When our Forefathers came to the American continent, they brought with them their religion called "Orthodoxy". Whether they came as Missionary Priests across the Bering Strait to Alaska or from the Eastern parts of Europe, it was important for them to give praise to God through worship. Along with the practice of their worship was the important aspect of their participation in the services through their voices and singing praises to the Lord. They arrived with the language of their native tongue along with the musical chants of their locale such as Greek, Albanian, Bulgarian, Galician, Kievan, Moscow, Romanian, etc. Generations have come and gone since their immigration to their new lands.
It became important in the Church to realize that the language of the new land had to be incorporated in the life of the Church as well. The evolution of the language of the Church began to take place in the middle of the 20th century. Since Church services were beginning to be served in the language of the new land, the music of the services had to undergo this transformation as well. Music written by great composers such as Bortniansky, Chesnokov, Gretchaninov, Lvov, Lvovsky, Lomakin, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, whose music was a great contribution to the liturgical music of the church and its choirs, had to undergo a transformation to the language of the new land. Their contributions could not be neglected and the language associated with the composition had to be adapted to the new generations of Orthodox. It became apparent even to the missionary Priests that the Alaskan Eskimo natives needed to be served in their own tongues. Now the services in parts of Canada are served in the French language. In the Southwest United States and Mexico, the services are held in Spanish. If one would travel to Brazil, you would probably hear the services in Portuguese.
In the past half-century, individuals have undertaken the task of adapting, into English, the music which was brought to this land by the Orthodox faithful. This website, "Podoben”, is an effort to make available the musical adaptations to all who find a need for English and Slavonic adaptations to accompany the services of the Orthodox Church. It will contain arrangements for all aspects of life in the Church. The scores are arranged by individuals who have freely given their time and talent for the sole benefit of the Church. There are other musical publications which can be obtained from the bookstores of St. Tikhon's Theological Seminary and St. Vladimir's Theological Seminary as well as other sources. It is suggested that you contact these institutions for available resources.