This year’s SEM concert, in the context of the 5th Beirut Chants Festival of Sacred Music, will feature a world premiere Byzantine Oratorio for the Nativity, the first of its kind in Byzantine music, inspired from the liturgical dialogue of the Virgin Mary and the angel Gabriel on the day of the Annunciation. Special guest Fotis Ketsetzis will be the hosted Protpsaltis of the Oratorio.
The text of the Oratorio is a compilation done by Jospeh Yazbeck comprised of centennial texts arranged to form several dialogues between the Virgin Mary, Jesus, the Magi and St. Jospeh, pertaining specifically to the Nativity. The aim was to breathe new life into these texts making them accessible audiences while maintain the texts original meaning and deep spiritual connotations.
Musically this translated into a composition true to the Byzantine ecclesiastic musical tradition, with melodic continuity and solo alternations representing the different characters, forming a complete musical scene of the Nativity.
Oratorio compilation by Joseph Yazbek
كاتدرائية القديس جاورجيوس – وسط بيروت
الجمعة – 14 كانون الاول 2012
الساعة الثامنة مساء