Topic: Traditional Byzantine Chant

[Byzantine Christian]

Slava Isusu Christu!


I was wondering, do any of you that belong to Greek Orthodox parishes, use the old Tradtional Byzantine Chant, does this exist any were besides monasteries?

In Christ
 

[Anastasios]

What is "Old Traditional Byzantine Chant"?  It is used in all GOA parishes, even if it is neutered by an organ or by being forced into the confines of western notation, but the cantors execute it the traditional way.  If you are interested in learning it, there are many routes you can take and we can discuss this if you would like.

anastasios

[TomS]

At St. Sophia Cathedral in Wash DC it is all traditional byzantine chant.

[prodromos]

At St. Sophia Cathedral in Wash DC it is all traditional byzantine chant.

Is that Sophia the saint, or Holy Wisdom?

BTW, every church in the country where I live uses traditional byzantine chant. In fact I just began taking a class to learn it myself  

Ni Pa Vou Ga Thee Ke Zo Ni

John.

[prodromos]

Oh dear!

I was searching the web for resources on byzantine chant and came across one old site that has since been hijacked. I guess they must have forgotten to renew their domain registration and a rather unsavory bunch snatched it when it went up for grabs.

If you see the link byzantine-music. com anywhere, DO NOT CLICK ON IT as you will be redirected to a porn site which also spawns a few pop-up windows with equally unwholesome content.

Man, that was an unpleasant experience.

I'm wondering if there is anything that can be done about this. It seems to me that there is some law or rule of conduct being violated here since the content has absolutely nothing to do with the domain name and the site's former content but rather is entirely antithetical to the spirit behind byzantine music. How and where does someone file a complaint about this?

John.

[Byzantine Christian]

What I meant by Traditional Byzantine Chant was, like the way they would sing on Mt. Athos, and the stuff you here on Goarch.org

In Christ

[arimethea]

I think if you attend any GOA or Antiochian parish for services other then Liturgy you will hear authentic byzantine music being done. While every GOA church I have been in uses the organ for Liturgy I have never seen the organ being used for services other then Liturgy and use the authentic chant instead.

Many of the music settings for Liturgy used by Antiochian parishes are Russian in nature but the what is sung at Vespers, Matins and other services is very traditional byzantine chant. St. Mary in Cambridge Mass has putout several recordings of byzantine music in english.

Hope this helps you.

[Father Peter]

I was searching the web for resources on byzantine chant and came across one old site that has since been hijacked. I guess they must have forgotten to renew their domain registration and a rather unsavory bunch snatched it when it went up for grabs.

Their address is:

SELIA Sapone (Sapone@byzantine-music.com)
(229) 847-6112
Fax:
751 INDUSTRIAL PKWY
Ebeye, MH 96970
US

[Byzantine Christian]

Scroll down on this site, and click the sample CD this type of chant, where cand i find a parish in america that sounds like that!

http://www.inathos.gr/cd1000years/uk/

In Christ
ByzantineChristian

P.S. I loooovvveee that type of chant

[arimethea]

where cand i find a parish in america that sounds like that!

I doubt you find a parish in America that sounds just like that, nor will you find one anywhere in the world. That recording was from a special occasion where the best voices on Athos gathered. So when you have 20 great voices you are going to get a great sound, however after reading what I read I must say I am disappointed with their sound.

I know of several  chanters who have voices that can fill a church including one of my teachers. Here is a link to a site with a sample of his chanting http://www.stphilipflorida.com/index.cfm?page=multimedia_audio I recomend listening to "The Great Moses" from the Matins of Holy Saturday, just click on the Icons. These tracks are in arabic but the english words are provided. His son is a memer of St. Philip so often times around the holidays you will find him there chanting.

[TomS]

where cand i find a parish in america that sounds like that!

St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Washington, DC.

The chanter there was trained in traditional Byzantine chant in Greece and utilizes it exclusively.

[Tikhon29605]

It would be interesting to hear the Greek Orthodox here in America actually sing something in Byzantine Chant.  I've been TOLD they do.  I've heard a few chanters in the GOA sing a little Byzantine chant.  But in my area, the GOA choirs sing four part Western harmony with full organ accompaniment (but in Greek).  It sounds similar to the Russian style four part harmony one hears in many OCA churches, except for the blarring organ accompaniment and the use of the Greek language.  I have a sneaking suspicion that many in the GOA don't really like Byzantine Chant, because the only people I ever hear sing it are old men who are solo chanters.

[ambrosemzv]

The monks at Holy Archangels monastery (GOA), here in Texas, near San Antonio, chant this way.  Several of them, including the abbot, came to this monastery from Mount Athos.

[Byzantine Christian]

Ill just have to become a monk on Mt Athos, when I get out of the Marine Corps. Always wanted to be a Monastic.

In Christ
byzantine

[Αριστοκλής]

Thanks kelfar,
You've a wonderful site there! Now I must rework my 'discretionary' budget for some more goodies.
I could not locate the license fee for your ByzWriter on the site, however. Please PM me with details and costs.

Demetri

[jbc1949]

It is used in all GOA parishes, even if it is neutered by an organ . . . .

anastasios

An organ?  Surely you jest?  No, I'm not being facetious.

[SamB]

I visited a Greek parish (I do not know its jurisdiction) with a lovely Orthros.  Once Liturgy began, the organ crashed the party and deformed the tones, so to speak.  Didn't go back.

In IC XC
Samer

[Elisha]

Guys,

Check out what the 'Lord Have Mercy' by my friend Daniel Alva that I got Dismas to play on his:  http://orthotracts.org/musicpage.html
It rocks!  It's in the CD section too (not just at the top on the "new" section), but it's not on the CD.

[Bogoliubtsy]

A little off topic, but could anyone direct me to a site that has the entire liturgy(or most of it) done in Church Slavonic...hopefully in a "standard" sort of way that a parish would use on a regular basis. Nothing too flashy...  

[Αριστοκλής]

A little off topic, but could anyone direct me to a site that has the entire liturgy(or most of it) done in Church Slavonic...hopefully in a "standard" sort of way that a parish would use on a regular basis. Nothing too flashy...  

This might be a good start:

http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/liturgy_e.htm


If you care to PM me with your email address, I will locate my copies of English, Slavonic, and Eng/Slavonic versions which I formatted from another source to load to my PocketPC (Word. doc files) and send them to you.

Demetri

[Anastasios]

Kelfar,

I would encourage you all to learn the notation; it really is not hard (I learned it fairly well in about 3 months but have since forgotten a lot of it due to inactivity).

I can recommend books for this purpose if you would like.

You simply can't render Byzantine Chant in Western notation properly--it can't be done.  So the solution is what Fr Seraphim Dedes did, which is publish books in English with Byzantine notation and issue separate books with Western noatation and cd's as a crutch.  But eventually if Byzantine Chant will survive in English in America the notation must be learned.

anastasios

[Bogoliubtsy]

This might be a good start:

http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/liturgy_e.htm


If you care to PM me with your email address, I will locate my copies of English, Slavonic, and Eng/Slavonic versions which I formatted from another source to load to my PocketPC (Word. doc files) and send them to you.

Demetri

Sorry, should have made myself clearer- I'm looking for recordings.

Thanks

[Elisha]

Kelfar,

I would encourage you all to learn the notation; it really is not hard (I learned it fairly well in about 3 months but have since forgotten a lot of it due to inactivity).

I can recommend books for this purpose if you would like.

You simply can't render Byzantine Chant in Western notation properly--it can't be done.  So the solution is what Fr Seraphim Dedes did, which is publish books in English with Byzantine notation and issue separate books with Western noatation and cd's as a crutch.  But eventually if Byzantine Chant will survive in English in America the notation must be learned.

anastasios

Dude, you're like the student instructing the master in this case.

Kelfar is Palestinian, speaks arabic, reads the notation and is about as qualified as they come.  Check out his site listed earlier in the thread.  It's just the rest of his singers that can't read it.  He's tried explaining a few things to me here and there, but little sinks in - it's way over my head.

[Elisha]

Guys,

Check out what the 'Lord Have Mercy' by my friend Daniel Alva that I got Dismas to play on his:  http://orthotracts.org/musicpage.html
It rocks!  It's in the CD section too (not just at the top on the "new" section), but it's not on the CD.  

Any more takers?  It's one of Daniel's own concoctions.  He overdubbed himself many times (he did all the voices).  Let me know what you think.

[Protopsalti]

if you are interrested in Byzantine Chants here are some nice links :

http://www.ecclesia.gr/Multimedia/Audio_Index/audioindex_en.html

http://www.byzanmusic.com/

http://users.otenet.gr/~yspir/byzantine_music.htm

This one is all in greek but you can find it under Multimedia/sound clips:
http://www.cmkon.org/

http://www.goarch.org/en/multimedia/audio/

and on (Radio OF Church Of Greece) you can listen to a live service:
http://www.ecclesia.gr/greek/ecclesiaradio/index.htm

[Ben]

Assumption Greek Orthodox Cathedral (GOA) in Denver, Colorado, uses byzantine chant, at least when I have been their.....very beautiful.

[Ben]

In fact...on http://orthotracts.org/musicpage.html it has tracts from the funeral service by Fr. Apostolos Hill - he is one of the priests at Assumption Cathedral, and is helping me along me journey to Orthodoxy.

[Ben]

I am wondering..... is GOA and the AA the only ones that use Byzantine Chant?

[icxn]

Check this too:

http://www.inathos.gr/cd1000years/uk/

Here's a sample:

http://www.inathos.gr/cd1000years/img/cd1000_trak17.mp3