Kyiv Chamber Choir recording early East Slavic church music in the natural acoustics of the Lavra. Release 14 August 2026.
Kyiv Chamber Choir presents the album 'Voices Ancient: Eastern Slavic Church Music X-XVII Centuries' on 14 August 2026 on harmonia mundi label (French label, specialization — early music). This is a 9-track a cappella album (total duration 68 minutes) recorded in the natural acoustics of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra — Eastern Europe's oldest Christian monastic abode. The album contains 9 songs from the 10th-17th centuries: I. 'Prayer of Volodymyr the Saint' (10th c., earliest notation); II. 'Cyril and Methodius' (9th c., adapted for Ukrainian pronunciation); III. 'Andrew the First-Called' (12th c., first chronicled choral); IV. 'Battle of Kalka' (13th c., rare secular work); V. 'Tale of Igor's Campaign: choral block' (12th c., adapted for choir); VI. 'Hetman's Liturgy' (15th c.); VII. 'Kyiv-Pechersk Memorial' (16th c.); VIII. 'Khmelnytsky's Chorale' (17th c.); IX. 'Sun of Our Faith' (17th c., finale). Recording took place from August to November 2025 in three parts of the Lavra: 1) Distant Caves (3 songs — for intimate sacred ambient); 2) Great Lavra Bell Tower (3 songs — with natural reverb); 3) Dormition Cathedral (3 songs — fullest hall sound). Sound engineer — Hugo Müller (harmonia mundi, worked with renowned early-music ensembles). The album releases in formats: digital streaming, CD digipack with 32-page booklet (with musical transcriptions), 180g vinyl in gold-foiled version (limited 600 copies, price 58€).
