On the Way to Bethlehem: Christmas from Eastern Lands
In an age where much is heard about decolonizing and anti-Imperialism, it is often forgotten that Christianity is not, at its heart, a ‘Western’ religion.
In this presentation, we take the listener on a musical journey far from the centres of Western Christendom. From the East Slavic lands, where the Slavonic-texted music of Bortniansky and his heirs resounds through the great urban centres of L’viv, Kyiv, Moscow, and St Petersburg, we move eastward to the Balkans, where the native musical traditions of the Bulgars, Serbs, Roumanians, Wallachs, combine with influences from Byzantium and Russia. With Byzantine chant we enter the historically Hellenophone lands of Greece, Anatolia, and the Arabophone Levant, back to Bethlehem where it all began.
The programme will be under an hour, with a brief 10 minute talk at the beginning to introduce the music in its social, cultural, and historical setting. Sung texts will be in Church Slavonic, Greek, Latin, Roumanian, Arabic, and English, with full translations provided.
Saturday 22 Nov 2025, 730pm
Jubilee Church
256 Outram Rd, Singapore 169053
Tickets: https://easternchristmas1.peatix.com/
Sunday 23 Nov 2025, 730pm
Queenstown Lutheran Church
709 Commonwealth Dr, Singapore 149601
Tickets: https://easternchristmas2.peatix.com