judge the contemporary selections on this CD, I will limit my comments to the 2nd-half of the work. The beautiful blend of the Eikona sisters comes through on this their first project. The Byzantine selections included are a type of best-loved hymns and will be immediately familiar to Orthodox listeners. Lacking on this project as compared to their later works is the technical consistency and attention to the detail of Byzantine hymnology that now typifies Eikona's efforts. Still, their renderings of the traditional hymns serve as a very accessible introduction to Byzantine music and should be included in the discographies of those interested in pursuing the study of this art form. Of particular note is the piece O Gladsome Light which precisely fits the music and metre of the Greek original.