Byzantine liturgical quartet releases CD

Third disc celebrates Advent, Christmas

- photo supplied Members of Heruvymy include Melanie Turgeon, left, Andrea Leader, Patty Tachynski, Kathy Tachynski.

By RAMON GONZALEZ
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

Looking for music appropriate for the season? Take a listen to Heruvymy, a female Byzantine liturgical a capella quartet that makes its home at St. Josaphat's Ukrainian Cathedral.

December 14, the group will be releasing I na zemli myr (And on Earth Peace), its third CD since the quartet was formed 14 years ago.

It is a collection of Christmas carols celebrating the Nativity sung mostly in Ukrainian and English, with a handful sung in German, Latin and French.

The 21-piece collection starts with the popular Advent carol O Come, O Come Emmanuel and "it takes you through Christ's Incarnation and his miraculous birth," explains group spokesperson Kathy Tachynski.

"It's basically celebrating Christ's birth and reminds us of the hope and peace that is possible when we have Christ in our hearts."

Other pieces included are classics such as Away in a Manger, Silent Night and O Come All Ye Faithful.

Quartet members Melanie Turgeon, Andrea Leader and twin sisters Patty and Kathy Tachynski have sung the national anthems at Edmonton Eskimos, Edmonton Trappers and Calgary Flames games. They annually perform a bilingual version of the Canadian national anthem for the Edmonton Oilers around Ukrainian Christmas.

Group members share spiritual roots at St. Josaphat's Cathedral. They used to sing in different choirs until one day they were invited to perform at a wedding. More invitations followed.

"We realized people enjoyed our music and that's how it all started back in 1994," recalled Tachynski.

Since then, the group has sung in all types of events in the Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox churches, including charity concerts and Christmas and New Year's celebrations. The group performs traditional sacred Byzantine music that's centuries old.

"We are definitely not doing this for the money," laughed Tachynski. "We do it simply for the joy of singing. We want to share our style of music with as many people as possible."

In late 2000, the group performed at the Laframboise Chapel at St. Paul University in Ottawa at the invitation of the Andrij Sheptytski Institute for Ukrainian Studies. Two years later, they performed for Pope John Paul II during World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto.

In 2005, Heruvymy was awarded the Alberta Council for the Ukrainian Arts award for its third recording.

For more information and to purchase Heruvymy's recordings, contact Kathy Tachynski at 780-456-0266 or kathytach@hotmail.com. Heruvymy's CDs are also available at various retail stores, including the Gramophone, the King's University College Bookstore and the Ukrainian Bookstore.

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