Since Grammy-winning San Francisco Symphony Chorus Director Ragnar Bohlin founded his own topflight chamber choir Cappella SF in 2014, a new dimension of a cappella choral excellence has graced the bay Area’s (and the nation’s) musical scene. Timeless- the ensemble’s third album for Delos- offers choral fans and history-minded classical music aficionados a rare smorgasbord of choral compositions encompassing every musical period of the past millennium. Selections range from the chant-based music of Hildegard von Bingen and Guillaume de Machaut to stunning pieces by such distinguished living composers as Arvo Part, Eric Whitacre, Frank Ticheli and Ola Gjeilo- and all points in between. Any serious music lover who wishes to trace the evolution of Western choral musicfrom its ancient beginnings to contemporary times will find this stunning new album to be a truly ear-grabbing revelation. “I frankly was so captivated by the performances- above all, the beautiful sound and clear articulation of the parts- that I barely noticed the change from one composer to another…” (San Francisco Classical Voice)

This first release by Próto features over two hours of traditional Byzantine chants for Christmas. Próto is a collaboration of two protopsaltes (“first cantors”): John Michael Boyer, Protopsaltis of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco; and the Reverend Deacon John Rassem El Massih, Protopsaltis of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. Their shared vision is excellence in traditional Byzantine Music within the liturgical life of Orthodox Christian parishes, as well as the advancement, development, and composition of traditional Byzantine Music in the English language. A 32-page booklet is included with this release, with full texts in Greek, Arabic, and English. This album has been endorsed by Their Eminences JOSEPH, Antiochian Orthodox Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of all North America, and GERASIMOS, Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of San Francisco.