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The history and theory of Byzantine Chant

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Byzantine Chant - Holy Cross Orthodox Church
CHOIR
ABOUT OUR CHOIR
(/CHOIR/)
PA T R O N S A I N T
( / C H O I R - PA T R O N -
SAINT/)
BY Z A N T I N E C H A N T
( / BY Z A N T I N E - C H A N T / )
ABOUT OUR CD
( / A B O U T-O U R -C D / )
F E STA L H YM N S CD
( / F E S TA L - H Y M N S - C D / )
PA R I S H M I N I S T R I E S
( / PA R I S H - M I N I S T R I E S )
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http://www.holycrossonline.org/byzantine-chant/
written by Constantine Cavarnos, excerpted
It is the divinely bestowed privilege of the Saints to sing praises to the Holy Trinity, and to
extol the Name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Throughout Scripture and the history of
Divine salvation, even to the present day, the people of God have expressed the inner
reality of the Divine encounter by means of song. Where mere written words fail to
portray fully the truth of the mystery of faith, the Church has employed sacred
hymnology to be, as it were, an icon of song and verse, expressing clearly the truth in our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The music of the Church, therefore, should not be
considered as one might consider other forms of music, whether classical or
contemporary. This music requires in us a longing to know God and to possess a desire
to behold Him portrayed in our song. It requires that we be true to Christ, for in singing
and chanting we become witnesses (martyrs) to the truth.
Likewise, we err if we approach Orthodox hymnology simply as a science, seeking only to
know technique, formulae and method. If this is our outlook we will certainly miss the
heart of what it has to oer. Let us rather approach it in faith and in love, as an
outgrowth of our service for our Lord, knowing that it is the Holy Spirit who inspires
these poems and songs of the Church, to the glory of Jesus Christ.
The fundamental inspiration for this recording is the thesis that the inner reality of
Byzantine music is neither Greek nor oriental. Properly understood it is not a local ethnic
musical style, but rather the living embodiment of a timeless and profoundly theological
proclamation of the Orthodox faith. With its roots deep in Christian antiquity, it may be
legitimately viewed as a part of Holy Tradition, uncorrupted by the Western captivity
which has so often distorted other artistic expressions of Orthodoxy, both musical and
iconographic. It poses a universality, which allow it to surmount any narrow boundaries
of nationality or language.
The poet-musicians of the Church were people of exemplary faithfulness: St. Romanos,
St. Ephraim, St. Kosmas, and St. John of Damascus are some notable examples. Their
words were inextricably bound up with the music they were set to (and visa-versa), and
were carefully chosen not only to be grammatically and aesthetically sound, but
theologically precise as well.
Modern orthodox composers who would translate and transpose Orthodox hymnology
must be part musician, part poet, and part theologian in order to do justice to the works
of Orthodox hymnographers. Strictly academic translation of hymns is not sucient for
Orthodox worship
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Byzantine Chant - Holy Cross Orthodox Church http://www.holycrossonline.org/byzantine-chant/

V I S I TO R S ( / V I S I TO R S - I N F O R M AT I O N )
RESOURC ES (/RESOURC ES)
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/ E M B E D ? S R C = I N F O @ H O LY C R O S S O N L I N E . O R G & C T Z = A M E R I C A / N E W _ Y O R K )
A B O U T ( / O U R - PA R I S H )
C O N TAC T ( / C O N TAC T )

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