Chanting Ministry
The traditional music of the Greek Orthodox Church and several other Orthodox Church jurisdictions is often called Byzantine Chant– as it was the liturgical music of the Eastern Roman Empire whose capital was Byzantium – later renamed Constantinople in 330 A.D. Byzantine Chant is a synthesis of the role of the chanter (or cantor) in first century Judaism and the Hellenistic music of the Eastern Mediterranean region, an evolution of the temple worship of Judaism as the Church is the New Israel.
The goal of every Orthodox Christian is theosis–a union with God by grace – and this Byzantine music fosters a spirit of repentance. It works in coordination with the art and architecture of our services, the priests’ vestments, the icons, and the writings of our Holy Fathers, culminating in a type of Byzantine synthesis. Though other forms of music have developed in the Orthodox world over the centuries, we do not simply continue to use Byzantine music because of historical and cultural antecedents, but because of the advocacy of the Holy Spirit. It is a divine revelation just as the Scriptures are a divine revelation. It is not simply a means of grace, but a grace itself.
Byzantine Chant is monophonic, which means there is a singular line of melody, called melos, but there is also a single drone pitch , called an ison, which provides a tonal balance. The ison is the floor upon which the melody dances. It sounds very much like listening to bagpipes where the melody plays over constant tones that never cease, even if the melos stops.
The tonal system used by chanters is an eight mode system that has evolved much in the past 15 centuries, and each mode has its own distinct melodic and aesthetic character. The hymns of the church are prescribed to be chanted in one of those eight modes.
One aspect of Orthodox liturgies (i.e. Vespers, Orthros, Divine Liturgy) that may often surprise visitors is that around 98% of these services are chanted, not read. There is no counterpart in Orthodoxy to a Roman Catholic “Low Mass,” which is mostly spoken by a priest. Even the parts that are not sung melodically are often intoned on a single pitch. And as this style of chanting emerged out of first century Judaism, the hymns of the churches are meant to be chanted antiphonally with one choir announcing and the other responding. This is even found in the Scriptures, particularly the Psalms, where a statement is read and then responded to. Take, for example, Psalm 135 (LXX) in which the right choir begins “Oh give thanks unto the Lord for He is good” and the left choir responds “For his mercy endures forever. Alleluia.” This constant call and response–also happens between the priest and the chanters and is a foreshadowing here on earth–of the eternal liturgy which takes place in the heavens.
This traditional chant has been handed down for use for 15 centuries and it is imperative that we receive it faithfully and execute it faithfully for another 15 centuries, regardless of what language is used. In the last 15 years, there has been a veritable explosion of Byzantine Chant music in the English language, so it is now possible to chant almost every single service in English.
The chanters at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church are under the direction of protopsaltis, Reader Christopher John Palo. If interested in learning more about the Byzantine chant tradition or joining the chanting choir, please contact him here.
