St. Tikhon’s Monastery Reaches Out into the Culture through Sacred Music

The recent release of the CD Till Morn Eternal Breaks marks a number of laudable firsts: First and foremost, it is the debut CD comprised almost entirely of the choral works of American Orthodox composer Benedict Sheehan (b.1980), a gifted musician who has something important to say in ways that are both traditional and innovative. Second, it is the debut CD of the Chamber Choir of St. Tikhon’s Monastery, the first professional vocal ensemble to have been formed under the auspices of St. Tikhon’s Monastery in Pennsylvania, America’s oldest Orthodox monastery. These two factors alone make the appearance of this CD a welcome event upon the landscape of American Orthodox sacred music, which, as some recent articles have observed, does not often offer a picture of optimism.

The creation of new works presents Orthodox artists in North America and in other countries where the Orthodox Christian faith is a small minority with both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge lies in the fact that one must create within well-defined, traditional norms that are often at odds with the surrounding culture and thus require a sacrificial ascetic effort on the part of the artist to remain within those norms. But the fact that the cultural milieu is so unaccustomed to Orthodox art opens up numerous opportunities to speak to people who might perceive a new icon or hear a new piece of Orthodox music in new and unexpected ways, especially given that many individuals in contemporary society are experiencing an inner hunger for the beautiful, the spiritual, and the deeply meaningful.

Read full review at Orthodox Arts Journal