The "PaTRAM" in the name PaTRAM Institute Male Choir stands for Patriarch Tikhon Russian American Music Institute, and for this 2021 release, the group includes singers from other countries besides. Some of them are designated "oktavists," presumably those who can manage the low notes in parallel octaves that are so characteristic of this rich a cappella music. The choir is not a purely musical organization but plays a role in the propagation of Russian Orthodox music and worship, and the album comes with announcements of ...
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The "PaTRAM" in the name PaTRAM Institute Male Choir stands for Patriarch Tikhon Russian American Music Institute, and for this 2021 release, the group includes singers from other countries besides. Some of them are designated "oktavists," presumably those who can manage the low notes in parallel octaves that are so characteristic of this rich a cappella music. The choir is not a purely musical organization but plays a role in the propagation of Russian Orthodox music and worship, and the album comes with announcements of how the choir was granted the chance to carry a certain icon (pictured in the graphics, it's gorgeous) to Saratov, Russia, where the album was beautifully recorded in a monastery. The music will doubtless be of special significance to adherents of the Orthodox faith. However, it is also of interest to general listeners, who may simply want to sample this magnificent tradition, and, beyond that, to those who have done a bit of sampling and are ready to hear the contributions of...
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