During the midnight Easter Liturgy, scores of Orthodox choirs sing Tikey Zes’s arrangement of the Paschal communion hymn, “Soma Christou.”

As a tribute to Tikey and his music, choir members from around the United States helped AXIOS Music created the first-ever, Orthodox virtual choir. They chose to record “Soma Christou” because of its singular place in the annals of Greek Orthodox choral music in the United States.

Here it is:

Popularized by composer Eric Whitacre, a virtual choir is a unique online choral experience. Via webcam or video camera, singers recorded their parts individually from their home computers or devices while watching a specially recorded video of Tikey conducting the piece and listening to a background accompaniment.

AXIOS engineers merged 90, individually recorded voices into a composite a cappella ensemble, and created a composite video. The final video premiered on YouTube at the beginning of Holy Week in April 2014.

With no geographic limits, we hope to connect Greek Orthodox singers throughout the United States and around the world and contribute to the work being done to cultivate our rich music tradition, while offering our gratitude for the invaluable contribution Tikey has made toward our spiritual enrichment.

We extend a special welcome to younger singers, with the hope that introducing new modes of music education and appreciation among our youth can help ensure that the incredible arrangements of our early choral pioneers will continue to guide and inspire the next generations of Greek Orthodox faithful.

Let us know in the comments what you think!

Originally posted on CatholicViral