“The Oxyrhynchus Hymn”

As our celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity continues, I offer this version of the Oxyrhynchus Hymn presented by the Louisville (KY) Korean Women’s Choir:

In 1918, in Oxyrhynchus, an ancient city of Egypt, a papyrus fragment was discovered. This fragment later turned out to have, on the back of it, a music piece with Greek letter notation - a hymn to the Holy Trinity. This hymn is now known as the Oxyrhynchus Hymn. It is considered to be the oldest extant church music (containing both lyrics and musical notation) we now have.

This version of the hymn was written for the performance of the Louisville Korean Women’s Choir at Saint James Catholic Church, Elizabeth Town, KY, on the occasion of the observance of Trinity Week. This video is a recording of the 10th Annual Recital of the Louisville Korean Women's Choir, held at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY, on 13 November 2010.