The Lord’s Prayer (1954)

This arrangement of The Lord’s Prayer was composed in 1954 for performance as part of the Orthodox Liturgy/Service at St. George Orthodox Church in Charleston, WV. The regular Sunday service, which was performed by the priest and cantors, was interspersed with musical responses and liturgy by the choir. The Lord’s Prayer, performed at every service, was sung by the choir, with the final lines being sung/chanted by the priest. (Note: it is my understanding that the final words “For Thou art the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory Forever and Ever” are not included in the Roman Catholic or Orthodox congregations’ recitations of The Lord’s Prayer, but rather are stated by the attending priest.)

The music being performed at that time — and in that Church — was from the Russian, sung in English. Accordingly, I attempted to give this arrangement a reasonable Russian flavor in keeping with the rest of the “Sunday music.” Notably, the church membership was primarily Syrian/Lebanese, as Charleston had a sizable Lebanese community. The priest at that time, Father Raphael Husson, was Lebanese. Nevertheless, the Russian music was in place when I arrived as choir director, and it was/is indeed quite beautiful.

As an integral part of the service, the Lord’s Prayer was performed in straightforward manner, without repetitions of words or music. Indeed, this version may be inappropriate as a regular Protestant-type anthem (partly due to its brevity), but could perhaps be performed to serve some other special occasion.