You simply have to love! With love, your life will become meaningful, everything around you (flowers, stones, birds and the sea) will make you happy and preach God’s love. You simply have to love! You should find this precious feeling inside your soul and never judge or be envious or be depressed. Show love to all those people whom God sends to you on your way. You simply have to love! Is it that simple? Oh, how hard it is! Sometimes it is even impossible for us sinners. However, the Lord comforts us by showing the examples of how the Mother of God, the saints and ordinary people, monks and lay people could truly love, believe and repent. This is what the selection of songs on this disc attempts to convey. (by Nun Juliania Denisova)
This new album is unique because both choirs of St Elisabeth Convent, i.e., the monastic choir and the festive choir, sing together. The monastic sisters lead the chant in two or three voices while the festive choir provides a backup by imitating the sound of a harp or a guitar, typical of this genre.
St Elisabeth Convent in Minsk
This disc features a variety of styles: from the Slavic folklore (‘Oh, went and passed’ and ‘Leech in the Water’) and Tchaikovsky’s music (‘The Crown of Thorns’ (‘When Jesus Christ Was Yet A Child’)) to music created by our contemporaries – Hieromonk Roman (‘Hail, O Bride Unwedded’), Archdeacon Roman (‘God Have Mercy on Me’), Nun Juliania (Denissova) (‘A Publican’, ‘You Simply Have to Love’, words by Archpriest Andrew Logvinov). All songs were treated by one and the same author, the precentor of St Elisabeth Convent Nun Juliania, and have one single style, which is why all of them sound like one single whole and are easy to listen to. (by obitel-minsk.by)
St Elisabeth Convent was founded in 1999 on the basis of the Sisterhood of Saint Elisabeth. Currently, there are over 100 nuns in the Convent. Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok has been the spiritual father of the Convent since the very beginning of its existence. Our spiritual beacons, both in the everyday life of the Convent and in the ways we interact with the world, have been SS Martha and Mary Convent founded by Grand Princess Elisabeth in Moscow, as well as St John the Baptist Monastery in Essex, the UK, founded by Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov).
A convent is a family united around God. The members of this family are very different and come from diverse backgrounds, and it is in the convent where they learn to love each other and pray for each other. Through this effort they gradually develop perfect love and prayerful concern for every living being and all humankind.
A convent is also an army, inasmuch as its soldiers must be ready for unconditional obedience to God’s command and for the daily battle against sin, relying on the armour of God.
Oh Lord …
This is religious music and even I don´t believe in God … this is a real beautiful music … it´s like Enya … but without instruments
Personnel:
The Festive Choir of St Elisabeth Convent
The Monastic Choir of St Elisabeth Convent
Tracklist:
01. Всего-то навсего (You Simply Have to Love) (Denisova/Logvinov) 4.45
02. Странник (The Wanderer) (unknown) 1.52
03. Боже, помилуй меня (God, Have Mercy On Me) (unknown) 3.03
04. О, дивный Валаам! (Wondrous Isle Of Valaam!) Poetry by Monk Peter Mikhailov 3.55
05. Храни Господь (God Save You) (Sisters of St Elisabeth Convent) 3.03
06. Вера, Надежда, Любовь (Faith, Hope, Love) (Lepeshinsky) 3.34
07. Радуйся, Невесто Неневестная (Hail, O Bride Unwedded) (Roman) 4.17
08. Был у Христа-Младенца сад (When Jesus Christ Was Yet A Child) (Tschaikowsky/Pleshcheyev) 2.59
09. Марие, Дево Чистая (Agni Parthene) (St Nectarios of Aegina) 6.08
10. Слеза (A Tear) (Denisova) 3.06
11. Три ангела (Three Angels) (Traditional) 3.45
12. Вьюн над водой (Leech In The Water) Traditional) 4.37
13. Мытарь (The Publican) (Denisova/Logvinov) 3.54
14. Нить судьбы (The Thread Of Destiny) (Denisova/Solodovnikov) 2.39
15, Нищая братия (The Poor Brethren) (Traditional) 3.36
ManyFantasticColors 