Archdiocesan School of Byzantine Music Byzantine Music: Theory and Practice Guide 7&aaossosuoluofaoauO3#aao ajojjofIoluO7&saossosuoluof aoauO4`&aaojjojiofIoluO1!saos sosuoluofaoauO5`!aaojjojioFIoluO2@ saossosuoluofaoauO6~@aaojjojio fIoluO3#saossosuoluofaoauO7&ajo jjofIoluO4`&sCjojjofIolu3#DjojjofIoluO2@ sCjojjofIoluO1!DjojjofIoluoaaoau7& i Archdiocesan School of Byzantine Music Byzantine Music:Theory and Practice Guide First Edition Copyright © 2011 by Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America 8 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075 www.goarch.org All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America Byzantine Music: Theory and Practice Guide This book is made possible with the blessing and spiritual guidance of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America Publication Overseer Reverend Archdeacon Panteleimon Papadopoulos Authors Reverend Deacon Aristidis Garinis Dr. Demetrios Kehagias Transcription & Audio Antonios Kehagias Georgios Giavris Academic Oversight Grammenos Karanos, Ph.D. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America New York, NY commend the Archdiocesan School of Byzantine Music for the publication of the Byzantine Music: Theory and Practice Guide, and for their continuous effort to promote Orthodox ecclesiastical chant throughout the Archdiocese. The rising desire to uphold this ageless and superb musical tradition is indicative of its effectiveness to inspire the faithful in prayer through the intelligible and proper rendering of our Orthodox hymnology. Through this publication, a new generation of stewards will be educated who will strive to uphold our rich liturgical inheritance known as Byzantine music. A music that helps in applying in the best way, the instructions of Saint Paul to the Ephesians when he tells them to address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all their heart (Ephesians 5:19). Thus this book will prove to be a vital educational tool for the teaching of such a music following the tradition of our Ecumenical Patriarchate. It is my prayer that the Lord bless this book, and the school which produced it, and secure the future of Byzantine music as an integral part of the Orthodox identity and expression of faith. With paternal love, +DEMETRIOS Archbishop of America This book is dedicated to the countless teachers who have preserved the art of byzantine music in the tradition of the ecumenical patriarchate. We continue, through their efforts, to offer up prayer with one voice and one heart, glorifying our Almighty God. Table of Contents Acknowledgments i Archdeacon Panteleimon Papadopoulos, ASBM Director Foreword ii Dr. Demetrios Kehagias, ASBM Instructor Introduction: A Brief Overview of the Psaltic Art iii Grammenos Karanos, Ph.D. in Byzantine Musicology Assistant Professor of Byzantine Music, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology Byzantine Music: Theory and Practice 1 Chanting with Melos 35 Definition of Terms 40 A Synoptic Theory Chart & Reference 41 Index of Byzantine Music Characters 50 Sing praise with all your heart and voice, and bless the name of the Lord. Sirach 39:35 Acknowledgments n this spirit of praise and with thanks to the Lord, I enthusiastically welcome the publica- tion of the ASBM Byzantine Music:Theory and Practice Guide. It is my sincere hope that this book will prove to be the first step in decisively assisting students of Byzantine music throughout the Archdiocese and will help share the beauty of our Byzantine liturgical heritage by training a new generation of church musicians. It was apparent to the administration and faculty of the Archdiocesan School of Byzantine Music (ASBM) that the need to produce an English textbook for the students of our school was paramount. From the beginning of ASBM in October of 2010, the textbook that we used was ineffective in fully communicating the intricacies of Byzantine music in a clear manner and in a language that was under- standable to a majority of the students. The first year of the school’s operation afforded us the opportu- nity to re-evaluate the teaching methodology being used and whether the resources given to the students were indeed helpful. The results of our study showed that a theory book in English was needed to keep the students engaged both theoretically and practically. Thus a committee was formed to oversee the publication of such a book, produced and written specifically for students enrolled in ASBM. While the scope of this book is focused on serving the needs of the students enrolled in ASBM, it is by no means considered limited to them and could be used as a resource by anyone interested in learning Byzantine music. I offer my sincerest thanks to Rev. Dn. Aristidis Garinis and Dr. Demetrios Kehagias for the co-authoring, layout, and publication of this book. Their tireless commitment to produce this book was a true labor of love. Additionally, I offer my gratitude to Mr. Georgios Giavris for typing out all the ex- ercises and to Mr. Antonios Kehagias for recording them onto audio CDs. I also thank Dr. Grammenos Karanos for his contribution and academic oversight of this book. Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America for his continuous encouragement and support not only for ASBM but for our efforts to expand this musical ministry of our Archdiocese for the edification of God’s people and the glory of His Name. With my warmest prayers for a fruitful study of Byzantine music, I remain Sincerely yours, Archdeacon Panteleimon Papadopoulos Director, Archdiocesan School of Byzantine Music i Foreword s we are now preparing to begin our second academic year of ASBM this book, the Byzantine Music: Theory and Practice Guide, should prove to be a most useful educational tool. The study of Byzantine music, as with any language or art, is filled with many practical complexities. For one, the student must be equipped with the sort of natural tools, what we call ‘God-given’ in colloquial language. In addition, the secondary factor, and even more important, is the ability of the teacher to communicate with the students in a way that will convey not only music as an art, but a tradition deeply rooted in the faith of Orthodox Christianity known as Byzantine chant. This book is an effort to preserve and pass on the beauty of proper liturgical music in the tradition of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, with the overall aim to inspire people into prayer. ASBM has the good fortune of having an increased participation of individuals wanting to learn Byzantine music. These individuals become students of music for reasons of personal enrichment of faith as well as communal. Our faculty is increasingly encouraging these students to serve the local parish as educated chanters and faithful Orthodox Christians. In this way, students of Byzantine music should be informed by the content of their study and able to inspire others through the proper rendering of our hymnology. I am personally thankful to God for allowing me this great opportunity and responsibility to train future chanters of our Greek Orthodox Church in the Direct Archdiocesan District. I am also thankful to be involved in the creative process of this book. It is my desire that prospective students of Byzantine music will emerge and acquire this book as a useful learning resource. Regretfully, many individuals have expressed their desire to learn how to chant but are unable to, due to a lack of resources in their area. I pray that the Archdiocesan School of Byzantine Music: Theory Book and Practice Guide will find its place in each local metropolis and religious education department across the Archdiocese. This ambitious project would not be possible without the diligent spiritual guidance of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America. On behalf of, the entire ASBM faculty I would like to express to him our deep sense of gratitude and reverence. Sincerely, Dr. Demetrios Kehagias Instructor, Archdiocesan School of Byzantine Music ii A Brief Overview of the Psaltic Art “Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.” (James 5:13 KJV) As is evident from St. James the Brother of the Lord’s exhortation, the history of the Christian Church has always been not only a history of prayer, but also a history of song. If in some contemporary Christian denominations music plays a secondary role, it would be no exaggeration to state that in the Greek Orthodox Church almost all of worship is musical. And how could it be otherwise if “chanting is an angelic ministry for [it] gives joy, but it is also prayer?1” Following the ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle, the Fathers of the Church recognized the beneficial impact music can have on souls and adopted it as an important pedagogical tool to lead humans to eternal salvation. St. Basil the Great expresses the Church’s attitude in very clear terms: “For when the Holy Spirit saw that mankind was ill-inclined toward virtue and that we were heedless of the righteous life because of our inclination to pleasure, what did he do? He blended the delight of melody with doctrine in order that through the pleasantness and softness of the sound we might unawares receive what was useful in the words, according to the practice of the physicians, who, when they give the more bitter draughts to the sick, often smear the rip of the cup with honey.”2 Music then is the “sweet honey” with which the Church mixes the doctrines of the faith, in order to heal the sick souls of the faithful. It is through these lenses that the Psaltic Art of the Greek Orthodox Church ought to be viewed. In the present article, whose aim is to highlight the significance of the present publication, I will give a brief overview of this fine art, focusing on its essential characteristics, its composers and practitioners, its notational system, and the didactic methodology used by its teachers throughout history.