Kants of Great Lent

The sacred kant is a genre of Orthodox para-liturgical devotional songs that became popular in the 17th century. Originally they arose in Southwestern Rus’ (now Ukraine), most likely under Polish Catholic influence. The simple, strophic melodies, harmonized quite simply (parallel thirds with a bass part) eventually spread northward to Muscovy, and became a musical model for harmonizing liturgical chants as well, especially in monasteries. Sacred kants abounded in great numbers, covering all the major feast-days and seasons of the Orthodox liturgical year. Nowadays, many of them have been forgotten, though some have survived as well-known Ukrainian Christmas carols. This CD focuses on the themes of Great Lent: the Last Judgment, repentance, forgiveness, etc. Some of the songs are sung in Russian, others in Ukrainian. Although the CD gives no composers’ credits or other explanation about the music, it is likely that most of these devotional songs are more recent compositions by a monastic composer who chose to remain anonymous.  The titles are in Cyrillic only and there are no texts or translations. The singing of the small monastic men’s ensemble is calm and peaceful, and will be enjoyed by listeners who want music that will help quiet the soul and serve as a relief from the fast pace and stresses of modern-day life.