Choral masterpieces such as Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All-night Vigil are undeniably gorgeous, and can play an important evangelistic role in...

In most American Orthodox parishes, the Lord's Prayer concludes with the phrase, "...but deliver us from the evil one." However, we...

"Alleluia" (sometimes spelled "Hallelujah") is Hebrew for "praise the Lord" (literally, "praise Yahweh"). This term appears frequently in...

At the Divine Liturgy, why does It is Truly Meet occasionally get replaced with something else? At the Divine Liturgy of St. John...

A troparion (sometimes shortened to tropar; pl. troparia), is the primary hymn of a day, saint, feast or other commemoration. On each...

It does change every week. Clergy Communion is the only point in any Orthodox service where the choir director has a large degree of...

Why don't all Orthodox choirs use Byzantine chant, which is the original chant of the Church? This is a vast topic more appropriate for a...

Orthodox liturgical music operates in a system of eight tones; most hymn texts are designated to be sung in one of them. The eight-tone...

A prokeimenon (Greek for "what is set forth") is a short series of Psalm verses that precedes a Scripture reading. At the Sunday Divine...

Having the tones memorized is a great start, but that's precisely what it is: a start. In the Orthodox tradition, the melodies serve the...

The Psalter contains many references to artificial instruments, especially stringed instruments such as the lyre and psaltery (Ps. 56:9,...

Choral Corner is a series of short articles written for my parish bulletin, with the goal of helping everyone understand what the choir...