Byzantine Liturgical music/chant
  • KShaft
    Posts: 4
    When I search online for "Byzantine Chant" I get all sorts of different stuff. Some sounds like Middle Eastern chant, some sounds like polyphany, and some whats in the Liturgy.
    Can anyone impart a clue to me as to what is what? Perhaps a good site that can educate me or point me to some good recordings?

    Thanks,
    Keith
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,934
    As a Byzantine, I can tell you there is no single Byzantine chant. There are many churches using the Byzantine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. That is the definition of Byzantine. However, those churches are from different cultures. The middle-eastern Byzantines have their own chant, as do the Ukrainians, the Greeks, and the Russians, to name a few.
  • Blaise
    Posts: 439
    Glory to Jesus Christ, and to His Father, and the Holy Spirit!

    For the (Ruthenian) Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, there are some links to the kind of chant used by the Ruthenians:

    http://metropolitancantorinstitute.org/

    Also, I know from listening to YouTube, the Ukrainian Catholics (who are not Ruthenians, so that I don't confuse you) sometimes use polyphonic settings---though I did hear a polyphonic setting of the Cherubic Hymn, I think in a Ruthenian Divine Liturgy (it was identified only as "Byzantine"----see below).

    Also, as Charles said, the Byzantine rite is used by many Catholic (and Orthodox) Churches of the East, though the Ruthenians tend to use it as part of their official title, such as cited above, the (Ruthenian) Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh. Knowing this is helpful when looking up things on YouTube, etc. Therefore, it may not be entirely possible, if you are not familiar with Byzantine Christianity, to tell which Catholic (or Orthodox) Church (Ruthenian, Ukrainian, etc.) is celebrating a particular Divine Liturgy in a particular video or recording if a video or recording is only identified as "Byzantine" or "Byzantine Catholic".
  • KShaft
    Posts: 4
    Glory to the Holy Trinity forever!

    CharlesW: Thank you for clearing that up. Its a bit difficult to grasp. Gregorian Chant is the same in France as it is in England as it is in the US. If one tone originated outside of the nation of the monastery, it would be incorporated in another without any hassle. I guess thats a benefit of having a common language.

    Paul Viola: You must have read my mind as I was thinking to get the Ruthenians primarily(Im also interested in the Ukrainian) and I have a Matins book from the above mentioned site given to me by a Deacon since Im one of the only guys who shows up for Matins at that Parish. Kinda sad, its so beautiful and no one goes... I used "Byzantine" to get a broader search going, and I think it was a bit too broad.

    Since Ive started participating in the Liturgies yet love the Western Sacred music, I figure to try some of the Byzantine Sacred Music, and its been a bit more difficult to pin down.

    Thank you all!
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