SEM Concert at Saint George Orthodox Cathedral

This year’s SEM concert, in the context of the 5th Beirut Chants Festival of Sacred Music, will feature a Byzantine Oratorio for the Nativity, the first of its kind in Byzantine music, inspired by the liturgical dialogue of the Virgin Mary and the angel Gabriel on the day of the Annunciation. Special guest Fotis Ketsetzis will play the Protpsaltis of the Oratorio.

The text of the Oratorio is a compilation done by Joseph Yazbeck and comprised of centennial texts arranged to form several dialogues between the Virgin Mary, Jesus, the Magi and St. Joseph, pertaining specifically to the Nativity.

The aim is to breathe new life into these texts making them accessible to audiences while maintaining the text’s original meaning and deep spiritual connotations.

Musically, this will be translated into a composition true to the Byzantine ecclesiastic musical tradition, with melodic continuity and solo alternations representing the different characters, forming a complete musical scene of the Nativity.