The Performance of Byzantine ChantThe actual performance practice, when speaking of medieval Byzantine chant, one must first be reminded that not everything that was sung was written down in notes and secondly, not everything that was written in notes was sung as written. To begin with, musical notation was simply a device, a graphic tool, invented to preserve a melody that was relatively new, relatively complex, and relatively difficult to sing from memory. Familiar items were not recorded but left to communal memory and to oral tradition. Furthermore, sacred chants, whether from the Latin West or the Greek East, were never meant to be rigidly or mechanically duplicated at each performance. A chanter's approach to the music could be compared with that of a jazz musician's approach to a vocal or instrumental line. In both cases, improvisation was the hallmark of the style. In both cases the skill and experience of the performer affected the musical rendition. The inscribing of a chant melody in a manuscript was, in the first instance, one man's application at one moment of a musical gloss on a traditional melody.

Byzantine Chant

St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, Richmond Hill, Ontario Audio library for Byzantine Chantinghttp://www.stgeorgeto.com/WordPress/?page_id=16http://www.monachos.net/content/liturgics/liturgical-studies/

108-early-christian-and-byzantine-music-history-and-performance

The Octoechos are the Eight Tones. These are melodic lines, called hymns. They are derived

from very ancient Greek and Eastern (Syrian/Anatolian) pre-Christian melodies, distilled over time to eight.

Each tone has dominating notes,

which are heard more often than others. These dominating notes bring out the strong flavor of each melodic line. For example, the dominating notes for the First Tone are Pa, Dhi, and Ga. Each tone uses the dominating notes in definite patterns. The most recognizable form of this is the interval of the 4th as sung in the First Tone (Pa to Dhi) and the 7th Tone (Ga to Zo).

Tone IIICalled Phrygian by the ancient Greeks, Marcian the Greek brought it from Phrygia in Asia Minor. At Bridegroom Matins, Tone III is used for the Exaposteilarion, I See Thy Bridal Chamber Adorned. Tone III has an almost arrogant, brave, and mature air.Tone IVCalled Mixolydian by the ancient Greeks, this tone is attributed to the poet-musician Sappho. Tone IV is used in Orthros (the Anabathmoi From my youth for feast days, and the Hiermos of the Canon to the Theotokos, I shall open my mouth…), the well-known canon to the Theotokos used on Fridays in Lent with the Akathist Hymn, and in various troparia for feast and saints’ days (the Troparia of the Nativity, the Ascension, and the Annunciation). Tone IV possesses a festive, dancing flavor, is joyous and capable of expressing deep piety.Tone VCalled Hyperdorian by the ancient Greeks, Tone V is the Plagal of the First Tone since it is derived from Tone I. Plagal means to change or alter. The most well known example of Tone V is the Evlogetaria in Orthros. Also in Tone V are Christ is Risen and the Paschal Sticharia. This tone is stimulating, dancing, and rhythmical. It is often the first tone learned by students of Byzantine Music.Tone VICalled Hypolydian by the ancient Greeks, Tone VI is the Plagal of the Second Tone. It is one of the favorite tones of Mid-Eastern chanters, and one of the more difficult ones for students to learn. Tone VI is distinguished by its rich texture, funeralic character, and generally sorrowful tone.Tone VIICalled Vareis, meaning grave in Greek, Tone VII was known as Hypophrygian by the ancient Greeks. The Troparion for the Transfiguration is in Tone VII. It is the Plagal of the Third Tone, and is distinguished by a manly character and strong melody.Tone VIIICalled Hypomixolydian by the ancient Greeks, this is the Plagal of the Fourth Tone. This also favorite tone of the Church is heard in the Canon of the Cross, the Troparion for the Holy Fathers, and the Troparion of Pentecost (Most Blessed Art Thou, O Christ Our God). This tone creates an air of humility, tranquility, and repose, expressing in many cases suffering and pleading.

The Eight TonesTone ICalled Dorian by the ancient Greeks, Tone I is used in some of the most familiar hymns of the Church year: O Lord, Save Thy People (Troparion of the Cross), O Christ our God, when thou didst raise Lazarus (Troparion of Palm Sunday), the Troparion for Theophany, the Troparion for the Meeting of the Lord, and the Troparion for the Dormition. Tone I is distinguished by a magnificent, happy, and earthy character.

Tone IICalled Lydian by the ancient Greeks, Tone II comes from the city of Sardes in Lydia around 670 B.C. This tone plays a significant role in Orthros (the Glory after Psalm 50 and the Exaposteilaria). Tone II is distinguished by a languid, moving, and graceful character. It can inspire either majesty, gentleness and hope, or repentance and sadness.

http://holycrossonline.org/our_ministries/parish_ministries/chant/byzantine_chant/

The Desert and the CityByzantine liturgical music did not come about in a cultural vacuum. It has its origins in the desert and in the city: in the primitive psalmody of the early Egyptian and Palestinian desert communities that arose in the 4th to 6th centuries, and in urban centers with their cathedral liturgies full of music and ceremonial. It is this mixed musical tradition that we have inherited today — a mixture of the desert and the city.In the desert monasteries psalms were sung by a soloist who intoned the verses slowly and in a loud voice. The monks were seated on the ground or on small stools because they were weakened by fasts and other austerities.

But in the secular cathedrals the psalms were not rendered in numerical order; rather, they consisted of appropriate psalms that were selected for their specific reference to the hour of the day or for their subject matter which suited the spirit of the occasion for the service. The urban services also included meaningful ceremonies such as the lighting of the lamps and the offering of incense. Moreover, a great deal of emphasis was placed on active congregational participation. The psalms were not sung by a soloist totally alone but in a responsorial or antiphonal manner in which congregational groups sang a refrain after the psalm verses. The idea was to have everyone involved in an effort of common celebration: there was no place here for individual contemplation.Psalmody

Vegetable paper Unknown provenance, 1743 A.D. A psalmody consists of religious songs, prayers and poems and plays a major role in the Coptic-Orthodox liturgy and personal devotion. This example is written in Coptic with a transliteration into Arabic and is decorated on various pages. This Folio 177v features Moses and God speaking to him from within a Burning Bush. http://www.coptic-cairo.com/museum/selection/manuscript/manuscript.html

Desert monastery, Mar Saba

A 5th C AD monastery, the largest in the Judean desert. The walled complex is built on the southern cliffs of the Kidron creek , and is protected inside a walled area with dozens of structures . It was

established by Saint Sabas, and named after him. The monastery started as a place of seclusion of few monks in the caves, led by Mar Saba. Over the years

it was built, expanded, and fortified. During the peak times it housed about 500 monks.

During the Persian invasion (614AD) the monastery was damaged, and restored in 629. After being robbed in 796 its was further fortified in the 9th C AD. The Crusaders expanded the fortifications in the 12C.  When the Crusaders left the Holy Land they transferred Saba's bones to Venice, which were returned here o nly in 1965.  During the Turkish rule the monastery was raided several times by the local Bedouins.  It was also damaged in a 19th C earthquake, but was restored in 1840 by the Russians.

http://www.biblewalks.com/Sites/Marsaba.html

psal·mo·dy   ˈsɑ mə di, ˈsæl mə-/     Show Spelled[sah-muh-dee, sal-muh-]     Show IPA –noun,plural-dies. 1. the act, practice, or art of setting psalms to music. 2. psalms or hymns collectively. 3. the act, practice, or art of singing psalms.

Encyclopediapsalmodysinging of psalms in worship. In biblical times professional singers chanted psalms during Jewish religious services. Occasionally, the congregation interpolated a short refrain between the chanted verses. The alternation of soloist and chorus was called responsorial psalmody (see responsory). Another method, antiphonal psalmody, was the alternation by two half choirs in the singing of psalm lines or half lines (see antiphon). Psalms were also sung without either refrain or alternating singers (direct psalmody). These methods of psalmody were adopted by the early Christian Church in the East and West. Early

Christian psalmody was the germ from which evolved both the

classical Gregorian chant and also the Byzantine, Ambrosian, and other Christian chants (see also

psalm tone).

http://comp.uark.edu/~rlee/chant.html

The Gregorian Chant Gregorian chant was for centuries the music of the Roman Catholic Church. While Christian chanting developed from Hebrew chants, Gregorian chant, as we know it today, is the most notable contribution of the Catholic church to the musical tradition of the west. There was significant development over the centuries, but the chants we sing today were probably also sung a thousand years ago. Chant is an important part of the history and tradition of the Catholic Church. The Vatican II document, Sacrosanctum Concilium states that "the Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy; therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services."

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/psalmody

Byzantine Chant notation