Undusted Texts

In Western musical notation, the length and relative timing of notes are shown on a staff, where the vertical position of a note (in notation) on the staff represents which note (on the scale) is to be sung or played.  The mentality of Byzantine psalmody notation is vastly different.  In Byzantine psalmody notation, there is no staff, only a single row of markings.  Each note (in notation) shows which note (on the scale) is to be sung relative to the note that was just sung.  Byzantine psalmody notation thus shows the intervals between notes, rather than which note (on the scale) each note (in notation) represents.  In addition, there are markings in Byzantine psalmody notation for representing the length of notes and other characteristics (such as tying notes together, changing the force of a sung note, increasing volume, etc.) In Byzantine psalmody, the notes in notation which represent these intervals are called neumes .  There are ten basic neumes f...

Each Wednesday during the school year, I pray a Rosary with a spiritual brotherhood I am a member of, a Rosary that is often prayed during a procession led by an icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa.  This past week, as I prayed with my rosary in my right hand and my komboskini around my left wrist, I thought of the sublime combination of traditions. On one hand, we were praying the Rosary, the traditional Marian prayer revealed to St. Dominic.  With this prayer, we fervently beseeched the intercession of Our Lady, the Mother of God, as we meditated upon the mysteries of the life of Our Lord.  On the other hand (quite literally), my komboskini wrapped around my wrist reminded me to constantly remember Jesus Christ and to pray unceasingly the Jesus Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.  The Rosary is a traditional devotion of the Western Church, and the Jesus Prayer prayed on a komboskini is a traditional devotion of the Eastern Church....

Χριστος ανεστι!  Byzantine psalmody has its oldest roots in ancient Greek music, the music of modes such as Dorian, Ionian, Lydian, Phrygian, Mixolydian, etc.  (Not being versed in ancient Greek music, I cannot say any more than that.)  The main Christian roots are traditionally linked with St. Ephraim the Syrian (306-373), Doctor of the Church: some claim that he originally created Christian chant and that even Gregorian chant had its roots in his work.  No real method of Byzantine psalmody begins to be expounded in writing until St. John of Damascus (676-749), the great defender of icons.  Byzantine notation , the unique style of writing music used by Byzantine psalmody (very different from Western styles, both modern "European" notation and Gregorian chant notation), began to be written (from what we know) with the work of this great saint.  Though his system was complex, it was usable.  Over time, though, Byzantine notation became so convoluted th...

This is the base page for my series/project on Byzantine psalmody .  Below are links to posts in the series, other posts on sacred music, a list of abbreviations for works I use throughout the series, and links to other Church documents on sacred music. Posts: Why Should I Care About Byzantine Psalmody? (4/12/12) A Quick History and the Notes (4/12/12)  The Ten Basic Neumes (Part 1) (4/22/12) Abbreviations: BM = Byzantine Music in Theory and in Practice by Prof. Savas I. Savas, trans. Nicholas Dufault, Boston: Hercules Press, 1965. BP = Byzantine Prosomia: The Chanter's Companion by Holy Transfiguration Monastery (2005). DMS = De musica sacra et sacra liturgia , Instruction by the Sacred Congregation for Rites (9/3/1958) GMEOC = A Guide to the Music of the Eastern Orthodox Church by N. Lungu, G. Costea, and I. Croitoru, trans. Nicholas K. Apostola, Brookline: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1984. GTM = Great Theory of Music by Chrysanthos of Madytos, trans. Katy...

Χριστος ανεστι!  It is well-known that the Second Vatican Council declared that Gregorian chant is "specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services" (SC 116).  This does not mean that other types of music are completely banned from the liturgy (as some, including myself at times, try to claim), but it does mean that there is no place for completely doing away with Gregorian chant. Why is Gregorian chant so suited to the liturgy?  For one, it was specifically created for the liturgy.  Its original purpose is for the glorification of God through the divine rites.  It is a music set apart.  Second, it keeps the liturgical texts prominent.  The chant involves simple music which serves to highlight the text rather than hiding it in auditory flourishes.  This is keeping with Pope St. Pius X's description of sacred music: "Since its principal office is to clothe with ...

I was recently instructed that, as a catechist, I should blend myself into my students, to make myself one of them, in order to make them accept me.  If I was too "different" or too blatant in my Catholicism, I would not be accepted.  Instead, I should work from within them, almost in an undercover way.  The thing is, it is difficult to be undercover when your students know you are teaching them the faith.  I can understand my professor's point: the members of the Church should integrate themselves into society so they can change it from within.  It is not an outside force that will bring change, but a force hidden within, such as hidden yeast leavens dough.  We are to be Trojan horses: we must sneak under their radar and then slowly purify their drinking water with the nectar of the faith.  The problem is this: I do not see this as an effective method. I apologize if I am being proud: I am just giving my opinion on an issue that directly affects h...

Χριστος ανεστι!  Christ is risen!  Indeed, Christ our High Priest has died so we may die to sin and risen that we may rise to eternal life.  He has redeemed us: He has atoned for our sins.  Under the Old Covenant, the Jewish High Priest prayed his hardest and tried all that he could to atone for the sins of himself, his house, and his people, Israel, yet he still had to try to make atonement year after year on Yom Kippur.  The true High Priest, Jesus Christ, had only to suffer once for our atonement, and He has attained all. In reading the accounts of the Jewish High Priest's preparations for atonement, one can possibly see a type of our true atonement through the Son of God.  As it says in the Mishnah , "He sanctified his hands and his feet and stripped off his clothes...He went down and immersed himself, came up and dried himself.  They brought him white garments; he put them on and sanctified his hands and his feet" ( Yoma 3:6). Do we not ...

Anastasis icon dated 1315 from the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora in Istanbul, Turkey   Χριστος ανεστι!  Christ is risen!  (And you, of course, are responding, "Αλειθος ανεστι!  Truly He is risen!")  Today (for those following the calendar of the Catholic Church) is Pascha (Easter, for most English speakers), the most holy day of days, the feast of feasts, the day of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Today is the true Passover, when Christ passed over from death to life, and because of this it truly bears the name Pascha ("Passover" in Greek).  To celebrate this miracle of miracles, the Eastern Church has a festal icon of Christ's Resurrection, just as they have icons for various other feasts. The icon of Pascha is 'Η Αναστασις , The Resurrection.  (Etymologically, anastasis literally means "standing again," combining ana (again) and stasis (standing).)  Though there are multiple Paschal icons, this is the most promin...