Title: Kontakion “He Who Closed the Abyss”

Composer: Lesser Znamenny Chant, arr. D. Solovyov

About the Music:
This Kontakion is sung after the 6th Ode of the Kanon of Great and Holy Saturday. This setting utilizes the translation by the eminent translator Archimandrite Ephrem (Lash). The first stanza of the Kontakion-the prooemion—is followed by the first Ikos, chanted by a soloist, at the end of which the choir sings the refrain. This manner of performance recalls the era when full kontakia (comprising upwards of 20 stanzas) were chanted by soloists and punctuated by refrains sung by the entire worshipping assembly.