Many recordings of Western church music attempt to place compositions in their liturgical context, but for Russian Orthodox compositions, the art is in its infancy. Conductor and the choir get the ball rolling here with probably the most unusual version of the , on the market. 's musical movements alternate with Byzantine chant, sung by vocalist , who has studied Byzantine chant and also recorded music of . There's quite a shift between his singing and the choral movements, and one wonders why music from parts geographically closer to wasn't used, but the contrast between the stark sound of the chant and 's settings, here done in an especially lush way, is striking, and listeners may find it worth the tradeoff. also fools with 's own musical text (sample the "O come, let us worship" movement at the beginning) in search of heightened musical effect, and here too, listeners must make their own judgments. Few, however, will dispute that the album is beautifully recorded and that is an impressive choral conductor. ~ James Manheim