German chants

[Ansgar]

I found these examples of chants from Holy Trinity Monastery in Germany. 

http://www.orthodox.de/hoerbeispiele.php

I think they're  good. 

[Dominika]

I found these examples of chants from Holy Trinity Monastery in Germany. 

http://www.orthodox.de/hoerbeispiele.php

I think they're  good. 

Although I don't like German language, I think these recordings are beautiful. They're very similar to some recordings I've once found in some Serbian Orthodox sources from Great Vespers and Matins. They're also a kind of byzantine, old Russian and gregorian chant. Maybe that's even the same choir. I would love to hear much more, but because I don't know German at all, I'm not able to do it.

I find very interesting especially the way of singing of Paschal troparion - the melody (particularly in the begining) is very similar to an old Roman Catholic hymn called "trop" (now it's longer), which is e.g very popular in Poland (among Roman Catholics of course) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzfJ2SKWCwk
In Hungarian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJVCrvx0UYA
And in German: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoqvUL9_WeE

[Orthodox11]

Although I don't like German language, I think these recordings are beautiful.

Ditto. Not a fan of German, but love the Valaamesque style.

[peacenprayer]

Ooooh wow I love this.

[Romaios]

Fr. Johannes, the Abbot of the Holy Trinity Monastery, is a professional musicologist and I think he became a monk on Mount Athos or he spent time there. He carefully adapted Byzantine chant to the German language and choral (Gregorian) tradition and came up with something quite original, as you can hear. They've also edited some Orthodox chant books in Western notation. 

[Ansgar]

Although I don't like German language, I think these recordings are beautiful.

Ditto. Not a fan of German, but love the Valaamesque style.

My problem with german is that I think it sounds beautiful, but I have a really hard time learning it.

[Ansgar]

Fr. Johannes, the Abbot of the Holy Trinity Monastery, is a professional musicologist and I think he became a monk on Mount Athos or he spent time there. He carefully adapted Byzantine chant to the German language and choral (Gregorian) tradition and came up with something quite original, as you can hear. They've also edited some Orthodox chant books in Western notation. 

I think I'm gonna tell this to my priest. He loves stuff like this.

[Alpo]

Fr. Johannes, the Abbot of the Holy Trinity Monastery, is a professional musicologist and I think he became a monk on Mount Athos or he spent time there. He carefully adapted Byzantine chant to the German language and choral (Gregorian) tradition and came up with something quite original, as you can hear. They've also edited some Orthodox chant books in Western notation. 

Interesting. Especially since it's (?) a Byzantine rite monastery. I wonder why he ended up using Gregorian tradition too.

[Romaios]

Fr. Johannes, the Abbot of the Holy Trinity Monastery, is a professional musicologist and I think he became a monk on Mount Athos or he spent time there. He carefully adapted Byzantine chant to the German language and choral (Gregorian) tradition and came up with something quite original, as you can hear. They've also edited some Orthodox chant books in Western notation. 

Interesting. Especially since it's (?) a Byzantine rite monastery. I wonder why he ended up using Gregorian tradition too.

Yes - they follow the Byzantine rite and are under Bulgarian jurisdiction IIRC. The German ”Choral” is the indigenous tradition (the Protestant reformers modeled their hymns on Gregorian or Late Medieval ones). I think Fr. Johannes studied Gregorian chant before he became Orthodox.

[Alpo]

Yes - they follow the Byzantine rite and are under Bulgarian jurisdiction IIRC. The German ”Choral” is the indigenous tradition (the Protestant reformers modeled their hymns on Gregorian or Late Medieval ones). I think Fr. Johannes studied Gregorian chant before he became Orthodox.

WRO is the indigenous tradition.

Anyway, it does sound quite beautiful. Many years to the abbot!

[Romaios]

There's a lot about "German Choral chant" (Deutsche Choral) as Fr. Johannes calls it on their site, if you can read German:

http://www.orthodox.de/choral.php

[Alpo]

http://www.orthodox.de/choral.php

I can't but I live in a Lutheran country and I have attended some lectures on development of Lutheran chorales.

[Romaios]

http://www.orthodox.de/choral.php

I can't but I live in a Lutheran country and I have attended some lectures on development of Lutheran chorales.

I think by "Deutsche Choral" Fr. Johannes understands his adaptation of Byzantine chant in German, not the Lutheran chorals. Modality (the eight tones) are very important to him. He says that initially Luther's hymns in German preserved the Gregorian tones, but these were soon ditched along with Latin chant. 

[Christopher McAvoy]

Being someone who sings it everyday, I can confirm to you that this "Weihrauchpsalm Zur abendlichen Weihrauchdarbringung " IS a gregorian melody. The melody resembles the average antiphon that would come before a canticle or psalm.

In particular the melody reminds me vaguely of the Antiphon on Magnificat at II Vespers for Nativity of Our Lord "Hodie Christus Natus est" (Today the Christ is born).

"Psalm 28 Aus dem Morgengottesdienst (Orthros) " - I can not tell which form this (I'm going to guess valaam?), yet it is very similar to the tone that the Gospel is sung to in Gregorian chant, but not psalms or canticles that I know of.

The Morgenprokimenon and Polyeleon are more valaam sounding, however it appears there is whether conciously or accidently an attempt to blend some of the different styles together. Sometimes when one person sings another kind of chant they accidently carry that influence into another form (that always creates some controversy with purists).  

I suppose their blending of different styles or influences is successful so far. I am impressed.

I have never ever witnessed anyone doing this before in the Orthodox Church, a few western rite orthodox churches have probably tried to do this but usually not very successfully, past attempts tended to sound much more awkward than these monks results.


As Marcel Peres first noted in 1993 (Gradual of Eleanor of Brittany CD), Some of the late medieval faux bourdons and 2 or 3 part polyphony and harmony of the latin church sound very similar to sound of the harmony in the slavic churches. That is an area I am trying to focus more on and accumulate settings of, rather than only the monodic plainchant versions. (theres also techniques to learn to harmonize by yourself without notation)

Example: Rex Caeli. Organum paralelo modificado

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzlK7TnmyoE

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