Oh yes, I am familiar with Divna's recording of it. It's abbreviated a bit to keep it CD-track length. she's spectacular, but there are a couple of other recordings I like at least as much, for various reasons, and none of it beats chanting it with other people. It is magical!
This one's very clean-sounding. Some days I like that, and some days I prefer this one, which is more like what it sounds like in a church, with people in it :) They are not world-class chanters, but they are sincere, and in English, and some days that's what I want to hear most.
Agni Parthene is fairly modern, and is not used liturgically.
The Akathist Hymn is also a lengthy hymn to the Theotokos, and is a service we sing during Great Lent. It is like a marathon, and IMO the full experience comes with learning the whole thing and singing it through. It's not as melodically striking as the Agni Parthene, but sometimes I think you can see Her smile during the service.
There's also the Axion Estin which is in the liturgy itself. And I'm fond of "Awed by the Beauty" which we sing during the Nativity. The congregation are huge fans of "O Champion General" (ti ipermaho). I don't think I had ever sat down before and thought about how many hymns we have just to the Theotokos... it's a lot!
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2021-07-13 02:34 am (UTC)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7vvPXz-Qes
This one's very clean-sounding. Some days I like that, and some days I prefer this one, which is more like what it sounds like in a church, with people in it :) They are not world-class chanters, but they are sincere, and in English, and some days that's what I want to hear most.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV_AJlNcEUo
Agni Parthene is fairly modern, and is not used liturgically.
The Akathist Hymn is also a lengthy hymn to the Theotokos, and is a service we sing during Great Lent. It is like a marathon, and IMO the full experience comes with learning the whole thing and singing it through. It's not as melodically striking as the Agni Parthene, but sometimes I think you can see Her smile during the service.
There's also the Axion Estin which is in the liturgy itself. And I'm fond of "Awed by the Beauty" which we sing during the Nativity. The congregation are huge fans of "O Champion General" (ti ipermaho). I don't think I had ever sat down before and thought about how many hymns we have just to the Theotokos... it's a lot!