Sold Date: November 26, 2020
Start Date: May 23, 2020
Final Price: $99.99 $60.00 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 1733
Buyer Feedback: 0

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SYRIAC MARONITE CATHOLIC liturgical and hymnal recordings on 3 LPs

Three very rare LPs featuring the hymns and liturgy of the Syriac Maronite Church, one of the Catholic Eastern churches in communion with the bishop of Rome. These LPs feature hymns and prayers in the Syriac language, Arabic, and English. The consecration of the Eucharist in the Maronite tradition is always in the Syriac language, which is a 1st-century development of the Aramaic language spoken by Jesus, connecting these Christians (and other Christians who use the Syriac language in their worship, like the Syriac Orthodox in the Middle East and India) with the earliest communities of Christians in the world.

I have tried to focus on the consecration in the soundclip below, so you will hear it twice (from two different records) so that you can hear what Syriac sounds like. It’s very beautiful!

Check it out in this long soundclip:

Individual titles are, in order of appearance in the soundclip:

(1) “Cedars Of Lebanon” LP (no release year; probably c. 1970s): Fr. Mansour Labaky together with the choirs of St. Bonaventure and St. Anthony of Padua choirs of Cincinnati, USA. This LP is very interesting; I think it might be the first recording of Maronite hymns in English, though Fr. Labaky himself prays in Syriac, as you can hear in the soundclip. Record and sleeve are both VG. The LP sounds static-y, but it could be that it’s a very low-volume recording on a dusty record. Sleeve has some writing and yellowing on the back, and some bends.

 (2) Concilio Vaticano II – Messe Maronite En La Basilique St. Pierre 5 Novembre 1962 LP: Recorded live as parto f the Vatican II council, with celebrant Msgr. J. Khoury, soloist B.P. Achkar, and others. Extremely rare and historic live recording with introduction in Italian (or is it Latin?). No sleeve for this one. The LP is G, with lots of static and pops.

(3) Messe Solennelle Maronite LP (Parlophone 1960s): Famous singer Wadih El Safi sings on this LP, recorded at St. Maroun church in Ghazir under the direction of Fr. Maroun Murad. Record ranges from VG+ to G (there is an ugly looking blemish on side A that lowers the grade; check the last photo in the gallery). Sleeve is G, with a seam split on the top side and some tape left by the last owner that has begun to yellow.

Condition: See above descriptions for individual grades. Check soundclip and photos.

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Please see my other auctions for more rare music.