Ypakoe

The Ypakoë (also, Hypakoë,

. The Ypakoë used at one of the Great Feasts will be written in the tone of the hymnographer's choice.

The Ypakoë, as its name suggests, illustrates the theme of being sent to proclaim the

Myrrh-bearers

(Sundays and Pascha) or the theme of the particular Feast being celebrated.

The hymn occurs in several places, depending upon the day and the service:

• On some Great Feasts it is chanted at Matins after the Little
  Sessional Hymn
  occurs at this point.
• On Sundays at Matins, it is chanted after the
  Little Litany
  .
• On Sundays at the Midnight Office it is read after the "Canon to the Most Holy Trinity" (this is the same Ypakoë that is chanted after the Kathismata)
• At Pascha (Easter), in addition to its place after the Third Ode of Matins, it is chanted again during the Paschal Hours and the Divine Liturgy along with the Paschal troparion and kontakion.

Examples

Sunday (Tone 5)

The myrrh-bearing women, their minds dazzled by the sight of the angel and their souls enlightened by Thy divine Resurrection, preached the good tidings to the Apostles: "O spread among the nation the news of the Resurrection of the Lord, He, Who works wonders and grants us His great mercy."

Nativity of Christ

(Tone 8)

:

Calling the

swaddling clothes

? Yet therein shone forth the wealth of Thy divinity: Glory to Thee, O Lord!

Pascha (Tone 8)

Before the dawn, Mary and the women came and found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They heard the angelic voice: "Why do ye seek among the dead, as a mortal man, the One Who is Everlasting Light? Behold the clothes in the grave! Go, and proclaim to the world: The Lord is risen! He hath slain death, as He is the Son of God, saving the race of man."

In 1997, Sir Nicholas Goodison of the

. The composer has described the piece as "a totally spiritual concept – to atune the individual’s (performer’s or listener’s) will to the divine will."

References

External links

• John Tavener : Ypakoë
• Tavener Premiere—Hypakoë Archived 2008-11-22 at the Wayback Machine