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Kekragarion in Athonite psaltic Art

Submitted by Athos on January 9, 2024 - 1:16pm

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Athos Psaltic Art

A List of Notable Recordings of Kekragaria by Athonite Monks

A curated introduction to the chant Κύριε ἐκέκραξα, its psalmic source, its place in Orthodox Vespers, and a selection of notable recorded performances by Athonite monks and Orthodox cantors.

What Are Kekragaria?

Kekragaria (Greek: κεκραγάρια) are chants built around the cry of the Psalmist: “Lord, I have cried unto Thee.” In the liturgical life of the Orthodox Church, they belong to the most moving moments of Vespers, when prayer rises with incense and the soul stands in compunction before God.

These chants are sorrowful, grave, and beautiful. They belong to that sphere of sacred music in which lament is transfigured into prayer. One might compare them, in a loose and partial way, to the Miserere in the Western tradition of Mass and Requiem. Yet the Athonite Kekragaria possess a distinct interiority, a slower and deeper solemnity, and an aesthetic more closely bound to ascetic prayer and liturgical stillness.

What follows is both an introduction and a selective guide. The recordings below have been noted for musical quality rather than popularity. The criteria behind the ratings are rooted in musical seriousness, interpretive depth, liturgical ethos, and the ability of a performance to sustain the spiritual gravity of the chant.

Psalm 140 (LXX) / Psalm 141 (KJV)

Parallel Greek (Septuagint) and King James Version – copyable text

Greek (LXX) – Ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυΐδ. 140	English (KJV) – Psalm 141
Κύριε, ἐκέκραξα πρὸς σέ· εἰσάκουσόν μου· πρόσχες τῇ φωνῇ τῆς δεήσεώς μου, ἐν τῷ κεκραγέναι με πρὸς σέ.	LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.
Κατευθυνθήτω ἡ προσευχή μου ὡς θυμίαμα ἐνώπιόν σου, ἔπαρσις τῶν χειρῶν μου θυσία ἑσπερινή.	Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Θοῦ, Κύριε, φυλακὴν τῷ στόματί μου, καὶ θύραν περιοχῆς περὶ τὰ χείλη μου.	Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
Μὴ ἐκκλίνῃς τὴν καρδίαν μου εἰς λόγους πονηρίας, τοῦ προφασίζεσθαι προφάσεις ἐν ἁμαρτίαις, σὺν ἀνθρώποις ἐργαζομένοις ἀνομίαν, καὶ οὐ μὴ συνδυάσω μετὰ τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν αὐτῶν.	Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.
Παιδεύσει με δίκαιος ἐν ἐλέει καὶ ἐλέγξει με· ἔλαιον δὲ ἁμαρτωλοῦ μὴ λιπανάτω τὴν κεφαλήν μου· ὅτι ἔτι καὶ ἡ προσευχή μου ἐν ταῖς εὐδοκίαις αὐτῶν.	Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.
Κατεπόθησαν παρὰ τὸν πέτραν οἱ κριταὶ αὐτῶν· ἀκούσονται τὰ ῥήματά μου, ὅτι ἡδύνθησαν.	When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
Ὡσεὶ πάχος γῆς διεῤῥάγη ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, διεσκορπίσθη τὰ ὀστᾶ ἡμῶν παρὰ τὸν ᾅδην.	Our bones are scattered at the grave’s mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth.
Ὅτι πρὸς σὲ, Κύριε Κύριε, οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου· ἐπὶ σὲ ἤλπισα, μὴ ἀντανέλῃς τὴν ψυχήν μου.	But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.
Φύλαξόν με ἀπὸ παγίδος ἧς συνέστησάν μοι, καὶ ἀπὸ σκανδάλων τῶν ἐργαζομένων τὴν ἀνομίαν.	Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity.
Πεσοῦνται ἐν ἀμφιβλήστρῳ αὐτῶν ἁμαρτωλοί· κατὰ μόνας εἰμι ἐγὼ ἕως ἂν παρέλθω.	Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape.

Note: Psalm numbering follows the Septuagint (LXX = 140) and the Masoretic/KJV tradition (141). In Orthodox Vespers, this is the great psalm of incense.

Notable Recordings of Kekragaria by Athonite Monks

Below is a selective list of recordings by Athonite monks and monastic choirs. Ratings are given for musical and interpretive quality rather than popularity.