Sheehan: Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Sheehan: Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 14, 2020

Cappella Romana: Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia was one of the nicer surprises to show up in my review queue last year, and it in fact ended up on my Top 10 list for 2019. Cappella Romana, courtesy of its label Cappella Records if not the actual vocal group itself, is back with another interesting combo Blu-ray and CD release which offers the Saint Tikhon Choir in a performance of Benedict Sheehan’s Liturgy of Saint John Chrysotom. Though based in Pennsylvania, Sheehan has a long history with Portland’s Cappella Romana, having conducted celebrated performances of Rachmaninoff’s All Night Vigil and had his own work performed by the choir. Sheehan is obviously in tune (no pun intended) with Cappella Romana’s frequent emphasis on so-called “Byzantine” music, and indeed the titular liturgy is cited as being considered one of the most holy rites in the Eastern Orthodox church.

Though obviously a contemporary setting, Sheehan's approach certainly harkens back to longstanding choral traditions in Russia and environs, and as such, there's often a dark, almost foreboding, ambience to some of the massed lower sonorities he exploits. Sheehan gets into some of his aims in a very interesting essay included in the insert booklet, where he discusses that the commission he received for this piece stipulated that he compose a Liturgy in English, but in the "Russian style," with Sheehan explicitly referencing Rachmaninoff, Gretchaninoff and Tchaikovsky as particular inspirations. If the underlying foundational element here is the shrouded somber aspect of the Russian soul, as Sheehan also gets into in his essay, he works in a number of other traditions, including minimalism and an American folksong feeling. The result is surprisingly homogeneous, with some really gorgeously burnished choral moments.

Sheehan: Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Much as with Cappella Romana: Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia, while this is in essence an audio Blu-ray, it does have a video element, as outlined in the Supplements section below. The first two, shorter, pieces have overall better looking video, some of which may be attributable to the progressive vs. interlaced presentations. But it looks like the Complete Liturgy was captured with a variety of different cameras, some of which don't appear to be at the same resolution as others, and occasional shots have noticeable macroblocking and general fuzziness, along with some combing artifacts. Note that the Complete Liturgy is authored without any chapter stops, so it's "all or nothing".

Sheehan: Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Both of the DTS-HD Master Audio tracks on this release (in 5.1 and 2.0) offer sterling fidelity and solid renderings of the singing across all frequency ranges. The surround mix here may not have quite the gorgeous ambience of the "specially constructed" aural soundstage that was created for Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia (see my review for more information in that regard), but it does offer an often sumptuously spacious accounting of the score. Despite some of the massed voices, there's distinct "breathing room" in the surround track that offers detailed separation and clear accounts of both horizontal and vertical structures.

Sheehan: Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Cherubic Hymn (1080p; 8:05) is a world premiere performance from May 26, 2019, and is presented with LPCM 2.0 audio.


• Communion Hymn (1080p; 7:14) is a world premiere performance from May 26, 2019, based on Psalm 148, and is presented with LPCM 2.0 audio.


• Complete Liturgy (1080i; 2:08:12) features the liturgical premiere from October 20, 2019, and offers both the ritual in the main church hall along with the choir in what looks like a loft. This is presented with LPCM 2.0 audio.

The well appointed insert booklet contains an essay by Benedict Sheehan, information on the Saint Tikhon Choir, biographies of the soloists, the text of the Liturgy, and a sweet remembrance of what I'm assuming was Sheehan's father.

Sheehan: Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The music on the Blu-ray disc is varied and moving, and Sheehan (who also conducts) elicits a really commendable blend, especially in some of his close harmonies. The added bonus of being able to see the accompanying ritual on the video is a nice extra, though the video quality itself is a bit variable. Audio on the Blu-ray disc is top notch, and while this may in fact appeal mostly to those with an interest in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, it should still be enjoyed generally by lovers of well wrought choral music, regardless of whether or not they have this, or indeed any, religious belief. Recommended.