ÿ=======================================================================VPR- --- From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" Date: Sat, 11 May 1996 23:23:47 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Ruthenian Chant List Message-Id: To: cineast@catinfo.cts.com (Multiple recipients of CIN Eastern Rite Conference) Reply-To: cineast@catinfo.cts.com Sender: cineast-owner@catinfo.cts.com Feast of Ss. Cyril and Methodius, Apostles to the Slavs In order to facilitate the preparation of music for Vespers and Matins services in the Ruthenian Catholic Church, I have set up a new mailing list named CANTOR-L. I hope that this list can be used to 1. Create a meeting place for cantors working in the liturgical traditions of Subcarpathia (both Ruthenian Catholic and Carpatho-Russian Orthodox) 2. Organize a project to collect the existing recensions of the prostopinije chant in Slavonic, and prepare new editions of this chant in English where they are lacking or incomplete 3. Prepare a frequently-asked questions list (FAQ) on Ruthenian liturgy and church music, aimed at cantors and readers Anyone interested in prostopinije chant and the Ruthenian liturgical tradition is welcome to join. Just sent the following message to listserv@wvnvm.wvnet.edu SUBSCRIBE CANTOR-L firstname lastname Feel free to write me for more information, or if you have trouble with the listserv. Yours in Christ, Jeff Mierzejewski -- | CIN (619-449-6030) Fido: (1:202/1613) http://www.cin.org/cin | St. Gabriel Gift & Book Nook: http://www.stgabriel.com/gabriel ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Sun, 12 May 1996 21:08:07 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Getting started We are here! We are here! We are here! -- Dr. Seuss, "Horton Hears a Who" Welcome, Peter and Bill! Just a note to let you know what's going on at this end. 1. I talked to Father David Petras of St. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Pittsburgh today. As far as he knows, there are no formal guidelines in the Metropolia for priestless Vespers and Matins services; he's willing to look at the Orthodox reader services rubrics I have and give us his comments. Also, no one else he knows of is presently working on materials for Vespers and Matins in parishes, so we have an open field. 2. I have in my possession a set of books with music for Saturday evening Vespers for the whole year, as used by the Carpatho- Russian Orthodox of Johnstown. They use slightly different texts, but the chant is virtually identical. I'm taking a look at adapting the format directly for Ruthenian Vespers. 3. I'm waiting for a Matins book to arrive from Uniontown, at which point I'll start on setting the irmosy of the Canons. 4. If we prepared a FAQ (frequently asked questions) list on Ruthenian liturgy and chant, what would you like to see in it? I'm thinking of something like the following: 1. What are the public services of the Ruthenian Church? 2. What is prostopinije? 7. Where can I find Ruthenian service books? 8. Where can I find prostopinije materials? 10. What are the Eight Tones? ---Vespers--- 15. What is Vespers? 16. How does Vespers begin? 17. How is Psalm 103 sung? 18. What are stichiry? 19. What are samohlasen tones? 20. What are podobny? 21. How do I know what stichiry to use? ---Matins--- 33. What is the Canon? 34. How do I know what Canon to use? 35. How is the Canon sung? ---Divine Liturgy--- --Public Devotions--- 103. How is the Akathistos sung? You get the idea. Most of this information is _there_, just in people's heads or scattered in a lot of different places. Any suggestions on organizing it differently? Realizing that we need the framework, and the text may take some time to fill in, what else should be in it? Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Mon, 13 May 1996 04:53:28 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Re: Getting started To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Jeff, Although I am not a Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic (I'm Ukrainian Catholic), I feel that there are a number of things that we could learn and develop together. > > 1. I talked to Father David Petras of St. Cyril and Methodius > Seminary in Pittsburgh today. As far as he knows, there are > no formal guidelines in the Metropolia for priestless Vespers > and Matins services; he's willing to look at the Orthodox > reader services rubrics I have and give us his comments. > Also, no one else he knows of is presently working on materials > for Vespers and Matins in parishes, so we have an open field. Yes. Guidelines for Reader services would be great! I got some from the Indiana Orthodox list. The "Office of Vespers" book put out by the Basilian Sisters in Uniontown do have some instructions for Reader Vespers. Finally, "The Hours of Prayer" put out by the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Diocese of USA also has a reader service. Please let me know if you can use any of these. > > 2. I have in my possession a set of books with music for Saturday > evening Vespers for the whole year, as used by the Carpatho- > Russian Orthodox of Johnstown. They use slightly different > texts, but the chant is virtually identical. I'm taking a look > at adapting the format directly for Ruthenian Vespers. A potential point of discussion would be what music writing program are you using. If we, as a group could standardize, we could share the load of arranging the English text to the traditional chants. > > 3. I'm waiting for a Matins book to arrive from Uniontown, at which > point I'll start on setting the irmosy of the Canons. I'd be interested in seeing this. I have a xerox of an old book (about 1890's) published in Lviv using something called Kievan square notation. I think that the irmos are set to music. Let me know if you think you could use s xerox of a xerox of this book. > > 4. If we prepared a FAQ (frequently asked questions) list on Ruthenian > liturgy and chant, what would you like to see in it? I'm thinking > of something like the following: > > 1. What are the public services of the Ruthenian Church? > 2. What is prostopinije? > > 7. Where can I find Ruthenian service books? > 8. Where can I find prostopinije materials? > > 10. What are the Eight Tones? > > > ---Vespers--- > 15. What is Vespers? > 16. How does Vespers begin? > 17. How is Psalm 103 sung? > 18. What are stichiry? > 19. What are samohlasen tones? > 20. What are podobny? > 21. How do I know what stichiry to use? > > > ---Matins--- > 33. What is the Canon? > 34. How do I know what Canon to use? > 35. How is the Canon sung? > > ---Divine Liturgy--- > > > > --Public Devotions--- > 103. How is the Akathistos sung? > > > You get the idea. Most of this information is _there_, just in people's > heads or scattered in a lot of different places. Any suggestions on > organizing it differently? Realizing that we need the framework, and > the text may take some time to fill in, what else should be in it? > I think that the outline is great. Much of the information you are gathering is very general and could be very useful for not only Ruthenians, but the Ukrainians as well. Do the Ruthenians use the Bulgarian tones as well for the sycheras? I've considered starting a Cantor's handbook myself since I'm just learning the fundamentals. I would sugest that we also include information as how do we combine tropars for occassions when feastdays merge, for example when the Annunciation falls on a Sunday, or define the various classifications of holydays. A section of how should a cantor prepare himself would be useful in both spiritual and physical terms. For example, what does a cantor do when he has a cold, etc. I wouldn't mind volunteering some space on St. Michael's home page to post some of this information once it is compiled. I feel that it could be of great use out there. Peter ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Mon, 13 May 1996 13:46:35 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: CANTOR-L To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear brothers and sisters, Christ is Risen! I am almost overwhelmed with happiness! Stuck our here in the West, miles from any parish and trying to learn our chant from scratch. I was going mad. Now I feel like I'm not alone! Well, time to roll up the sleeves and get on with it. We have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us. I have only one request about the process. Could those who arrange music also make tapes at the same time and send them out, if not with every new setting, then at some kind of regular interval. They needn't be anything more than singing into a portable cassette recorder. As long as our mailing list isn't too large the expense shouldn't be too great. If it does prove impractical we may need to consider other strategies, but I do think it is important for us to try and have the music in aural as well as written form as much as possible. Another thought: see how things go for twelve months or so, and if we're getting somehere we might consider applying for some grant monies to help us along. We may have some luck with the Catholic Near East Association. Any other foundations you know of? I would be more than happy to take on the task of preparing the application. My monastery successfully obtained $25,000 from a foundation just this year, so I know money is out there. I do have a music writing program here. It is Concertware 1.5. But I do not yet have a MIDI keyboard, so It's only of limited use (and I don't know the music well enough anyway to hazard my own arragements). I guess I could act as a scribe and put handwritten scores onto disk if that would be a help. Just send me stuff! But my main contribution, I think, would be in the area of rubrics and publishing service books and pamphlets. I agree that an ideal first project would be the production of a booklet for Vespers as a reader service (shall we start there and work up to Matins?). Here is my main suggestion. I could work up a text based on the Uniontown Vespers book and incorporating Father David's suggestions. We can decide how much music and other material should be part of the book as we go along. Money will be a consideration. When we have a good draft we should submit it to the Inter-Eparchial Liturgical Commission for approval. It would be wonderful if we could also submit it to Bishop Nicholas. We'll see what God wills in that regard. If this is acceptable to you, Jeff, Peter and Bill, let me know and I'll get to work after Pentecost. The other way I can help is by preparing answers to some of those FAQs. I'd be best off with the ones that are more to do with the history/theology of the services rather than the sepcifically musical ones. I'll await orders, Jeff! Father Nicholas, my abbot, will remember this fledgling project very specially at the Altar, and all of us here at Holy Resurrection Monastery have it in our prayers. I expect to be seeing Bishop George this week (who is also Chairman of the Liturgical Commission) and will mention this new endeavour to him. I know he will be interested. In Christ Monk Maximos HCommun871@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Mon, 13 May 1996 17:54:12 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Re: CANTOR-L To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L > Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen. Brother Maximos, >... They needn't be anything more than singing into a portable cassette > recorder. As long as our mailing list isn't too large the expense shouldn't > be too great. If it does prove impractical we may need to consider other > strategies, but I do think it is important for us to try and have the music > in aural as well as written form as much as possible. I have a dual cassette machine which can make copies (they won't be the best of quality, but useable). The cassette tape is a good idea. I had to do an arrangement of music for the funeral of a layman in English and had to learn to sing the music. I listened to it and sang with it on the way to work, and now I know the music in my sleep. Fortunately for my wife, I only snore and don't sing in my sleep :-) > > I do have a music writing program here. It is Concertware 1.5. But I do not > yet have a MIDI keyboard, so It's only of limited use (and I don't know the > music well enough anyway to hazard my own arragements). I guess I could act > as a scribe and put handwritten scores onto disk if that would be a help. > Just send me stuff! Could you describe Concertware 1.5? Is it DOS or Windows based? Does it have to have a time signature to work? I'm using an old version of MusicTime. It is marginally acceptable, but cheap. It does insist on a time signature, so writing out music for the tones for tropars is a bit of a challenge. If we can standardize on a music program (assuming everyone out there is PC-based), we can send music files to each other over the net! We can also share the load as far as the desktop publishing. I've done some booklets for St. Michael's with music, and it is a real chore! If you can live with an inexpensive midi keyboard, check out MusicStar by Reveal. Computer City has it for about $59 (on sale, you can get it for $49) and there is a $40 rebate if you buy it before May 31. I bought one and it is not bad. It has 37 keys & 3 octaves. The Midi-interface alone normally costs about $18. I should point out that I bought mine about two months ago and haven't received the $40 rebate. > > But my main contribution, I think, would be in the area of rubrics and > publishing service books and pamphlets. I agree that an ideal first project > would be the production of a booklet for Vespers as a reader service (shall > we start there and work up to Matins?). Here is my main suggestion. I could > work up a text based on the Uniontown Vespers book and incorporating Father > David's suggestions. We can decide how much music and other material should > be part of the book as we go along. Money will be a consideration. When we > have a good draft we should submit it to the Inter-Eparchial Liturgical > Commission for approval. It would be wonderful if we could also submit it to > Bishop Nicholas. We'll see what God wills in that regard. I'm guessing that you mean "The Office of Vespers" done by the Sisters of St. Basil's. Should we get the permission of the Sisters? I'm very interested in learning about the differences and similarites between Ruthenian and Ukrainian music. I'm guessing that a lot of the fundamentals (which chants, tones, etc. are used when) are the same. > The other way I can help is by preparing answers to some of those FAQs. I'd > be best off with the ones that are more to do with the history/theology of > the services rather than the sepcifically musical ones. I'll await orders, > Jeff! I can help out by providing fundemantal questions for the FAQ's. I know just enough to get into real trouble! If there's a mistake to be made, I'm probably the person to make it first :-) I'm hoping that all of you will help to keep me out of trouble. Peter ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 13:13:20 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: CANTOR-L Comments: To: hrycak@the-hermes.net To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Peter wrote: >Could you describe Concertware 1.5? Is it DOS or Windows based? >Does it have to have a time signature to work? Um, um, I guess I should have fessed up: I'm on a Mac. Also I'm barely computer literate. Everything I have has been donated by other people, so I never even went through the process of comparison shopping. I feel so inadequate :-) However, the Concertware manual tells me the application runs on the Mac and Windows formats. I have only used it to write out some of our chants for a single voice. And I have had not had too much trouble doing it. You can set it so that no time signature is required. I have not tried to write any harmonizations, but you can of course. My main problems with it have been trying to copy small pieces of music into my wordprocessing program. Copying itself is no problem, but it does not seem possible to adjust the size of the music to suit the surrounding text. Some adjustment is possible, but the whole thing is very cumbersome. In short, the program seems pretty good for printing out pages of music, and for incorporating short (on line) snippets of music into text. But anything longer than that causes headaches. The appication is made by: Jump! Software, Inc. 201 San Antonio Circle, Suite 172 Mountain View, CA 94040 Tel: 800-440-5867, FAX: 800-582-8000. >I'm guessing that you mean "The Office of Vespers" done by the >Sisters of St. Basil's. Should we get the permission of the Sisters? Yes, that's what I mean. And yes, we should get permission. Would anyone like me to write, or would it be better done through Jeff (and perhaps Father David)? What would people think about proposing a publishing arrangement with the Byzantine Seminary Press or Eastern Christian Publications (Jack Figel)? It's just an idea that came to me. I suppose Jeff, or someone else "back East" would have to coordinate the effort. But having a publisher would cut down on our desk top publishing woes, and it would obviate the problems of different computer formats. I think the kind of things we are thinking about producing would sell. If the publisher would absorb the initial costs we'd be set, otherwise we'd need to locate funds, perhaps from the Metropolia or from some Foundation. I really don't think money will be a major hurdle while we stick to booklets. When it comes time to publish the whole "English Prostopenie" that will be another story! But it could perhaps be done in installments, and then put together in one collection, rather like what St. John of Kronstadt Press did with their Menaion. What do people think - is it too early to do anything about that yet? Or is it better to have in mind how we will distribute the product as we are woking on it? Seems to me we're still brainstorming here! In Christ, Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 18:45:35 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: CANTOR-L To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In a message dated 96-05-14 14:03:07 EDT, Monk Maximos wrote: >What would people think about proposing a publishing arrangement with the >Byzantine Seminary Press or Eastern Christian Publications (Jack Figel)? > It's just an idea that came to me. I suppose Jeff, or someone else "back >East" would have to coordinate the effort. But having a publisher would cut >down on our desk top publishing woes, and it would obviate the problems of >different computer formats. I think the kind of things we are thinking about >producing would sell. If the publisher would absorb the initial costs we'd >be set, otherwise we'd need to locate funds, perhaps from the Metropolia or >from some Foundation. I really don't think money will be a major hurdle >while we stick to booklets. When it comes time to publish the whole "English >Prostopenie" that will be another story! But it could perhaps be done in >installments, and then put together in one collection, rather like what St. >John of Kronstadt Press did with their Menaion. Personally, I am quite excited about your idea. I will most likely lurk here since I have just a minute undertanding of Ruthenian chanting. The only thing I would like to add is that, in light of the new Liturgical Instructions, whatever is published should be designed for and usable for both Orthodox and Eastern Catholic. Problem is there is no standardized English translation. Perhaps our friend Pedro Vega (who is at the Carpatho-Russian Cathedral in Johnstown, PA) could help us get some feedback from the Carpatho-Russians? I know he is signed on to CIN EAST...don't know if he signed on here. Christ is Risen! Dave Brown Orthocath1@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 18:46:31 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Re: CANTOR-L To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L I said: > >I'm guessing that you mean "The Office of Vespers" done by the > >Sisters of St. Basil's. Should we get the permission of the Sisters? Monk Maximos said: > > Yes, that's what I mean. And yes, we should get permission. Would anyone > like me to write, or would it be better done through Jeff (and perhaps Father > David)? Once we do get permission, let me know. I have a scanner and can scan text in. No sense typing it if we don't have to! We'll have plenty of work to do! I believe that this text is used by both Ruthenians & Ukrainians, so there is a potential of some interjurisdictional benefit to any work we do. Imagine, we might actually use the same translation! It boggles the mind:-) > What would people think about proposing a publishing arrangement with the > Byzantine Seminary Press or Eastern Christian Publications (Jack Figel)? > It's just an idea that came to me. .... I really don't think > money will be a major hurdle > while we stick to booklets. When it comes time to publish the whole "English > Prostopenie" that will be another story! But it could perhaps be done in > installments, and then put together in one collection, rather like what St. > John of Kronstadt Press did with their Menaion. > > What do people think - is it too early to do anything about that yet? Or is > it better to have in mind how we will distribute the product as we are woking > on it? Seems to me we're still brainstorming here! > I think that it is ok for the future, but I'd suggest picking a small manageable project with fixed constraints to begin with. In my opinion, doing the desktop publishing for a small startup effort shouldn't be a big deal. For example, start with Vespers and put the fixed parts to music. Once we get this done, we could then expand it to contain the changeable parts. Scope the initial project for success then build upon that success. If we start out with too big a project, we could get frustrated and discouraged and not output anything. Pick something that is needed the most, set bounds, distribute assignments with due dates. If we start out with a small project, we could do the "publishing" at the parish level or provide the disk to parishes to adapt to their own particular need. If we need outside funds to help push this through, it'll be easier to get once we have a demonstrated success under our belts. I've done some booklets for use at St. Michael's. The one that I did in English with the most amount of music is the Funeral of a Layman. I took the music that was set to Old Slavonic and wrestled with the arrangement in English. I can send copies out to list members who are interested for their critique. The music is Gallician. The booklet itself is pamphlet size (about 32 pages). Look at the format, critique it, (you won't hurt my feelings) and let's come up with a standard format. Monk Maximos is Mac based. I'm Windows based. What else are other people using out there? Can we standardize on some stuff so we can share some of the load? I believe that Word for Mac and Word for Windows can share files. Once someone has done the hard work of doing the music arrangement, making it look pretty on a computer is not a big deal for a single voice. Multiple voices is a bear. I haven't figured out a way of doing this without going nuts with MusicTime. Anyone else out there using a music program besides monk Maximos and myself? Let's also not forget about the cantor faq. I really liked Jeff's outline. Can we go forth, split it up and hand out assignments? Jeff, you're da boss. From a personal perspective, I'm very motivated in getting this set up since I'm learning how to be a cantor at St. Michael's for the English liturgy. I am not aware of any resource out there that can help. Much of the information is like folklore in that it is handed down verbally. Peter ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 21:44:52 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Bill Metzar Subject: Re: CANTOR-L To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L I'm really impressed with the response so far. I am Windows based and the music program that came with my PC was manufactured by Voyetra. I've added on to what originally came with the PC and have recently picked up Music Writer (also by Voyetra) which should allow me to place notes on a staff via a mouse. It also allows me to add lyrics. I do not have a MIDI keyboard at present but I will look into the one suggested. Around 20 years ago I set the Holy Thursday Matins, Good Friday Vespers, and Resurrection services to music in both English and Old Slavonic. Then the Diocese issued official translations a year or two later. However, most of the music I've done is by pencil on staff paper so I could edit it easily later. This includes most of the feast day troparia for the church year. I began by setting the music to faithfully reflect the Prostopinia, but then altered it to reflect the official English music provided in the English Prostopinia which the Diocese published a while back. This music was highly simplified but a pastor at that time insisted that I use the new music. I think that my setting of the St. Basil's canon is very faithful to the original Prostopinia. At the Passiac Byzantine Congress there is a young cantor from the Virginia area who sets the morning prayer and vespers (abridged) to musical notation and does a pretty good job at it too. I'm wondering if he already has a good start on this project. I will try to find out who he is and perhaps contact him. Looking forward to the Ascension, Bill Metzar Metzar_W@sunybroome.edu ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 21:16:16 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Introduction To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Christ is Risen! I imagine that most of you already know (of) me, especially Dave and Br Maximos, but I wanted to send out a short note of introduction. I am *very* interested in the celebration of the services. I hope to contribute in whatever way that I can and look forward to participating. Glory be to God for all things! -Andy Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Tempe, Arizona USA --+-- redco@xroads.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Wed, 15 May 1996 13:16:36 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: CANTOR-L Comments: To: hrycak@the-hermes.net To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Peter, >I'd suggest picking a small manageable project with fixed constraints to >begin with. I agree with that. Maybe we can think about other possibilities when we have some "product". I guess it will depend on how easy or difficult it gets for us to things ourselves. Are we all agreed that the best thing to start with, booklet wise, is Vespers without a Priest? >I've done some booklets for use at St. Michael's I'd be very happy to look at the Funeral Booklet. It sounds like the kind of thing we want. If you don't have it, our mailing address is: Holy Resurrection Monastery 45704 Valley Center Road, Newberry Springs, CA 92365. >I believe that Word for Mac and Word for Windows can share files. Anyone know more about this? I'm not very happy with my wordprocessing program and I want to change it when we can afford it. So I'd like some advice on the best thing to get. Jeff, do you want me to do anything in the next few weeks? Approach the Sisters, work on some FAQs? Father Nicholas is letting me spend a few hours a week on this work in my afternoons - it's in the time budget! In Christ, Maximos, monk ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Thu, 16 May 1996 00:40:48 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Getting started In-Reply-To: Message of 05/13/96 at 04:53:28 from hrycak@THE-HERMES.NET Finally back online; I had to spend two days building a small barn for our sheep. It's good to be back :-) On 05/13/96 at 04:53:28 Peter D. Hrycak said: >Yes. Guidelines for Reader services would be great! I got some from >the Indiana Orthodox list. The "Office of Vespers" book put out by >the Basilian Sisters in Uniontown do have some instructions for >Reader Vespers. Finally, "The Hours of Prayer" put out by the >Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Diocese of USA also has a >reader service. Please let me know if you can use any of these. I'm starting with the Indiana rubrics; the Vespers book really only notes that one says "Through the prayers of our holy fathers..." at the appropriate times. I'm interested in the Hours of Prayer book, as the Carpatho-Russians are our Orthodox counterparts as Ruthenians. >A potential point of discussion would be what music writing program >are you using. If we, as a group could standardize, we could share >the load of arranging the English text to the traditional chants. I'm using MusicTime 2.0 for Windows, no Midi keyboard but I type fast. One consideration: if possible, whatever we use should allow for special fonts, so that if/when we include Slavonic text, we can use the proper diacritical marks (haceks, etc.). > I have a xerox of an old book >(about 1890's) published in Lviv using something called Kievan square >notation. I think that the irmos are set to music. Let me know if >you think you could use s xerox of a xerox of this book. I'd be interested in this as well. I've looked a little at Kievan notation with Fr. Charles Mozzomo (a Ukrainian Catholic priest who teaches chant at the Byzantien Catholic seminary in Pittsburgh) but I haven't found any sources yet. The irmoi should be quite similar. >I think that the outline is great. Much of the information you are >gathering is very general and could be very useful for not only >Ruthenians, but the Ukrainians as well. Do the Ruthenians use the >Bulgarian tones as well for the sycheras? We use the Bulgarian (Bolhar or Bolharskij) tones occasionally, particular in the funeral service. Unfortunately, these tones, like the podoben melodies, sometimes are omitted in favor of simpler melodies. I know that Bishop Nicholas of the Johnstown Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese has directed that the use of the correct (traditional) melodies is to be restored where it has lapsed. >I've considered starting a Cantor's handbook myself since I'm just >learning the fundamentals. I would sugest that we also include >information as how do we combine tropars for occassions when >feastdays merge, for example when the Annunciation falls on a Sunday, >or define the various classifications of holydays. Definitely. We normally assume that either the priest or a publisher will do this for us. This was _not_ the way cantors traditionally worked! Also, basic information on that layout of the common tones and how to apply them to a text should come first. This can eliminate a _certain_ amount of written-out music. I've never seen, for example, an explanation in print of how to chant a reading, or a psalm, or an oikos. Does anyone know if there is a standard Typicon in English? I have ordered Father David's yearly Typicon, but I'd like to find the permanent rules for the calendar, >A section of how should a cantor prepare himself would be useful in >both spiritual and physical terms. For example, what does a cantor >do when he has a cold, etc. Excellent idea! On 05/13/96 at 13:46:35 brother Maximos said: > Could those who arrange music also make tapes at the same time and send them >out, if not with every new setting, then at some kind of regular interval. > They needn't be anything more than singing into a portable cassette >recorder. As long as our mailing list isn't too large the expense shouldn't >be too great. If it does prove impractical we may need to consider other >strategies, but I do think it is important for us to try and have the music >in aural as well as written form as much as possible. I agree. This might best be done at two points: for review, when we have something mostly done. We could circulate it amongst a few clergy and cantors who _know_ the music we're doing, for comment. And we should certainly prepare a final version amongst ourselves when done, if only for archival purposes! BTW, is everyone familiar with the set of cantor training tapes put out by the Byzantine Seminary Press? Nine cassette tapes cover the Divine Liturgy for Sundays and the holy days of the year, Marian hymns, molebens, Lent, Holy Week and Pascha. It has Vespers for Theophany, and Thursday and Friday of Great Week, and Matins for Great and Holy Friday and Paschal Sunday. Also, the funeral services (probably the best place for a cantor to start learning the tones) and a section on "Learning the Vespers tones" (samohlasen and bolhar tones, setting the Our Father-- although I think there are a few problems with the tones used, and music is not provided). But it is a magnificant accomplishment, and one of the resources we can work from when necessary. >But my main contribution, I think, would be in the area of rubrics and >publishing service books and pamphlets. I agree that an ideal first project >would be the production of a booklet for Vespers as a reader service (shall >we start there and work up to Matins?). I agree. I propose the following projects for now: 1. Saturday evening Vespers as a reader service. This will give us a chance to wrestle with which texts we want to use, rubrics, etc. The music should be _mostly_ straightforward; the problems lie mostly in organization. I think we should prepare a text with music for the Ordinary of Vespers, with everything laid out in detail. An appendix should show all the sticheral tones in schematic format, with examples, to show how the stichera are sung. Once this is done, we could and should set the Octoechos for Saturday evening Vespers. 2. Sunday morning Matins as a reader service. Much of the decisions for rubrics and common tones will have been done for Vespers. The most important part will be the Canons of the Octoechos, which should be set to the prostopinije irmos melodies. Everything else can be described with examples; the Canons have to be written out. It would probably be a good start if we could simply collect the rubrics, outline directions for the singing, and the music for the Canons. An entire matins book would be too large to start with. 3. The FAQ, which will incorporate much of the decisions/findings from both the above projects. > Here is my main suggestion. I could >work up a text based on the Uniontown Vespers book and incorporating Father >David's suggestions. We can decide how much music and other material should >be part of the book as we go along. Money will be a consideration. When we >have a good draft we should submit it to the Inter-Eparchial Liturgical >Commission for approval. It would be wonderful if we could also submit it to >Bishop Nicholas. We'll see what God wills in that regard. I agree. I think we will have to look at which texts to use in a few places, particularly where we are already using a common text with the Orthodox and the Sisters have chosen a different one. >Father Nicholas, my abbot, will remember this fledgling project very >specially at the Altar, and all of us here at Holy Resurrection Monastery >have it in our prayers. I expect to be seeing Bishop George this week (who >is also Chairman of the Liturgical Commission) and will mention this new >endeavour to him. I know he will be interested. Please give Father Nicholas our thanks! Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 16 May 1996 05:40:47 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Re: Getting started To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L > I'm interested in the Hours of Prayer book, > as the Carpatho-Russians are our Orthodox counterparts as Ruthenians. The book can be obtained from: The Orthodox Brotherhood of the Virgin Mary P.O. Box 1 Elkhorn, West Virginia 24831 (304) 862-3313 The book costs $18.95 plis $1.25 shipping & handling I bought the book in 2/95 and they were running out. They were also working on another project, but I can't remember what it was. > I'm using MusicTime 2.0 for Windows, no Midi keyboard but I type fast. > One consideration: if possible, whatever we use should allow for special > fonts, so that if/when we include Slavonic text, we can use the proper > diacritical marks (haceks, etc.). Aha! I'm using MusicTime 1.2. There are fonts available that have the Slavonic in upper ascii. However, there is no one standard on where letters are located in ASCII space. See my note to brother Maximos for a reasonable, inexpensive midi keyboard. How is MusicTime 2.0? 1.2 is a bit bugridden, but the output is very nice. Will it allow you to cut and paste music between documents? 1.2 will not allow this. > > > I have a xerox of an old book > >(about 1890's) published in Lviv using something called Kievan square > >notation. I think that the irmos are set to music. Let me know if > >you think you could use s xerox of a xerox of this book. > > I'd be interested in this as well. I've looked a little at Kievan > notation with Fr. Charles Mozzomo (a Ukrainian Catholic priest who > teaches chant at the Byzantien Catholic seminary in Pittsburgh) but > I haven't found any sources yet. The irmoi should be quite similar. > Fr. Charles sent me some info as to how to read the music. Send me you mailing address and I'll send you a copy of the book sometime next week. > Definitely. We normally assume that either the priest or a publisher > will do this for us. This was _not_ the way cantors traditionally > worked! Also, basic information on that layout of the common tones > and how to apply them to a text should come first. This can eliminate > a _certain_ amount of written-out music. I've never seen, for example, > an explanation in print of how to chant a reading, or a psalm, or an > oikos. I've seen some of this. The instructions say something like ... special beginning phrase, repeated by two phrases with a special ending phase. > > Does anyone know if there is a standard Typicon in English? I have > ordered Father David's yearly Typicon, but I'd like to find the > permanent rules for the calendar, Good question! I know that the Ukrainians have one in Ukrainian, but quite frankly, my Ukrainian stinks! If you find one in English, please let me know. Do the Ruthenian Orthodox happen to have one? > BTW, is everyone familiar with the set of cantor training tapes put out > by the Byzantine Seminary Press? Nine cassette tapes cover the Divine > Liturgy for Sundays and the holy days of the year, Marian hymns, > molebens, Lent, Holy Week and Pascha. It has Vespers for Theophany, > and Thursday and Friday of Great Week, and Matins for Great and Holy > Friday and Paschal Sunday. Also, the funeral services (probably the > best place for a cantor to start learning the tones) and a section on > "Learning the Vespers tones" (samohlasen and bolhar tones, setting > the Our Father-- although I think there are a few problems with the > tones used, and music is not provided). But it is a magnificant > accomplishment, and one of the resources we can work from when > necessary. Really! How much are they? Peter ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 16 May 1996 14:51:12 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: CANTOR-L To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Peter wrote: >I would humbly suggest that we can get more bang for the buck if we >do a more generalized booklet for Vespers that includes rubrics for a >service lead by a priest or presbyter. The Uniontown book has some >of these instructions. We could do that, but it would complicate the text. I realise the Sister's book makes it look easy, but they really have skimped on rubrics, especially for the reader-only service. This is even more apparent in their Matins Book. People are always asking me to fill in the gaps! Actually I think there is wisdom in the Sisters' approach. A great advantage of their books is that they are uncluttered. Once you know how to do the services they are very easy to follow. But from the requests that I receive it seems that the greatest need is for something aimed at beginners. And the more complicated the text they have the more daunted they will be - and the less likely they will be to attempt the service. On the other hand, the advantage of Peter's suggestion is that people will get a better idea of the full Vesperal service if they have it all in front of them. For example, if we instruct readers to replace the litanies with 12 "Lord, have mercies" (as we should), it may be nice if they can see what is being replaced. Besides, they will also get a sense of what certain "priest-only" parts are all about: the Vesper's procession, the Litija, blessing of bread etc. As far as I know (and I'm open to correction) none of these things would be done by a reader alone, but it seems a pity that a beginner should not be made aware of these elemental parts of the service. I'm glad Peter brought up this point as it's made me think things through a bit better. Perhaps we should just aim to produce a Vespers book and then, when we've determined exactly what rubrics are indispensible for the reader service we will be able to quantify the degree of complication and adjust our ideas accordingly. Much depends on what Father David has to say. For example, when I celebrate Vespers when Father Nicholas is absent for some reason, I have been taught to incense the Church (not the sanctuary) using a hand censer (not the priest's censer). This is standard practice in the Orthodox world, but it certainly seems to be a foreign idea within Ruthenian culture. I would like to include rubrics for lay people to use incense (especially in light of the recent "Instruction") but we will need to receive advice from our priests, esp. Father David, about sensitivities. I realise this is shifting the focus away from music, but we may as well deal with rubrical and textual issues as well. and If we decide to split the product into two books at that point it won't really add much to the total work involved. I suggest Peter (or someone) scan in the Sister's text as is, eliminate the unnecessary stuff and incorporate the music, our agreed rubrics and other amendments. Finally, I'm more and more inclined to suggest we reduce textual rubrics to a minimum (a little more than the Sisters), and include a detailed forward, (say a page to a page-and-a-half) explaining the hows and why's of the service. How does that sound? It goes without saying that we're talking about Great Vespers (ie for Sundays and feasts) and not Daily Vespers. This helps keep things simpler. There are good prayer books out there so that people can make their own adaptations of the services for home use through the week. I don't anticipate an immediate demand for public weekday vespers in our Churches (more's the pity!). At least that means we don't have to include special rubrics for Great Lent and the other fasts. >Sorry for being so nosey, but which word processing program are you >using? That's not nosey! Its Clarisworks 4.0. It was donated with the computer, so if anyone's laughing at me I can just glance down in seraphic disdain :-) Once again, it's great to be working on this project. In Christ, Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 16 May 1996 16:49:13 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: CANTOR-L To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In a message dated 96-05-16 14:51:31 EDT, Monk Maximos wrote: >On the other hand, the advantage of Peter's suggestion is that people will >get a better idea of the full Vesperal service if they have it all in front >of them. For example, if we instruct readers to replace the litanies with 12 >"Lord, have mercies" (as we should), it may be nice if they can see what is >being replaced. Besides, they will also get a sense of what certain >"priest-only" parts are all about: the Vesper's procession, the Litija, >blessing of bread etc. As far as I know (and I'm open to correction) none of >these things would be done by a reader alone, but it seems a pity that a >beginner should not be made aware of these elemental parts of the service. Perhaps a solution to this "problem" could be found in the lay-out of the service in the booklet (or book?) For example, parts that are omitted in a reader service could be plainly marked using some consistent system (text blocked with a light grey "screen" in a smaller point type if necessary). Personally I wish some sort of arrangement for pew editions of the Divine Liturgy were available for the parts of the Liturgy that are usually recited privately by the priest. For example, I did not know for months that when the priest says "through the mercies, etc." after we sing "To You, O Lord" (in response to "Bow your heads to the Lord") that he had been praying for us and this was a continuation of that prayer. Just a thought. Glory to Jesus Christ! Dave ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 16 May 1996 17:43:55 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Vespers Rubrics To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L A suggestion .... We could use the equivalent of footnotes to give details of the rubrics without cluttering the text such as was done in Hapgood's Service Book and only include the most necessary ones within the Vespers text itself. As Brother Maximos suggested, we could include the information on the structure and flow of the service within a detailed forward (or maybe in an appendix). This is almost what Isabel Hapgood did in her book. We'd just take is a step further. We could also do as Dave suggested to differentiate the reader service parts by, let's say, using a different font or point size, or, set up two columns: column one when the service is presided by a priest, column two when it is presided by a layman. If we're clever, we could make this work quite nicely and have one booklet that is used for vespers. In the Ukrainian parishes, there is a tendency to abridge the services. Should we do a "full-up" booklet, or one which is abridged? Peter ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 16 May 1996 17:19:15 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: CANTOR-L To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Christ is Risen! Brother Maximos wrote: >Are we all agreed that the best thing to start with, booklet wise, is Vespers >without a Priest? I agree. Are we talking Sunday Vespers, daily Vespers or both? Peter wrote: >I believe that Word for Mac and Word for Windows can share files. Brother Maximos wrote: >Anyone know more about this? I'm not very happy with my wordprocessing >program and I want to change it when we can afford it. So I'd like some >advice on the best thing to get. Word is a very good program. Very robust with more features than you will ever use. I'm pretty sure the file formats are compatible. Of course, what could be done is to use plain text (ASCII) files to get everything put together, then when it's 'finished', someone can 'typeset' it using a word processor. The advantage here is that we can send the text back and forth across the internet. If the same person typesets, then the style will be the same across books. Brother Maximos wrote: >Jeff, do you want me to do anything in the next few weeks? Approach the >Sisters, work on some FAQs? Father Nicholas is letting me spend a few hours >a week on this work in my afternoons - it's in the time budget! Me too. Anything that I can do? -Andy Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Tempe, Arizona USA --+-- redco@xroads.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 16 May 1996 17:27:49 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Vespers Rubrics To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Glory be to Jesus Christ! Peter wrote: >In the Ukrainian parishes, there is a tendency to abridge the >services. Should we do a "full-up" booklet, or one which is >abridged? Please, please, please, please, please no abridgement. Please? -Andy Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Tempe, Arizona USA --+-- redco@xroads.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Fri, 17 May 1996 00:17:12 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Vespers Rubrics Comments: To: hrycak@the-hermes.net To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Peter asked: >In the Ukrainian parishes, there is a tendency to abridge the >services. Should we do a "full-up" booklet, or one which is abridged? My view is that one should give people everything. If parishes want to abridge things, fine, but let's not legislate for them! This is especially so for Vespers which, even if done completely "by the book" need not take longer than 40 minutes to an hour. If you hear of Orthodox taking longer it is because their music is slower! Inevitably, however, we will probably find ourselves abbreviating Matins somewhat for parish use. Abbreviation in itself is not necessarily bad provided we try to keep pretty much to what the WHOLE Byzantine world does, and not make Greek Catholic services a separate category. I think that statement is in the spirit of the Vatican's latest "Instruction". BTW, I won't bother re-posting my earlier garbles post. I'm very happy with the suggestions Dave and Peter have made re the Vespers booklet! In Christ, Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Fri, 17 May 1996 00:17:25 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Getting started To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Glory to Jesus Christ! Jeff wrote: >I've never seen, for example, an explanation in print of how to chant a reading, or a psalm, or an >oikos. And that's a great problem now that our cantor training system has broken down. I myself don't know how to chant a reading properly according to the Ruthenian melody. And I've always assumed the Oikos can be just "straight chanted" - is that wrong? >Does anyone know if there is a standard Typicon in English? I have ordered Father David's >yearly Typicon, but I'd like to find the permanent rules for the calendar, Father David's system of "Formats" is very useful. There is a thing called the "Abridged Typicon" used by the Russian Patriarchal jursidiction (and to a large extent by the OCA). It is also useful, but more difficult to follow and covers less ground than Father David's work. Also it is important to remember that the "Great Russian" and Rusyn traditions are not identical. Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Fri, 17 May 1996 04:25:32 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Traditions To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Monk Maximos said: > Father David's system of "Formats" is very useful. There is a thing called > the "Abridged Typicon" used by the Russian Patriarchal jursidiction (and to a > large extent by the OCA). It is also useful, but more difficult to follow > and covers less ground than Father David's work. Also it is important to > remember that the "Great Russian" and Rusyn traditions are not identical. > I have a copy of the Abridged Typicon and some of the terms I just don't understand. I also have "The Liturgical Dictionary of Eastern Christianity" that helps somewhat, but not totally. Would a glossary of terns be helful for the faq, e.g. Oikos - The stanza that immediately follows the kontakion between Canticles 6 and 7 at Matins, or Orthos (<- from Liturgical Dictionary) I noticed that the Ruthenian & Ukrainian Catholics use Greek style vestments. Is this the case for the Orthodox or do they use Russian style vestments? What are other differences in these two traditions besides vestments & music. I noticed from the OCA Resurrection service that they take the burial shroud to the altar at a diffferent time that the Ukrainians do. Peter ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Fri, 17 May 1996 12:09:56 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Traditions Comments: To: hrycak@the-hermes.net To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Peter asked: >Would a glossary of terns be helful for the faq, e.g. Essential, I think. >I noticed that the Ruthenian & Ukrainian Catholics use Greek style >vestments. Is this the case for the Orthodox or do they use Russian >style vestments? I've seen many Ruthenian phelonions that look half and half: short in front like Russians, but low in back like Greeks. Always seems to me a perfect metaphor for our tradition - best of both worlds?? >What are other differences in these two traditions besides vestments & >music. This is a large topic. Apart from Latinizations, there are two main (valid) reasons for differences: 1. Kievan usages developed somewhat differently from Muscovite; and 2. Both the Ruthenian and Ukrainian Greek Catholics entered into union with Rome before the major Russian liturgical reforms initiated by Patriarch Nikon. There are numerous small differences. For example, during Pascha the Russians sing "It is truly proper" and "More honorable than the Cherubim" whereas we Ukrainians and Ruthenians tend to replace it always with "The angel cried" and "Shine in splendor." One of the major things we need to be careful about when reading Orthodox service books is that our two traditions emphasise congregational singing much more than individual cantors and choirs. For example, at Vespers the hymn "O Lord keep us this evening without sin" is almost always recited in Russian usage, but we Ruthenians sing it - there is even music in the Uniontown Vespers book (from the Prostopenie, I think). I don't know whether this is the same for Ukrainians as well. In our monastery, we do take it in turns more to chant bits of the services, because we spend several hours every day celebrating them, and if we all had to sing every word it would ruin be too much strain on our voices (too late I hear you cry!) But for parish use, I think we need to preserve this very strong and beautiful tradition of singing in common, where it can be done without radically changing the nature of the service. Pray for the sinner, Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Fri, 17 May 1996 15:22:47 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Getting started In-Reply-To: Message of 05/14/96 at 13:13:20 from HCommun871@AOL.COM On 05/14/96 at 13:13:20 brother Maximos said: >>I'm guessing that you mean "The Office of Vespers" done by the >>Sisters of St. Basil's. Should we get the permission of the Sisters? >Yes, that's what I mean. And yes, we should get permission. Would anyone >like me to write, or would it be better done through Jeff (and perhaps Father >David)? Could you go ahead and do it, brother Maximos? I'm not sure we will use the text without some minor replacement from other Ruthenian sources, but in general, the Uniontown texts are the place to start. On 05/14/96 at 18:45:35 Dave Brown said: > ... in light of the new Liturgical Instructions, >whatever is published should be designed for and usable for both Orthodox and >Eastern Catholic. Problem is there is no standardized English translation. >Perhaps our friend Pedro Vega (who is at the Carpatho-Russian Cathedral in >Johnstown, PA) could help us get some feedback from the Carpatho-Russians? I >know he is signed on to CIN EAST...don't know if he signed on here. Definitely we should use common translations where possible. I will get in touch with Father James Gleason (the Carpatho-Russian chant professor at the Johnstown seminary) this weekend to discuss what texts and translations are in use. There is no standard translation, I know, and they are somewhat in the middle of a Jacobean English versus Modern English debate. Personally, I think the kind of English in the Byzantine Book of Prayer and the Divine Liturgy texts we use are about right: modern English, but English with both poetry and no attempt to hide language that speaks of spiritual things. Archbishop Raya's translations are quite good this way, and I have seen quite a bit of use of his works by the Orthodox. I posted a note about this list to the Indiana ORTHODOX list, BTW, since there are a number of Carpatho-Russians there. On 05/14/96 at 18:46:31 Peter D. Hrycak said: >Monk Maximos is Mac based. I'm Windows based. What else are other >people using out there? Can we standardize on some stuff so we can >share some of the load? I believe that Word for Mac and Word for >Windows can share files. Once someone has done the hard work of >doing the music arrangement, making it look pretty on a computer is >not a big deal for a single voice. Multiple voices is a bear. I >haven't figured out a way of doing this without going nuts with >MusicTime. Anyone else out there using a music program besides monk >Maximos and myself? I think multiple voiced music is not something we need to worry about! While there are settings of the prostopinije chants arranged for 3-4 voices (especially by the Carpatho-Russians, many parishes of which sing choir music in the Great Russian tradition and are not used to having the people sing), we should instead emphasize congregational monophonic singing, along with the traditional harmonies of a third above and below the melody for the melodies everyone knows already. I've studied some of the minor variations in our own parish's setting of chant, and almost all of the changed notes are either a third up or down from the melody -- in other words, the original note was replace by a note used in harmonizing it :-) >Let's also not forget about the cantor faq. I really liked Jeff's >outline. Can we go forth, split it up and hand out assignments? I will have a draft outline for the FAQ prepared by the beginning of next week. If anyone has questions or topics they'd like to see addressed, just drop me a note. Then we can break it up into pieces and start work on it. BTW, as someone suggested, a glossary is a GREAT idea, and probably vital, especially since so often there are Greek, Slavonic and English terms for the same thing, which may be used interchangeably. It took me two days to figure out that the sessional hymns in the Uniontown Vespers books are the same things called sidalen elsewhere! On 05/14/96 at 21:44:52 Bill Metzar said: >Around 20 years ago I set the Holy Thursday Matins, Good Friday Vespers, >and Resurrection services to music in both English and Old Slavonic. >Then the Diocese issued official translations a >year or two later. However, most of the music I've done is by pencil >on staff paper so I could edit it easily later. This includes most of >the feast day troparia for the church year. I began by setting the >music to faithfully reflect the Prostopinia, but then altered it >to reflect the official English music provided in the English >Prostopinia which the Diocese published a while back. This music was >highly simplified but a pastor at that time insisted that I use the >new music. I think that my setting of the St. Basil's canon is very >faithful to the original Prostopinia. I think that we should (gently) challenge the belief that the music must be simplied. While I recognize that some chant may need to be rearranged to fit English scansion, in general the trend is to take beautiful music that the people _can_ learn, and replace it with a psalm tone. This may be appropriate for very rarely used music, but I'd rather see us set real prostopinije. And once cantors and people know the tones, I think we'll see the drive to simplify diminish. I was amazed to study the history of congregational singing in Subcarpathian Ukraine. The Great Zbornik (a book containing all the hymns, psalms and verses for Vespers, Matins and Divine Liturgy for the Sundays and great feast days of the year) was very widely distributed among the people. Contemporary accounts by musicologists avd Slavists tell of the Rusin people singing the services from this book with no music in from of them at all. These days, we are all trained to rely more on our eyes than on our ears, but I think that this kind of participation is what we should strive for. >At the Passiac Byzantine Congress there is a young cantor from the >Virginia area who sets the morning prayer and vespers (abridged) to >musical notation and does a pretty good job at it too. I'm wondering >if he already has a good start on this project. I will try to find >out who he is and perhaps contact him. I know of a cantor in Virginia who sets certain of the music to chant; unfortunately, some of the rhythm of the chant (according to both the priestly chant professors I know) is simplified and modified to suit "modern" tastes. I'd like to work from the Slavonic sources as much as possible, keeping an eye on existing English works, for Vespers and Matins; but since none of them seem to be complete yet, I think we should avoid borrowing bits and pieces from all over. The tone settings should be done consistently. This is best done when a single person, or a group with peer review, works on an entire service or set of texts. Just my opinion. On 05/16/96 at 17:43:55 Peter D. Hrycak said: >In the Ukrainian parishes, there is a tendency to abridge the >services. Should we do a "full-up" booklet, or one which is >abridged? Another definite vote for a full (not abridged) service. The Orthodox parishes I know are struggling _away_ from abridgments _toward_ complete services. On 05/17/96 at 00:17:25 brother Maximos said: >And that's a great problem now that our cantor training system has broken >down. I myself don't know how to chant a reading properly according to the >Ruthenian melody. And I've always assumed the Oikos can be just "straight >chanted" - is that wrong? That's what is often done these days. _However_, the Prostopinije of Boksay states that the Oikos is to be recited (i.e. straight chant) _except for the ending, which is sung_. The melody for the ending only is found in the funeral parastas. This is one of the (few) drawbacks of the Prostopinije book; you really need to know the whole thing, because many things (podobny names, for example) are given in an abbreviated form, on the assumption that you will know what it meant. At Paschal Matins this year, we (I) chanted the Oikos with the sung ending for the first time. Some of the older people in the parish told me afterwards that they recognized it. Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Fri, 17 May 1996 16:58:39 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Bill Metzar Subject: Re: traditions To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Monk Maximos wrote: >>What are other differences in these two traditions besides vestments & >>music. >This is a large topic. Apart from Latinizations, there are two main (valid) >reasons for differences: >1. Kievan usages developed somewhat differently from Muscovite; and >2. Both the Ruthenian and Ukrainian Greek Catholics entered into union with >Rome before the major Russian liturgical reforms initiated by Patriarch >Nikon. >There are numerous small differences. For example, during Pascha the >Russians sing "It is truly proper" and "More honorable than the Cherubim" >whereas we Ukrainians and Ruthenians tend to replace it always with "The >angel cried" and "Shine in splendor." A few weeks ago my pastor told me that Bishop Andrew Pataki has suggested that we return (if that is the proper word) to the "Russian" practice described above. I was quite surprised to hear of this. However, in the rubrics of The Byzantine Daily Worship (Raya's) it does say to sing "It is truly proper" and "More Honorable.." around two or three weeks after Pascha. I never noticed this before. >One of the major things we need to be careful about when reading Orthodox >service books is that our two traditions emphasise congregational singing >much more than individual cantors and choirs. For example, at Vespers the >hymn "O Lord keep us this evening without sin" is almost always recited in >Russian usage, but we Ruthenians sing it - there is even music in the >Uniontown Vespers book (from the Prostopenie, I think). I don't know whether >this is the same for Ukrainians as well. If I recall correctly, the Ruthenians adopted choral singing around 1848 during an uprising against Hungarian rule. I believe that there were Cossack's who worshiped in our churches using choral music. As I said this is a very vague memory of something I read a long time ago and it may be completely wrong. Bill Metzar Metzar_w@sunybroome.edu ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Fri, 17 May 1996 21:41:30 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Getting started To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L From Jeff: >That's what is often done these days. _However_, the Prostopinije >of Boksay states that the Oikos is to be recited (i.e. straight chant) >_except for the ending, which is sung_. The melody for the ending >only is found in the funeral parastas. This is one of the (few) >drawbacks of the Prostopinije book; you really need to know the >whole thing, because many things (podobny names, for example) are >given in an abbreviated form, on the assumption that you will >know what it meant. This makes sense because the end of the Oikos usually is the same as the end of the Kontakion that precedes it - it is a kind of refrain. The Kontakia and their accompanying oikoi once formed whole services in themselves, I suppose the Akathist Hymn is a species of that liturgical genus. Is the last line of the Oikos always the same melody? If the Oikos is sung three times, is it ended the same way each time? About mere abbreviations: I understand the frustration! The service books frequently prescribe the proper Katabasia for a Canon by reference to the first few words of the relevant verse. All through Lent. These tantalising hints have been faithfully reproduced, for example, by Bishop Kallistos and other translators of the Triodion, even though no-one seems to have translated the Irmologia that enable one easily to locate the verse prescribed! This was one of my frustrations through last Lent. I will approach the good Sisters as requested. Pray for me! Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Fri, 17 May 1996 21:41:37 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: traditions To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Glory to Jesus Christ! >A few weeks ago my pastor told me that Bishop Andrew Pataki has >suggested that we return (if that is the proper word) to the "Russian" >practice described above. Well, there you go! I must admit I just assumed it was an old custom of ours because I couldn't see how it could be a Latinization. Anyone know the full story? Incidentally, does anyone know how the custom of singing "O Heavenly King" etc. before the sermon got started in the Ruthenian Liturgy? This is another thing that doesn't seem like a Latinization. Do Ukrainians do this too? in Christ Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Fri, 17 May 1996 21:47:55 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Layout To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Glory be to Jesus Christ! Dave Brown wrote: >Perhaps a solution to this "problem" could be found in the lay-out of the >service in the booklet (or book?) For example, parts that are omitted in a >reader service could be plainly marked using some consistent system (text >blocked with a light grey "screen" in a smaller point type if necessary). This is a good idea. I've seen it done. Alternatively, you might have 2 columns (at least for short things): Text here... more stuff... Reader Service: With a Priest: Lord have mercy (3) In peace, let us pray to the Lord. R. Lord have mercy. .... Text continues here... Of course, when you have Lord have mercy (12) on the left, and the great ectenia on the right, there's a lot of white space on the page. pray for me Andy Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Tempe, Arizona USA --+-- redco@xroads.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Sat, 18 May 1996 06:31:52 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: O Heavenly King To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L > Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever! Brother Maximos said: > Incidentally, does anyone know how the custom of singing "O Heavenly King" > etc. before the sermon got started in the Ruthenian Liturgy? This is another > thing that doesn't seem like a Latinization. Do Ukrainians do this too? > The Ukrainians, in my experience, don't sing "O Heavenly King" prior to the sermon [although it would have probably been a good idea based on some of the sermons I have heard in my life:-) ]. I think that it is a wonderful custom! However, next Sunday, right after "Blessed be the Kingdom..", we all kneel and sing "O Heavenly King" which I think the Ruthenians do as well. Peter ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Sat, 18 May 1996 14:01:22 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Bill Metzar Subject: Heavenly King To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Monk Maximos wrote: >Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever! >Incidentally, does anyone know how the custom of singing "O Heavenly King" >etc. before the sermon got started in the Ruthenian Liturgy? This is another >thing that doesn't seem like a Latinization. Do Ukrainians do this too? I always assumed that this was just a prayer to the Holy Spirit so that the priest would preach a good sermon. I believe that I have seen concelebrating priests say a prayer over the one who was about to preach. I have always assumed this to be a prayer to the Holy Spirit. I always thought this was a nice touch. We had only one pastor in our church who requested that this hymn be sung before his sermons. It was rather appropriate in our case since our church is dedicated to the Holy Spirit. Through the prayers of the Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, save us. Bill Metzar metzar_w@sunybroome.edu ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Sat, 18 May 1996 14:22:50 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Bill Metzar Subject: Heavenly King To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Peter wrote: >The Ukrainians, in my experience, don't sing "O Heavenly King" prior >to the sermon [although it would have probably been a good idea based >on some of the sermons I have heard in my life:-) ]. I think that it >is a wonderful custom! However, next Sunday, right after "Blessed >be the Kingdom..", we all kneel and sing "O Heavenly King" which I >think the Ruthenians do as well. Yes we do. However, I believe that the Melkites do this AFTER the Liturgy. The Kneeling Prayers are actually for vespers for Pentecost Monday. Therefore, starting with the Liturgy for Pentecost Sunday we begin kneeling during the Liturgy once again. But, doesn't it make sense to also stand and not kneel for the feast of Pentecost, the birthday of our Church? It is very interesting to delve into our history. We are blessed in this country to have the different Eastern Churches so we can compare the various practices. S'Bohom Bill Metzar metzar_w@sunybroome.edu ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Mon, 20 May 1996 01:34:31 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: Subject: FAQ: Outline Here's what I have for the FAQ so far. ---Overview--- 1. Who are the Ruthenians? 2. What are the public services of the Ruthenian Church? 3. What are the Ruthenian service books? 4. Where can I find Ruthenian service books? 5. What is prostopinije? 6. What are the Uzhorod and Presov usages? 7. Where can I find prostopinije materials? 8. How is prostopinije related to other forms of chant? 9. What is Church Slavonic? 10. Do I need to learn Church Slavonic? ---Liturgical texts--- 100. What is a troparion? 101. What is a kontakion? 102. What is a canon? 103. What is a stich? 104. What is a stichera? 105. What is a prokimen? 106. What is a kathisma? 107. What is a sidalen? 108. What is a steppena? ---Basics of Prostopinije--- 200. How is the liturgical chant organized? (mention Ordinary chants, recitative chants, varietal chants) 201. What are the recitative tones? 202. What is the difference between "recite", "chant" and "sing"? 203. How is an epistle sung? 204. How is a prophecy sung? 205. How is a psalm sung? 206. How is a troparion sung? 207. How is a kontakion sung? 208. How are stichiry sung? 209. What are samohlasen tones? 210. What are podoben tones? 211. What are Bulgarian tones? 212. What are Dogmatic tones? 213. How is a prokimen sung? ---Vespers--- 300. What is Vespers? 301. How does Vespers begin? 302. How is Psalm 103 sung? 303. How is the Psalter sung? 304. How are the Lamp-Lighting Psalms sung? 305. How do I know what stichiry to use? 306. How are the Aposticha sung? 307. How does Vespers conclude? ---Matins--- 400. What is Matins? 401. How does Matins begin? 402. How is "God the Lord" sung? 403. How is the Psalter sung? 404. How are the Sessional Hymns (Sidalen) sung? 405. How is the Polyeleos sung? 406. How is the Exaltation sung? 407. How is the Hypakoe sung? 408. How are the Gradual Hymns (Steppena) sung? 410. How is Psalm 50 sung? 411. How is the Canon sung? 412. How is the Ikos sung? 413. How is the Magnificat sung? 414. How are the Hymns of Light sung? 415. How are Psalms 148-150 sung? 416. How is the Great Doxology sung? 417. How does Matins conclude? ---Divine Liturgy--- 500. ((Open to suggestions for organization)) ---Special Liturgies--- 600. How is a wedding liturgy sung? 601. How is a funeral liturgy sung? 602. How are the Royal Hours sung? 603. How are Jerusalem Matins sung? 603. How is Paschal Matins sung? 604. How many ways are there to sing the Paschal troparion? 605. How is a moleben sung? 606. How is a panachida sung? 607. How is the Akathistos sung? ---Paraliturgical and Folk Hymns--- ---On Being a Cantor--- 800. What are the responsibilities of a cantor? 801. How do I learn to be a cantor? 802. How should I prepare spiritually for a service? 803. How should I prepare physically for a service? ---Glossary of Liturgical and Musical Terms--- ---Church Slavonic terms and phrases you should know--- What should be added? (Surely I'm missing something!) I'd be interested in doing the first section; the third section (basics of prostopinije) will probably take the most work, and perhaps should be done on the list. The later sections will probably refer back to it a lot. Any volunteers for specific parts? Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Mon, 20 May 1996 13:14:37 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: FAQ: Outline for Matins To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Our moderator gave a well thought out FAQ outline. If I could be greedy...this is where our parish will soon need help as we will be beginning Matins in our parish and we have no experience whatsoever! Just the sight of these questions is intimidating. Would someone care to start with Matins for us? Glory to Jesus Christ! Dave > ---Matins--- > 400. What is Matins? > 401. How does Matins begin? > 402. How is "God the Lord" sung? > 403. How is the Psalter sung? > 404. How are the Sessional Hymns (Sidalen) sung? > 405. How is the Polyeleos sung? > 406. How is the Exaltation sung? > 407. How is the Hypakoe sung? > 408. How are the Gradual Hymns (Steppena) sung? > 410. How is Psalm 50 sung? > 411. How is the Canon sung? > 412. How is the Ikos sung? > 413. How is the Magnificat sung? > 414. How are the Hymns of Light sung? > 415. How are Psalms 148-150 sung? > 416. How is the Great Doxology sung? > 417. How does Matins conclude? ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Mon, 20 May 1996 15:23:26 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: FAQ: Outline for Matins To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Greetings, everyone. Christ is risen! I am not Ruthenian Catholic, but Russian Orthodox. I look forward to participating on this list. I can very much sympathize with those who are learning to celebrate the services properly from scratch, having gone through the same process over the last several years in our English-language parish. I am the reader (psalomshchik, dyak) at St. Xenia of Petersburg Russian Orthodox Church in Methuen, MA. My best advice is to just do it. The Orthodox services presume an intimate knowledge of the structure and rules of worship, based on first-hand exposure. You will make mistakes, but there is no other way to learn the services properly than by actually celebrating them. In order to celebrate the services fully, and for Vespers and Matins, in particular, you will need a full Menaion, the Octoechos, the Festal Menaion, the Lenten Triodion (with weekday supplement), the Pentecostarion, the Psalter, the Bible (with Apocrypha) and the Unabbreviated Horologion. >> 400. What is Matins? Matins, or "Orthros" is the principal morning service. It is approximately equivalent to Matins and Lauds in the Western rite. >> 401. How does Matins begin? If served in conjunction with the All-Night Vigil (Vespers, Matins and the 1st Hour served as one united service), then Matins begins with the Six Psalms. Otherwise, we begin at the Trisagion. >> 402. How is "God the Lord" sung? The deacon (or priest) intones the verses. The choir responds with the refrain "God is the Lord..." in the tone of the first troparion. Then, on a simple Sunday Vigil: the troparion of the Resurrection in the tone of the week, twice. Glory: troparion of the saint of the day. Both now. Resurrection Theotokion in the tone of the last troparion. Choir: Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Reader: Both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. [and he begins at once to read the appointed kathisma] >> 403. How is the Psalter sung? The reader chants the psalms on one note. At the end of each stasis: Reader: Glory... Choir: Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God. (3) Glory... Reader: Both now..., and the 2nd stasis. After the 3rd stasis, after "alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God," the deacon or priest says the small litany. >> 404. How are the Sessional Hymns (Sidalen) sung? They are usually read, except in monasteries. If sung, they are sung in the troparion tone. After the sessional hymns: Choir: Glory... Reader: Both now..., and the next kathisma, as above. >> 405. How is the Polyeleos sung? In Russian parochial use, only certain verses are sung. There are several settings readily available. We use a melody from the "Sputnik Psalomshchika" (Psalmist's Companion), published by Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY. >> 406. How is the Exaltation sung? I assume you are referring to what in Slavonic is called the "Velichaniye." This is explained in the "proper" of the saint or feast, and is only done if the service is of "vigil" rank. If a "vigil" rank feast coincides with a Sunday, the rules for the performance of the "Velichaniye" or "magnification" are different. >> 407. How is the Hypakoe sung? If sung, it is sung in the troparion tone. It is usually read. >> 408. How are the Gradual Hymns (Steppena) sung? In the tone of the week, sticheron melody. >> 410. How is Psalm 50 sung? It is not sung, but intoned on a single note. On Sundays and feastdays there are special hymns appointed following Psalm 50, sung in the sticheron melody. >> 411. How is the Canon sung? There are almost always two or more canons, which are combined. The Irmos of the first canon is sung in the proper (Irmologic) tone, then the troparia are read, with the refrains interjected between them. [Refrains are a separate topic about which I will post another time.] The Irmos of the last canon is sung as the katavasia. After Odes 3, 6 and 9, there are small litanies. After the litany of Ode 3 there is the kontakion and ikos (sung) of the secondary commemoration. After the litany of Ode 6 there is the kontakion and ikos (sung) of the primary commemoration. At Ode 9 is the megalynarion (which is usually the Magnificat, except for great feasts, which usually have their own megalynarion [zadostoinik]). On Sundays, after Ode 9 we have "Holy is the Lord our God" in the (prokeimenon) tone of the week. >> 412. How is the Ikos sung? In the troparion tone. >> 413. How is the Magnificat sung? After each verse of the Magnificat, we chant the hymn "More honorable than the Cherubim..." as a refrain. >> 414. How are the Hymns of Light sung? In Russian use, there is a special melody. The exapostilarion is sung three times, separated by "Glory...," and "Both now..." >> 415. How are Psalms 148-150 sung? Lauds is executed exactly like "Lord, I have cried..." at Vespers. Both Lauds and "Lord, I have cried..." are chanted in the tone of the first sticheron. >> 416. How is the Great Doxology sung? There are traditional melodies for this in Russian use. After the Trisagion, we sing the troparion of the day. >> 417. How does Matins conclude? Matins ends with the usual dismissal and the Commemoration (the "Many years"). If it is part of the All-Night Vigil, Matins is followed immediately by the 1st Hour, beginning at "O come, let us worship..." (Christ is risen..., 3x, during the Paschal season). At the conclusion of the dismissal for the 1st hour, we chant "Lord, have mercy," thrice, to a solemn melody. David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Mon, 20 May 1996 18:23:11 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Re: FAQ: Outline To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Jeff, Great Outline! I'm excited about this project. Being Ukrainian and almost totally ignorant of Ruthenian music, I'll only be able to help out with the generic stuff. However, I am looking forward to learn the music since I beleive that it will help me understand my own music as well. If it is ok with the list members, I'd like to build on what gets developed here and evetually include Ukrainian information. I propose that somewhere you include a discussion of how to handle tropars and services when feasts merge, e.g. Annunciation & Good Friday. Also a description of the various classes of holydays would be heplful as well. I suggest that we also include a mapping of the numbering of psalms from the more commonly found Hebrew to the Septuagint as well as a mapping of psalms into kathismata(?). I can do this since I have the information at hand. Just assign a paragraph number and it will be done! I would also like to contribute in working up a glossary of terms. I've been toying with doing this anyway on St. Michael's home page. Also, as far as the Old Slavonic stuff, I suggest that we have a description of the numbering system. I have a description in Ukrainian that I would hazard to translate into English. The challenge is that this page will have to be set up using graphics. Finally, I would like to offer the listmembers some space on my home page (unless Jeff has some space). I would not openly set a link to this page. The URL would only be known to the list members and to our friends/critics, etc. In this fashion, we can keep tabs on out progress and provide suggestions, corrections, additions, modifications real time. Once we're satisfied with the results, we can have a grand opening. Peter ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 21 May 1996 11:31:48 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: FAQ: Outline To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Jeff, Slava Isusu Christou! It's an excellent outline. If I think of anything to add I'll let you know, right now I can't. I'd be happy to do the answers to the Liturgical Texts section (100-108). Presumably we should all post the answers to the list as we do them for people to comment? Incidentally, I've put a call in to Sister Provincial re. use of the Uniontown books. Hopefully we'll speak early this week. More news when I've got it! In Christ, Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 21 May 1996 12:47:18 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: FAQ: Outline for Matins To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Slava Isusu Christou! Reader David James wrote: >The Orthodox services presume an intimate knowledge of the structure and rules of worship, >based on first-hand exposure. I couldn't agree more. As a priest who has studied the Liturgy much of his life said to me - advantage practitioner! >> 401. How does Matins begin? >If served in conjunction with the All-Night Vigil (Vespers, Matins and the >1st Hour served as one united service), then Matins begins with the Six >Psalms. Otherwise, we begin at the Trisagion. Does anyone know what our Ruthenian tradition is re the Vigil? Father David's Typicon does prescribe the Vigil for major Feasts of the Master and of His All-Holy Mother and for some very important saints (e.g. Apostles Peter & Paul). He certainly presecribes fewer Vigils than the OCA Liturgical Calendar that I sometimes consult. I know that further east in the Carpathians the Romanian Orthodox follow two traditions. In parishes the all-night vigil is rarely taken. Vespers is served at night, then Matins and Liturgy together the next day, just as the Greeks do. In Romanian monasteries, however, the Russian practice is followed, with Vespers, Matins and other services taken together in the evening, with Liturgy the next day. Does anyone know what the practice is under Vladyka Nicholas? I'm pretty sure our Basilian Sisters follow pretty much a parish usage. Personally I am attracted to the Romanian solution: it fits in with our understanding of ourselves as a Church positioned between the Greek and Russian usages! But it would be nice to know whether we have our own tradition. >> 403. How is the Psalter sung? >The reader chants the psalms on one note. Ruthenians and Ukrainians are, of course, are used to singing EVERYTHING together. A trade off will be required here: either you do a respectable selection from the prescribed Kathismata (on Sundays 2 & 3, and in the Winter cycler 17) in which case you really need inidividual cantors. Alternatively you take 2 (or 3) psalms only and these are sung congregationally. This is the alternative adopted in most of our parishes in the Holy Week services. Ultimately this is a decision for our Bishops. Personally I suggest we not legislate in our booklet. Simply say "the prescibed psalms are now read or sung according to usage" or something like that, with an explanatory note in the back of the book. In many Orthodox jurisdictions, greater liberties are taken with the number of psalms taken than with anything else (except, perhaps the Canon), so there is probably no disgrace in our following suit. But a personal plea: please leave the Six Psalms at the beginning alone! They are a unit in themselves, penitential in character, and it makes no sense just to take one of those psalms and sing it. The Six Psalms should always be recited, in a subdued voice and a darkened Church, by a single cantor. > How is Psalm 50 sung? It is not sung, but intoned on a single note. At this monastery we happen to take Psalm 50 in Kontakion Tone 8, which is fairly traditional in the Ruthenian usage, so I'm told. Probably in parishes it would be straight chanted, maybe antiphonally. Finally: Reader David has given us a wealth of material to begin our work. I've only commented on a couple of practical issues, there are plenty more there! What a blessing to have a practitioner of the services from the most observant of all the Orthodox jurisdictions join us on this list. We have our own special usages in the Kievan, Galician and Carpathian traditions, but basically we share the same services as the Russian Church, the beauty of whose services is legendary. Reader David: you come from a Church that, for all the trials it has endured for centuries, has never lost its monastic heart or its liturgical soul. Most of us here belong to a Church that has undergone trials that have almost robbed it of both these. Almost, but not quite. Thank you for your prayers, your continued presence and for your help. On this the eve of the Leavetaking of Pascha for the Orthodox Churches: Christ is Risen! Pray for me, Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 21 May 1996 17:23:25 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: FAQ: Outline for Matins To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Fr. Maximos wrote: >Reader David James wrote: FYI, Father, I am the psalomshchik or cantor for our parish, but I am not an ordained reader, so I don't merit the title "reader." >Does anyone know what our Ruthenian tradition is re the Vigil? Father >David's Typicon does prescribe the Vigil for major Feasts of the Master and >of His All-Holy Mother and for some very important saints (e.g. Apostles >Peter & Paul). He certainly presecribes fewer Vigils than the OCA Liturgical >Calendar that I sometimes consult. > >I know that further east in the Carpathians the Romanian Orthodox follow two >traditions. In parishes the all-night vigil is rarely taken. Vespers is >served at night, then Matins and Liturgy together the next day, just as the >Greeks do. In Romanian monasteries, however, the Russian practice is >followed, with Vespers, Matins and other services taken together in the >evening, with Liturgy the next day. > >Personally I am attracted to the Romanian solution: it fits in with our >understanding of ourselves as a Church positioned between the Greek and >Russian usages! But it would be nice to know whether we have our own >tradition. Greek and Russian use on when to serve a vigil has only diverged since the 1880s (a separate discussion). Prior to that, the rules for when a vigil was served were identical. The Lord's Day is a vigil rank feast in traditional Orthodox practice. Other examples of vigil-rank feasts would be the pre-eminent "Twelve Great Feasts," as well as the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter & Paul, the Protection of the Theotokos, St. Nicholas, a parish's patronal feast, etc., etc. On feastdays of less than vigil rank, matins is served in the morning. Feast days are ranked in the following way (with examples): 1. Simple commemoration (St. Pachomius the Great) 2. Double commemoration (St. Epiphanius, bp of Cyprus & St. Germanus, pat. of Constantinople) 3. 6-stichera feast (Holy Protomartyr and Peer of the Apostles Thecla) 4. Doxology-rank feast (The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos at Blachernae) 5. Polyeleos-rank feast (St. Gregory the Dialogist, pope of Rome) 6. Vigil-rank feast (Holy Glorious Prophet Elijah) 7. Pascha (the Feast of feasts, in a category unto itself) Each rank of feast varies both as to manner of celebration of certain elements, as well as how much is taken from the Octoechos, Menaion, Pentecostarion, etc. There are also adjustments and variations for feasts occurring in pre- and post-festal periods and on Sundays. > >>> 403. How is the Psalter sung? >>The reader chants the psalms on one note. > >Ruthenians and Ukrainians are, of course, are used to singing EVERYTHING >together. A trade off will be required here: either you do a respectable >selection from the prescribed Kathismata (on Sundays 2 & 3, and in the Winter >cycler 17) in which case you really need inidividual cantors. Alternatively >you take 2 (or 3) psalms only and these are sung congregationally. This is >the alternative adopted in most of our parishes in the Holy Week services. > >Ultimately this is a decision for our Bishops. Personally I suggest we not >legislate in our booklet. Simply say "the prescibed psalms are now read or >sung according to usage" or something like that, with an explanatory note in >the back of the book. In many Orthodox jurisdictions, greater liberties are >taken with the number of psalms taken than with anything else (except, >perhaps the Canon), so there is probably no disgrace in our following suit. Is there not a technical difference between: Psalmody = recto tono, intonation on one note ecphonesis = as in the priest's exclamation at the end of prayers or the deacon's petitions of the litanies Prokeimenon-style (whose proper name I cannot recollect at the moment), according to a simple melodic pattern, and Chant = the melodies for the eight tones of the stichera, troparia, and irmosi, as well as the special melodies (podobni) Hymnody = special compositions for certain hymns, such as the Cherubic Hymn or the Te Deum. > >But a personal plea: please leave the Six Psalms at the beginning alone! > They are a unit in themselves, penitential in character, and it makes no >sense just to take one of those psalms and sing it. The Six Psalms should >always be recited, in a subdued voice and a darkened Church, by a single >cantor. Amen! Some say it is the Six Psalms that will be read during the Last Judgment, and this is how we should behave when they are being read in Church. >On this the eve of the Leavetaking of Pascha for the Orthodox Churches: > Christ is Risen! Truly, He is risen! I had not realized that the Byzantine Catholic Churches kept a different Paschalion from the Orthodox. For some reason, I thought you were all still on the Old Calendar. This will present some interesting typicon challenges for me. I won't be able to just look it up in this year's current rubrics yearbook! With love in Christ, David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 21 May 1996 14:06:50 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Blaydoe Marc Subject: Re: FAQ: Outline for Matins To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L >I know that further east in the Carpathians the Romanian Orthodox follow two >traditions. In parishes the all-night vigil is rarely taken. Vespers is >served at night, then Matins and Liturgy together the next day, just as the >Greeks do. In Romanian monasteries, however, the Russian practice is >followed, with Vespers, Matins and other services taken together in the >evening, with Liturgy the next day. > >Does anyone know what the practice is under Vladyka Nicholas? I'm pretty >sure our Basilian Sisters follow pretty much a parish usage. At St Thomas the Apostle, with Vladika Nicholas' blessing, we do Matins/Liturgy together. >> 403. How is the Psalter sung? >The reader chants the psalms on one note. We usually chant in a simple pattern: First word down one step then up one to the end of the sentence or verse, second verse starts one note up then down to the second to last word which drops a note, with the last word on the tonic. This is repeated as necessary through the psalm. reader herman ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 21 May 1996 13:45:00 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Bill Metzar Subject: Re: FAQ: Outline for Matins To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Monk Maximos wrote: >Does anyone know what our Ruthenian tradition is re the Vigil? Father >David's Typicon does prescribe the Vigil for major Feasts of the Master and >of His All-Holy Mother and for some very important saints (e.g. Apostles >Peter & Paul). He certainly presecribes fewer Vigils than the OCA Liturgical >Calendar that I sometimes consult. >I know that further east in the Carpathians the Romanian Orthodox follow two >traditions. In parishes the all-night vigil is rarely taken. Vespers is >served at night, then Matins and Liturgy together the next day, just as the >Greeks do. In Romanian monasteries, however, the Russian practice is >followed, with Vespers, Matins and other services taken together in the >evening, with Liturgy the next day. >Does anyone know what the practice is under Vladyka Nicholas? I'm pretty >sure our Basilian Sisters follow pretty much a parish usage. I will send a copy of this message to Fr. Jim Dutko, of the Johnstown Diocese. His father is also a retired priest from the Johnstown Diocese and perhaps between the two of them they can provide some help. >But a personal plea: please leave the Six Psalms at the beginning alone! > They are a unit in themselves, penitential in character, and it makes no >sense just to take one of those psalms and sing it. The Six Psalms should >always be recited, in a subdued voice and a darkened Church, by a single >cantor. I do recall my pastor telling me some twenty years ago that the Ruthenian traditon is to just take the first six verses of each psalm. However, I have found that the congregation has always fully participated whenever the psalms are chanted. >At this monastery we happen to take Psalm 50 in Kontakion Tone 8, which is >fairly traditional in the Ruthenian usage, so I'm told. Probably in parishes >it would be straight chanted, maybe antiphonally. This is the way we chant the psalms during the Presanctified Liturgy. It is easy to sing so there is great participation. S'Bohom, Bill Metzar metzar_w@sunybroome.edu ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 21 May 1996 22:30:37 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Reader Services To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Services without a priest, or "Reader Services," as they are often referred to, are very similar in structure to services with a priest. The following points, however, should be noted: 1. During reader services, the Royal Doors and Curtain remain closed at all times. The senior person present (deacon, subdeacon, reader or most senior layman) may cense the icons and those present using a hand-censer at the prescribed times. (Even a deacon must use the hand-censer, as there is no priest to give the blessing for the usual type of censing.) 2. Instead of the blessing, "Blessed is our God...," the one reading says: "Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us. Amen." And then continues with "Glory to Thee...," etc., as usual. After "Our Father...," instead of "For Thine is the Kingdom...," he says the Jesus Prayer, which is, "O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us. Amen." Likewise, we say the Jesus Prayer after the "Our Father" any time it appears in a service. 3. At any point where the Great Litany, "In peace, let us pray to the Lord...," or the Litany of Supplication, "Let us all say...," (sometimes this litany begins, "Have mercy on us, O God...") appears, instead we say "Lord, have mercy," forty times and "Glory...," "Both now..." Some say "Lord, have mercy" only twelve times. 4. At any point where the Small Litany, "Again and again, in peace...," appears, we say instead, "Lord, have mercy," thrice, and "Glory..., Both now..." 5. At any point where the Litany, "Let us complete...," appears, we say instead "Lord, have mercy" twelve times and "Glory..., Both now..." 6. The sequence "Let us bow our heads...," etc., (at the end of Vespers and Matins) is omitted. 7. At the Hours, instead of "In the name of the Lord, father, bless!" we say, "Bless, O Lord!" and then the senior says the prayer given ("Through the prayers..." or "God be merciful...") 8. The dismissal of Vespers and Matins is thus: "More honorable...," "Glory..., Both now...," "Lord, have mercy," thrice, "Bless, O Lord!" and the senior person present says, "O Lord Jesus Christ, through the prayers of Thy Most Pure Mother, by the power of the Precious and Life-giving Cross, through the prayers of the holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, of --- (saints of the day and of the temple), and of all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen." [If there is a special dismissal, as at Pentecost: "May Christ our true God, Who sent down from heaven the Most Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire upon His disciples and apostles, through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother...," and the rest, as above.] 9. The dismissal of the Hours, if called for, is as above, except that "More honorable..." is *not* said at that point, having been said earlier. 10. The Divine Liturgy can only be served by a priest (or bishop, of course). When reading services without a priest, Typica must be read in its stead. The troparia on the Beatitudes, the troparia and kontakia appointed for after "O come, let us worship...," the prokeimenon(s), epistle(s), alleluia verses and Gospel(s) appointed for Liturgy may be read at Typica after the Beatitudes. All other portions of the service customarily said by the priest are *omitted.* Attached is an outline for reader services I received from Fr. George Lardas, now priest of the Russian Orthodox Church (Synodal) in Houston, TX. It was adapted by him from materials received from Bishop Daniel of Erie, PA, vicar for the Old Rite. David James ======= An account in brief of how to conduct the All-Night Vigil Service, that is to say, Vespers, Compline, the Midnight Office, Matins, the Hours and the Typica, as well as the Paraclesis [Molieben], if there be no Priest. An Analogion [lectern] is placed before the icons, and thereon, the Gospel Book and a Cross. If it be in Church, the analogion is placed in the nave before the Royal Doors. (If there is no priest assigned to the church and regular reader services are scheduled, then the analogion with the Gospel Book and the Cross is placed on the bema in front of the Royal Doors outside of service times and only brought into the center of the church before the beginning of each service.) Beginning of Vespers. The Eldest [or most senior] of those present, a Deacon, or a Reader, or a Monk, or a simple layman, says: "Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us." This beginning occurs at every service. And the Reader answers, "Amen." If the All-Night Vigil is being served, the Reader passes at once to "O come let us worshipx" [below], otherwise "O heavenly King," the Trisagion prayers through the "Our Father:" and instead of "For thine is the Kingdomx," the Eldest says the Prayer of Jesus, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us." And the Reader says again, "Amen." "Lord, have mercy," twelve times, "Gloryx, Both nowx," "O come let us worship," thrice, and Psalm CIII: "Bless the Lord, O my soul:" and "Alleluia," as usual. And instead of the Litany of Peace, we say: "Lord, have mercy," twelve times, in chant, and "Gloryx, Both now." If, however, a Deacon is also present, there being no Priest, he does not say the Litany. And the Kathisma as usual, and instead of the Little Litany, "Lord, have mercy," thrice, "Gloryx, Both now." And we chant "Lord, I have criedx," in the proper tone. While this is being sung, the Eldest takes up the hand censer and places incense therein and, beginning with the Gospel Book, censes all the Images thus: he makes the Sign of the Cross with the censer and, placing the censer in his left hand, he makes the Sign of the Cross and bows to the Image. But when he censes the people, making only the Sign of the Cross with the censer, he only bows, holding the censer in his right hand. When there is no Priest, the Royal Doors are not opened, nor their veil, there is neither censing within the Altar, nor an Entrance, but when the stichera are completed, the Eldest says, "O joyous Light." And the singers chant the rest as usual. And straightway the Reader or the Canonarch says: "The Prokeimenon in the __ Tone." And the choir chants the Prokeimenon in the usual way, with the verses being said by the Reader or Canonarch. But "Peace be unto all," "Wisdom" and "Let us attend" are not said. And if there are Parables [Scripture readings], the Reader says the title, and straightway begins to read. Instead of the Litany, "Let us all sayx," we say "Lord, have mercy," twelve times, "Gloryx, Both now." And if there is an Entreaty Procession [Lity], we sing the stichera for the Entreaty; instead of "O Lord, save thy peoplex," "Lord, have mercy," forty times, thirty times, and fifty times, "Gloryx, Both now." And the stichera of the Aposticha, and the appointed Reader says "Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peacex," and the Trisagion. And after "Our Father," the Prayer of Jesus. The Reader, "Amen;" and the Troparia according to the Typicon. Afterward, "More honorable than the Cherubimx," "Gloryx, Both nowx," "Lord, have mercy," thrice. And the Eldest says the Dismissal in this manner: If it is the Lord's Day: "Thou that didst rise from the dead, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, for the sake of the prayers of thy most pure Mother, and of St. N., (whose temple it is) and of SS. N., (whose day it is) and of all the Saints, have mercy on us and save us, for thou art good and lovest mankind." But on other holy days, according as is proper. But on a simple day; "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God," and the rest. This Dismissal is said facing toward the East. And then, "Amen." "Lord, have mercy," thrice, in chant. But when there is a Vigil, instead of "Lord, have mercy," we say "Amen. Blessed be the name of the Lord from henceforth and for evermore" thrice. And the first ten verses of Psalm XXXIII, after which, we pass at once to Matins, beginning with "Glory to God in the highestx" and the Six Psalms, as usual. BEGINNING OF SMALL COMPLINE. "Through the prayers of our Holy Fathersx" and the Reader says, "Amen." "O Heavenly Kingx" and the rest of Compline as usual. But instead of, "For thine is the Kingdomx" the Prayer of Jesus: "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us." After "More honorable than the Cherubimx," some say: "In the name of the Lord, Father, bless." Inasmuch as the Priest is not present, it were better not to say it, but the Eldest says only, "Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers." After the Dismissal, instead of the [mutual] Forgiveness, the Prayer, "Absolve, pardon, forgive, O God." Then, instead of the Litany, "For this landx," bowing to the ground we say the Prayer, "Forgive, O Lord, Lover of mankind, those who hate and offend us." WE DO LIKEWISE AT THE MIDNIGHT OFFICE. THE BEGINNING OF MATINS is from the Trisagion, with the Censing. After the Troparia "O Lord, save thy people," instead of the Litany: "Lord, have mercy," nine times, "Gloryx, Both nowx," and the Eldest makes the Sign of the Cross with the censer before the Gospel Book, saying, "Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers;" and the Reader: Amen. "Glory to God in the highestx" and the Six Psalms. And instead of the Litany of Peace: "Lord, have mercy," twelve times, "Gloryx, Both now." At "God is the Lord," the Canonarch says the Verses, and the Troparia in order, and the appointed Kathisma of the Psalter. Instead of the Little Litany: "Lord, have mercy," thrice, "Gloryx, Both now." And the Sessional Hymns [Sedalen] in order. And the Reading from the Explanation of Blessed Theophylact [Commentary] or other such book. After the second Kathisma likewise. And if it be the Lord's Day, we chant "Blameless is the manx" [Psalm CXVIII] in three stases, and the Troparia, "The choir of angelsx" If it be a feast day, we chant the Polyeleos, "Praise ye the name of the Lordx," and the selected Psalm with the Magnification. And instead of the Little Litany: "Lord, have mercy," thrice, "Gloryx Both now," and the Session Hymns and the Song of Ascents, according to the Typicon. Then the Canonarch or the Reader says the Prokeimenon for the Resurrection or the Feast. Instead of the Ecphonesis [Exclamation], the Prayer of Jesus, and, "Let every breathx;" then, "Lord, have mercy," thrice. The Eldest says the title of the Gospel, and we chant: "Glory to thee, O Lord." And the Eldest reads the Gospel, turning himself to the East. And at the end of it, again: "Glory to thee, O Lord." And if it is the Lord's Day, "Having beheld the Resurrection of Christx;" and Psalm L, "Have mercy on me, O God;" "Gloryx," "Through the prayers of the Apostlesx," and the rest, as usual. But we do not say the Prayer, "O Lord, save thy peoplex," but only, "Lord, have mercy," twelve times, and the Prayer of Jesus. And then, "Amen," and we begin the Canons. At the Third Ode, after the Sessional Hymn, there is a Reading. Likewise, at the Sixth Ode, after the Kontakion and the Ikos. At the Ninth Ode, we sing the Magnificat with its refrain, "More honorablex," and there is a Censing. After the Ninth Ode, "It is truly meetx," and a prostration. We sing in the proper tone, "Holy is the Lord our God," and the Canonarch says the Verses. And we chant the Psalms of the Praises [Lauds] and the stichera on the Lauds as usual, and after the stichera, straightway we chant the Great Doxology, "Glory to God in the highestx;" and the Prayer of Jesus, and the Troparion. And instead of the Litany, "Have mercy on us, O Godx:" "Lord, have mercy," forty times, "Gloryx, Both nowx," and instead of "Let us complete our morning prayerx:" "Lord, have mercy," twelve times, "Gloryx, Both nowx," "Lord, have mercy," twice, "Bless, O Lord," and the Dismissal as at Vespers. And the Reader says: "O come, let us worshipx;" and in order, the First Hour. After "Our Fatherx," the Prayer of Jesus. After "More honorablex," "Through the prayers of our Holy Fathersx;" but the Reader says the prayer, "O Christ, the true Lightx" Then, "Gloryx, Both nowx," "Lord, have mercy," twice, "Bless, O Lord." And the Lesser Dismissal, "O thou that didst rise from the dead [if it be the Lord's Day], Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, through the prayers of thy most pure Mother and of our God-bearing Fathers, and of all the saints, have mercy on us and save us, for thou art good and lovest mankind." And we: "Amen." "Lord, have mercy," thrice. BEGINNING OF THE THIRD HOUR. The Eldest says, "Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers;" and the Reader: "Amen." "O Heavenly King," and the rest. After "Our Father," the Prayer of Jesus, and after "More honorable," "Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers:" In the same way, we say the Sixth, and the Ninth. If the Sixth Hour is said together with the Third, as before the Typica on Sundays and Feast Days, we begin with "O come, let us worship." THE TYPICA. After the Prayer of the Ninth Hour, straightway Psalm CII is said, "Bless the Lord, O my soul;" "Gloryx," and Psalm CXLV, "Praise the Lord, O my soul;" "Both nowx," "O Only-begotten Son;" and the Beatitudes. On the Lord's Day and on Feasts, the stichera are said on the verses of the Beatitudes, according to the Typicon. Then, "O come, let us worshipx," and the appointed troparia. After this some chant the Trisagion, but others omit it. Then the Prokeimenon, the Epistle, and the Alleluia, with the Verses. Then the Eldest says the title of the Gospel, and we: "Glory to thee, O Lord." The Eldest reads the Gospel for the day, facing the East. At the end, "Glory to thee, O Lord;" "The heavenly choirx;" "Gloryx," "The choir of angelsx;" "Both nowx," "I believex," "Absolve, pardon, forgive, O Godx;" "Our Father;" the Prayer of Jesus, "Amen," and the kontakia according to the Typicon. "Lord, have mercy," twelve times, and the prayer, "O All-holy Trinityx;" and "One is Holyx;" in chant. After this: "Blessed be the name of the Lordx," thrice, in chant. "Gloryx, Both nowx," and Psalm XXXIII: "I will bless the Lord at all timesx;" and "It is truly meetx," or the Megalynarion [Zadostoynik], and a prostration. "Gloryx, Both nowx," "Lord, have mercy," twice, "Bless, O Lord." And the Dismissal, as at Vespers; and after this some appoint a Reading from the sermons of St. Chrysostom, or from the Prologue, or from some other such book. And after the Reading, while the people are venerating the Gospel and the Cross, we sing, in the 6th Tone: "We who are walled about by the Cross are ranged against the enemy, not fearing his devices and ambushes, for the proud one hath been destroyed and trampled underfoot by the power of Christ crucified on the Tree." "Gloryx," first sticheron from the Lity for the patronal feast of the temple, Both nowx, Theotokion from the Lity for the patronal feast of the temple. At the end, "Lord, have mercy," thrice. HOW TO CHANT A PARACLESIS [MOLIEBEN] WHEN THERE IS NO PRIEST. Beginning: "Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers;" "Amen." The Trisagion, and after "Our Father," the Prayer of Jesus, "Amen." "Lord, have mercy," twelve times, "Gloryx, Both nowx," "O come, let us worship," thrice, and Psalm CXLII, "O Lord, hear my prayerx;" "Gloryx, Both nowx," "Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to thee, O God," thrice. "Lord, have mercy," twelve times, "Gloryx, Both nowx," "God is the Lord" in the tone of the Troparion, and the Troparia. Psalm L, "Have mercy on me, O Godx;" the Prayer of Jesus, "Amen," and the Canon with the Irmosi (once each, but the troparia in four). After each Ode, the Katavasiae, "Deliver thy servants from harmx;" or "Save thy servants from harmx;" and "Lord, have mercy," thrice, and three prostrations. At the Third Ode, "Gloryx, Both nowx," the Sessional Hymn. At the Sixth Ode, "Gloryx, Both nowx," the Kontakion and the Ikos. The Prokeimenon of Matins, the Prayer of Jesus, "Let every breathx;" "Lord, have mercy," thrice, and the Gospel, as at Matins, and the sticheron after the Gospel. Then the Irmos of the Seventh Ode. After the Ninth Ode, "It is truly meetx," or the Megalynarion, and a prostration. The Trisagion, and after "Our Father," the Troparion, "Gloryx," the Kontakion, "Both nowx," the Theotokion according to the tone of the Troparion. And instead of the Litany, "Lord, have mercy," forty times, "Gloryx, Both nowx," "More honorablex," "Gloryx, Both nowx," "Lord, have mercy," twice, "Bless, O Lord." And the Dismissal. He commemorates also the saint whose Paraclesis is chanted. Translated by The Rev. George D. Lardas, Boston, MA, 1984. Books needed: The Unabbreviated Horologion [Book of Hours] The Menaion The Octoechos The Festal Menaion The Lenten Triodion, with Supplement The Pentecostarion The Psalter All these texts are available from: St John of Kronstadt Press RR 1 Box 205 Liberty, TN 37095 615 536-5239 ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 21 May 1996 22:30:42 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Refrains for Canons To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Here are the customary refrains used when reading canons. David James ======= REFRAINS FOR CANONS Glory to thee, our God, glory to thee. (Feasts of the Lord) Glory to thy holy Resurrection, O Lord. (Resurrection Canon of the Octoechos) Glory to thy precious Cross and Resurrection, O Lord. (Canon of the Cross and Resurrection of the Octoechos) Have mercy upon me, O God, have mercy upon me. (Supplicatory Canon of the Octoechos) Glory to thy precious Cross, O Lord. (Canon of the Cross from the Octoechos) O most Holy Trinity, our God, glory to thee. (Canons of the Trinity) O most holy Theotokos, save us. (Theotokia and Canons of the Theotokos) Holy great John, Forerunner of the Lord, pray to God for us. (St. John the Baptist) Holy archangels and angels, pray to God for us. (Canon of the Angels from the Octoechos) Holy Chief Captain of God Michael... (8 November) Holy Apostle (of Christ) James... (Apostles of the Twelve or of the Seventy) Holy Apostle (of Christ) and Evangelist Luke... (Evangelists) Holy Prophet of God Obadiah... (Prophets) Holy Hierarch Father Nicholas... (Hierarchs, i.e., bishops) Holy Martyr (or Great Martyr or New Martyr) Tryphon... (Martyrs) Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope and Charity... or Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste... (Several martyrs) Holy Hieromartyr Antipas... (Bishop martyr) Holy Unmercenary Physicians Cosmas & Damian... (Unmercenary physicians) Venerable Father Sergius... (monk saints) Venerable Mother Theodora... (nun saints) Venerable Fathers Sergius and Herman of Valaam... (several monastic saints) Holy Righteous Symeon... (Righteous layman) Holy Blessed Xenia... (Fools-for-Christ's sake) Holy Right-believing King (Prince, Grand Duchess, etc.) Edward... (Royalty) Holy Equal-of-the-Apostles Nina... (Equals of the Apostles) Holy Imperial Equals-of-the-Apostles Constantine and Helen... (21 May) Where a saint has a distinguishing characteristic, such as exuding myrrh, having been a confessor of the Faith, or is a great miracle worker, that is interpolated into the appropriate refrain. For example: Holy Great Martyr Demetrius the Myrrh-gusher, pray to God for us. Holy Patriarch Father Tikhon the Confessor... Holy Hierarch Father John of San Francisco, the Wonderworker, ... NOTE: At the 8th Ode, instead of "Glory...," we say: "We bless the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord." ===================== An abbreviated method for reading the Sunday kathismas at Matins in parishes. This method allows for the reading the complete kathismas once every 8-tone cycle, even if one uses the abbreviated "Blessed is the man..." at Vespers, as is the custom in Russian parishes. Tone 1: Psalms 1, 9, 17:1-30 Tone 2: 2, 10, 17:31-46 Tone 3: 3, 11, 18 Tone 4: 4, 12, 19 Tone 5: 5, 13, 20 Tone 6: 6, 14, 21 Tone 7: 7, 15, 22 Tone 8: 8, 16, 23 ÿ=======================================================================VPR- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 01:14:51 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Welcome, and Chant Traditions In-Reply-To: Message of 05/20/96 at 15:23:26 from DMJAMES@AOL.COM Welcome, dear-in-Christ David and Marc! Christ is risen! I agree very much that the only way to learn the services is to celebrate them. Unfortunately, we've gone through two to three decades without the full cycle of services in most places. I think the switch from Slavonic to English caused much of the problem; there simply was not enough pressure to translate all the services, and much was left undone. Which is why we're here -- now that the texts are available (thanks to many of the God-loving religious of our Metropolia), we can begin on the music. On 05/20/96 at 15:23:26 David James said: > In >order to celebrate the services fully, and for Vespers and Matins, in >particular, you will need a full Menaion, the Octoechos, the Festal Menaion, >the Lenten Triodion (with weekday supplement), the Pentecostarion, the >Psalter, the Bible (with Apocrypha) and the Unabbreviated Horologion. Most of these are now available within the Ruthenian Church, with the blessing of our bishops. Much of it is being shared with the Carpatho- Russian Orthodox; for example, while the Johnstown books used their own traditional translations of the Ordinaries of Vespers and Matins, the music editions being prepared are using propers from the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great in Uniontown, PA. As part of the FAQ, I'm preparing this week a list of the available liturgical books for the Ruthenian Catholic Church. Meanwhile, David and Marc, the Orthodox book catalogs I have often fail to distinguish between Russian and Greek liturgical books; could each of you tell us what editions of the above books are used in your jurisdictiions? Dave, boy do I hear you about the need for materials for Matins! I've been asked to do the same thing at out parish, but for Vespers. Much of the musical know-how is common to Vespers, Matins and the Little Hours, which is why I put in in an "introductory" section. But I'd be happy to illustrate what (little) I do know about the prostopinije. David provided a wonderful summary of Russian Orthodox Matins, to which I'd like to make a few comments about the differences between Great Russian chant and the Znammeny-derived Ruthenian prostopinije: >> 402. How is "God the Lord" sung? The deacon (or priest) intones the verses. The choir responds with the refrain "God is the Lord..." in the tone of the first troparion. Each tone in the prostopinije has a special tone for the Boh Hospod (God is the Lord). It is given in Slavonic in the Boksai Prostopinije, as the first melody of each tone in the Ochtoechos. We need to set these in English. >> 403. How is the Psalter sung? The reader chants the psalms on one note. At the end of each stasis: In the prostpinije, we sing psalms to a tone which is not a single note (even though we call is "straight tone". Contrary, aren't we?) The verse or stich is divided at the middle into two hemistichs. The tone used in the Metropolia does like this: do Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, re ti do Now and ever and forever A men According to my prostopinije teacher (Father James Gleason, who teaches chant at the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox seminary in Johnstown, but who resides three miles from me here in West Virginia :-) ), the following tone, also a part of the prostopinije tradition, is used in the Johnstown diocese; I think this is the one Marc was referring to. do Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, re mi re do Now and ever and unto the ages and ag es A men Both psalm tones are attested in the tradition. We use them for almost everything the Great Russian tradition sings on a single note. (For example, we commonly sing the beginning prayers antiphonally using the psalm tone, verse by verse.)_ There are also proper psalm tones for Psalm 103 at Vespers, and for Psalm 50. >Choir: Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Alleluia, >alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God. do re ti do Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia Glory be to You, O God. (There's that psalm tone again :-) ). >> 404. How are the Sessional Hymns (Sidalen) sung? They are usually read, except in monasteries. If sung, they are sung in the troparion tone. We sing them. But then, we sing everything! :-) The hymns in the troparion tone given with the hymn, the verses in the psalm tone. (Then again, Dave, take brother Maximos' advice and sing everything you don't know in a psalm tone, or even recite it, if that's what it takes to have Matins! The services are meant to bring us to God; the music is just a vehicle, albeit an important one.) >> 405. How is the Polyeleos sung? In Russian parochial use, only certain verses are sung. There are several settings readily available. There is a proper melody in the Boksai prostopinije, for ten verses from Psalms 134 and 135, with a refrain. We need to set the English text to the traditional melody. >> 408. How are the Gradual Hymns (Steppena) sung? In the tone of the week, sticheron melody. Same here. There is a special Gradual for feasts, always in Tone 4. >> 411. How is the Canon sung? There are almost always two or more canons, which are combined. The Irmos of the first canon is sung in the proper (Irmologic) tone, then the troparia are read, with the refrains interjected between them. Same here. The Irmologia again we have music for the Slavonic text; we need to set the English text as well. The irmosy are probably the oldest part of theprostopinije tradition. >> 412. How is the Ikos sung? In the troparion tone. In the prostopinije, we recite it (i.e., in the Epistle tone), with a proper conclusion melody, always the same. The conclusion is found in the funeral parastas, over the text "Nad hrobnoje...") >> 416. How is the Great Doxology sung? There are traditional melodies for this in Russian use. Same here. The melody is in the Boksai. We need to set the English text unless someone out there has done it already. (Am I sounding like a broken record, or what? :-) ). >> 417. How does Matins conclude? Matins ends with the usual dismissal and the Commemoration (the "Many years"). If it is part of the All-Night Vigil, Matins is followed immediately Right. The Ruthenian Order of Celebration for Matins specifies that the First Hour is always to be read following Matins. (Since we _have_ complete rubrics for Vespers Matins and Divine Liturgy in the Ruthenian tradition (1944), with all the worst Latinizations dating from the pseudo-Synod of Zamosc removed, I'm going to see if I can get permission to put it online for our use. Unfortunately, there is no provision for services without a priest. But it does have a lot of materials not otherwise readily available). I am trying to put the rubrics for Vespers and Matins in parallel: Russian Russian Ruthenian Ruthenian with a priest w/o a priest with a priest w/o a priest Jordanville Fr. Lardas 1944 Ordo (proposed) for Father David Petras to look at. He's an exceptionally well trained liturgical scholar, who's also on the Liturgical Commission for the Metropolia, and indicated he was willing to help us. We ought to get approval from our bishops for rubrics for priestless Matins and Vespers, rather than inventing them ourselves -- hardly our place as layfolk! -- and this is probably the best avenue to start. Again, David, thanks so much for contributing! The Great Russian and Little Russian (Rusin) traditions are so similar that contrasting the few differences makes this project much easier. Yours in Christ, Jeff P.S. David, Could you please send me information on the Psalmist's Companion? I should probably get a copy. ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 01:25:12 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: Subject: Re: FAQ: Outline In-Reply-To: Message of 05/20/96 at 18:23:11 from hrycak@THE-HERMES.NET On 05/20/96 at 18:23:11 Peter D. Hrycak said: >I propose that somewhere you include a discussion of how to handle >tropars and services when feasts merge, e.g. Annunciation & Good >Friday. Also a description of the various classes of holydays would >be heplful as well. Definitely. Unfortunately, I'm still looking for this! Archbishop Raya's Byzantine Daily Worship has some of this. >I suggest that we also include a mapping of the numbering of psalms >from the more commonly found Hebrew to the Septuagint as well as a >mapping of psalms into kathismata(?). I can do this since I have >the information at hand. Just assign a paragraph number and it will >be done! The questions will be in the next revision of the FAQ! Thanks! >I would also like to contribute in working up a glossary of terms. >I've been toying with doing this anyway on St. Michael's home page. Consider the glossary yours. Anyone with terms to add to the list for the glossary, send them to Peter. Where possible, we should give both Slavonic and Greek terms. RE: Slavonic. I'm working from a Church Slavonic / Ukrainian / English dictionary, but an index of Slavonic phrases (especially beginning words of prayers and hymns) would be useful. Does anyone have any ideas on how we can post or publish Slavonic text (in Latin characters) with diacritical marks over the Net? Are there any standards? >Finally, I would like to offer the listmembers some space on my home >page (unless Jeff has some space). I would not openly set a link to this >page. The URL would only be known to the list members and to our >friends/critics, etc. Good idea. I have some space on a server at my office, but not the additional time right now. I'd appreciate it if you could do this for us! Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 01:31:32 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: FAQ: Outline In-Reply-To: Message of 05/21/96 at 11:31:48 from HCommun871@AOL.COM On 05/21/96 at 11:31:48 brother Maximos said: >I'd be happy to do the answers to the Liturgical Texts section (100-108). > Presumably we should all post the answers to the list as we do them for >people to comment? It's yours. Rather than posting the section as individual questions, why don't we each post what we're working on as a complete section of qursions and answers (some answers may be empty for now) for comment, and incorporate them into the overall FAQ as we come to a concensus on each section. In Christ, Jeff P.S. My mail server insists on my going by the last name I have on my employer's records (Brooks) instead of my grandfather's family name which our family has adopted (Mierzejewski). I'm still the same person. :-) ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 02:24:51 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: FAQ: Outline for Matins In-Reply-To: Message of 05/21/96 at 12:47:18 from HCommun871@AOL.COM On 05/21/96 at 12:47:18 brother Maximos said: >Does anyone know what our Ruthenian tradition is re the Vigil? Father >David's Typicon does prescribe the Vigil for major Feasts of the Master and >of His All-Holy Mother and for some very important saints (e.g. Apostles >Peter & Paul). He certainly presecribes fewer Vigils than the OCA Liturgical >Calendar that I sometimes consult. I'm still trying to find out where this would be found officially. I know that the Order of Celebration has complete rubrics for Vespers with or without Vigil, followed by Matins or not. So the Vigil is certainly an option when appropriate. >I know that further east in the Carpathians the Romanian Orthodox follow two >traditions. In parishes the all-night vigil is rarely taken. Vespers is >served at night, then Matins and Liturgy together the next day, just as the >Greeks do. In Romanian monasteries, however, the Russian practice is >followed, with Vespers, Matins and other services taken together in the >evening, with Liturgy the next day. Our rubrics do not appear to have a way of combining Matins immediately with Divine Liturgy. (Which is not to say that it couldn't be done... But may tell you where the tradition lies). >Does anyone know what the practice is under Vladyka Nicholas? I'm pretty >sure our Basilian Sisters follow pretty much a parish usage. I've been invited up to Uniontown for Vespers and Matins (my parish priest is the chaplain there), and I'll be going sometime soon (as soon as I get the bent wheel on my car repaired...) >But a personal plea: please leave the Six Psalms at the beginning alone! > They are a unit in themselves, penitential in character, and it makes no >sense just to take one of those psalms and sing it. The Six Psalms should >always be recited, in a subdued voice and a darkened Church, by a single >cantor. Definitely. I think that any congregational booklet should include the Ordinary psalms that a parish might want the congregation to sing. (PSalm 103 at Vespers, example; maybe not the Hexapsalm.) I think there is room for some psalms to be sung congregationally, and some to be sung by cantor(s). >> How is Psalm 50 sung? It is not sung, but intoned on a single note. >At this monastery we happen to take Psalm 50 in Kontakion Tone 8, which is >fairly traditional in the Ruthenian usage, so I'm told. Probably in parishes >it would be straight chanted, maybe antiphonally. That's it!! _That's_ the melody I was thinking of! Thank you! On 05/21/96 at 17:23:25 David James said: >Is there not a technical difference between: >Psalmody = recto tono, intonation on one note See previous note: we use a psalm one slightly more complicated than recto tono -- more like St. Athanasius' "slight modulation of the voice" >ecphonesis = as in the priest's exclamation at the end of prayers or the >deacon's petitions of the litanies As well as the readings (two tones: Gospel/Epistle and Prophecy) BTW, I discovered some time ago that the Epistle tone used in our parish is actually the tone for the Prophecy, which is easier to sing. Do other parishes do this, or does the reader recite the Epistle in the same tome as the priest reads the Holy Gospel? >Prokeimenon-style (whose proper name I cannot recollect at the moment), >according to a simple melodic pattern, and >Chant = the melodies for the eight tones of the stichera, troparia, and >irmosi, as well as the special melodies (podobni) >Hymnody = special compositions for certain hymns, such as the Cherubic Hymn >or the Te Deum. Right. > Some say it is the Six Psalms that will be read during the Last >Judgment, and this is how we should behave when they are being read in >Church. I really, really like this. >>On this the eve of the Leavetaking of Pascha for the Orthodox Churches: >> Christ is Risen! >Truly, He is risen! I had not realized that the Byzantine Catholic Churches >kept a different Paschalion from the Orthodox. For some reason, I thought you >were all still on the Old Calendar. This will present some interesting >typicon challenges for me. I won't be able to just look it up in this year's >current rubrics yearbook! Greek Catholic Churches in Europe very often follow the Old Calendar, similarly in the Middle East. In this country we're _mostly_ New Calendar. Variations of the same "celebrate the Pasch with your neighbors" theme. On 05/21/96 at 14:06:50 reader Herman said: >>Does anyone know what the practice is under Vladyka Nicholas? I'm pretty >>sure our Basilian Sisters follow pretty much a parish usage. >At St Thomas the Apostle, with Vladika Nicholas' blessing, we do >Matins/Liturgy together. Herman, where is the church of St. Thomas, Apostle? We just had Vladika Nicholas make a vistation here in town; I am very impressed with him. I just noticed that the Uniontown books have rubrics for following Matins immediately with Divine Liturgy instead of the First Hour. So this is certainly an option for us as well. On 05/21/96 at 13:45:00 Bill Metzar said: >I do recall my pastor telling me some twenty years ago that the >Ruthenian traditon is to just take the first six verses of each psalm. >However, I have found that the congregation has always fully participated >whenever the psalms are chanted. I have a copy of the Sbornik (the collection of hymns for the congregation for Vespers, Matins and Liturgy for Sunday and Feast Days, first appearing in 1866 and used throughout Subcarpathian Ukraine; mine was printed in 1933 in Presov) that includes the entire texts of each Psalm. At that point, at least, the whole psalm was expected to be used. The preface to the Carpatho-Russian Vespers books notes the tendency to abbreviate psalms, and comes out strongly against it -- especially because a particular service may depend on the light cast by or on a particular verse in a psalm. If the verse has been dropped, you may miss something the Liturgy is trying to tell you. Yours in Christ, Jeff Mierzejewski ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 06:26:17 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Blaydoe Marc Subject: Re: FAQ: Outline for Matins To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L >Herman, where is the church of St. Thomas, Apostle? We just had Vladika >Nicholas make a vistation here in town; I am very impressed with him. We have a literal "storefront mission" church in a strip mall right off Highway 301, just south of Waldorf, in southern MD. Our priest is Fr. Chrysostomos Gunning (carpatho-irish!). Vladika is truely a good and holy person. Our cantor, Andy Single is very fatihful to prostopenije. Fr. tends to favor the "high russian". Services are sometimes very interesting. In Christ's Holy Name, reader herman ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 12:19:56 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: Welcome, and Chant Traditions To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In a message dated 96-05-22 01:21:14 EDT, Jeff Mierzejewski wrote: >I agree very much that the only way to learn the services is to >celebrate them. Unfortunately, we've gone through two to three >decades without the full cycle of services in most places. I >think the switch from Slavonic to English caused much of the >problem; there simply was not enough pressure to translate all >the services, and much was left undone. Which is why we're here -- >now that the texts are available (thanks to many of the God-loving >religious of our Metropolia), we can begin on the music. I would agree that the switch in languages played a big part. When told that our parish plans on starting Matins soon one of the sisters at the Pro-Cathedral in Phoenix said: "We used to have Matins too--but we stopped that because no one came...but then we were using Church Slavonic for the services then." I really appreciate all the responses to my questions re: Matins. I am quite excited about what is happening here and especially for the input from our Orthodox friends! Glory to Jesus Christ! Dave ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 12:19:59 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: FAQ: Outline for Matins To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L >>Truly, He is risen! I had not realized that the Byzantine Catholic Churches >>kept a different Paschalion from the Orthodox. For some reason, I thought >you >>were all still on the Old Calendar. This will present some interesting >>typicon challenges for me. I won't be able to just look it up in this year's >>current rubrics yearbook! > >Greek Catholic Churches in Europe very often follow the Old Calendar, >similarly in the Middle East. In this country we're _mostly_ New >Calendar. Variations of the same "celebrate the Pasch with your >neighbors" theme. Maybe one of these years Eastern Catholics in this country will return to the Eastern date of Pascha (whether New or Old Calendar for the rest of the year doesn't matter to me personally.) Personally I view our use of the Western date for Pascha as a latinization. The new _Liturgical Instructions_ (does anyone know if the English translation is available yet?) encourages us to have so much in common with our Eastern brethren. Is not the Eastern date for Pascha almost universal in the Byzantine Church? (I think only the Finnish Orthodox Church keeps the Western date...anyone know?) Glory to Jesus Christ! Dave Brown Orthocath1@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 12:46:03 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Welcome, and Chant Traditions To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Glory to Jesus Christ! Jeff wrote in connection with the Polyeleos: >We need to set the English text to the traditional melody. Ss. Cyril & Methodius Seminary has a Matins book with musical settings, some of it handwritten. It includes the Polyeleos, "By the Waters of Babylon" (music of extraordinary beauty, but very complicated), the festal Gradual Hymn (special Tone 4), Great Doxology and some other stuff. I believe it was prepared by Father Robert Pipta while he was a seminarian. I'm sure copies can be had from the Seminary if people would like it to consult. In Christ Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 12:46:08 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Matins and abbreviations To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Jeff wrote: >I just noticed that the Uniontown books have rubrics for following >Matins immediately with Divine Liturgy instead of the First Hour. >So this is certainly an option for us as well. From memory they suggest going into the Liturgy just before the dismissal of Matins. This is certainly proper Slavic practice. In Greek parish usage it is not uncommon for Liturgy to begin immediately after the Doxology of Matins. This violates the Typicon, of course, which says the First Hour should come after Orthros, but it is often done nonetheless. It is also the practice at Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Redwood Valley, CA which is a Ukrainian Catholic monastery. They go Great Doxology - Trisagion - Troparia - "Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father ..." - Litany of Peace etc. (I can't remember how it works when they have the Small Doxology but that's irrelevant as we're talking about Sunday services). I wonder whether this might be an option for our time-conscious parishes? I guess that's a question for Father David. For our purposes we just need to know whether we should suggest it as an option in the rubrical notes in the Matins booklet. Jeff went on to talk about psalms: >The preface to the Carpatho-Russian Vespers books notes the tendency to abbreviate psalms, and comes out strongly against it -- especially because a particular service may depend on the light cast by or on a particular verse in a psalm. If the verse has been dropped, you may miss something the Liturgy is trying to tell you. I agree. But I have a theory that I hope will not scandalize too many of you :-) Abbreviation is a fact of life, it has always happened and will always happen. But far worse than the fact of abbreviation is the attitude that makes it a virtue, or even a necessity! The Church gives us the wonderful task of praising God in her services. Sometimes circumstances prevent us from dutifully serving the entire service. This is a mark of OUR imperfection, not the imperfection of the SERVICES! But it is often the services that are blamed: they are just unreasonably long, too confused etc. We are still thralls to that Victorian myth of progress in which whatever modern man does is obviously more enlightened, intelligent and sensible than what our fathers and mothers did! The better attitude, IMHO, is one that says,well I should do everything, but I lack the skills, the voices, the time (for good reasons) or the energy (for even better reasons!) to fulfill this obligation. Then I can understand leaving out psalms, odes, stichera and so on where necessary, provided: 1. it is done humbly (this is primary!), and 2. it is not done at random, but in more or less conformity to a general practice (and there are several of these) throughout the Byzantine world. If both these things are borne in mind, the abbreviated service may still constitute the prayer OF THE CHURCH rather than some confection of an individual's ego. That said, the full, unabbreviated service is still the ideal always to be striven for, and it is that ideal that we should try to offer people in the booklets we will prepare. I think we've established that is the consensus on this list. My hobby horse seems to have bolted again, so I'd better dismount and return to my work ;-) In Christ, Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 12:46:11 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: FAQ: Outline for Matins To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Brother-in-Christ David James, Glory be to Jesus Christ! You wrote: >FYI, Father, I am the psalomshchik or cantor for our parish, but I am not an ordained reader, so I don't merit the title "reader." Ah. As for "merit" only God knows! (I suspect you do.) But I apologise for my mistake about the ordination. Thank you again for sharing your very deep knowledge of the services - and your love for them - with us. Please remember this sinner in your prayers, Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 14:44:31 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Carpatho-Russian/Ruthenian To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Jeff Mierzejewski wrote: >I'm starting with the Indiana rubrics; the Vespers book really only >notes that one says "Through the prayers of our holy fathers..." at >the appropriate times. I'm interested in the Hours of Prayer book, >as the Carpatho-Russians are our Orthodox counterparts as Ruthenians. This is true, but they also were united with Rome until the 1930s and underwent considerable "Latinization," which they are still in the process of overcoming. I would point out that the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad has strong connections with Carpatho-Russia. Both Archbishop Laurus of Jordanville and Archbishop Alypy of Chicago are native Carpatho-Russians/Ruthenians and the Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville has deep roots in Carpatho-Russia, since most of the surviving brotherhood of the St. Job of Pochaev Brotherhood in Ladimirovo came to Jordanville after World War II. There are several of the older monks still alive who were born in Carpatho-Russia. In fact, Metropolitan Vitaly was tonsured a monk at Ladimirovo, as were the late Archbishops Vitaly and Averky of Jordanville, Archbishop Seraphim of Chicago and several other ROCA bishops in the last half century. Johann von Gardner wrote several articles on Prostopenije for "Pravoslavnaja Rus" in the 1960s. I believe a couple of them were reprinted recently in "Living Orthodoxy." David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 14:44:42 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Outline of Vespers for Pentecost To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L The service is a vigil entirely for the Feast, all from the Pentecostarion (nothing from the Octoechos). All texts for the services of the day are available in a special publication from Rassophore Monk Laurence of Jordanville, and in a musical edition from St. John of Kronstadt Press in Liberty, TN. VESPERS Priest: "Glory to the holy and consubstantial...," Clergy: "O come, let us worship...," (special form) And we sing PSALM 103 Litany: "In peace, let us pray to the Lord..." "Blessed is the man...," the first stasis of Kathisma 1 is sung (often in an abbreviated form) Small Litany The second stasis of Kathisma 1 is read Small Litany The third stasis of Kathisma 1 is read Small Litany "Lord, I have cried...," 10 stichera for the feast. "Glory..., Both now...," "Come, O ye people..." Entrance "O joyous light..." Prokeimenon of the day, "The Lord is king..." Three readings, according to the Pentecostarion Litany, "Let us all say..." Reader: "Vouchsafe, O Lord..." Litany: "Let us complete our evening prayer..." "Peace be unto all..., Let us bow our heads...," prayer and exclamation. Entreaty (Litiya): Stichera as given in the Pentecostarion Aposticha: From the Pentecostarion, with special verses. Reader: "Now lettest Thou Thy servant...," and the rest of the Trisagion Prayers. After the Lord's Prayer, Troparion of the feast, thrice. Blessing of the Loaves "Blessed be the Name of the Lord...," thrice, and "I will bless the Lord at all times...," (the first 11 verses of Ps. 33). Priest: "The blessing of the Lord be upon you..." And the reader begins the Six Psalms of Matins, "Glory to God in the highest..., etc. Matins, Hours and Liturgy outlines to follow later. David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 23 May 1996 14:14:28 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Liturgical Language To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear David James, Christ is ascended in glory - for our salvation! You asked the very reasonable question: >I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds here, but I wonder why you wouldn't want to use the same translations as the Orthodox in the service books you are proposing? Well, we do try. But there are two main issues. First, I wonder whether you may exaggerate the degree of uniformity within the Orthodox jurisdictions in this country when it come to translations. Certainly the translation by Bishop Kallistos and Mother Mary of the Triodion and Festal Menaion is fairly standard, but even it is not universal. (I know they use a slightly different translation at St. Vladimir's Seminary and some OCA monasteries). You probably know better than me, but is Mother Mary's translation of the Octoechos as universally accepted as you say? I've been to Greek parishes that celebrate Orthros using different translations, for example. Let's face it, the debate is still raging about the style of English to be used. You mentioned some articles expressing views on one side of the debate. The SOBA translators obviously disagree, since so much ink has been spent denouncing them! In Antiochean and new calendar Greek Churches you don't hear "thee", "thou" or "showest" nearly as much as you do in ROCOR Churches. I'm sure the members of this List hold differing views on the topic! The other issue is political, God have mercy on us! We need to bear in mind what our Church authorities will allow to be sung in our parishes. There would be no objection in principle to using Orhtodox materials (esp. since the Vatican's latest communication telling us we can!). But in practice most of us realise our Bishops will want us to go with what they know already. This List is really about music rather than texts, so we are not really able to discuss the rights and wrongs of either of these points. Our job is primarily to help the Churches of the Sub-Carpathian tradition to celebrate the services using primarily their traditional chant. That's why we should probably stick to those translations most widely used within THOSE Churches. Basically that means the Pittsburgh (Catholic) Metropolia and the Johnstown (Orthodox) Diocese. As far as I know the translations of the changeable texts most widely used in both jurisdictions (though not universally) are those of the Basilian Sisters, for better or for worse. The texts used for the fixed parts of the services are certainly different, unfortunately, so we will have to make a choice. Cross that bridge later!! Ultimately it seems to me that when English texts are been arranged to our music, and the music has become more widely known, it will be much easier to arrange OTHER translations of the same texts. The biggest jump is from Slavonic into English. So when, God-willing, the united Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches in the US settle on one single approved English translation most of the hard musical work will have been done. I hope this answers your question, though it is not a very satisfactory answer, I say smiling wanly. Pray for me, a sinner Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 23 May 1996 14:14:30 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Eight Tones To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Christ is ascended in glory - for our salvation! David James wrote: > For example, in the Kievan Chant, Tone 1 Stichera melody has the pattern: 1, 2, 3, 4, E. It would help me alot if, as you experts set pattern texts to music (and record them on tape!) you could also carry out this kind of analysis. I also agree wholeheartedly with David's comments about the need to commit the tones to memory. Not only is there are practical reason, but a very important theological one as well. The music should come literally "by heart". We live, sin and are redeemed as spirit, mind and body and this needs to be imaged in our worship. Every part of us must be united in praising God. Righteous David says "in my _heart_ I remember You, O God." The Fathers teach us that the heart is the center of our being, in which the whole composite is held toegether. Our body, through the eyes, sees a hymn of worship. The text penetrates our minds. Then there should well up spiritually in us a song of praise - the Church's own song - FROM THE HEART. In Christ we worship the Father. Christ Himself gives us the stuff of worship in His Body, the Church, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit by Whom all our services have been inspired and authenticated. So the application of the proper tone to a text is nothing less than an icon of our being called into relationship, body, mind and spirit, with the Holy Trinity! ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 23 May 1996 15:43:42 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Bill Metzar Subject: Preshov Chant To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Christ is among us! I just remembered today that around 25 years ago I bought a copy of a new chant book published in Preshov, Slovakia. This is the area in which my grand parents lived before coming to the US. Any way, during 1968 Alexander Dubchek relented on the Communist persecution of religions and the Greek Catholic Church published its own book of chant. Soviet tanks soon suppressed the "Prague Spring." These books were sold here by the Carpatho Rusyn Research Society. There were also a set of three or four LP records that were also published along with the book. If anyone wishes to see and hear any particular parts of vespers or matins I can try to find these parts. I will copy the music (written in Church Slavonic with Latin letters) and try to find the corresponding music on the records and make a copy on cassette tape. This may take some time. However, it is easier to learn the music if you can also hear it. This is performed by a cantor from Slovakia, so the inter- pretation of the musical notes should be authentic. If there is interest I will post the table of contents on the list. Bill Metzar metzar_w@sunybroome.edu ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 23 May 1996 15:48:06 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: English Typicon/"Rites" To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Several people have asked if there exists a complete version of the Typicon in English. Unfortunately, no; but for a pretty good approximation, with full instructions according to the usage of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, see _The Ordinary Order of Orthodox Divine Services_, Prototype Edition, Revision A, January 1995, St. John of Kronstadt Press, 1180 Orthodox Way, Liberty, TN 37095-9720. 615 536-5239. This book is best used in conjunction with the SJOKP "Orthodox Liturgical Calendar," published annually. [The calendar is not absolutely necessary if you know the rank of the service and, frankly speaking, most feasts for which a service would be scheduled in the typical American parish are either a vigil on a weekday or a vigil in conjunction with a Sunday, or one of the Great Feasts.] _The Ordinary Order of Orthodox Divine Services_ is, to the best of my knowledge, the fullest typicon available in English. Subtitle (from the front cover): "The structure and specific variable content of each of the various classes of Sunday and Weekday Services (Vespers, Matins, the Hours, Typica and Divine Liturgy) in ordinary time, during the Lenten Triodion, and during the Pentecostarion period; together with detailed specific outlines for selected Festal Services. Instructions for reading services at home or elsewhere, when no priest or deacon serves. Comprehensive tabular guide to the order of reading the Psalter in various periods of the Church year." Regarding differences between Russian Orthodox and Ruthenian Catholic usages, Monk Maximos wrote: >>What are other differences in these two traditions besides vestments & >>music. >This is a large topic. Apart from Latinizations, there are two main (valid) >reasons for differences: >1. Kievan usages developed somewhat differently from Muscovite; and I am curious as to what differences there are between "Moscovite" and "Kievan" usages that are so great as to constitute a different liturgical tradition, rather than simply minor variations within a common tradition. >2. Both the Ruthenian and Ukrainian Greek Catholics entered into union with >Rome before the major Russian liturgical reforms initiated by Patriarch >Nikon. This is closer to the mark. Ironically, the Niconian reforms mark the beginning of strong Western influences in the life of the Russian Church and her worship. Theoretically, the Ruthenian recension of the Byzantine Rite would be closer to that of the Russian Orthodox Old Rite than any other. For example, in the Old Rite, all the troparia of the canons at Matins are sung. In the Niconian Rite, they are read (except for the Irmos and Katavasia) by a decree of Peter the Great. In the Old Rite (and a handful of Niconian Rite monasteries) there are readings from the Fathers and lives of the saints after the sessional hymns of the kathismas at Matins. >There are numerous small differences. For example, during Pascha the >Russians sing "It is truly proper" and "More honorable than the Cherubim" >whereas we Ukrainians and Ruthenians tend to replace it always with "The >angel cried" and "Shine in splendor." Somebody got his facts scrambled, or the Russian parish you visited had a choir director who didn't know what he was doing. The hymn after the Anaphora in the Divine Liturgy is called the megalynarion (zadostoinik, in Slavonic). Normally, this is the hymn, "It is truly meet..." (Dostoyno Yest...), which, as you know, is the refrain of the Magnificat. However..., if the Magnificat is not appointed, as on Great Feasts such as Pascha, then the megalynarion at Liturgy is the Irmos of the 9th Ode. The Irmos of the 9th Ode of the Paschal Canon is "The Angel cried...," together with "Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem..." The paschal megalynarion is sung at Liturgy until the apodosis (leave-taking) of Pascha, which is the Wednesday before Ascension (i.e., the eve). During Ascensiontide, the megalynarion is the Irmos of the 9th Ode of the Canon of the Ascension. On Pentecost Sunday, it will be the irmos of the 9th Ode of the Canon of Pentecost, etc. In the same vein, from Pascha until Ascension, instead of "O Heavenly King...," we say the Paschal troparion, "Christ is risen...," thrice. From Holy Ascension until Pentecost, instead of "O Heavenly King...," we say nothing, but the beginning of prayers is at the Trisagion. David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 23 May 1996 18:04:34 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Re: English Typicon/"Rites" To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Glory to Jesus Christ! I've been trying to learn the sources of the differences between the Russian and the Ruthenian/Ukrainian usages for awhile. I'm very thankful for the following discussion: > >>What are other differences in these two traditions besides vestments & > >>music. > > >This is a large topic. Apart from Latinizations, there are two main (valid) > >reasons for differences: > > >1. Kievan usages developed somewhat differently from Muscovite; and > > I am curious as to what differences there are between "Moscovite" and > "Kievan" usages that are so great as to constitute a different liturgical > tradition, rather than simply minor variations within a common tradition. Me too! I have an OCA book for the Paschal service. The OCA tradition at the Gravesite Service is to take the epitaphion (plaschanytsia) to the altar at the singing of the ninth ode at the singing of the words "For I shall arise". The Ukrainian tradition is to do this at the end of the service when the tropar (tone 2) "The nobel Joseph took down You most pure body from the cross". The Holy Week Ruthenian service book really doesn't go into much detail about the Ruthenian practice. > > >2. Both the Ruthenian and Ukrainian Greek Catholics entered into union with > >Rome before the major Russian liturgical reforms initiated by Patriarch > >Nikon. > I know that there is an Old Rite prayer book available from Erie, PA. Are the usages closer to the Ruthenian/Ukrainian? > > >There are numerous small differences. For example, during Pascha the > >Russians sing "It is truly proper" and "More honorable than the Cherubim" > >whereas we Ukrainians and Ruthenians tend to replace it always with "The > >angel cried" and "Shine in splendor." > > Somebody got his facts scrambled, or the Russian parish you visited had a > choir director who didn't know what he was doing. The hymn after the Anaphora > in the Divine Liturgy is called the megalynarion (zadostoinik, in Slavonic). > Normally, this is the hymn, "It is truly meet..." (Dostoyno Yest...), which, > as you know, is the refrain of the Magnificat. However..., if the Magnificat > is not appointed, as on Great Feasts such as Pascha, then the megalynarion at > Liturgy is the Irmos of the 9th Ode. The Irmos of the 9th Ode of the Paschal > Canon is "The Angel cried...," together with "Shine, shine, O new > Jerusalem..." The paschal megalynarion is sung at Liturgy until the apodosis > (leave-taking) of Pascha, which is the Wednesday before Ascension (i.e., the > eve). During Ascensiontide, the megalynarion is the Irmos of the 9th Ode of > the Canon of the Ascension. On Pentecost Sunday, it will be the irmos of the > 9th Ode of the Canon of Pentecost, etc. Pardon me, but my pastor is former OCA and his recollection was that "Anhel Vopiyasche" was sung up to Thomas Sunday. What about the use of the tetrapod in the Russian tradition? Anyway, thanks! I find this very interesting and educational. Peter ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 23 May 1996 21:08:58 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: English Typicon/"Rites" To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Brother-in-Christ David, Glory to Jesus Christ! >I am curious as to what differences there are between "Moscovite" and "Kievan" usages that are so great as to constitute a different liturgical tradition, rather than simply minor variations within a common tradition. That's all I meant to say. I don't think any of the (legitimate) differences between Ukrainian/Ruthenian usages on the one hand and the Great Russian on the other constitute more than minor variations. We share the same rite, and our usages within that rite are nearer in many respects than either of them are to the Greek usage. It would have been different if we had kept purely to the pre-Niconian tradition, but we clearly did not. For example, according to the his preface Father David Petras' "Common Typicon" is based largely on the Typicon used last century in Mukachevo Diocese which is basically the same edition as that published by the Russian Synod between 1801 and 1825. I believe many Ukrainian Catholics (and Orthodox) are trying to go back to a purer Kievan usage, whatever that may mean. But there is not really any similar movement within the Churches of the Sub-Carpathian tradition. We just have remnants of the older usages here and there. >in the Old Rite, all the troparia of the canons at Matins are sung. In the Niconian Rite, they are read (except for the Irmos and Katavasia) by a decree of Peter the Great. I didn't know that. Actually we too tend to read the troparia of the Canons at Matins. I guess this is an example of "Niconization" of the Ruthenian usage! The older tradition tends to be preserved most in the funeral service, where the Ode is sung completely (often, to our shame, only one ode out of the eight is chosen). Also I think in the Paraclis we tend to sing all the troparia. I'm afraid I'm going on hearsay about this, as I've never sung the Paraclis in a parish. Am I right? >The paschal megalynarion is sung at Liturgy until the apodosis Another misunderstanding based on my poor expression, I'm sorry. I was talking about the Divine Offices. For example, where the hymn "More honorable than the Chrerubim" is chanted at the dismissal of Vespers, Matins and the Hours, Ruthenians usually replace it from Pascha to its leavetaking with "Shine in splendor". As far as I know Russians sing the former. But now, thanks to Bishop Andrew's comment that we should go back to the Russian usage, I don't know how old our tradition of ours is!! Peter Hrycak wrote: >I know that there is an Old Rite prayer book available from Erie, PA. Are the usages closer to the Ruthenian/Ukrainian? This I don't know. All I can do is give a couple of asides :-) A priest recently told me that early this century the holy Confessor Andrew (Sheptytsky), when he was Metropolitan of Lviv, welcomed into the Ukrainian Catholic Church a group of Old Believers. The story is he celebrated the Divine Liturgy for them according to Galician usage, but without any Latinizations. It was close enough to their own service for them to be comfortable entering into communion with him on condition that they keep their own rite. Does anyone know more about this? I do know that priests and monks of the Old Rite often wear capes over their riassa. This makes them look a bit like old fashioned Roman Catholic clergy. One explanation given to a priest friend of mine by an Old Believer in Moscow was that if the Pope of Rome wears a cape it must be the oldest tradition around! I'm sure the fathers frown on gossiping monks like me. Pray for the sinner, Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 23 May 1996 22:17:01 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Carpatho-Russian/Ruthenian To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Fr. Maximos asked: >Johann von Gardner wrote several articles on Prostopenije for >"Pravoslavnaja Rus" in the 1960s. I believe a couple of them were reprinted >recently in "Living Orthodoxy." Where could we get hold of those articles (assuming they are in English!)? I think they would be very interesting. ====== You may get the articles from St. John of Kronstadt Press. They were translated for the 1992 Church Music Conference in Seattle and are titled (to the best of my recollection): "Some Observations on Congregational Singing" and "More Observations on Congregational Singing." The articles probably total about 6-8 pages of 10-pt type. They are well worth getting. St. John of Kronstadt Press 1180 Orthodox Way Liberty, TN 37095 Phone: 615 536-5239 Fax: 615 536-5945 BTW, Father, have you considered attending the Summer School of Liturgical Music at Jordanville? It seems to me that the methods used at this school to strengthen the liturgical life of our own Church could very well be applied in your Metropolia as part of your efforts to restore traditional liturgical practice. David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 23 May 1996 22:31:51 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Bill Metzar Subject: Preshov Chant - Irmologion To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L The Chant Book from Preshov, Irmologion, was published by Stefan Papp in 1970 under Bishop Jan Hirka. These are the main divisions of the book: I. Sv. Liturgija (Divine Liturgy) pages 5-39 Music for the three Liturgies II. Vespers pages 43-45 Blahoslovi, dushe moja Hospoda (Bless the Lord, O my soul) Blazhen muzh (Blessed be the man) Svite tichij (Joyful Light) Prokimeny na Vecherni (Prokimena of Vespers) Saturday, Sunday, and Great Lent Spodobi, Hospodi, v vercher sej instructions to either recite or use a podoben melody Now You shall dismiss your servant Pod Tvoju milost (We fly to your patronage) III. Matins pages 46-51 Polijelej - Mnohomilostive Velichana prazdnika Tropari neporochni: Anhelskij Sobor Stepenna prazdnicha: Ot junosti mojeja Ektenia Velicana Presv. Bohorodici: "Velichit dusha moja" Velicana Utrenne: "Velichaj, Velichaj, duse moja" Preblahoslavenna jesi Slavoslovije IV. Oktoich The eight tones. For each tone: Boh Hospod Tropar and kondak when different from tropar Prokimen of matins Vsjakoje dychanije Kanon odes 1-9 and Chvalim Blahoslovim after ode 7 Svjat Hospod after ode 9 Samohlasen Stichira i nyni samopodobni (the following are fore tone 1) 1. Nebesnych chinov radovanije 2. Prechvalniji Muchenicy 3. O Divnoje Chudo Bolhar V Lent Sunday of prodigal son Cheese fare Kanon of Andrew of Crete Palm Sunday Great Monday Great Thursday Great Friday Great Saturday (Jerusalem Matins and Kanon) VI Easter season Easter Sunday St. Thomas Sunday Ascension Pentecost VII Immovable feasts VIII other (I'm not sure what some of these are.) Pochoron Pochoron ditej Parastas Chin Tajny Supruzhestva Chin tajny Svjashchenstva Male osvjachena vody Obidnicja Povercherije velike Rizhni ekteniji Akafist Umolena Nasvj Evcharistiji Moleben do Nasvj Serdca Isusovoho Moleben v chest Presv. Bohorodici Krestna Doroha Sv. rozhanec - Vervicja Since I have no means of typing an upside down ^ over c and s, I've added h where appropriate. If anyone would like copies of any of these parts, let me know and I will snail mail them to you. If you would like to hear the cantor sing these, let me know. It is hard to find the music because each LP was recorded without any breaks, just give me some time and I'll find it and record it for you. I may have purchased this book from the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Press in Pittsburgh. Its been so long I really don't remember. Bill Metzar metzar_w@sunybroome.edu ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 23 May 1996 23:10:42 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: English Typicon/"Rites" To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Fr. Maximos wrote: "I do know that priests and monks of the Old Rite often wear capes over their riassa. This makes them look a bit like old fashioned Roman Catholic clergy. One explanation given to a priest friend of mine by an Old Believer in Moscow was that if the Pope of Rome wears a cape it must be the oldest tradition around!" ===== Dear in Christ Fr. Maximos: Is this not the monastic mantia? Or do even married clergy wear the cape you speak of? If I am not mistaken, Old Rite monastics do not wear the riassa, but simply the podriasnik (they must have another name for it), with belt and paraman, and, in church, the mantia or mantle. Similarly, they wear a cowl (klobuk) with a rounded skoufia under the veil, rather than the more familiar cylindrical one. The cowl of the Patriarch of Moscow is in the Old Rite style. New Rite monastics wear their mantias only in Church. Perhaps in the Old Rite they wear the mantia more like the new rite riassa -- as a kind of dressy outer garment for more formal situations. If you examine closely icons of saints such as St. Herman of Alaska or St. Sergius of Radonezh, you will notice that they are not wearing the riassa, but only the podriasnik and mantle. With love in Christ, David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 11:22:05 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Progress In-Reply-To: Message of 05/22/96 at 12:46:03 from HCommun871@AOL.COM Glory to Jesus Christ! On 05/22/96 at 12:46:03 brother Maximos said: >Ss. Cyril & Methodius Seminary has a Matins book with musical settings, some >of it handwritten. It includes the Polyeleos, "By the Waters of Babylon" >(music of extraordinary beauty, but very complicated), the festal Gradual >Hymn (special Tone 4), Great Doxology and some other stuff. I believe it was >prepared by Father Robert Pipta while he was a seminarian. I'm sure copies >can be had from the Seminary if people would like it to consult. Thanks, Brother Maximos! This is _exactly_ the kind of information we need to be gathering and making use of!! Notes on projects underway, so everyone knows: I called Ss. Cyril and Methodius Seminary; they have produced Matins books in both old and new (Uniontown, I believe) translations. It may all be in the hands of the seminarians right now (who are gone for the summer), but if they can find anything in their files they will call me and arrange for us to get copies of it. Dave Brown provided me with a number for Father Robert Pipta, whom Brother Maximos mentioned above, in Phoenix. He and I have plans for talk via telephone later today; he's very interested in the project, and would be happy to provide us with any materials he has at hand. Brother Maximos is writing to the Sister Provincial of the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great for permission to use their translations (possibly with a fee it they are published, possibly not). His initial contact with the Provincial indicated that there should be no real problem getting the necessary permissions. I talked to Jack Figel of Eastern Christian Publications this morning; he asked us to contact him when we have materials ready for publication, and indicated that he would be willing to do the printing and distribution. He also gave me the e-mail address of John Vernoski, the cantor in Annandale, Virginia; should I write him and invite him to join this list and project? I am working on the overview section of the FAQ (qq. 1- 10) Brother Maximos is working on the liturgical texts (qq. 100-108) Andrew Wollert has volunteered to do the Divine Liturgy (qq 500-5??) Dave Brown has asked that we give urgent priority to Matins; I think this is a good place to start, but I recommend that you start with a simplified set of chant, because so many of the special melodies will need to collected or adapted to English. - Dave, what sort of deadline do you have planned for Matins? And what materials (service books) do you have at hand? Will you have a priest celebrating the Matins, and is he familiar with the service? Or will this be priestless Matins? I think the list could certainly provide: - a detailed order of service for Sunday Matins, week by week, along the lines of what David James provided - rubrics for Sunday Matins (brother Maximos, would you be willing to take this on? We can finalize the priestless parts as we go, including input from Father David Petras) - tutorial advice on how to sing the various parts of Matins in the prostopinije tradition, simplified to begin with. This will likely _not_ be the same as our final set of music for Matins, but will get you started What else do you need to get started? Because we will be working on several things concurrently, I suggest that people use the Subject: line of their posts to indicate what project (if any) it related to: FAQ: general discussion of the FAQ list, draft questions and answers TEXTS: discussion of texts of the services CHANT: general discussion of prostopinije chanting, history of the chant, "How do I chant..." questions VESPERS: discussion specific to the Great Vespers project MATINS: discussion specific to the Sunday Matins project Foe example: Subject: FAQ - Draft questions 1-10 If your post doesn't related to any of these subjects, use whatever subject line you like. I don't want to over-organize, but I think this will make the list more useful to all of us. Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 14:16:59 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Matins Comments: cc: redco@xroads.com To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In a message dated 96-05-24 11:26:19 EDT, Jeff Mierzejewski wrote: >Dave Brown has asked that we give urgent priority to Matins; I think >this is a good place to start, but I recommend that you start with a >simplified set of chant, because so many of the special melodies will >need to collected or adapted to English. I am quite excited about all of this! The actual person in charge of the Matins project at our parish is Andy Wollert. I will let him respond to most of the questions you pose. I will see him Sunday (for those who didn't already know we belong to the same parish.) Jeff...I am very glad you started up the CANTOR-L list! Glory to Jesus Christ! Dave Brown Orthocath1@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 16:44:10 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: MATINS: Outline for Pentecost To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L If Matins is served as part of the All-Night Vigil: Reader: "Glory to God in the highest..." and the Six Psalms, to which we attend with silence and compunction. Otherwise, the beginning is from the Trisagion. After the Six Psalms: Great Litany: "In peace, let us pray to the Lord..." "God is the Lord" and the Troparion of the feast, twice, "Glory..., Both now...," the same, once. The first reading from the Psalter Small Litany Sessional Hymns from the Pentecostarion The second reading from the Psalter Small Litany Sessional Hymns from the Pentecostarion Polyeleos, and Magnification with Selected Psalm. Small Litany and Sessional Hymns from the Pentecostarion Hymn of Ascents, in Tone 4: "From my youth..." Prokeimenon, "Thy good Spirit..." "Holy is the Lord, our God." Gospel: John, Section 65 (20:19-23) We *do not* sing "Having beheld the resurrection of Christ..." Psalm 50 "Glory..., Through the prayers of the Apostles..., Both now..., Through the prayers of the Theotokos..., Have mercy on me...," and from the Pentecostarion, "O Heavenly King..." Litany, "Save, O God, Thy people..." Canons: two canons are read from the Pentecostarion. For each canon we sing the irmos twice, and then troparia on six, for a total of 16 troparia (in parochial practice, it is a concession to weakness not to repeat the troparia). Katavasia: We repeat the irmosi of both canons. The Magnificat is not sung, but we immediately begin Ode 9 without special refrains. (An unknown source indicates that "Before the Irmos of Ode 9, the deacon chants: "The Apostles were amazed seeing the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, come down and appear in the form of tongues of fire." Neither the Russian Typicon nor the Pentecostarion have any reference to this.) Exapostilarion, "O Thou All-holy Spirit...," twice, "Glory..., Both now...," "The Father is Light..." The Praises (Lauds): The first two verses are sung in the tone of the first sticheron. Six stichera are sung between the concluding verses, from the Pentecostarion. "Glory..., Both now...," "O Heavenly King..." Great Doxology Troparion of the feast, once. Litany: "Have mercy on us, O God..." Litany: "Let us complete..." "Peace be unto all..." "Let us bow our heads...," Prayer and exclamation. "Wisdom!" and the rest of the Dismissal. The reader immediately begins the First Hour (beginning at "O come, let us worship...") At the Hours: All according to the Horologion. We use the troparion and kontakion for the feast from the Pentecostarion. At the Divine Liturgy: "Blessed is the Kingdom..." Litany: "In peace, let us pray..." The first festal antiphon Small Litany Second festal antiphon, "Glory..., Both now...," "O Only-begotten Son..." Small Litany Third festal antiphon Small Entrance (with Gospel). Instead of "O come, let us worship...," the deacon (priest) says, "Be Thou exalted, O Lord..." Troparion of the feast, G, BN, kontakion of the feast. Priest: "For holy art Thou..." ====== If a deacon is serving: Deacon: "O Lord, save the pious...," and the choir repeats. Deacon: "And unto the ages of ages. ====== Choir: Amen. And the Trisagion. Instead of "Holy God...," we sing, "As many as have been baptized...," and the rest of the Divine Liturgy, with the following: Prokeimenon: "Their sound hath gone forth..." Epistle: Acts, section 3 (2:1-11) Alleluia, with verses for the feast, "By the Word..." Gospel: St. John, section 27 (7:37-52, 8:12) Instead of "It is truly meet...," we sing the Irmos of the second canon of Ode 9. Communion Hymn: "Thy good Spirit..." The 9th Hour and Vespers are often served immediately after Liturgy. Vespers for the Day of the Holy Spirit Priest: "Blessed is our God..." And the "Usual Beginning" (see below) Psalm 103 (read) Litany: "In peace, let us pray...," with special petitions for the descent of the Holy Spirit on all the faithful. There is no reading from the Psalter. Lord, I have cried..., six stichera; "Glory...," "Both now...," "O Heavenly King..." Entrance, with the censer, and the Great Prokeimenon: "Who is as great a God..." And the first Kneeling Prayer is read (this form is used for each prayer): Deacon (or priest): "Again, yet again, on bended knee let us pray to the Lord." Choir: "Lord, have mercy," thrice. And all fall on their knees in a full prostration (forehead to the floor), priest and people. And the priest reads the prayer in the Royal Doors, facing the people, "O Lord most pure, spotless..." At the conclusion, the deacon (or priest) says, "Help us, save us, have mercy on us..., during which all rise for the priest's exclamation: "For Thine it is to show mercy upon us, and to save us, O Lord our God, and unto Thee...," Then the Litany: "Let us all say..." And the Second Kneeling Prayer, "O Lord Jesus Christ our God...," with the exclamation, "Through the loving-kindness and goodness of Thine Only-begotten Son, with Whom Thou art blessed..." "Vouchsafe, O Lord...," sung or (more often in Russian usage) read. And the Third Kneeling Prayer, "O Fountain ever-flowing, living, enlightening...," with the exclamation, "For Thou art the repose of our souls..." Litany: "Let us complete our evening prayer..." Aposticha, with stichera from the Pentecostarion. "Now lettest Thou Thy servant...," sung or read (The rubrics of the Horologion indicate that this hymn is read. In Russian Churches, it is often sung.) Trisagion Prayers. Troparion, "Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God..." If there was not an Entrance (with the censer), we say the Litany, "Have mercy on us, O God..." Festal Dismissal: "May Christ our true God, Who sent down from heaven the most holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire upon His disciples and apostles..." For the Day of the Holy Spirit: The service is entirely from the Pentecostarion. On the eve, there is Small Compline with the Canon for the Holy Spirit (not in the English Pentecostarion). Matins: Troparion, "Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God...," 3x. At Ode 9, we do not sing Magnif., but Ode 9 of the canon. Exap. of the feast. Praises: stich. of the feast 4; G/BN: "Of old there was confusion of tongues...," Great Dox. Trop. Feast. Hour 1. Hours: Trop. and Kont. Feast. Liturgy: Typica. Introit: "Be Thou exalted..." and "Save, O Good Comforter..., Trop and kont. Feast. Tris. Prok. T6: "O Lord, save Thy people...," Instead of "It is truly meet...," the 9th Irmos of the 2nd canon. Comm. Hymn: "Thy Good Spirit..." The "Usual Beginning:" After the blessing by the priest, the reader says: "Amen." If the service was immediately preceded by another service, he goes at once to "O come, let us worship...," and the appointed Psalms. Otherwise, he continues: "Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee." "O Heavenly King..." "Holy God...," thrice "Glory...," "Both now...," "O most holy Trinity..." "Lord, have mercy," thrice. "Glory...," "Both now...," "Our Father..." Priest: "For Thine is the Kingdom..." Reader: "Amen. Lord, have mercy," twelve times. "Glory...," "Both now...," "O come, let us worship...," thrice. ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 23:18:24 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Liturgical Language In-Reply-To: Message of 05/23/96 at 14:14:28 from HCommun871@AOL.COM David James and Brother Maximos, you both have good points to make about liturgical texts. But I think the key point is: On 05/23/96 at 14:14:28 brother Maximos said: >Ultimately it seems to me that when English texts are been arranged to our >music, and the music has become more widely known, it will be much easier to >arrange OTHER translations of the same texts. The biggest jump is from >Slavonic into English. I agree completely. The reason we are meeting here at all is that for the last thirty years, coinciding with the switch to English and the parish changes that led to the de-emphasis on the Hours, we have not been training cantors in prostopinije. Period. The Ruthenian Catholic Church has a firm body of plainchant for the Divine Liturgy, but hardly any cantors know the music for Vespers and Matins except for Great and Holy Week. The Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church (I think I got the order right) has had a wide mix of Little Russian chant, Great Russian polyphony, and various other music. We no longer expect cantors to _know_ the music of our holy services in the way that they were once expected to know them. I think one of the most valuable services this group as a whole could provide is to put together a description of "what every Rusyn cantor should know" -- and then provide usable materials to allow cantors to learn these things, and eventually to allow groups of cantors to be taught them. Any volunteers for the following section of the FAQ? Bill, aren't you our most experienced Rusyn cantor? ---On Being a Cantor--- 800. What are the responsibilities of a cantor? 801. What should a cantor be able to sing? 802. How do I learn to be a cantor? 803. How should I prepare spiritually for a service? 804. How should I prepare physically for a service? Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 23:35:09 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Carpatho-Russian/Ruthenian In-Reply-To: Message of 05/23/96 at 22:17:01 from DMJAMES@AOL.COM On 05/23/96 at 22:17:01 David James said: >Johann von Gardner wrote several articles on Prostopenije for >"Pravoslavnaja Rus" in the 1960s. I believe a couple of them were reprinted >recently in "Living Orthodoxy." von Gardner's book _Russian Church Singing_ (first volume) is available from St. Vladimir Seminary Press for $10.95; it is the best single work available in English on the Slavic plainchant tradition, and is used by the Carpatho-Russian Seminary as a basic text in teaching church music. I called to order it and discovered that St. Vladimir's has it on sale for $5.95 during their summer clearance. I order three copies :-) I'll let you know more when they get here, and perhaps I can edistribute to anyone who doesn't order one directly from SVS. The second volume of the same is due out later this year. >BTW, Father, have you considered attending the Summer School of Liturgical >Music at Jordanville? It seems to me that the methods used at this school to >strengthen the liturgical life of our own Church could very well be applied >in your Metropolia as part of your efforts to restore traditional liturgical >practice. This is a wonderful idea. If Brother Maximos is able to go, I'm willing to contribute part of our family's tithe to paying his tuition. David, could you tell us any more about this program? Yours in Christ, Jeff P.S. All the list mail to Brother Maximos has been bouncing since yesterday. Anyone know what's going on with him? ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Sat, 25 May 1996 05:40:14 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Preshov Chant - Irmologion In-Reply-To: Message of 05/23/96 at 22:31:51 from METZAR_W@SUNYBROOME.EDU On 05/23/96 at 22:31:51 Bill Metzar said: >The Chant Book from Preshov, Irmologion, was published by Stefan Papp >in 1970 under Bishop Jan Hirka. These are the main divisions of the >book: The Papp Irmologion is the one major attempt at a revision of the Bokshay _Prostopinije_ in this century. Based primarily on the Bokshay, it incorporates a _small_ number of corrections, gives better cross-references for the use of the podobny by indicating _where_ a referenced podoben can be found, and includes a number of important variants from the Presov area. It also provides a window into the Bokshay Prostopinije for those unable to read Cyrillic :-) Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be in print!! I have a copy, and it makes a valuable companion to the Bokshay, especially since some of the Presov variants are traditional usages in this country. Note that even though this came from Presov, it is still primarily the Mukachevo / Uzhorod chant tradition, except for a small number of variants. According to Father James Gleason, even the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox in Ruthenia, as they re-introduce the prostopinije to their congregations which were used to more polyphony and composed music, are using the Bokshay and Papp, and hence the Mukachevo tradition. The Presov tradition has never been recorded in a printed set of music, and exists mainly as a living tradition in some of the Rusyn churches in this country, and in the hand-written Vespers music used in the Johnstown diocese (which I have, and will comment on later). BTW, note that an "Irmologion" was originally a book that contained just the music for the irmoi of the Canon. Eventually, it came to mean "a book containing the irmoi, as well as the rest of the melodies of the services." In Subcarpathia, the hand-copying of irmologia was a pious devotional practice, even among older children, from at least the seventeenth century. We have printed irmologia from about 1700 onward, and handwritten ones at least as far back as 1601. Sister Joan Roccasalvo has shown that the Bokshay Prostopinije (transcribed from the singing of Cantor Malinic, who could _not_ read music) contains the essentials and many of the details of the chant in the irmologia from 300 years earlier. >I. Sv. Liturgija (Divine Liturgy) pages 5-39 > Music for the three Liturgies >II. Vespers pages 43-45 > Sv. rozhanec - Vervicja Thanks for typing this in, Bill! I hope to include tables of contents for the most common Prostopinije books (Bokshay, Papp, maybe the 1709 Irmologion) in Slavonic and English in the FAQ, so that someone who has access to one of these books can find a piece of music even if their Church Slavonic is weak (like mine still is) :-( >Since I have no means of typing an upside down ^ over c and s, I've >added h where appropriate. If anyone would like copies of any of >these parts, let me know and I will snail mail them to you. If you >would like to hear the cantor sing these, let me know. It is hard >to find the music because each LP was recorded without any breaks, >just give me some time and I'll find it and record it for you. I am _really_ interested in the recordings of these you have!! The only recordings of Prostopinije I have are the set of cassette tapes from Ss. Cyril and Methodius Seminary, and a set of four LP records of the Divine Liturgy, recorded by Rev. (!) Andrew Pataki. Can you tell us anything more about the records you have? If it's a complete recording of the Papp edition, if would be _very_ valuable to us -- this is virtually the whole corpus of prostopinije chant!! Glory to Jesus Christ! Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Sat, 25 May 1996 08:19:18 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Bill Metzar Subject: Re: Preshov Chant - Irmologion To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L >I am _really_ interested in the recordings of these you have!! >The only recordings of Prostopinije I have are the set of cassette >tapes from Ss. Cyril and Methodius Seminary, and a set of four >LP records of the Divine Liturgy, recorded by Rev. (!) Andrew >Pataki. Can you tell us anything more about the records you >have? If it's a complete recording of the Papp edition, if would >be _very_ valuable to us -- this is virtually the whole corpus >of prostopinije chant!! The recordings consist of 5 records (10 sides): Side 1: Tropar; hlas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Side 2: Tropar: hlas 6, 7, 8 Irmos 1, 2 Side 3: Irmos: hlas 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Side 4: Liturgy of St. John Voshel jesi Blahoslovi, dushe moja Svjatyj Bozhe Prokimen vNedil'iu Izhe cheruvimi Side 5: Tebe pojem Otche nash Vid'ikhom Svit istinnyi Jedin Svjat Da ispolnjatsja Budi imia Hospodne Liturgy of St. Basil Side 6: Liturgy of St. Basil Liturgy of Presanctified Vespers - Taina Supruzhestva Matins Side 7: Pochron Na rikakh Vavilonskikh (By the rivers of Babylon) Irmosy: Pomochnik i pokrovitel iavishasia Kvitnoi Ned'ili Se zhenikh - Chertoh Tvoi Side 8: Utrenia nadhrobna Ierusalimska (Jerusalem Matins) Irmos: Volnoiu morskoiu Kanon: Voskresenia Irmosy: Vozneniia - Soshestvilia Sv. Ducha Side 9: Irmosy: Bohoiavleniia Sv. Arkh. Michaila Striteniie - Blahovishcheniie Sv. Verkh. Apostoly Petra i Pavla - Sv. Proroka Ilii Pokrov - I umoleniie naiv. Evkharistii Preobrazheniie Side 10: Irmosy: Uspenije - Parastas Vozdvizheniie Khrista Rozhdestva Isusa Khrista Iz rizhnych Bohosluzhen' These were purchased on June 14, 1982 for $12.75 from Carpatho Rusyn Research Center 355 Delano Place Fairview, NJ 07022 Manufactured by: Trans World Distributors 24 West Sheffield Ave. Englewood, NJ 07231 If there is a particular side any one wishes to have recorded, please let me know and I will send you a copy. A blessed Pentecost to all, Bill Metzar metzar_w@sunybroome.edu ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Sat, 25 May 1996 09:00:49 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Bill Metzar Subject: Re: Liturgical Language To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L >I think one of the most valuable services this group as a whole could >provide is to put together a description of "what every Rusyn cantor >should know" -- and then provide usable materials to allow cantors >to learn these things, and eventually to allow groups of cantors to >be taught them. >Any volunteers for the following section of the FAQ? Bill, aren't you >our most experienced Rusyn cantor? I began studying as a cantor in 1971 under a pastor who is now long since gone. What he needed was someone to sing at the Liturgy (including the variable parts), weddings, funerals, and Molebens to the Sacred Heart and Theotokos. This is what he taught me a few others. During our lessons he would talk about vespers but never taught us anything about singing a vesper or matin service. I pursued learning on my own. At that time (1970's) I worked as an administrator at Binghamton University and one summer took an intro to music course. I was facinated that there is much math in music, I thought that I would not do very well but received an A grade. My background is in chemical engineering and I did not think I could do well in a liberal arts course. I nest took a piano literature course from the same instructor. This involved test where he would drop the needle (that's really dating me) on any recording of an assigned piano composition and you had to tell him what movement it was, principle or secondary theme, development section, etc. I struggled with that one (too much memorization). Next I decided to study music theory and took 3 courses in that. In the mean time I reorganized our church choir after an absence of 12 years and with my training rearranged a lot of music into English. During this time I also became friends with the cantor at St. Michaels Carpatho Russian Orthodox church and began attending vespers with him. I also sang in a Russian choir not associated with any church. We sang both liturgical and folk music. The director sang with the Don Cossack's and was a deeply spiritual man. He taught me a lot. I really fell in love with Eastern spirituality as a result of this man. During this time I also studied voice from a someone who was recommended to me. Back at my church the pastor I studied chant with retired and a new pastor was appointed. The first time I met him, he told me that Liturgies were to be no longer that 30 minutes long. He even left out parts to achieve this goal. He was not interested in doing anything extra. Many people complained to the bishop and the bishop instructed him to do the Easter services as they were previously done in our church. The man was furious. He blamed me for complaining to the bishop. After this he treated me very cooly and promoted a fellow cantor who was also an undertaker. His sermons were mostly about what undertaker we as a parish should use. He ridiculed my singing a Slavonic hymn and told the congregation that the altar boys thought I was singing in French. However, he praised the undertaker for singing Mnohaja L'ita in Slavonic. >---On Being a Cantor--- >800. What are the responsibilities of a cantor? What ever the pastor says they are. >801. What should a cantor be able to sing? What ever the pastor wants him/her to sing. >802. How do I learn to be a cantor? The best way is to learn from someone. Take musical training, especially ear training. List to tapes and use the music provided by the Diocese and this list. >803. How should I prepare spiritually for a service? I would say read a missal and read the vespers and/or matin service before each Liturgy (even if these are not sung. >804. How should I prepare physically for a service? Probably meditate for a time. Do not do very much vocalizing - you will probably lose your voice during the service. This happened to me more than once. The Melkites have a series of 3 tapes on cantor training. They are very good. If we could arrange with them to use their explanation of the theology of being a cantor, I think that would be very good. All we would have to do is substitute Ruthenian music. Does any one else have these tapes? Wishing all a blessed Pentecost, Bill Metzar metzar_w@sunybroome.edu ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Sat, 25 May 1996 15:53:02 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Carpatho-Rusyn Center/Chant Recordings To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Bill Metzar mentioned the Carpatho-Rusyn Center at the following address: 355 Delano Place Fairview, NJ 07022 I received an address correction notice a couple of years ago, in response to a mailing I did for the Orthodox Benevolent Fund. The address I have is: Carpatho-Rusyn Research Center RR 1 Box 131B Orwell, VT 05760-9758 There is no phone listing, but I will write to them to see if a) this address is still good b) if they have any prostopenije chant recordings available. Bill also said: If there is a particular side any one wishes to have recorded, please let me know and I will send you a copy. ===== If the Carpatho-Rusyn Research Center no longer has the recordings you described, then I would really appreciate tapes of the whole set. From your description, it sounds as though one could get a pretty good head start by listening to these recordings, especially if one had sheet music for the corresponding chants in English and Slavonic. With love in Christ, David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Sat, 25 May 1996 15:53:08 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Summer School of Liturgical Music To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Jeff Mierzejewski asked: "This is a wonderful idea. If Brother Maximos is able to go, I'm willing to contribute part of our family's tithe to paying his tuition. David, could you tell us any more about this program?" ====== I'd be happy to. From the 1996 flyer: Summer School of Liturgical Music July 14-27, 1996 at Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, NY The Summer School of Liturgical Music at Holy Trinity Monastery was established in 1992 with the blessing of Archbishop Laurus. The full course of study consists of three summer sessions, at the end of which the graduates are certified as church choir directors and/or readers, and receive academic credit from the Holy Trinity Seminary, which is accredited through the State University of New York. Persons not seeking certification, but wishing to attend selected courses, may do so on a pro-rated basis. The course offerings are: 1. History of Russian Church Music 2. Solfege (Basic Musicianship/Ear Training) 3. Music Theory 4. Choir Conducting Technique 5. Choir Conducting Practicum 6. Voice Class 7. The Eight-Tone Cycle 8. Church Slavonic 9. Liturgics (Typicon/Ustav) for Choir Directors The 1996 Faculty: History of Church Music: Dr. Olga Dolskaya-Ackerly, Ph. D. (History), University of Kansas Solfege & Music Theory: Joanna Grigorieff, M.A. (Music Education), University of Toronto Liturgics & Church Slavonic: Joseph McLellan, B.Th., Holy Trinity Sem., Ph.D. (Church Slavonic), Brown Univ. Conducting & Music Theory: Nikolai Myshkin, Docent (Conducting), Moscow Conservatory Voice: Anatoly Panshoshnyy, M.A. (Vocal Performance), Gnesin Musical Academy 8-Tone Cycle & Voice: Protodeacon Andre Papkov, M.A. (Vocal Performance), New England Conservatory. Registration Fees: Tuition: $400.00 Room & Board: $350.00 Total: $750.00 If the candidates are sponsored and paid for by their parish, a discount of $50.00 is offered to the parish. In that case, payment should be made by parish check. Students arriving from countries with unstable currencies (Russia, South America, Africa) are eligible for a special discount. For those students not in the certification program, each separate course is $75.00, plus the regular room and board fee of $350.00. Instruction is given in Russian and English. While knowledge of Russian is helpful, *it is not* essential for study (about a third of the students speak little or no Russian). For information, contact: Protodeacon Andre Papkov 54 4th St Ilion, NY 13357 315 894-6274. ===== God willing, I will get my certificate this year. Our parish is also sending our new choir director through the certificate program (this will be his first year). I have found the program to be tremendously helpful. The certificate program is very intense (8-6 every day, with an hour for lunch, and lots of homework), but it is very well conceived, IMHO. Moreover, one has the opportunity to attend the beautiful monastic services at the monastery, where the full cycle of services (including the Divine Liturgy) is served every day. On the weekend of July 20/21, English services will be held in the monastery's cemetery Chapel of the Dormition. David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Sat, 25 May 1996 15:53:13 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: On Being a Cantor To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L ---On Being a Cantor--- 800. What are the responsibilities of a cantor? ===== It is the responsibility of the cantor to know the order of services and the canonical church chants, so that he may competently assist the clergy in conducting compunctionate services that are in conformity with the sacred traditions of the Church and that evoke reverence and contrition in the hearts of the faithful. ===== 801. What should a cantor be able to sing? ===== The competent cantor must know by heart the 8 tones of the Church chant (according to the usage of his local Church) and, as much as possible, the special melodies (podobni). In addition, he should be able to sing from sheet music the responses necessary for the orderly celebration of Vespers, Matins and the Divine Liturgy, as well as the Molieben, Funeral Service and Wedding Service. He should be able to give the pitch and lead the others on the cleros. ===== 802. How do I learn to be a cantor? ===== First of all, by diligent attendance at all scheduled services. Volunteer to help your cantor. If your parish has no cantor, volunteer, and ask your priest for help. If your parish does not already have regularly scheduled Vespers and Matins services, ask your priest to reinstate them. If you have been reliable at other services (and a tither), he will be more inclined to listen to you. Explain to him your belief that there is great spiritual merit in performing the Vigil service on Sundays and feastdays, even if no one else comes. If the services are served, eventually people will come, because God will send them. ===== 803. How should I prepare spiritually for a service? ===== In general, by obeying God's commandments. Say your morning and evening prayers. Attend all scheduled services at your parish. Love your neighbor. Tithe of your gross income (see Malachi, Chapt. 3). Keep the Church fasts (the traditional ones, not the "relaxed" rules). Go to confession at least weekly. Before the service, arrive at the church early. Venerate the icons and ask God to have mercy on you. Ask Him for the grace to perform your duties worthily, so that you will not scandalize anyone, and that the service will be fitting. Ask him to keep you from anger and judging others, and that your service will be for His glory, and unto salvation and not for condemnation. ===== 804. How should I prepare physically for a service? ===== Everyone, including the faithful, should attend Divine Liturgy fasting (from midnight, including water), even if they don't intend to commune. Even the antidoron is supposed to be received fasting. I suppose singers should vocalize, although I never do this myself. In lenten periods, I find that 12 or 33 prostrations puts one in the proper frame of mind. David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Sun, 26 May 1996 04:40:33 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Re: On Being a Cantor Comments: cc: prokimen@mcs.net To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L David, I'm glad to see you on this list. I'm Ukrainian Catholic & I'm trying to learn how to be a cantor. The parish I belong to is predominantly Ukrainian speaking. There is only one Liturgy in English. Until a few years ago, this Liturgy was recited. I decided to volunteer to sing the responses. About 30% is still recited. I'm trying to learn the tones, etc. My aim is to have a totally sung Divine Liturgy, but I have a lot of work to do. Right now, I just started to sing the alleluia verses in the proper tone. If I could convince my ten year old son to sing the epistle, then I'd transition to the prokimens being sung, and then the tropars and kondaks, etc. In order to get the congregation's "cooperation" in singing, I've make up little booklets with music. I also do the bulletin, so I make sure that we have the Sunday's changeable parts of the Liturgy in there to encourage participation as well as identifying the beginning, ending hymns, and hymns during Communion. I know that there are some people in church who would rather have a completely recited liturgy. I've seen them roll there eyes when they see me coming out from behind the iconostas after lighting the candles and the incenser for the Divine Liturgy. [After all, a sung Liturgy takes about an hour instead of 50 minutes :-) ] However, I won't let them discourage me, and I pray that someday they will join in singing. Any ideas on how to get more of the people to join in singing? Fr. Michael's wife always helps out in the singing, so I have some support. I usually sit in front of the Church. Should I stay there or transition to the choir loft? I wonder if you have some answers to some very fundamental and practical questions. How do you handle colds when you are cantoring? We usually sing hymns during Communion. Unfortunately, I'm the lead singer. I try to receive first and then start singing the hymns afterwards. Are there any other options? Receiving last is difficult since immediatlely after the last communicant, the priest says "Save your people O Lord ..." and there isn't much time to prepare myself to sing the responses. Are there any resources out there to help me learn the fundamentals of singing? For example, how do you handle situations where you just can't hit the high notes? What do you do when the priest ends in a high note and you just can't continue. Dropping an octave is one choice, but there are situations where this won't work either. Peter ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Sun, 26 May 1996 23:33:15 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: English Typicon/"Rites" In-Reply-To: Message of 05/23/96 at 15:48:06 from DMJAMES@AOL.COM Glory to Jesus Christ! On 05/23/96 at 15:48:06 David James said: >Several people have asked if there exists a complete version of the Typicon >in English. >Unfortunately, no; but for a pretty good approximation, with full >instructions according to the usage of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of >Russia, see _The Ordinary Order of Orthodox Divine Services_, Prototype >Edition, Revision A, January 1995, St. John of Kronstadt Press, 1180 Orthodox >Way, Liberty, TN 37095-9720. 615 536-5239. Thanks for this recommendation! I should also note that there is a Typikon for the Ruthenian Catholic Church, prepared by Father David Petras. It consists of a Common Typikon which gives the formats for Vespers, Compline, Matins, Divine Liturgy and Typica for each of the possible occurances (for example, Format 10 is "Polyeleos Saint on a Postfestive Day"), and an annual Typikon which lists the proper format for each day of the year, indicating the sources for the hymns of the day (Common and/or Proper), the appointed readings, and any special points for the day. Although it does not contain instructions for celebrations without a priest, it is very usable. I got my copy on Friday; I'm already using it with some facility. Father Petras gives text references to the Ruthenian liturgical books for all those which are available in English; for other hymns, he gives the references to the Menaia of Mother Mary, N. Orloff, and the monthly menaia from Sophia Press. This Typikon is based on the Synodal Typicon used in the Ruthenian Catholic diocese of Uzhorod in the middle of the 19th century, with additional Galician adaptations taked from the typikons of Isidore Dolnitsky (1899) and Alexander Mikita (1901). The result was corrected against the liturgical books for the Ruthenian Rite published at Rome in the 1940's, which removed a number of Latinizations from the Ruthenian Liturgy and restored or specified a number of the pre-Niconian traditions of the Ruthenian Church. Father David's Typikon is available from Eastern Christian Publications. Yours in Christ, Jeff P.S. Anyone know what's up with Brother Maximos? All our mail to him has been bouncing since the end of last week. ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 00:07:49 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: English Typicon/"Rites" In-Reply-To: Message of 05/23/96 at 21:08:58 from HCommun871@AOL.COM Glory to Jesus Christ! On 05/23/96 at 21:08:58 brother Maximos said: >It would have been different if we had kept purely to the pre-Niconian >tradition, but we clearly did not. For example, according to the his preface >Father David Petras' "Common Typicon" is based largely on the Typicon used >last century in Mukachevo Diocese which is basically the same edition as that >published by the Russian Synod between 1801 and 1825. I believe many >Ukrainian Catholics (and Orthodox) are trying to go back to a purer Kievan >usage, whatever that may mean. But there is not really any similar movement >within the Churches of the Sub-Carpathian tradition. We just have remnants >of the older usages here and there. Well... I think we Ruthenians _have_ gone back to a "purer Kievan usage" -- and it happened before most of us on the list were born! In an _excellent_ article in Diakonia (Vol. xxv, No. 1, 1992) entitled "The Liturgical Life of the Byzantine-Ruthenian Church: Its Past and Future", Father David Petras (the author of our Typikon) gives the history of the reformation of the Ruthenian Rite in the middle of this century. The 1905 Lviv Liturgicon was intended to serve as a "model liturgy" for the Ruthenian (Ukrainian and Subcarpathian) churches. Although basically traditional, it also incorporated a number of items in the liturgy which were intended to distinguish Catholics from Orthodox. Archbishop Andrew Sheptyts'kyj was at first a proponent of the Lviv- model liturgy, but pastoral visitations of his diocese convinced him of the need for restoration of the full Byzantine tradition. Internal dissension over his attempts at reform caused the whole matter to be turned over to the Sacred Congregation for Oriental Churches, which decided in 1938 to issue revised liturgical books by the authority of Rome. The base text for the new Liturgicon was the Liturgicon of Metropolitan Isidore of Kiev, the fifteenth century Archbishop of Kiev who took part in the Council of Florence. The Liturgical Commission gave explicit preference to the rites and ceremonies of Metropolitan See of Kiev as they were _before_ the Union of Brest. Furthermore, the local adaptations of the liturgy in Ruthenia introduced before the Latinizing Synod of Zamosc (1720) were retained, while those which took place afterwards were almost entirely rejected. The new liturgical books (Liturgicon, Ordo Celebrationis, Trebnik, Chasoslav, Archieraticon) were published beginning in 1942 in two recensions, the Recensio Vulgata (for the Russian and Bulgarian Churches) and the Recensio Ruthena for the Galician Ukrainians and the Carpatho-Russians. When he received the first copy of the Ordo Celebrationis, Archbishop Andrew wrote, "Today O Lord you can give your servant his discharge, in I can now die because all questions of our liturgy are finally settled, and rule, order and uniformity will be introduced into our church." Unfortunately, the new editions were not implemented in Europe because of the Second World War, and the forced dissolution of the Byzantine Catholic Churches in Ukraine and Slovakia after the Communist takeover. But the new editions formed the basis for the English translations of the divine services of the Ruthenian Catholic Church, eventually replacing almost everywhere the use of the 1905 Lviv Sluzhebnik. The preface to Father David's Typicon notes that, although it was based on a Typicon printed by the Holy Synod, it was corrected to incorporate changes contained in the newest editions of the Ruthenian Recension. In that way, such pre-Niconian traditions as we have, have been preserved. I think some study will show what where there are differences between the Ruthenian Catholic and Great Russian traditions, the Catholic traditions go back to the Liturgicon of Metropolitan Isidore -- and are thus pre-Niconian. All in all, a very interesting bit of liturgical history for our own church. Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 00:31:27 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Carpatho-Rusyn Center/Chant Recordings In-Reply-To: Message of 05/25/96 at 15:53:02 from DMJAMES@AOL.COM On 05/25/96 at 15:53:02 David James said: >Carpatho-Rusyn Research Center >RR 1 Box 131B >Orwell, VT 05760-9758 >There is no phone listing, but I will write to them to see if >a) this address is still good >b) if they have any prostopenije chant recordings available. The Carpatho-Rusyn Research Center is on the World Wide Web (!) at http://ic.net:80/~ggressa/crrs.html The mailing address given is the same as the one above. I called the phone number for their publication "Carpatho-Rusyn American" and ordered the Research Center publication catalog last week. (BTW, calling the phone number they gave, I got Jack Figel of Eastern Christian Publications, who publishes Father David's Typicon, co-distributes the St. John of Kronstadt Press Menaion, and has offered to publish our Vespers and Matins books. Do I sense a conspiracy here? :-) ). I agree with David: I think if these recordings are not available, we should get permission to reproduce them if necessary. >If the Carpatho-Rusyn Research Center no longer has the recordings you >described, then I would really appreciate tapes of the whole set. From your >description, it sounds as though one could get a pretty good head start by >listening to these recordings, especially if one had sheet music for the >corresponding chants in English and Slavonic. If they match the 1970 Irmologion, then the sheet music would be in both the Bokshay _Prostopinije_ (in Cyrillic) and in the Papp _Irmologion_ (in Latinica). If Bill is willing to record them to tape, I can arrange semi-professional duplication in order to pass them around. But first we need to check on whether they're available commercially. Saints Andrew of Crete and John of Damascus, pray for us! Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Sun, 26 May 1996 19:58:08 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Questions on texts To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Glory be to Jesus Christ! Slava Iisusu Xristu! I would like to ask a few questions on texts. 1) What is the appropriate way to conclude the Our Father without a priest? I've seen the Jesus Prayer, "Through the prayers of our holy fathers..." and also the traditional "For thine is the kingdom..." 2) How are the Small Hours concluded without a priest? I've seen "Through the prayers of our holy fathers..." and also the usual "May Christ our true God...". Would it be incorrect or inappropriate to use "May Christ our true God..."? 3) How are the Canons said/sung at Matins? I'm not sure as to if/when things are repeated or in what manner they are said/sung? Thanks! -Andy Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Tempe, Arizona USA --+-- redco@xroads.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 07:46:36 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Carpatho-Rusyn Center/Chant Recordings To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Jeff wrote: " Saints Andrew of Crete and John of Damascus, pray for us!" and St. Romanus the Melodist ("Sweet-Singer"), St. Joseph the Hymnographer, St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, St. John Kukuzelis of Mt. Athos and St. Gregory the Singer of Mt. Athos, not to mention St. Cassiane the Nun, St. John of Beverley and St. Bede the Venerable! All you saints, pray to God for us! Jeff, thanks for the update on the Carpatho-Rusyn Center. Can you also help me get a copy of the "Boksay" anthology (Zbornik)? Lacking another alternative, I will gladly pay for a photocopy. Speaking of which, I am making a copy of the Collected Chant of the Kiev-Caves Lavra for Fr. Maximos. It is in 4 vols., printed in 1901 under Metropolitan Flavian of Kiev with the blessing of the Holy Governing Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. Vol. 1, "The All-Night Vigil;" Vol. 2, "The Divine Liturgy;" Vol. 3, "The Twelve Great Feasts;" Vol. 4, "The Lenten and Festal Triodia." The text is in Church Slavonic. The chant is harmonized and written in western notation. There is an English-language article on the history of the Chant of the Kiev-Caves Lavra (by George Skok, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) bound in with the last volume. If any one (besides Fr. Maximos) wants a copy, it will be around $20, but I will need to call the xerox place by tomorrow (5/28) and I will need your snail-mail address. David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 12:37:17 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Carpatho-Russian/Ruthenian To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear David, Glory to Jesus Christ! You asked: >BTW, Father, have you considered attending the Summer School of Liturgical Music at Jordanville? Not really, mainly because of lack of time and money. Somehow we ended up on the mailing list for the summer school, so at least I know about it. Tell me, are there any papers or other resources published as part of the school that might be useful for us on this List? In Christ, Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 12:59:28 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Carpatho-Rusyn Center/Chant Recordings In-Reply-To: Message of 05/27/96 at 07:46:36 from DMJAMES@AOL.COM On 05/27/96 at 07:46:36 David James said: >All you saints, pray to God for us! Amen! >Jeff, thanks for the update on the Carpatho-Rusyn Center. Can you also help >me get a copy of the "Boksay" anthology (Zbornik)? The Boksay anthology is the _Tserkovnoje Prostopinije_ (Plainchants of the Church) compiled by Father John Boksai (Bokshay, Boksay) and Cantor Joseph Malinic, first printed by the Diocese of Mukachevo in 1906. It is available in reprint from the Byzantine Seminary Press, hardbound, 191 pages in large format, for approximately $16.00. (The Seminary Press has been keeping this in print for years.) The _Prostopinije_ is basically a complete chant-book for the Subcarpathian chant. However, it does not contain all the various texts for the year. For the people's parts, these were found in the Velikij Zbornik ("Large Collection") in Slavonic. Mine was done in the 1930's in Presov; as far as I know, the Zbornik is no longer in print, and it is a little too big to Xerox (perhaps 800 pages?). Eventually, it would be wonderful to have an "English Zbornik" with texts for Vespers, Matins and Divine Liturgy for the Sundays and feastdays in one volume. But first we have to get the people used to the music so they know how to sing the texts! From the Preface of the original Velikij Zbornik: "Take this Zbornik into your hands and bring it with you into the house of the Lord. It will become a strong armor of your faith, an assurance of your salvation, and a constant source of spiritual consolation. Taste and see, how good is the Lord!" (Father Andrew Popovich, 1866) >making a copy of the Collected Chant of the Kiev-Caves Lavra for Fr. Maximos. >It is in 4 vols., printed in 1901 under Metropolitan Flavian of Kiev with the >blessing of the Holy Governing Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. Vol. 1, >"The All-Night Vigil;" Vol. 2, "The Divine Liturgy;" Vol. 3, "The Twelve >Great Feasts;" Vol. 4, "The Lenten and Festal Triodia." The text is in Church >Slavonic. The chant is harmonized and written in western notation. There is >an English-language article on the history of the Chant of the Kiev-Caves >Lavra (by George Skok, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) bound in with the last >volume. If any one (besides Fr. Maximos) wants a copy, it will be around $20, >but I will need to call the xerox place by tomorrow (5/28) and I will need >your snail-mail address. I would be happy to pay for a copy; my snail address is Jeff Mierzejewski Route 2, Box 168-A Maidsville, West Virginia 26541 Thank you, David! Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 14:06:41 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: Matins To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Glory be to our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ for all things! Dave Brown replied to Jeff Mierzejewski: >I am quite excited about all of this! The actual person in charge of the >Matins project at our parish is Andy Wollert. I will let him respond to most >of the questions you pose. Why is it the guy "in charge" is always the last to know? To be very honest, I didn't even know we had a "project" much less that I was "in charge" of it... Dave and I have discussed getting some sort of Sunday Matins together, but for me, at least, it didn't go much farther than that. I'm still attempting to get all of the appropriate texts together and figure out how Matins is said (Br Maximos can attest to that!). However, I will attempt to answer any questions you may have to the best of my ability. >Jeff...I am very glad you started up the CANTOR-L list! As am I. I fear that I will learn much more than I will be able to contribute, but, God willing, perhaps that will change in the future. please pray for me Andy Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Tempe, Arizona USA --+-- redco@xroads.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 28 May 1996 21:33:16 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Questions on texts To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Andrew Wollert wrote: ====== I would like to ask a few questions on texts. 1) What is the appropriate way to conclude the Our Father without a priest? I've seen the Jesus Prayer, "Through the prayers of our holy fathers..." and also the traditional "For thine is the kingdom..." ===== In the absence of a priest, the correct way to conclude the "Our Father" is with the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us." Reader: "Amen." ===== 2) How are the Small Hours concluded without a priest? I've seen "Through the prayers of our holy fathers..." and also the usual "May Christ our true God...". Would it be incorrect or inappropriate to use "May Christ our true God..."? ===== At the end of Matins the Reader says: "O come, let us worshipx;" and in order, the First Hour. After "Our Fatherx," the Prayer of Jesus. After "More honorablex," "Through the prayers of our Holy Fathersx;" but the Reader says the prayer, "O Christ, the true Lightx" Then, "Gloryx, Both nowx, Lord, have mercy," thrice, "Bless, O Lord." And the Lesser Dismissal [in the special form for reader services, ed.], "O thou that didst rise from the dead [if it be the Lord's Day], Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, through the prayers of thy most pure Mother and of our holy and God-bearing Fathers, and of all the saints, have mercy on us and save us, for thou art good and lovest mankind." And we: "Amen. Lord, have mercy," thrice. BEGINNING OF THE THIRD HOUR. The Eldest says, "Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers...;" and the Reader: "Amen. O Heavenly King...," and the rest. After "Our Father," the Prayer of Jesus, and after "More honorable...," "Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers:" In the same way, we say the Sixth, and the Ninth. If the Sixth Hour is said together with the Third, as before the Typica on Sundays and Feast Days, we begin with "O come, let us worship..." ===== 3) How are the Canons said/sung at Matins? I'm not sure as to if/when things are repeated or in what manner they are said/sung? ===== In the Russian use (by a decree of Peter the Great), only the Irmos and Katavasia of the canon are sung. The other troparia are read. Depending on the number of canons to be read, troparia are cut or repeated to make 14 troparia in total in each Ode, including the Katavasia. I would think that strict Ruthenian practice would follow the Greek, i.e., all the troparia would be sung, to the Irmos melody. For the upcoming feast of All Saints, the canons would be as follows: Irmos (sung), 2 troparia and theotokion of the Canon of the Resurrection (in the Octoechos) 2 troparia from the Canon of the Cross and Resurrection (in the Octoechos) 2 troparia from the Canon of the Theotokos (in the Octoechos) 6 troparia from the Canon for All Saints (from the Pentecostarion) Katavasia: "I shall open my mouth..." After Ode 3, we read the sessional hymns for the saints. After Ode 6, the Kontakion and Ikos of the saints. In a separate post last week, I posted the refrains that are customarily inserted between the troparia of the canons. David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 28 May 1996 22:09:43 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Questions on texts To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In a recent message I wrote: ===== "...Depending on the number of canons to be read, troparia are cut or repeated to make 14 troparia in total in each Ode, including the Katavasia." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ===== I should have written, "*not* including the Katavasia." David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 21:30:25 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Carpatho-Russian/Ruthenian To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Glory to Jesus Christ, David James wrote: >Johann von Gardner wrote several articles on Prostopenije for "Pravoslavnaja Rus" in the 1960s. I believe a couple of them were reprinted recently in "Living Orthodoxy." Where could we get hold of those articles (assuming they are in English!)? I think they would be very interesting. Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 23 May 1996 12:41:34 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Liturgical Language To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Christ is ascended in glory! I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds here, but I wonder why you wouldn't want to use the same translations as the Orthodox in the service books you are proposing? Admittedly, there is disagreement in the Orthodox world, but there is also a growing consensus. Perhaps you have seen the last two or three issues of "The Christian Activist," which have touched on this issue. _Doxa_, the newsletter of St. Michael's Skete in New Mexico (a dependency of Holy Ascension Monastery, Resaca, GA), has also published valuable articles on liturgical English. Fr. Patrick Reardon's appendix on Liturgical English in Frank Schaeffer's "Letters from Fr. Aristotle" is well worth the price of the book. In particular, I would think you would want to consider Archimandrite (now Bishop) Kallistos and Mother Mary's _Festal Menaion_ and _Lenten Triodion_ (with daily supplement), which are standard in the English-speaking Orthodox world. Mother Mary's translations of the Octoechos are also standard for most English-speaking parishes. For the fixed portions of the services, Bishop Basil (Essey)'s _Liturgicon_ is widely used and respected. In the Church Abroad, our English parishes generally use the excellent translations of Rassophore Monk Laurence of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville for the fixed portions of the services. His _Unabbreviated Horologion_ is (IMHO) the best available in English and his _All-Night Vigil for the Clergy and Laity_ and _The Divine Liturgy for Clergy and Laity_ are simply the best I've seen for fullness and clarity, especially for those (like converts) who did not grow up with in the full Orthodox worship tradition. The _Pentecostarion_ and _Psalter_ published by Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Boston are standard. And, of course, there is the Menaion. As far as I know the St. John of Kronstadt press edition is the only full menaion available in English. Just wondering..., With love in Christ, David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 23 May 1996 12:41:38 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Eight Tones To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Jeff Mierzejewski wrote: " I think we should prepare a text with music for the Ordinary of Vespers, with everything laid out in detail. An appendix should show all the sticheral tones in schematic format, with examples, to show how the stichera are sung. Once this is done, we could and should set the Octoechos for Saturday evening Vespers." Excellent idea. But you will need the troparion and prokeimenon tones as well, as these are called for in Vespers. Emphasis must be on memorizing the tones. There is simply too much material, combined in infinitely varying ways, to expect a choir director to provide full sheet music for the full range of services that should be the normal practice in parishes. The normal practice is full daily vespers and matins. This is still the case in Russia, Greece and other Orthodox countries, and it must be the goal for our parishes here in America, too. Therefore, both cantor and choir (congregation) need to be able to sing by the tones from pointed text. This will take time to establish if the tradition has been broken or was never there. Nevertheless, it can be done. Over the last two years, our mostly convert choir has learned to chant from text in all 8 troparion and prokeimenon tones, as well as all the sticheron tones. Only a couple of us have mastered the Irmos tones used for the canons. It helps if the chant is broken down into its melodic phrases. For example, in the Kievan Chant, Tone 1 Stichera melody has the pattern: 1, 2, 3, 4, E. That is, there are four chant phrases and a final phrase. If a sticheron parses into less or more than five phrases, one would chant it in the following fashion: 3 phrases=1, 2, E; 4 phrases=1, 2, 3, E; 7 phrases=1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, E; and so on. Tone 2, Sticheron melody is 1, 2, 3, E, where 1 is only used at the beginning and 2 and 3 are repeated as necessary, and E is the Ending phrase: 1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, E. I'm sure it is the same for the prostopenije melodies. In our choir, to help the members learn the melodies, we sat down as a group and associated melodies we knew with their appropriate tone: TROPARION MELODIES Tone 1 = "O Lord, save Thy people..". (the troparion for the Holy Cross) Tone 2 = "When Thou didst arise from the tomb..." (Resurrection troparion, tone 2) Tone 3 = "Having been as a wandering stranger..." (Kontakion for St. Xenia, our parish's patronal saint) or "We thank thee, O Christ our God..." (the blessing after meals) Tone 4 = "O Theotokos Virgin, rejoice..." and so on. We did the same for the sticheron melodies. Tone 2: "We have seen the true light..." Tone 6: "O heavenly King..." Tone 5: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, teach me thy statutes," etc. You get the idea. We printed the list on a "cheat sheet" and the choir memorized them. Now, all we have to do to chant in a particular tone is call to mind the opening phrase of the appropriate "pattern" we memorized, and off we go! We all sing the melody together. We haven't advanced to harmony at this stage. David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Fri, 31 May 1996 23:13:55 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Traffic In-Reply-To: Message of 05/31/96 at 14:21:48 from DMJAMES@AOL.COM On 05/31/96 at 14:21:48 David James said: >I have received no mail from the CANTOR-L list in several days. Is everyone >just incredibly busy, or is there some mail problem? No mail problem that I know of - evryone's just incredibly busy! :-) We had three lambs born this week, and the garden to start. I will try to report on some progress on the projects sometime this weekend. >BTW, the Byzantine Catholic Press does not carry Fr. David Petras' Ordo book. >Fr. David doesn't carry it, either. According to him, this is carried by >Eastern Catholic Journal. As I think I mentioned in my note, Father David's Typicon is available from Eastern Christian Publications, which also publishes the _Eastern Churches Journal_. The address is (I knew I should have given this): Eastern Christian Publications Phone: 703-691-8585 P.O. Box 146 FAX: 703-691-0513 Fairfax, Virginia 22030 Call them for prices, and a catalog; they carry a collection of interesting books. >Eastern Catholic Journal. The Bokshaj Zbornik is also not carried by the Byz. >Catholic Press. They have other stuff, which I will learn about when I get >the catalog :-{). The Bokshay and the Zbornik are two different things. - The Bokshay _Tserkovnoye Prostopinije_ is a Subcarpathian Irmologion, in the broad sense -- a chant book containing the chants for the eight tones, the canons, proper chants, etc. It is available for $16.00 from the Byzantine Seminary Press; I got my second copy from them (to mark up) about three weeks ago. It is listed in their catalog simply as _Prostopinije_ in the "Books in Slavonic" section. - The Zbornik, as far as I know, is no longer in print. Mine was smuggled out of Czechoslovakia to Rome before the Communists closed the borders. I would love to see this re-printed, but it would be a big task for (probably) a small press run. The Seminary Press _does_ carry the Sluzhebnik, but they are out right now; it is printed by the Vatican Polyglot Press in both Ukrainian and Ruthenian versions, and they always seem to get mixed together; so whenever a priest goes from the Seminary to Rome, the Press asks him to hand-select a couple of Ruthenian Sluzhebniks to purchase and bring back :-) (BTW, the Sluzhebnik is the same thing as a Liturgicon -- the book containing the texts for the Divine Liturgy.) The Byzantine Seminary Press has a small but good collection of icons, church supplies and books -- not just Eastern Catholic liturgical materials, but also a variety of Orthodox writings like Fr. Schmemann's _Great Lent_. David, do you have a FAX number? If so, I could just FAX you a copy of the latest catalog. Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Fri, 31 May 1996 14:21:48 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Traffic To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L I have received no mail from the CANTOR-L list in several days. Is everyone just incredibly busy, or is there some mail problem? BTW, the Byzantine Catholic Press does not carry Fr. David Petras' Ordo book. Fr. David doesn't carry it, either. According to him, this is carried by Eastern Catholic Journal. The Bokshaj Zbornik is also not carried by the Byz. Catholic Press. They have other stuff, which I will learn about when I get the catalog :-{). David J. ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Fri, 7 Jun 1996 12:28:07 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: FAQ: Outline To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L ===== the festal Irmosi sung at the Divine Liturgy. Hands up who wants copies, and I'll try not to forget again :-). Incidentally, David, I haven't forgotten about your request for a copy of the Prostopinije, but I haven't had a chance yet to look at those books I was telling you about. ===== Dear Fr. Maximos: I'd definitely like a copy: David James 420 Central Rd Rye, NH 03870-2546 BTW, I received my catalog from the Byzantine Seminary Press and have already ordered a copy of the Prostopinije from them, among other things, as well as a copy of Sr. Joan Roccosalvo's history of prostopinije from Border's Bookstore. David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Fri, 7 Jun 1996 00:45:01 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: FAQ: Outline To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear All, Slava Isusu Christou! Things have been quiet for a week or so. No doubt people are busy writing their FAQs, arranging music and so on :-) I'm just letting you all know that I've written formally to the Basilian Sisters about getting copywrite approval for the use of their translations. Should be no trouble getting the approval, but there may be a fee in the end that we'll need to recover from sale of our booklets to parishes. I sent a copy of my letter to Bishop George Kuzma, who is Chairman of the Inter-Eparchial Liturgical Commission, who I know will be interested. I also want to let you all know of a Cantor's workshop being put on by Mr. Christopher Stanichar in Seattle, WA. It is being held from Friday evening, June 21 thru Sunday morning June 23rd. Pretty short notice, I realise! But if anyone is interested they should call Shawn Pepper on 206-329-9219. There is a $25 fee for participation and apparently there will be an audition required for attendees! The flyer says the workshop will cover Byzantine Chant, theory & practice, with emphasis on Vespers sung together with the Divine Liturgy. Incidentally, Christopher Stanichar is a very accomplished musician. He is the son by adoption of our Ruthenian pastor of St. John Chrysostom's parish in Seattle, Father Joseph Stanichar. Now I think I promised someone a while back that I would try and get some more copies of Christopher's settings of the festal Irmosi sung at the Divine Liturgy. Hands up who wants copies, and I'll try not to forget again :-). Incidentally, David, I haven't forgotten about your request for a copy of the Prostopinije, but I haven't had a chance yet to look at those books I was telling you about. Pray for me, a sinner Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Sat, 8 Jun 1996 14:19:18 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Von Gardner's Articles To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Thank you David for the package, especially Von Gardner's articles on the Carpathian tradition of congregational participation. I have found the ideas so rich that I'm going to ask my Hegumen to have them read in the Trapeza! Sometimes I have to struggle to convince even my brethren that they should sing as much as me!! Von Gardner is able to express something I have been struggling to put into words for a long time. The more intimate you are with the Prostopinije chant (and I have a long way to go) the more you begin to see connections, harmony (in a non-technical sense) and texture within the whole tradition. A Melkite priest once said to me the problem with our chant was that it never "resolves" itself: the music starts, then the music stops. It's those famous a-tonal endings. The more I learn the more I realise this is wrong-headed. There *is* resolution, but it comes within the *whole service* not within each particular piece, as generally with Greek music and Great Russian choral settings. The resolution is very subtle. I want to say sub-textual, will sub-musical do? I don't think I can quite put my finger on it, it just has something to do with the feeling of "rightness" that comes at the end of a long service. Something well done, something good that has nothing to do with proper execution of the music or rubrics. I like Von Gardner's anaolgy with a great waterfall: rough, unhewn, elemental, compared with the cultured elegance of a court fountain. What I really miss in my own liturgical life is the presence of many voices to swell the music. We only have 5 monks in the community, and often only one or two actually sing (we often do things antiphonally anyway to save voices). When I do go to one of the parishes - especially when there are some old people who know the tones, it is wonderful. Our priests and sisters also do a good job when they get together. I have a worn out tape of a Vespers service done at Uniontown last year with the Metropolitan present. Listening to that, I really get a sense of what Von Gardner was talking about. Enough rambling. Back to work In IC XC Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 11 Jun 1996 12:02:01 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Eight Tones To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Jeff asked: I have a copy of a little spiral bound book titles simply "Vespers" from the library of Metropolitan Stephen (Kocisko) of blessed memory. It gives the common parts of Vespers and then the texts of the stichera and aposticha for Saturday in the eight tones together with some of the common offices (for a bishop, a martyr etc). No music, but the stichera and troparia have little dots all over, obviously indicating the melody. To be honest it seems a cumbersome way of pointing the text - I don't know how you'd do it on most word processors. Still, if anyone is interested I could easily send them xerox copies of some pages by way of sample. I don't know whether to say yes or know to that. I just use the AOL software for my (very occasional) forays into the Web. I just know everyone keeps telling me the AOL browser is a joke compared with the wizardry I should have. Does anyone know whether I can read graphics, or should I try and ask someone at AOL (Gulp)? InChrist Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 14 Jun 1996 15:19:37 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Greetings & salutations To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L ***Sorry if this comes by more than once, I am getting rude rejection messages Hi folks, Glory to Jesus Christ! I'm Sharon Mech. I live in Columbus, Ohio, where I serve as primary cantor at St. John Chrysostom Byzantine (Ruthenian) Catholic Church. During the week, I work for a high-tech firm serving the mental health, public health & human services industry. Being an "outlying" parish, (i.e. not in Pennsylvania or Cleveland), and a fairly young one as well (about 30 years), we have some interesting character- istics : No ethnic group prevails. We have Ukrainians, Rusyns, Poles, Hungarians just about every other "eastern" country, and a LOT of converts. (Even Jews like me!) We are a mostly-English parish. Even our Slavonic Liturgies are not entirely Slavonic, mostly 'cause nobody except a VERY few elderly Ukrainians know every single prayer, hymn or whatever in Slavonic. We are Very Liturgically Correct when it comes to the Divine Liturgy. Most of the parish sings, or at least sort of rumbles along for the majority of the service. We are widely scattered geographically. Our church was deliberately built Near The Freeway. Some of our parishioners travel 60 miles + to attend midweek.iturgy. Unfortunately, this means a gathering of 5 or 6 for anything Jeff showed me some of the previous traffic on this list, and I am delighted to find that there is such a beast. If I can take a whack at some of the questions which I remember seeing..... What should a cantor be able to sing? I think for many of us, this is not a static thing. As a convert, (13 years now) I continue to play "catch up." The Liturgy, of course, including comfortable familiarity/command of the Resurrectional tones. Presanctified Liturgy. Samohlasen tones. So long as we are willing/able to learn "other stuff" as it is introduced or used in the parish, that's OK. I could not hungrily pursue new knowledge all the time, while attempting to "polish" the old. Let's not forget funerals, (incl. Parastas & Panachida), Baptisms, weddings & Holy Week (aka the Liturgical World Series). Obviously, what a cantor sings should be rubrically correct, and in cooperation with & in support of the service being led by the priest. This may sound like a "duhhh" point, but I've been to churches where there was a competition going on, rather than a Divine service. Also, (beware of picky point!) a cantor's diction and pronunciation should be as good as possible, and free of distracting mannerisms. We are not there to be "noticed" but to provide some leadership, guidance, or whatever you want to call it in cooperating to create a "seamless garment" of praise and liturgical worship. How to prepare physically? Warming up is a nice luxury, especially for very early morning services. If there is poor ventilation & gobs of incense, I will bring water with me. For long services, comfortable, supportive shoes are a must. We rarely if ever sit. (One Holy Week I had my feet taped as athletes do on Monday. 15 or 20 services later, Sunday afternoon, I was VERY glad of it!) If we are going to have a procession, sometimes I will copy the procession hymn(s) onto cardstock & enlarge it. If the weather is likely to be icky, I laminate the card. How to prepare spiritually? The primary requirement is an ongoing, life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. Everything else flows from that. A rule of prayer - one appropriate to your life, the fasts prescribed by the Church - again as appropriate to your circumstances & physiology, and frequent reception of the Sacraments, especially the Most Neglected Sacrament. If you are fortunate enough to have a starets, spiritual director, wise regular confessor, and/or anybody of that sort, then thank God fervently, and take full advantage of your exceedingly blessed circumstance. If your soul is in good shape, (gee, I hope to achieve that SOME day!), then the prayers which are prescribed before the Liturgy should be sufficient. If your soul is a mess, it really doesn't matter whether you pray standing on your head before Liturgy. You can't give what you don't have. I think there's a lot to be said for plain old human attitude, too. If my attitude is "I'm here to keep these people in line," I may as well stay home. I need to remember that we are here together as a people to praise and glorify God, to welcome and encourage full participation in this perfect sacrifice, to help create "heaven on earth," and to give the Holy Spirit the best possible chance to work on us & in us. What should we be working on? Three cheers for the effort to acquire, create, collect or whatever DECENT RESOURCES!!!!!!!!!! At my parish, Matins and/or Vespers are done occasionally. Good materials would be a tremendous help. Because of our geographic setting, and the fact that our priest is shared with another church 90 miles away, I don't see us doing these services every day, week, or much more regularly. I'd like to see a renewed interest in the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God. Some of our parishes pray the Rosary before or after Liturgy in the church. (It doesn't happen here) Our people do not know the treasures we have. Even done poorly, the Akathist is a jewel. A Hungarian seminarian (say that 6 times fast) introduced us to a melody used in Hungary for the chants. It makes the Akathist even lovelier. And it is EASY! How many of our parishes sing the Akathist more than once or twice a year? I've drivelled on long enough. Looking forward to hearing from folks, Sharon Mech sharon@cmhc.com Cantor, (mezzo) soprano, and sinner ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sat, 15 Jun 1996 12:29:17 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Greetings & salutations To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Sharon! Glory be to Jesus Christ! Great to have you here. To which the only thing to add is: !!! I like this point: There is also the famous old cantors' trick of embellishing the music so as to make it too difficult for people to join in. The plot is to make the individual Cantor indispensible! Do you have the music available to send out? If so I would love to receive a copy (please!). What other melodies are there out there for Akathists? The Russians seem to have lots, do Carpathians? I loved your post, Sharon. Full of practical wisdom and spiritual common sense. A _very_ Byzantine combination. Pray for me, a sinner, Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sun, 16 Jun 1996 20:12:03 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Greetings & salutations To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Fr. Maximos asked Sharon: >Do you have the music available to send out? If so I would love to receive a >copy (please!). What other melodies are there out there for Akathists? The >Russians seem to have lots, do Carpathians? On the Cassettes "Byzantine Chant, Tones, and Services" (Item 112A in the Byzantine Seminary Press catalogue), the first version of the Nicene Creed is sung to the traditional melody for akathists most often used in the Russian Church. For music for typical akathist refrains (two settings, including the one mentioned above), as well as the text for several of the most popular akathists, see the _Book of Akathists To Our Saviour, the Mother of God, and Various Saints_, Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, NY, 1994. David James ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 1 Jul 1996 00:31:09 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: location and Pilgrimage in November To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Sharon, Glory be to Jesus Christ! Thank you for asking - and sorry to take a few days to get back. I was in Anchorage for our Van Nuys clergy conference. Wonderful experience. We are located in Southern California in the Mojave desert, about halfway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The nearest largish town is Barstow. The address is: Holy Resurrection Monastery 45704 Valley Center Road Newberry Springs, CA 92365 (619) 257-4008, Fax: (619) 257-3362 I guess from Fresno you would take 99 south to Bakersfield, then 58 south to Barstow and finally interstate15 north to as far as Newberry Springs. I can fax you a map if you give me a number. If you would like to stay over, please let me know: we have one guest room with 3 beds! sometimes it is booked up, so its good to let us know. I do hope you will be able to come down and see us. It would be wonderful to meet you! On a general note: I would like to invite everyone here to the pilgrimage to the Monastery on Friday and Saturday November 1 & 2. Bishop George Kuzma will be there as well as, to our immense delight, Metropolitan Judson. Friday night we will have Great Vespers, with the main Divine Liturgy on Saturdy at either 10.30 or 11a.m. Further details as they come to hand. If anyone on this list is able to make it, please let me know as I WILL BE ASKING FOR HELP IN CANTORING!!! This is especially so in relation to the two Vespers we will have: Friday and Saturday nights. The pilgrimage is in honor of our special icon, the All-Holy Mother of God, "Searcher of the Lost". Bishop George will probably permit us to celebrate the Saturday as the feast in honor of this icon. Actually here's a bare-faced request: would anyone feel able to arrange the stichera for those Vespers to the appropriate tones? I can send the texts either by fax or by e-mail in ASCII. I don't think I will will have the time to do it myself, as I also have to do other things like organize porta-johns, cooked food, shade cloth and valium for the community. Keep us in you prayers! The sinner, Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 1 Jul 1996 08:48:33 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: location and Pilgrimage in November To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Fr. Maximos wrote: >On a general note: I would like to invite everyone here to the pilgrimage to >the Monastery on Friday and Saturday November 1 & 2. Bishop George Kuzma >will be there as well as, to our immense delight, Metropolitan Judson. Friday >night we will have Great Vespers, with the main Divine Liturgy on Saturdy at >either 10.30 or 11a.m. Further details as they come to hand. > >If anyone on this list is able to make it, please let me know as I WILL BE >ASKING FOR HELP IN CANTORING!!! This is especially so in relation to the two >Vespers we will have: Friday and Saturday nights. The pilgrimage is in honor >of our special icon, the All-Holy Mother of God, "Searcher of the Lost". >Bishop George will probably permit us to celebrate the Saturday as the feast >in honor of this icon. If I may say so, Father, this is exactly the kind of situation where you should make every effort to do an All-Night Vigil, if you are trying to re-institute this tradition in your metropolia. 1. You will have more than the usual number of knowledgeable clergy, cantors and singers gathering in one place, so you can help each other with the order of service. 2. All the pilgrims will be able to experience this quintessential Byzantine worship service and take this experience back to their home parishes. They will all have the opportunity to experience confession in the compunctionate atmosphere of a vigil service. You can show them how to read the communion prayers and post-communion prayers publicly, in church. 3. You have four months to prepare. It will be a good experience for your monastery and will help it become a center of spiritual leadership for your diocese, as it should be. 4. You will have your metropolitan, the diocesan bishop, the abbot of your monastery, several priests and deacons, subdeacons, readers, cantors and all the people. An All-Night pontifical vigil in the Slavic Byzantine tradition, followed the next morning by the greeting of the metropolitan, the vesting of the bishop(s) in the center of the church surrounded by the faithful, with the Hours and Divine Liturgy is, quite possibly, the most beautiful liturgical expression of the character of the Church that exists in the Christian liturgy. If not then, when? If not you, who? With love in Christ, David James ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 1 Jul 1996 10:45:05 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Uniontown?? To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L With all the talk about the gathering in November, which I will not be able to be at, given that my baby is due October 25, I got to thinking about the Uniontown event upcoming. Has anyone gotten the cantor-mailing yet? I sure haven't. BTW, y'all are invited to this baby's Baptism, which will be sometime in November, probably. (Hard to schedule these things when the featured participant hasn't made him/herself known yet.) Cheers to all on this feast of Cosmas & Damian, dear to the hearts of all with connections to any of the helping professions! Sharon Mech sharon@cmhcsys.com Cantor, soprano & sinner (reporting attendance of 26 bodies for the feast of St. Peter & Paul this past Saturday. The visitors didn't **quite** outnumber the parishioners...***sigh***) ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Mon, 1 Jul 1996 11:25:11 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Progress Report Glory to Jesus Christ! Just to give everybody a progress report on things: 1. I have from Bill Metzar a cassette tape copy of the LP records he has of prostopinije, recorded around 1970. The collection is very good, all in Slavonic, and the cantor is wonderful. I've found a local firm that will make copies of the tapes (three 90 minute cassettes) for $15 a set. If you're interested in a copy, let me know. 2. I have gotten music from a number of sources in hand: a small amount of music from the Sisters in Uniontown a collection of chants for Matins and Vespers from Father Robert Pipta, all very good some additional prostopinije from the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox plus the Bokshai _Prostopinije_, the Papp _Irmologion_, and Father Sokol's two books. 3. I have the first section of the FAQ (introductory) about 3/4 done; I will post it as soon as it's complete. 4. Vespers: I have complete rubrics for priestless Vespers, which I will post for discussion as soon as I check one more thing with Father David. I suggest that we work on music for Vespers more-or-less in order, from the beginning prayers onward. 5. Matins: Dave, Andrew, where's your comfort level with this? What do you need to know, what music do you need to have in hand next? Thanks for everyone who's helped, especially Bill for recording some wonderful chant to tape. May I suggest that we use the two pilgrimages this year as a way for any CANTOR-L members who can, to meet in person? Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 1 Jul 1996 11:16:56 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: location and icons & stuff To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In-Reply-To: <960701003109_146414291@emout18.mail.aol.com> from "brother Maximos" at Jul 1, 96 00:31:09 am Brother Maximos, My (work) FAX number is (614)764-0439. Looking at a very un-detailed map, it looks like you are roughly one heckuvalong way from where I will be, but I believe that unlimited-mileage rental cars are an invitation & a challenge (grin). When I travel to Texas, I stay & work in Ft. Worth, and spend most evenings in Irving, at St. Basil's - a round trip of 80 miles or so. Our travel plans are not yet solidified, so as of now I submit the idea of a visit as a musingly hopeful suggestion to the Lord, try to get all appropriate ducks into the prescribed row, and wait. Is there a viewable image of your icon anywhere accessible? I'd love to see it. I have commended a goodly number of very lost people to the care of the Mother of God on numerous occasions, but I didn't know there was an icon of this "face" of her. On the topic of possibly inusual icons, I am in possession of a pretty good color photocopy (glossy) of an Akathist icon. It was given to me by the Hungarian seminarian I mentioned in a previous post. I don't know icon techno-terms, but it is in what I think of as the "comic-book" style, where there is a big icon in the middle, & a bunch of little ones around the edge. The central image shows the Theotokos, surrounded by various saints & prophets. All of the guys are holding scrolls, and (presumably reading from the scrolls) singing her praises. There are 12 little icons, corresponding to each of the chants of the Akathist Hymn. Csaba said that it was especially unusual 'cause two of the little icons were of the Annunciation, & it was out-of-the ordinary to have more than one Annunciation icon in one place. The whole thing is almost poster-sized, and I have it carefully rolled up out of the reach of dog, cat kid, etc, until I can afford to frame or mount it. Last icon note - along with the usual dome, wall & iconostasis icons, at St. John's we have a bunch of small handmade framed icons along the three walls of the church. I was pleased to note that two of those which hang closest to to where the cantors hang out are St. Romanos and St. Ephrem. Someone either e rightness of things, or a very good sense of humor. Maybe both. Cheers, Sharon Mech sharon@cmhcsys.com Cantor, soprano & sinner ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 2 Jul 1996 18:54:22 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: location and Pilgrimage in November To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear brother-in-Christ David, Christ is in our midst! You wrote: I would love to. Maybe we will do it on the Saturday night. We normally do. The problem is that we are such a small community and there will so much to do to look after 1,000 during the day. If I then have to turn around and chant Vesper AND Matins I may be wheeled out in an ambulance! We may just have to split them up and celebrate Matins in the morning before Sunday Liturgy. As for Friday night, we like to split up the services for this reason. One of the most wonderful things about our Blessing in January was the way it brought together Byzantine Catholics (and some Orthodox) from a variety of jusrisdictions for worship WITH NO FIGHTS! We had a Ruthenian Vespers on the Friday night, followed by a Russian Moleben early Saturday then a Melkite Orthros on Saturday, the Ruthenian Divine Liturgy This was a wonderful combination and one that we would really like to repeat, because of the witness it gives of how easy it really is to get along if we only try. (If only we could have a service led by some of the local Orthodox!) Next year we will be doing this all over again (and then every year for the rest of my life, God-willing), and I will really try and organize the All-Night Vigil as soon as I can to become a regular feature at these pilgriamges. The sooner we get some of the texts of the resurrection canons set to music the easier this will be. Hint. Hint. Do you do this at an All-Night Vigil service? At what point? Are they sung or read? <4. You will have your metropolitan, the diocesan bishop, the abbot of your monastery, several priests and deacons, subdeacons, readers, cantors and all the people. An All-Night pontifical vigil in the Slavic Byzantine tradition, followed the next morning by the greeting of the metropolitan, the vesting of the bishop(s) in the center of the church surrounded by the faithful, with the Hours and Divine Liturgy is, quite possibly, the most beautiful liturgical expression of the character of the Church that exists in the Christian liturgy.> Oh, if only you knew how badly I would love to see these practices restored in our Church! Pray that the day will come soon. We do what we can in this little monastery, in the face of many obstacles, some practical and others attitudinal. We are poor and incompetant and need the support of your prayers. In Christ, Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 2 Jul 1996 18:54:35 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: location and icons & stuff To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Sharon, Glory be to Jesus Christ! There is a map on the way. Hope and pray to see you if God wills. We don't have a viewable image of the icon of the Theotokos, Searcher of the Lost" on the computer. I don't know how we'd go about getting one on! Nor do we really have a nice photograph of it, at least I don't think we do. Do you know anyone who could help? You are in my prayers - keep me in yours! Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 2 Jul 1996 18:54:58 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Progress Report To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Jeff writes: < 4. Vespers: I have complete rubrics for priestless Vespers, which I will post for discussion as soon as I check one more thing with Father David. I suggest that we work on music for Vespers more-or-less in order, from the beginning prayers onward.> Look forward to seeing them. I agree with the procedure. This is my prayer also. I doubt that I'll be able to get to Uniontown this year, though I would love to. Brother Luke from our monastery may be there, however. In Christ, Monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 11 Jul 1996 13:19:26 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David Brown Subject: Re: Progress Report To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L -- [ From: David Brown * EMC.Ver #3.2 ] -- > 5. Matins: Dave, Andrew, where's your comfort level with this? > What do you need to know, what music do you need to have in > hand next? Things have got us both swamped. The text is still being finalized. Hopefully in a few weeks we will be ready to get some input on this. Thanks for checking on us! Dave ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 23 Jul 1996 04:40:59 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Re: Posting music on the WWW Comments: cc: prokimen@mcs.net To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Things have been a little quiet lately. I'm getting ready to try something new using the WWW as the vehicle and I'm wondering if someone out there has any advice. Instrumental midi files load quickly and use very little memory. As an experiment, I'm considering creating a midi file for the music for the Galician Resurrectional Tone 1. Next, I'd create a page with the text and an option to play the music. Anyone know how to set up a midi file in html and what is a good player to use? mplayer isn't too bad and is standard. You won't get sheet music, but you can hear the music and see the words. Any comments, feedback, etc.? Peter ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Thu, 25 Jul 1996 00:43:47 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Request I have some progress to report, and a request for the CANTOR-L membership! I found out last week that the Advanced Cantor's School in the Metropolia, held in Pittsburgh from 1984 to about 1991, produced some 40+ volumes of music, in Slavonic and English, of prostopinije and devotional music. While this is in the hands of some cantors -- not all of whom have the musical training to use it -- I had never heard of it. Funding for the Cantor's School was discontinued during the episcopal interregna, and while there is an _attempt_ being made in some quarters to restart it, there is also some resistance, for various reasons. These discussions are going on, as I understand, right now (as in over the next 10 days). Not only did the school produce written music, often a concensus version of Ruthenian cantors from all over the Metropolia and from Europe, but it also produced hundreds of hours of taped music, and a fairly complete METHOD for cantor training, which was never implemented because of the termination of the school. While I don't want to get involved directly in the talks about the situation, because they are too sensitive right this moment, I would like to inform Metropolitan Judson of our existence, and the possibility that we might become involved in some sort of collaboration with anyone in Pittsburgh who wishes to complete the work of the Advanced Cantor's School. To this end, the following letter. Would anyone object if I were to sent it on behalf of the CANTOR-L group? If you object to anything in it, please let me know what changes you would like to have made to it to elicit your support. Thanks! Most Reverend Judson M. Procyk, Metropolitan Archbishop Metropolitan Archdiocese of Pittsburgh Your Grace, In May of this year, several members of an Eastern Catholic discussion group on the Internet computer network mentioned that a number of our parishes, in keeping with the strong recommendations of the _Liturgical Instruction_ released in January, had plans to hold regular Vespers and/or Matins services. Since complete music for these services in English is not readily available, we decided to pool our efforts to collect and organize it for parish use. Thus was born the "CANTOR-L mailing list" on the Internet. This group has grown to twelve members, most of whom are experienced cantors, covering the Byzantine Catholic Dioceses of Parma, Passaic and Van Nuys, as well as the Archdiocese of Pittsburgh. We also have the assistance of several cantors of the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of Johnstown, and the priests who teach plainchant at St. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Pittsburgh and Christ the Savior Seminary in Johnstown. We have approached most of the members of the inter-eparchial Liturgy and Music commission, including Bishop George and Fathers Mihalik, Petras and Pipta; all have been supportive of our plans. Our current projects underway include complete music of Great Vespers for Saturdays throughout the year, and basic settings of the music for Sunday Matins, especially the Resurrectional Canons. All music is based on the Ruthenian prostopinije, according to the usages of Uzhorod and Presov as preserved in the books and traditions of the Ruthenian Catholic Church and the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of Johnstown. We are also preparing a list of "Frequently Asked Questions" about prostopinije (outline attached), and teaching materials for cantors who wish to learn the tropars, kondaks, irmosy, samohlasen and other tones by heart, in order that all our people may take part in the liturgy using the traditional chants of our church. Finally, if the Divine Praises are again to be celebrated regularly in our churches, we hope to begin work on a sort of "English Sbornik", a volume containing the texts of the common and proper hymns and chants for Vespers, Matins and the Divine Liturgy for Sundays and feast days, so that anyone who knows the prostopinije tones could lead the singing at any of these services. We ask your blessing on this endeavour; we wish to do nothing apart from the church and our hierarchs, and plan to submit all our work to the inter-eparchial Liturgy and Music Commission for approval, in the hopes that we can perform a lasting service to our church. We also hope that, by using liturgical texts and music we already have in common with our Carpatho-Russian Orthodox brothers and sisters, we can make some small efforts toward healing the wounds caused by division in the Body of Christ. We also have a request. Several priests of the Metropolia told us that the Advanced Cantor's School held in Pittsburgh in the 1980's produced a body of music, including English liturgical texts set to the prostopinije chants. Our group would be very interested in making use of this music, if it is still in existence, and making our own small effort in collaboration to complete any unfinished work of the School, or to provide whatever assistance we can. As we are not sure of the status of the Cantor's School or the whereabouts of its materials, we hope that you might provide us with any information you can obtain about its works. Jeffrey Mierzejewski Moderator, CANTOR-L Mailing List (names and affiliations of members) OK. Any comments? Who would be willing to have their names associated with the above, with or without changes? Also, if you're willing, please provide a parish affiliation, and I'll include it with the letter. Also, what would be an appropriate way to conclude the letter? Sorry for the short notice, but things are happening, and I think this is the time to let people know what we're about. Yours in Christ, Jeff Mierzejewski Next time: rubrics for Vespers (finally) and a report on my visit to Uniontown ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Message-Id: <199604290939.FAA19215@seeker> Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" To: "Jeff Mierzejewski" Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 04:51:17 +0000 Subject: Re: Music Questions (Help!!!!) Reply-to: hrycak@the-hermes.net Jeff, > Is any of the Ukrainian chant in print? Father Charles Mozzomo > (a Ukrainian Catholic priest who teaches at the Ruthenian seminary > in Pittsburgh) showed me from chant books from Lviv in square-note > notation, but I haven't been able to find copies of anything I can > use to compare with Ruthenian chant (which is very similar). > I've got several resources, some better than others. I have a copy of the Lviv book in square note notation. There also is a book published in Rome in 1959 that uses modern notation that roughly has the same content. However, I can't seem to find the music for any of the kondaks in this book. Depending on the tone, the music for the kondaks is different from that of the kondaks. Let me know if you'd like a copy. Have you heard from Fr. Charles lately and would you be able to tell me where he is? Peter ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 23 Jul 1996 18:15:49 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Music Test Page Comments: cc: C A MEZZOMO , prokimen@mcs.net, sharon@cmhcsys.com, mwinn@MTS.Net To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Please have a look at: http://www.the-hermes.net/~hrycak/music/rtone_1.html It is a test run of a scheme to get the tones onto the net. The only music file (midi format) which is currently activated in the music for the "Glory be ...". I'm looking forward to constructive criticism and feedback. If the concensus is positive, I'll work on getting all the tones posted in this fashion. Thanks, Peter PS Contact me if you have any problems configuring your browsers to play midi files. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 25 Jul 1996 20:54:34 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Request To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In-Reply-To: from "Jeff Mierzejewski" at Jul 25, 96 00:43:47 am Jeff, Go for it! Undersign me please! Sharon Mech, cantor - St. John Chrysostom Church, Columbus,Ohio Me ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 25 Jul 1996 23:39:17 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Request To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Jeff, Slava Isusu Christu! I think it is a very good letter. I would be proud to have my name associated with it (Brother Maximos, Holy Resurrection Monastery, CA). I don't know the correct formal closing, but I would normally say something like: "asking your Grace's blessing, I remain your obedient son..." But then, I like Byzantine obsequiousness. I *don't* suggest you finish, as I once did a letter to the Melkite Patriarch, "kissing your Beatitude's hand..." :-) This is a great leap forward!! In Christ, monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 26 Jul 1996 19:45:24 GMT Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Mike Weller Subject: Re: Request To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Jeff, Please add my name to the signatures Mike Weller, Apprentice Cantor St. Thomas the Apostle Parish Gilbert AZ Unfortunately, I'll be moving to Cedar Rapids, Iowa next month due to a job change. We currently do not have a parish in Iowa, but there are efforts underway to initiate one. Keep my family and I in your prayers. One of my favorite ways to close a letter is: "In Christ's Loving Service" In Christ's Loving Service, Mike Weller, Apprentice Cantor ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 9 Aug 1996 00:55:30 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Gardner To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Jeff, Glory be to Jesus Christ! Thank you so much for Gardner's "Russian Church Singing". It was very interesting reading. Now I've got two ideal little texts to help introduce baby monks the theory and practice of Byzantine chant: Gardner and Roccasalvo. Now all we need are baby monks. Meanwhile I'll try to get the adolescent ones already here to do some remedial reading... You are in my prayers and all the family. I need their names, I think, for our diptychs. (Apologies if you've already given them to me. Worse that can happen is that they get written in twice!) In Christ, sinful monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 9 Aug 1996 11:20:03 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Uniontown To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In-Reply-To: <960809004637_452340029@emout17.mail.aol.com> from "brother Maximos" at Aug 9, 96 00:55:30 am Hey folks, Uniontown is just around the corner. Anybody gonna be there? I am assigned to the 12:00 Saturday Liturgy (which I know is Fr. Leo Schlosser's - Yaaaayyy!) and an early one on Monday morning. Howzabout the rest of you? Are we planning to get those of us who are able to attend together at some time during the weekend? Jeff, perhaps we should plan to fall upon you like leeches again this year?? Gotta run, Sharon Mech sharon@cmhcsys.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 2 Aug 1996 04:12:14 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Experimental Music Page To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear List Members, Please have a look at: http://www.the-hermes.net/~hrycak/music/rtone_1.html I've updated the look somewhat and have included the framework for putting the eight resurrectional tones on this page. I need suggestions on the instrument to be used for the midi files. I'm not too thrilled with what is being used now. Also, I'm seriously considering going from three part harmony to four part harmony. Comments please. Thanks, Peter ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Fri, 4 Oct 1996 11:28:14 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: Subject: Rubrics for Vespers I have finally finished the draft rubrics for Vespers in the absence of a priest. (BTW, we need to have a better name for these services -- "Reader services" is not quite right, since many would assume that these services are read _instead of_ sung. Any suggestions?) I spoke with Father David Petras at St. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Pittsburgh; he told me that the Metropolia still has no formal rubrics for priestless services, and that when a priest is not available for Matins or Vespers at the seminary, the seminarians wing it as best they can. Up until now, that is. On November 2, there will be no priest available for services, and Father David would like to see our rubrics, make any necessary corrections or changes, and have the seminarians use them next month. !!!!! So, upward and upward... I have attached the general and Vespers rubrics, together with some supporting material to let Father David know why certain decisions were made in preparing the service. I will also send him a copy of the ROCA "Reader services" guidelines that David James provided us, and in which Father was particularly interested. Eventually, I hope we can add Complines, Matins, Typica and the Hours, as well as the Moleben and the All-night Vigil. So please let me know any comments you have on what follow, and I'll try to have something ready to go in the mail early next week to the Seminary. Glory to Jesus Christ! Jeff Mierzejewski Order of Services in the Absence of a Priest Based on "The Order for the Celebration of Vespers, Matins and the Divine Liturgy According to the Ruthenian Recension" (Rome, 1944) Adapted using guidelines observed in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia and the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Diocese of Johnstown, Pennsylvania This order of services assumes the presence of an ecclesiarch (a deacon, subdeacon, read or the most senior layman, familiar with the service to be held) and a cantor or reader. Unless otherwise noted, the phrases "the people" or "those present" refer to all the faithful gathered together for prayer. In keeping with the traditions of the Carpathian Rus', all singing at services is done, as much as possible, by the entire congregation, led by an experienced cantor. General guidelines for priestless services: Services without a priest, or "Reader Services," as they are often referred to, are very similar in structure to services with a priest. The following points, however, should be noted: 1. During reader services, the Royal Doors and Curtain remain closed at all times. The senior person present (deacon, subdeacon, reader or most senior layman) may cense the icons and those present using a hand-censer at the prescribed times. (Even a deacon must use the hand-censer, as there is no priest to give the blessing for the usual type of censing.) 2. An Analogion (lectern) is placed before the icons, and thereon, the Gospel Book and a Cross. If it be in Church, the analogion is placed in the nave before the Royal Doors. (If there is no priest assigned to the church and regular reader services are scheduled, then the analogion with the Gospel Book and the Cross is placed on the bema in front of the Royal Doors outside of service times and only brought into the center of the church before the beginning of each service.) 3. Instead of the blessing, "Blessed is our God...," the ecclesiarch says: "Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us." And the people respond, "Amen." After "Our Father," instead of "For Thine is the Kingdom...," the ecclesiarch says the Jesus Prayer, which is, "O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us." And the people respond, "Amen." The "Our Father" is concluded in this way any time it appears in a service. 3. At any point where the Great Litany, "In peace, let us pray to the Lord...," or the Litany of Supplication, "Let us all say...," (sometimes this litany begins, "Have mercy on us, O God...") appears, instead we say "Lord, have mercy," forty times and "Glory...," "Both now..." Some say "Lord, have mercy" only twelve times. 4. At any point where the Small Litany, "Again and again, in peace...," appears, we say instead, "Lord, have mercy," thrice, and "Glory..., Both now..." 5. At any point where the Litany, "Let us complete...," appears, we say instead "Lord, have mercy" twelve times and "Glory..., Both now..." 6. The sequence "Let us bow our heads...," etc., (at the end of Vespers and Matins) is omitted. 7. At the Hours, instead of "Reverend Father, give the blessing!" we say, "Bless, O Lord!" and then the ecclesiarch says the prayer given ("Through the prayers..." or "God be merciful...") 8. The dismissal of Vespers and Matins is thus: "More honorable...," "Glory, Now and ever", "Lord, have mercy," thrice, "Bless, O Lord!" and the senior person present says, "O Lord Jesus Christ, through the prayers of Thy Most Pure Mother, by the power of the Precious and Life-giving Cross, through the prayers of the holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, of --- (saints of the day and of the temple), and of all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen." [If there is a special dismissal, as at Pentecost: "May Christ our true God, Who sent down from heaven the Most Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire upon His disciples and apostles, through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother...," and the rest, as above.] 9. The dismissal of the Hours, if called for, is as above, except that "More honorable..." is *not* said at that point, having been said earlier. 10. The Divine Liturgy can only be served by a priest (or bishop, of course). When reading services without a priest, Typica must be read in its stead. The troparia on the Beatitudes, the troparia and kontakia appointed for after "O come, let us worship...," the prokeimenon(s), epistle(s), alleluia verses and Gospel(s) appointed for Liturgy may be read at Typica after the Beatitudes. All other portions of the service customarily said by the priest are *omitted.* Vespers in the Absence of a Priest The ecclesiarch (or most senior of those present, a Deacon, or a Reader, or a Monk, or a simple layman) says: "Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us." This beginning occurs at every service. The people answer, "Amen." The ecclesiarch and the people, or the people all together, according to custom, say the beginning prayers as usual, from "Glory be to You, our God" onward, except that at the "Our Father," instead of "For thine is the Kingdom," the ecclesiarch says the Jesus Prayer, and the people respond, "Amen." After the beginning prayers, the appointed reader, or the people, sing Psalm 103 and the concluding "Alleluia" as usual. Instead of the Litany of Peace, "Lord, have mercy" (12 times), "Glory, Now and ever." The Kathisma(ta) of the psalter are chanted, followed by "Lord, have mercy" (3 times), "Glory, Now and ever" instead of the Little Litany. While the Lamp-Lighting Psalms are sung, the ecclesiarch takes up the hand censor, places incense in it, and censes the Gospel book and the holy icons. Facing each image, he makes the Sign of the Cross with the censor in his right hand, then, placing the censor in his left hand, he makes the Sign of the Cross over himself and bows to the image. Finally, he censes the people, making the Sign of the Cross with the censor in his right hand and bowing to the people. When the Lamp-Lighting Psalms are completed, the people sing the Hymn of the Evening, "O Joyful Light," followed by the Prokeimenon and its verses. If there are readings, the Reader announces the title, and begins to read. Instead of the Litany of Supplication, "Lord, have mercy" (12 times), "Glory, Now and ever." The ecclesiarch begins the Hymn of Glorification ("O Lord, keep us this evening without sin"), which is sung with the people, either all together or in alternation, followed by "Lord, have mercy" (12 times) "Glory, Now and ever". If there is to be Litija, the Hymns of the Litija are sung, followed by "Lord, have mercy" (40 times), "Glory, Now and ever." The Aposticha are sung, followed by the Canticle of Simeon, the Trisagion, "O Most Holy Trinity," "Lord, have mercy" (3 times), "Glory, Now and ever.", "Our Father," concluded by the ecclesiarch with the Jesus Prayer, to which the people respond, "Amen." The troparia of the day are sung according to the Typicon. If there is a Vigil, in place of the festal blessing, the people sing "Lord, have mercy" (three times), "Glory, Now and ever," followed by the first ten verses of Psalm 33 "I will bless the Lord at all times." If Matins is to follow immediately, the service continues with "Glory to God in the highest" and the Six psalms; otherwise, continue as below. Vespers concludes with "More honorable than the Cherubim" (or, from Pascha through the Wednesday before Ascension, with "Shine in splendor" and "Christ is risen from the dead"), "Glory, Now and Ever," "Lord, have mercy" (3 times). Then the ecclesiarch says the Dismissal: "May Christ our true God (if it is the Lord's Day: risen from the dead) (during Bright Week: risen from the dead, by death conquering death and granting life to those in the graves) have mercy on us and save us through the prayers of His most pure Mother, through the might of the precious and life-giving Cross, through the prayers of the holy, glorious, and praiseworthy apostles, of Saint N., patron(ess) of this holy church, and of Saint N., whose feast commemorate today, and through the prayers pf all the Saints; for He is gracious and loves mankind." And the people respond, "Amen." This Dismissal is said facing toward the East. Notes on the Rubrics for Priestless Services Contributors These rubrics were composed by the members of CANTOR-L (the Ruthenian Church Music discussion group on the Internet) as a proposal for experimental use in the Byzantine Catholic (Ruthenian) Metropolia of Pittsburgh. They are to be considered provisional in nature, and are superceded by any directives of the Bishops of the Metropolia. Sources Consulted OCS The Order for the Celebration of Vespers, Matins and the Divine Liturgy According to the Ruthenian Recension (Rome, 1944 (original); Washington, 1958 (translation)) RS An Order for Reader Services in the Russian Orthodox Church (Synodal), prepared from materials provided by Bishop Daniel of Erie, PA, and translated by Father George Lardas, Houston, Texas, with further notes by Mr. David James, a cantor of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad OM The Office of Matins (Sisters of St. Basil the Great, Uniontown, 1989) OV The Office of Vespers (Sisters of St. Basil the Great, Uniontown, 1989) OVS The Office of Vespers on Saturday (Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Diocese, Johnstown, n.d.) BDW Byzantine Daily Worship (Raya and De Vinck, Tournai, 1969) PBOC A Prayer Book for Orthodox Christians (Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston, 1987) General Guidelines At the "Our Father," PBOC replaces "For Thine is the kingdom" with "Through the prayers of our holy Fathers" instead of the Jesus Prayer. We choose the latter, following RS. Vespers RS states that the beginning prayers commence with "Heavenly King"; but OC assigns "Glory be to You, Our God" to the choir, and PBOC says that "Glory be to You" is said by the choir if no priest is present. Accordingly, we commence the beginning prayers with "Glory be to You, Our God." Following OVS, we plan to recommend that Psalm 103, the introductory verses of Psalm 140 ("O Lord, I have cried"), the stichera at the Lamp-Lighting Psalms, and the Prokeimenon be sung by all, where possible, and that the Kathismata, the sticheral verses and the prokeimenon verses be sung by the cantor. OVS omits the remainder of Psalm 140, and the rest until the psalm verse corresponding to first sticheron; I would appreciate advice on how the entire Lamp-Lighting Psalms should be divided among cantor and people if we are not to truncate the psalms. RS omits the Hymn of Glorification, a key component of Vespers which OCR assigns to the priest, BDW to the ecclesiarch, PBOC to the reader and OVS to the people. We follow BDW and OVS. For Litija, RS prescribes "Lord, have mercy" forty times, then thirty times, then fifty times. Here we use forty times, a suitable symbolic number, rather than RS's one hundred and thirty. OCR prescribes all of Psalm 33 at the end of Vespers with Vigil; RS and OV prescribe an excerpt. We could follow either. As given here, the conclusion and dismissal are suitable for both Great and daily Vespers; we should provide a proper conclusion for Great Lent. Are there circumstances such as Pentecost when a proper dismissal should be used? If so, how are these days to be identified, and where can the dismissal be found? Should be use the particular dismissal for the various weekdays? ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 4 Oct 1996 17:52:37 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Rubrics for Vespers To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In-Reply-To: from "Jeff Brooks" at Oct 4, 96 11:28:14 am Jeff - Looks pretty cool. Couple o' remarks - In note number 8 on dismissal - should note be made of the dismissal from Easter to Pentecost? In most everything, "More honorable..." is replaced by "Shine in splendor...." during that time. May be worth noting, as it is more than 10% of the year, and could be confusing if omitted. Farther on down, you mention Psalm 103. Might be handy to give the opening line there ("Bless the Lord, O my soul...") since some of us are retards, and I **think** that may be one of the ones where depending on which reference you check, it's either listed as 103 or 104. (Heck, it'd be nice to have the WHOLE text, given how horribly truncated it ends up in some of our books! ;-) ) I will print out the mailing & give it a better read-through over the weekend - Today is my first day back after a 2 day trip - and you all know that No Time Away Goes Unpunished. Cheers, da preg-a-Bear ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sat, 5 Oct 1996 12:06:49 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Rubrics for Vespers To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Jeff, Slava Isusu Christu! Great work!!! Only a few comments: 1. Gender alert! In Orthodox Churches women probably lead reader services many more times than men - in their monasteries. Strictly, I guess a cleric should preside if present, but I wonder how many venerable Hegumenata (?) would give way on their own turf to some pimply faced deacon just in for the day ;-) Perhaps (after giving due deference to the ordained - on paper!) we should just refer to "layperson" and leave it to particpants to work out seniority on each occasion. And perhaps a few *he/shes* are called for later on when describing the functions of the "ecclesiarch". Incidentally, I think a woman can be an "ecclesiarch", though there is probably a feminine form of the noun in Greek and Slavonic. Would it cause less confusion if we referred to the "presider"? No such a pretty word, though. Up to you'all. 2. As regards the ecphony at the "Our Father". An alternative conclusion is "Through the prayers of our holy fathers..." If the leader is able to use just one "doxology substitute" it makes it a little bit easier to remember what to do. Should we make it optional which to use? 3. We do it this way. The opening verses are sung in the tone of the first prescribed sticheron, ie: O Lord I have cried to You, hear me. Hear me, O Lord. O Lord, I have cried to You hear me. Recieve the voice of my prayer, when I call upon You. Hear me, O Lord. Let my prayer arise like incense before you; and the lifting up of my hands, like an evening sacrifice. Hear me, O Lord. Then the rest of the psalms are straight chanted antiphonally between the two *choirs* (actually often just 2 singers!!). When you get to the verse immediately before the first sticheron, the cantor intones it in the proper samohlasen tone. This is then done for the remainder of the verses plus "Glory...now and ever" No doubt there are other ways of doing it. 4. Don't know for sure. But the principle seems to be that a reader can use the same dismissal as a priest, but casts it in the vocative mood ("O Christ") rather than the subjunctive ("May Christ"). Makes sense: it preserves the idea that the priest's ordained role is to call down blessings on the community, but at the same time it recognizes that (as priestly people through baptism and chrismation!) we can all directly approach Christ. If this principle is correct, then a reader just takes the proper dismissal for the day and adapts it. Wonder what Fr David says. Again - a great job Jeff! One last thought. Should we remind people that these rubrics are also good (with appropriate adaptations) for use in the home? Pray for the sinner monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 00:07:49 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Rubrics for Vespers To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In his rubrics for Vespers, Jeff writes: << RS omits the Hymn of Glorification, a key component of Vespers which >> This is an inaccuracy of the translation supplied, and thank you for pointing it out. In fact, the practice in the Church Abroad is to substitute "Lord, have mercy" twelve times. Glory..., Both now... for the Augmented Litany ("Let us say with our whole soul..."), then for the most senior person present to recite "Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this evening without sin...," followed by the substitution of "Lord, have mercy" forty times, Glory..., Both now... for the Litany of Fervent Supplication ("Let us complete our evening prayer unto the Lord") David James ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 00:07:55 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Rubrics for Vespers To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Jeff asks: << Are there circumstances such as Pentecost when a proper dismissal should be used? If so, how are these days to be identified, and where can the dismissal be found? Should be use the particular dismissal for the various weekdays? >> Proper dismissals are given in the Typicon. They are used from the feastday itself until the apodosis (leave-taking) of the feast. Here are the proper dismissals as used in the ROCA: Jan 1: "May Christ our true God, Who on the eighth day deigned to be circumcised for our salvation..." Jan. 6 to Apodosis (except Sundays which fall within this period): "May Christ our true God, Who for our salvation deigned to be baptized by John in the Jordan..." On Sundays falling during a festal period: "May Christ our true God, Who arose from the dead..." Feb. 2 to Apodosis: "May Christ our true God, Who for our salvation deigned to be carried in the arms of the Righteous Symeon..." Palm Sunday: "May Christ our true God, Who for our salvation deigned to ride the colt of an ass..." Great Monday through Great Wednesday: "May Christ our true God, the Lord Who for our salvation went to His voluntary Passion..." Great Thursday: "May Christ our true God, Who through His surpassing goodness did show the most excellent way of humility when He washed the feet of His disciples, and did condescend even unto the Cross and burial for us..." Great Friday and Saturday: "May Christ our true God, Who for us men and for our salvation did deign to suffer the dread Passion, and the life-creating Cross and voluntary burial in the flesh..." Holy Pascha through Bright Saturday: "May Christ our true God, Who arose from the dead, trampling down death by death and upon those in the tombs bestowing life..." Thomas Sunday until the Tuesday before the Apodosis of Pascha: "May Christ our true God, Who arose from the dead..." Apodosis of Pascha: Dismissal as on Holy Pascha. Ascension of Our Lord through the Apodosis: "May Christ our true God, Who in glory did ascend from us into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father..." Pentecost Sunday through the Apodosis: "May Christ our true God, Who sent down from heaven the Most Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire upon His disciples and apostles..." Aug. 6 to Apodosis: "May Christ our true God, Who on Mount Tabor was transfigured in glory before His disciples and apostles..." Dec. 25 to Apodosis: "May Christ our true God, Who was born in a cave, and lay in a manger for our salvation..." David James ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 10:00:30 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Rubrics for Vespers To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In-Reply-To: <961005120648_325857282@emout09.mail.aol.com> from "brother Maximos" at Oct 5, 96 12:06:49 pm Brother Maximos wrote - > > We do it this way. The opening verses are sung in the tone of the first > prescribed sticheron, ie: > > O Lord I have cried to You, hear me. > Hear me, O Lord. > O Lord, I have cried to You hear me. > Recieve the voice of my prayer, when I call upon You. > Hear me, O Lord. > Let my prayer arise like incense before you; > and the lifting up of my hands, like an evening sacrifice. > Hear me, O Lord. > > Then the rest of the psalms are straight chanted antiphonally between the two > *choirs* (actually often just 2 singers!!). When you get to the verse > immediately before the first sticheron, the cantor intones it in the proper > samohlasen tone. This is then done for the remainder of the verses plus > "Glory...now and ever" Speaking for The Ignorant Parish of St John's in Columbus - yup, that's how we do it too - at least for Presanctified- and so then by extension for Vespers in the rare event that we do them - with one exception: Per Fr. Jack Custer, the Sticky tone taken (at least during Lent) is the tone corresponding to the Resurrection Tone of the week - i.e. if Sunday was Tone 6, the psalm is begun in Samohlasen Tone 6. (If it's Tone 6, it also ends in tone 6. We can sing tone 6 in our sleep, we can. Some other tones, well it may begin in that tone....and end in tone 13... ;-) ) If it wouldn't be too much of a schlep, I'd see if Fr. Jack might take a peek at stuff we come up with. The man is a gold mine..... My further $.02 Cheers, Sharon sharon@cmhc.com P.S. - Brother Maximos - how are things going toward the pilgrimage? We be cranking up the rusty old prayer machine... and asking the Super High Octane prayers of the community for the upcoming birth of this squidling. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 22:55:55 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: Subject: Rubrics for Vespers (Revised) Thanks for the comments, all! Here are the revised rubrics, much improved (I think) for the input. Brother Maximos suggested: >1.layman)> > >Perhaps (after giving due deference to the ordained - on paper!) we should >just refer to "layperson" and leave it to particpants to work out seniority >on each occasion. I listed "monastic superior" ahead of deacon, which should cover a multitude of cases, and added laywoman together with layman. "Presider" and even "leader" have politicized overtones in some circles, and I'd like to stay out of those arguments. I like ecclesiarch (which could be either a man or woman) precisely because it has connotations of one delegated _by the Church_ to lead prayers (whether in the temple, on in the domestic church). >2. As regards the ecphony at the "Our Father". An alternative conclusion is >"Through the prayers of our holy fathers..." If the leader is able to use >just one "doxology substitute" it makes it a little bit easier to remember >what to do. Should we make it optional which to use? I'd rather not (but will defer to Father David). Here's why: the introduction ("Blessed is our God") is entirely different from the small doxology ("Glory be"). I think remembering a particular prayer at the beginning (especially a prayer for our absent spiritual Fathers in the presbyterate) is appropriate. >(The Lamp-Lighting Psalms) >No doubt there are other ways of doing it. This is the way it is done hereabouts, too. I think that using a divided choir works best where everyone know how many stichera there will be (either in a monastery, or a church where Vespers is celebrated the same way every Saturday, for example) and one or two cantors can handle it better if the stichera will be more varied. I suggest that our editions simply propose both options, and bow to local custom. (Perhaps incense the local customs as well?) > (Dismissals:) ... the principle seems to be that a reader can use the >same dismissal as a priest, but casts it in the vocative mood ("O Christ") >rather than the subjunctive ("May Christ"). Excellent. Thank you. David James: ><< RS omits the Hymn of Glorification>> >This is an inaccuracy of the translation supplied, and thank you for pointing >it out. In fact, the practice in the Church Abroad is to substitute "Lord, >have mercy" twelve times. Glory..., Both now... for the Augmented Litany >("Let us say with our whole soul..."), then for the most senior person >present to recite "Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this evening without >sin...," followed by the substitution of "Lord, have mercy" forty times, >Glory..., Both now... for the Litany of Fervent Supplication ("Let us >complete our evening prayer unto the Lord") Thank you. I guessed as much. The Reader Services text introduction specifies twelve "Lord, have mercy"'s instead of forty for the Litany of Fervent Supplication; either would work, but leaving the number of forty for Litija would highlight the latter, I think. ><< Are there circumstances such as Pentecost when a proper dismissal > should be used? If so, how are these days to be identified, and > where can the dismissal be found? Should be use the particular > dismissal for the various weekdays? >> >Proper dismissals are given in the Typicon. They are used from the feastday >itself until the apodosis (leave-taking) of the feast. Thanks. Because of the number of possibilities, I have simply indicated that the dismissal is to be said, altered slightly for the use of one other than a priest. Sharon said: >Brother Maximos wrote - >> >> We do it this way. The opening verses are sung in the tone of the first >> prescribed sticheron... >> >Speaking for The Ignorant Parish of St John's in Columbus - yup, that's how >we do it too - at least for Presanctified- and so then by extension for Vespers >in the rare event that we do them - with one exception: > >Per Fr. Jack Custer, the Sticky tone taken (at least during Lent) is the tone >corresponding to the Resurrection Tone of the week - i.e. if Sunday was Tone 6, >the psalm is begun in Samohlasen Tone 6. I think the proper usage is to sing the introduction in the tone of the first sticheron, which is usually (but not always) the tone of the week. The Typikon has all the details, but some of these details are positively... Byzantine. (Like the order of the stichera on an ordinary weekday being "3 of the tone, 3 of the saint", except on FRIDAY, when it's "3 of the saint, 3 of the tone"). >If it wouldn't be too much of a schlep, I'd see if Fr. Jack might take a peek >at stuff we come up with. The man is a gold mine..... I will call Father Jack tomorrow. Yours in Christ, Jeff Order of Services in the Absence of a Priest Based on "The Order for the Celebration of Vespers, Matins and the Divine Liturgy According to the Ruthenian Recension" (Rome, 1944) Adapted using guidelines observed in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia and the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Diocese of Johnstown, Pennsylvania This order of services assumes the presence of an ecclesiarch (who could be a monastic superior, deacon, subdeacon, reader, or the most senior layman or laywoman, familiar with the service to be held) and a cantor or reader. Unless otherwise noted, the phrases "the people" and "those present" refer to all the faithful gather together for prayer. In keeping with the traditions of the Carpathian Rus', all singing at services is done, as much as possible, by the entire congregation, led by an experienced cantor. This order of services is also suitable for use in the home. General guidelines for priestless services: Services without a priest, or "Reader Services," as they are often referred to, are very similar in structure to services with a priest. The following points, however, should be noted: 1. During reader services, the Royal Doors and Curtain remain closed at all times. The senior person present (deacon, subdeacon, reader or most senior layman) may cense the icons and those present using a hand-censer at the prescribed times. (Even a deacon must use the hand-censer, as there is no priest to give the blessing for the usual type of censing.) 2. An Analogion (lectern) is placed before the icons, and thereon, the Gospel Book and a Cross. If it be in Church, the analogion is placed in the nave before the Royal Doors. (If there is no priest assigned to the church and regular reader services are scheduled, then the analogion with the Gospel Book and the Cross is placed on the bema in front of the Royal Doors outside of service times and only brought into the center of the church before the beginning of each service.) In the home, the service could be held before the family icon corner. 3. Instead of the blessing, "Blessed is our God...," the ecclesiarch says: "Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us." And the people respond, "Amen." After "Our Father," instead of "For Thine is the Kingdom...," the ecclesiarch says the Jesus Prayer, which is, "O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us." And the people respond, "Amen." The "Our Father" is concluded in this way any time it appears in a service. 3. At any point where the Great Litany, "In peace, let us pray to the Lord...," or the Litany of Supplication, "Let us all say...," (sometimes this litany begins, "Have mercy on us, O God...") appears, instead we say "Lord, have mercy," forty times and "Glory...," "Both now..." Some say "Lord, have mercy" only twelve times. 4. At any point where the Small Litany, "Again and again, in peace...," appears, we say instead, "Lord, have mercy," thrice, and "Glory..., Both now..." 5. At any point where the Litany, "Let us complete...," appears, we say instead "Lord, have mercy" twelve times and "Glory..., Both now..." 6. The sequence "Let us bow our heads...," etc., (at the end of Vespers and Matins) is omitted. 7. At the Hours, instead of "Reverend Father, give the blessing!" we say, "Bless, O Lord!" and then the ecclesiarch says the prayer given ("Through the prayers..." or "God be merciful...") 8. The dismissal of Vespers and Matins is thus: "More honorable..." (or, from Easter to Pentecost, "Shine in splendor, O new Jerusalem", followed by the Easter troparion, "Christ is risen from the dead"), "Glory, Now and ever", "Lord, have mercy," thrice, "Bless, O Lord!" and the ecclesiarch sasy the dismissal appointed for the day, changing "May Christ" to "O Christ" at the beginning, to signify a request for a blessing rather than the bestowal of a blessing. 9. The dismissal of the Hours, if called for, is as above, except that "More honorable..." is *not* said at that point, having been said earlier. 10. The Divine Liturgy can only be served by a priest (or bishop, of course). When reading services without a priest, Typica must be read in its stead. The troparia on the Beatitudes, the troparia and kontakia appointed for after "O come, let us worship...," the prokeimenon(s), epistle(s), alleluia verses and Gospel(s) appointed for Liturgy may be read at Typica after the Beatitudes. All other portions of the service customarily said by the priest are *omitted.* Vespers in the Absence of a Priest The ecclesiarch says: "Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us." This beginning occurs at every service. The people answer, "Amen." The ecclesiarch and the people, or the people all together, according to custom, say the beginning prayers as usual, from "Glory be to You, our God" onward, except that at the "Our Father," instead of "For thine is the Kingdom," the ecclesiarch says the Jesus Prayer, and the people respond, "Amen." After the beginning prayers, the appointed reader, or the people, sing Psalm 103, "Bless the Lord, O my soul", and the concluding "Alleluia" as usual. Instead of the Litany of Peace, "Lord, have mercy" (12 times), "Glory, Now and ever." The Kathisma(ta) of the psalter are chanted, followed by "Lord, have mercy" (3 times), "Glory, Now and ever" instead of the Little Litany. While the Lamp-Lighting Psalms are sung, the ecclesiarch takes up the hand censor, places incense in it, and censes the Gospel book and the holy icons. Facing each image, he makes the Sign of the Cross with the censor in his right hand, then, placing the censor in his left hand, he makes the Sign of the Cross over himself and bows to the image. Finally, he censes the people, making the Sign of the Cross with the censor in his right hand and bowing to the people. When the Lamp-Lighting Psalms are completed, the people sing the Hymn of the Evening, "O Joyful Light," followed by the Prokeimenon and its verses. If there are readings, the Reader announces the title, and begins to read. Instead of the Litany of Supplication, "Lord, have mercy" (12 times), "Glory, Now and ever." The ecclesiarch begins the Hymn of Glorification ("O Lord, keep us this evening without sin"), which is sung with the people, either all together or in alternation, followed by "Lord, have mercy" (12 times) "Glory, Now and ever". If there is to be Litija, the Hymns of the Litija are sung, followed by "Lord, have mercy" (40 times), "Glory, Now and ever." The Aposticha are sung, followed by the Canticle of Simeon, the Trisagion, "O Most Holy Trinity," "Lord, have mercy" (3 times), "Glory, Now and ever.", "Our Father," concluded by the ecclesiarch with the Jesus Prayer, to which the people respond, "Amen." The troparia of the day are sung according to the Typicon. If there is a Vigil, in place of the festal blessing, the people sing "Lord, have mercy" (three times), "Glory, Now and ever," followed by the first ten verses of Psalm 33 "I will bless the Lord at all times." If Matins is to follow immediately, the service continues with "Glory to God in the highest" and the Six psalms; otherwise, continue as below. Vespers concludes with "More honorable than the Cherubim" (or, from Pascha through the Wednesday before Ascension, with "Shine in splendor" and "Christ is risen from the dead"), "Glory, Now and Ever," "Lord, have mercy" (3 times). Then the ecclesiarch says dismissal proper to the day, chaning the opening words from "May Christ" to "O Christ." And the people respond, "Amen." This Dismissal is said facing toward the East. Notes on the Rubrics for Priestless Services Contributors These rubrics were composed by the members of CANTOR-L (the Ruthenian Church Music discussion group on the Internet) as a proposal for experimental use in the Byzantine Catholic (Ruthenian) Metropolia of Pittsburgh. They are to be considered provisional in nature, and are superceded by any directives of the Bishops of the Metropolia. Sources Consulted OCS The Order for the Celebration of Vespers, Matins and the Divine Liturgy According to the Ruthenian Recension (Rome, 1944 (original); Washington, 1958 (translation)) RS An Order for Reader Services in the Russian Orthodox Church (Synodal), prepared from materials provided by Bishop Daniel of Erie, PA, and translated by Father George Lardas, Houston, Texas, with further notes by Mr. David James, a cantor of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad OM The Office of Matins (Sisters of St. Basil the Great, Uniontown, 1989) OV The Office of Vespers (Sisters of St. Basil the Great, Uniontown, 1989) OVS The Office of Vespers on Saturday (Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Diocese, Johnstown, n.d.) BDW Byzantine Daily Worship (Raya and De Vinck, Tournai, 1969) PBOC A Prayer Book for Orthodox Christians (Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston, 1987) General Guidelines At the "Our Father," PBOC replaces "For Thine is the kingdom" with "Through the prayers of our holy Fathers" instead of the Jesus Prayer. We choose the latter, following RS. Vespers RS states that the beginning prayers commence with "Heavenly King"; but OC assigns "Glory be to You, Our God" to the choir, and PBOC says that "Glory be to You" is said by the choir if no priest is present. Accordingly, we commence the beginning prayers with "Glory be to You, Our God." Following OVS, we plan to recommend that Psalm 103, the introductory verses of Psalm 140 ("O Lord, I have cried"), the stichera at the Lamp-Lighting Psalms, and the Prokeimenon be sung by all, where possible, and that the Kathismata, the remaining verses of the Lamp- Lighting psalms, and prokeimenon verses be sung by the cantor. For Litija, RS prescribes "Lord, have mercy" forty times, then thirty times, then fifty times. Here we use forty times, a suitable symbolic number, rather than RS's one hundred and thirty. OCR prescribes all of Psalm 33 at the end of Vespers with Vigil; RS and OV prescribe an excerpt. We could follow either. As given here, the conclusion and dismissal are suitable for both Great and daily Vespers; we should provide a proper conclusion for Great Lent. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 18:26:30 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Liturgical Music Comments: To: cineast@catinfo.cts.com, C A MEZZOMO To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L I finally got the first cut at the Resurrectional Tones (Galician) posted on the WWW. It can be reached through St. Michael's home page at: http://www.the-hermes.net/~hrycak/Welcome.html It's under construction, but the Resurrectional tones are all there. I've only got the melody, and some of the arrangement is a bit rough. I plan to add harmonization to it. The files are in midi format. It'll be a test of how well you have your browser set up. Comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated. A question about the structure of liturgical music. When are the following used? Tropars - Resurrectional Tropars - Podeben-Sidalen Stichera - Samohlasen Stichera - Pododen Stichera - Bolharsky Prokimen - Liturgical Pokimen - matins Also, is there a reference for the various Hirmos? Eventually, I'd like to have as much music set up on the WWW as possible. I've got the music for an abbreviated Parastas ready to go, but I want to clean up the Resurrectional tropars first. Thanks! Peter ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 01:41:24 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Fr. Michael Pomazansky's "Collected Essays" To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L I would like to take this opportunity to recommend a book I have just read: "Selected Essays" by the late Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky, Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, NY, 1996. 241pp. Best known for his outstanding textbook, "Orthodox Dogmatic Theology," Fr. Michael was the last living pre-Revolutionary graduate of the Kiev Theological Academy. He spent the last 39 years of his life teaching at Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, NY. Fr. Michael died Nov. 4, 1988, three days before his 100th birthday. This newly-translated book is a collection of 16 of Fr. Michael's essays on various topics, such as: Children in Church How Each of Us Can and Ought to Serve the Church The Liturgical Theology of Fr. A. Schmemann The Old Testament in the New Testament Church and 12 others, all equally interesting. Here is the first paragraph of his essay, "Liturgical Books: From Manuscript to Print": "If at any time one had had occasion to visit an Old Believer church or chapel in old, pre-Revolutionary Russia, and then afterwards chanced to visit a Little Russian church in some remote corner of the Carpathian Mountains, would one not have heard something familiar in the Carpathian church chants? Would they not bring to mind certain peculiar expressions in chants heard some time before in the Old Believers' reading and singing? "O Virgin Theotokos, rejoice! _Highly favored_ Mary, the Lord is with thee..." Whence comes this similarity? Whence the similarity between the Great Russian Old Believers and the West Russian Uniates? Can one not hear in this Uniate voice the voice of venerable antiquity?" This essay alone is worth the price of the book, which is approximately $25. But I think most will find the other essays in this gem of a book equally interesting. David James ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 10 Oct 1996 00:47:37 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Fwd: The Late Great Typikon To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L A message from OCA Bishop Tikhon of San Francisco I thought you all might enjoy. David James --------------------- Forwarded message: From: vladyka@EARTHLINK.NET (Bishop Tikhon) Sender: ORTHODOX@IUBVM.UCS.INDIANA.EDU (Orthodox Christianity) Reply-to: ORTHODOX@IUBVM.UCS.INDIANA.EDU (Orthodox Christianity) To: ORTHODOX@IUBVM.UCS.INDIANA.EDU (Multiple recipients of list ORTHODOX) Date: 96-10-09 19:34:59 EDT ---------------------- Information from the mail header ----------------------- Sender: Orthodox Christianity Poster: Bishop Tikhon Subject: Re: The Late Great Typikon ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - About a month ago, one person sent a message on the subject thread indicating he had simply gone to pieces over Archpriest Alexander Lebedeff's so well-informed reflections on the Typikon. In the course of a diatribe, he even went so far as to characterize those who had a hand in the composition of the Typikon as some kind of time-servers. I thought it might be good to give List members my translation of a few paragraphs from the monumental study of the Typikon titled "The Explanatory Typikon (Tolkovy Tipikon)," from its apostolic origins to our day, by the great Professor M. Skaballanovich. I don't believe the works of Skaballanovich, like those of Dimitrievsky have been successfully refuted, and they remain a kind of "last word" in liturgics. You may, for example, find whole works of Skaballanovich, those on the great feasts, reprinted in the annual calendar/yearbook/typikon published at Jordanville for the ROCOR. On the other hand, anyone who has sat in a liturgics or liturgical theology class of Father Alexander Schmeman's will recognize him as an oft-quoted authority. I remember back in the early sixties, FAther Alexander wrote an indignant letter objecting to some liturgical corrections advocated by an OCA bishop. One of his telling complaints was this: "why, it's as if Skaballanovich or Dimitrievsky had not even existed!" Here's the excerpt. Enjoy. Just as the task of our Typikon is to accommodate church services to sacred commemorations of the day, its composition--unwritten at the very beginning--must necessarily have come about at the very dawning of a specifically Christian remembrance. The appearance of the very first sacred commemorations must belong to apostolic times, when undoubtedly there already existed the liturgical commemoration of at least the day of the Resurrection ("Sunday"-B.T.). Thus it would be no exaggeration to say that the first lines of our Typikon, setting forth the order for the Sunday services, have their origin in the intentions of the Apostles themselves. It's therefore no wonder that the old Russian bookmen referred to the Typikon as a divinely inspired book. It began to come together in those times when Christianity was at a spiritual height, making possible the appearance of inspired writings. Having begun in the Apostolic age, the development of our divine services culminated, one might say, only in the 16th century, when the Typikon reached fully its present appearance. And, certainly, no less esteem is due the Typikon because of its creation having taken half a millenium. Rather the contrary. Thanks to this long period of development of our Typikon, the Church of various epochs has participated in that development, and every one of those epochs had its strength and beauty, and these are reflected in our centuries-old Typikon. Not only, too, did the Church of various times participate in composing our Typikon, but also the Church of various places and lands; hence, it was worked over not only by the Apostolic Church, but by the conciliar Church (conciliar in respect of both place and time). From the pages of the Typikon is wafted the tender spirit of ancient church life, here from Constantinople, there from ascetic Egypt and the Thebaid. If one bears in mind the mass of Old Testament material to be found in our divine services, then during the minutes spent in these services we also spiritually experience also holy biblical antiquity-- we "walk together with one mind" in the church of the Patriarchs and the Prophets. The Typikon, a conciliar creation of the Church, was at the same time worked over by the most exceptional, the most worthy of her sons. Its immediate authors were people who had no other life but prayer and fasting, who were enabled by the sweetness of "God's Service" to receive food once every five days and to sleep only standing, or sitting up, who finished up their all-night vigils in locked churches being burnt up by the pagans, people whose martyr-blood was mingled sometimes with the Blood of the Eucharist. The pages of the Typikon created by them could not but give off the sense of tears of emotion and the sacrificial blood of confessors which could not fail to be sensed from thence and to lend the book a spirit of exceptional holiness and purity. In this is to be found the secret of the deep effect of Orthodox services on the soul, so that the person who participates in them receives the influence of the Church of all times in the persons of those of greatest authority in her and lives the life of the entire Church. And this influence doesn't just come from the poetry and music of the divine service, but from its very architecture, and from those forty-fold "Lord, have mercy"s, from those silent prostrations introducing long pauses into the singing and reading, from the antiphonal method of singing, etc. The Typikon is occupied especially with this architecture and aesthetic of the divine services. In part, the content of our current Typikon acquired its character from St. Sabbas (Savvas), or, more exactly, "The Holy Laura in Jerusalem of our Venerable Father Sabbas." This is a monastic community not far from Jerusalem in the harsh Judaean desert, founded in the 5th century by Saint Sabbas the Sanctified (or Consecrated). What share of the current redaction of the Typikon could be attributed to St.Sabbas cannot be determined given the present (a.d.1910-B.T.) condition of historical sources. But in any case the home country of our present Typikon is Palestine and the holy feats accomplished in her desert. The founders of our Church Typikon were, it follows, nurtured by the same desert that nurtured Elijah and John the Baptist, and that prepared our Savior Himself for His service in the world. Here the very air is saturated with holy recollections. Nearby were the great holy places of the Christian world--Jerusalem,with the Lord's tomb and the Church of the Resurrection, where prayer itself became more fervent and where, according to the witness of one western pilgrim of the 4th century (Silvia of Aquitaine), when the Passion Gospels were read, "the whole people raised such a crying and wailing that there was no one at at all who could not be affected to the point of tears at that hour." Love to all, +B.T. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 11 Oct 1996 21:06:17 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Fwd: The Late Great Typikon To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L It would be nice to see a translation of the full Typikon into English. Has anyone heard of any plans anywhere to do this? monk Maximos, sinner ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Message-Id: <199610241023.GAA08985@seeker> Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" To: "Jeff Brooks" Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1996 05:25:34 +0000 Subject: Re: Various Reply-to: hrycak@the-hermes.net Jeff, > .... The Galician chant on your home page is _really_ neat! > (I finally have a working sound card here.) I had no problem when > I went to look at it. Thanks! I was concerned that the MIDI approach may not work. I'm relieved to hear that it works. I'm lookin for some harmonizations to add to the melody. > According to Father David Petras' 1992 article on Ruthenian (incl. > Ukrainian) liturgy in Diakonia, the 1944 revision of the Byzantine > liturgy according to the Ruthenian recension (for use by the > Galician and Transcarpathian churches) was based on the Liturgicon > of Metropolitan Isidore of Kiev, who took part in the Council of > Florence -- the original harbinger of reunion East and West. > The editors of the texts chose to give preference to those usages > of the See of Kiev which were traditional and in use at the time > of the Union of Brest. Furthermore, they specifically revoked > those Latinizations introducted at the "Synod of Zamosc", which > were never officially promulgated or approved, but which none > the less became widely used throughout the Byzantine Catholic > Churches. When was the Synod of Zamosc? I have a copy of "The Order for the Celebration of Vespers, Matins, and the Divine Liturgy" put out in 1944. It's been a while since I read it. If me memory serves me well, there are instructions in it for a "Low Divine Liturgy". Just curious, what "latinizations" were introduced at the Synod of Zamosc? > > Certainly some valid evolution has occurred as well -- for > example, I think no one will erase the Sacred and Immaculate > Hearts from the devotion of the Ukrainian people, given the > great lengths to which they maintained these devotions under > persecution -- but I think the base form of our liturgy has > to be the Kievan usage of the 15th century. (This gives > us a liturgy with a longer continuous tradition than the > Great Russians, since our liturgy predates the Nikonian > reforms that created the Old Believer schism in Russia!) > Are there any references on the differences in Kievan and Russian usages? Thanks for the note! Peter ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 30 Dec 1996 04:23:42 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Hours before Liturgy? To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L A test to see if this list is still up and running... I read this evening about some parishes that have the Hours before Liturgy on Sunday. Could someone tell me more about this? What would this consist of and could this possibly work for a small parish that may not be able to do Matins yet? Any help much appreciated! Dave Brown Orthocath1@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 30 Dec 1996 10:31:07 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy? To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In-Reply-To: <961230042341_1855548301@emout18.mail.aol.com> from "Dave Brown" at Dec 30, 96 04:23:42 am Dave, Haven't a clue. Let me add a "friendly amendment" in the form of an additional question to your question if I may...... On feast days when there is a Divine Liturgy but no "additional" services, (at least for those of us who are not fortunate enough to reside in monasteries) is it proper to use "selections" from Vespers or Matins of the day where some "extra" chant is desirable, such as before or after the Liturgy? I notice that John Vernoski occasionally puts in a "closing hymn" snitched from Vespers. I've been known to do the same sometimes, singing straight out of the Festal Menaion, but I am unsure of whether it is rubrically kosher. BTW, I wuz a bad girl Sunday....... Father's homily was on what we actually give & receive for Christmas, and in the bulletin was the explanation of the actual meaning of "The 12 Days of Christmas," so I sang it after Liturgy. It was yummy. Wickedly yours, Sharon sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Mon, 30 Dec 1996 10:51:09 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: Subject: Update Christ is born! Glorify him! My work schedule has quited down for a bit, and I wanted to give you all an update on what's going on. Father David Petras returned our Vespers rubrics to me with a couple of minor modifications; I'll post it all tomorrow. It looks very good. I have some music for the resurrectional canons for people to look at; I'd like to send it around for review. Who's interested? At the last minute, I managed to get copies of the Canons for Christmas and Theophany as used by the Carpatho-Russians of Johnstown. A review will follow. Hours bfore Liturgy: our local Carpatho-Russian priest suggested that its always appropriate to sing selections from the Canon before Liturgy if Matins is not celebrated. Finally, a Christmas gift. Several people have asked for an index to the Bokshai _Prostpopinije_, the standard Rusin chant collection. Here's my draft, to which I hope to add more explanatory text and a cross-index to the collections of Stefan Papp as well. Enjoy! Contents of the 1906 _Prostopinije_ of Bokshai and Malinic I. The Eight Tones (Octoich) p.1 Tone 1 Boh Hospod ("God is the Lord") Tropar (Kondak same as tropar) Prokimen Utreni (Prokimen of Matins) p.2 Vsjakoje Dychanije ("Let everything that lives") Irmosy of the Canon Irmos 1 Irmos 3 Irmos 4 Irmos 5 p.3 Irmos 6 Irmos 7 Chvalim Blahoslovim Irmos 8 p.4 Irmos 9 Svjat Hospod ("Holy is the Lord") Alleluia at Liturgy Prokimen at Liturgy Samohlasen tone (stich) p.5 Samohlasen tone (stichera) Podoben 1 Podoben 2 Podoben 3 p.6 Bolhar tone Tone 2 p.6 Boh Hospod ("God is the Lord") p.7 Tropar (Kondak same as tropar) Prokimen Utreni (Prokimen of Matins) Vsjakoje Dychanije ("Let everything that lives") Irmosy of the Canon Irmos 1 Irmos 3 p.8 Irmos 4 Irmos 5 Irmos 6 Irmos 7 p.9 Chvalim Blahoslovim (no title) Irmos 8 Irmos 9 Svjat Hospod ("Holy is the Lord") p.10 Prokimen at Liturgy Alleluia at Liturgy Samohlasen tone (stich) Samohlasen tone (stichera) Podoben 1 p.11 Podoben 2 Bolhar tone Tone 3 Boh Hospod ("God is the Lord") p.12 Tropar Kondak Prokimen Utreni (Prokimen of Matins) Vsjakoje Dychanije ("Let everything that lives") Irmosy of the Canon Irmos 1 p.13 Irmos 3 Irmos 4 Irmos 5 Irmos 6 p.14 Irmos 7 Chvalim Blahoslovim (no title) Irmos 8 Irmos 9 p.15 Svjat Hospod ("Holy is the Lord") Prokimen at Liturgy Alleluia at Liturgy Samohlasen tone (stich) Samohlasen tone (stichera) p.16 Podoben (Bolhar tone same as samohlasen tone) Tone 4 Boh Hospod ("God is the Lord") Tropar p.17 Kondak Prokimen Utreni (Prokimen of Matins) Vsjakoje Dychanije ("Let everything that lives") Irmosy of the Canon Irmos 1 Irmos 3 p.18 Irmos 4 Irmos 5 Irmos 6 Irmos 7 Chvalim Blahoslovim (no title) p.19 Irmos 8 Irmos 9 Svjat Hospod ("Holy is the Lord") Prokimen at Liturgy p.20 Alleluia at Liturgy Samohlasen tone (stich) (stichera melody is missing) Podoben 1 Podoben 2 p.21 Podoben 3 Podoben p.22 Bolhar tone Tone 5 Boh Hospod ("God is the Lord") Tropar (Kondak same as tropar) p.23 Prokimen Utreni (Prokimen of Matins) Vsjakoje Dychanije ("Let everything that lives") Irmosy of the Canon Irmos 1 Irmos 3 p.24 Irmos 4 Irmos 5 Irmos 6 Irmos 7 Chvalim Blahoslovim (no title) p.25 Irmos 8 Irmos 9 Svjat Hospod ("Holy is the Lord") Prokimen at Liturgy p.26 Alleluia at Liturgy Samohlasen tone (stich) Samohlasen tone (stichera) Podoben 1 Podoben 2 p.28 Bolhar tone Tone 6 Boh Hospod ("God is the Lord") Tropar p.29 Kondak Prokimen Utreni (Prokimen of Matins) Vsjakoje Dychanije ("Let everything that lives") Irmosy of the Canon Irmos 1 Irmos 3 Irmos 4 p.30 Irmos 5 Irmos 6 Irmos 7 Chvalim Blahoslovim (no title) p.31 Irmos 8 Irmos 9 Svjat Hospod ("Holy is the Lord") Prokimen at Liturgy p.32 Alleluia at Liturgy Samohlasen tone (stich) Samohlasen tone (stichera) Podoben 1 p.33 Podoben 2 Podoben Sidalniy (Bolhar tone same as samohlasen tone) Tone 7 Boh Hospod ("God is the Lord") p.34 Tropar (Kondak same as tropar) Prokimen Utreni (Prokimen of Matins) Vsjakoje Dychanije ("Let everything that lives") Irmosy of the Canon Irmos 1 p.35 Irmos 3 Irmos 4 Irmos 5 Irmos 6 p.36 Irmos 7 Chvalim Blahoslovim (no title) Irmos 8 p.39 Irmos 9 Svjat Hospod ("Holy is the Lord") Prokimen at Liturgy p.26 Alleluia at Liturgy Samohlasen tone (stich) Samohlasen tone (stichera) (Bolhar tone same as samohlasen tone) Tone 8 Boh Hospod ("God is the Lord") Tropar Kondak p.39 Prokimen Utreni (Prokimen of Matins) Vsjakoje Dychanije ("Let everything that lives") Irmosy of the Canon Irmos 1 Irmos 3 p.40 Irmos 4 Irmos 5 Irmos 6 Irmos 7 p.41 Chvalim Blahoslovim (no title) Irmos 8 Irmos 9 p.42 Svjat Hospod ("Holy is the Lord") Prokimen at Liturgy Alleluia at Liturgy Samohlasen tone (stich) Samohlasen tone (stichera) Podoben 1 p.43 Podoben 2 (Bolhar tone same as samohlasen tone) II. Matins p.44 Polielije p.45 Tropari Neporocny p.47 Steppena p.48 Ektenia Velicanije (Magnification) p.49 Preblahoslovenna Jesi Slavoslovije Velikoje III. Vespers p.52 Psalm 103 Blazen muz ("Blessed is the man") p.53 Svite Tichij (Evening hymn "O Joyful Light") Prokimen - Saturday - Sunday - Meatfare - Lenten 1 - Lenten 2 IV. Moveable Feasts -- Through Pascha p.55 Sunday of the Prodigal Son p.56 Sunday of Meatfare p.57 Sunday of Cheesfare Canon of St. Andrew of Crete with Poklony p.61 Saturday of the Akathist Hymn p.61 Saturday of Lazarus p.62 Flowery (or Palm) Sunday p.66 Great and Holy Monday p.67 Great and Holy Thursday p.68 Great and Holy Friday p.68 Great and Holy Saturday (Jerusalem Matins) p.74 Sunday of Pascha V. Moveable Feasts -- After Pascha p.88 Sunday of St. Thomas p.91 Ascension p.94 Pentecost VI. Unmoveable Feasts p.98 Nativity of the Mother of God (Sept. 8) p.101 Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Sept. 14) p.106 Protection of the Mother of God (Oct. 1) p.109 Feast of the Archangel Michael (Nov. 8) p.110 Presentation of the Mother of God (Nov. 21) p.112 Feast of St. Nicholas (Dec. 6) p.113 Conception of the Mother of God (Dec. 9) p.116 Nativity of Jesus Christ (Dec. 25) p.119 Circumcision / New Year / Feast of St. Basil (Jan. 1) p.120 Theophany (Jan. 6) p.123 Presentation of Our Lord (Feb. 2) p.126 Annunciation (Mar. 25) p.127 Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Jun. 24) p.129 Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul (Jun. 29) p.131 Feast of the Prophet Elijah (Jul. 20) p.133 Transfiguration (Aug. 6) p.135 Dormition of the Mother of God (Aug. 15) p.140 Beheading of St. John the Baptist (Aug. 29) VII. Occasional Divine Services p.141 Funeral Funeral of a Child p.148 Parastas Order of the Sacrament of Matrimony Order of the Sacrament of Ordination to the Priesthood Small Sanctification of Water Great Compline Litanies for Occasional Divine Services VIII. Liturgy p.156 Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom p.184 Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great p.186 Liturgy of the Presanctified ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 30 Dec 1996 15:01:07 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Update To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Jeff Christ is Born! Glorify Him! In a message dated 12/30/96 7:51:49 AM, you wrote: >I have some music for the resurrectional canons for people to look >at; I'd like to send it around for review. Who's interested? Oh, yes please! monk Maximos, first of sinners. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 30 Dec 1996 15:21:18 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Update To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In-Reply-To: <961230145857_1457893261@emout02.mail.aol.com> from "brother Maximos" at Dec 30, 96 03:01:07 pm > > Dear Jeff > > Christ is Born! Glorify Him! > In a message dated 12/30/96 7:51:49 AM, you wrote: > > >I have some music for the resurrectional canons for people to look > >at; I'd like to send it around for review. Who's interested? > > Oh, yes please! Me Too! Me too! > > monk Maximos, first of sinners. > Huh uh, Brother, you'll just have to wait in line! Sharon, REALLY first of sinners. sharon@cmhc.com P.S. - THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU for the crib sheet. I'm gonna go home & mark up my Bokshai. Mebbe I'll finally be able to get some use out of it. -S.M. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 30 Dec 1996 21:16:27 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: Update To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L At 10:51 AM 12/30/96 -0500, Jeff wrote: >SNIP< >I have some music for the resurrectional canons for people to look >at; I'd like to send it around for review. Who's interested? >SNIP< I'm interested! Please! -Andy Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- redco@inficad.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 30 Dec 1996 21:22:47 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L At 03:59 PM 12/30/96 -0500, Bill wrote: >Dave, I once attended a Liturgy at our local Synodal church and they did >the first and third hours before Liturgy. This represents mostly a cantor >reciting psalms. I must say that I did enjoy listening to the chanting. >It sets a prayerful atmosphere (for lack of a better way of describing >what I sensed.) The pastor was confessing someone at the time and the >chanting covers up anything that someone might perchance hear. I think >it would be a very nice addition! At Holy Resurrection Monastery (Ruthenian), they (normally; please correct me, Br Maximos, if I'm wrong) say two hours (3d and 6th?) before Liturgy. Of course, this is a monastic environment. I know the hours fairly well, and, being a new cantor, perhaps I might be allowed to say an hour or two before Liturgy on Sundays. It's an idea....and a good one at that. Dave, don't have a heart attack! Just an idea! Perhaps you might approach Father about it... (For those of you who don't know, Dave Brown and I are parishioners at St Thomas in Gilbert, Arizona.) Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- redco@inficad.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 14:28:23 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Prostopinije In-Reply-To: Message of 12/31/96 at 14:16:11 from Orthocath1@AOL.COM On 12/31/96 at 14:16:11 Dave Brown said: >Question. Did you or someone else mention the existence of CD's or cassette >recordings of this? If this rings a bell could someone re-post the info on >that? I have absolutely no knowledge of Church Slavonic but it'd help me >understand the melodies. Bill Metzar send me copies of a set of LP recordings of prostopinije done in Czechoslovakia with a very good cantor in the 1970's. Last week I finally got them professionally mastered onto metal tape. I'd be willing to make copies at cost (3 90 minute cassete tapes run about $5.00 here) for anyone who'd like them. >When will all of this be available in English recordings? The problem is that much of it has never been re-set to the English texts. The Divine Liturgy and major feasts are available in a set of 13 tapes from Byzantine Seminary Press in Pittsburgh. Matins and Vespers still needs to be done. BTW, the Matins book and Triodion and Pentecosostarion from the Sisters of St. Basil the Great in Uniontown include the little hours (first, third, sixth, probably ninth). This is the closest thing the Metropolia has to an "official" text right now. Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 14:16:11 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Prostopinije To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In a message dated 96-12-30 10:51:49 EST, Jeff Mierzejewski wrote: >Finally, a Christmas gift. Several people have asked for an index >to the Bokshai _Prostpopinije_, the standard Rusin chant collection. >Here's my draft, to which I hope to add more explanatory text and >a cross-index to the collections of Stefan Papp as well. Question. Did you or someone else mention the existence of CD's or cassette recordings of this? If this rings a bell could someone re-post the info on that? I have absolutely no knowledge of Church Slavonic but it'd help me understand the melodies. Thanks! When will all of this be available in English recordings? Dave Brown Orthocath1@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 17:18:59 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear all, Christ is Born! In a message dated 12/30/96 8:21:41 PM, Andrew wrote: >At Holy Resurrection Monastery (Ruthenian), they (normally; please >correct me, Br Maximos, if I'm wrong) say two hours (3d and 6th?) >before Liturgy. No, you're quite right. At least this is what we do when we've taken Matins as a vigil the previous evening. If not, then we take a little short cut as per Greek parochial usage and take Matins and Liturgy together, ending Matins after the Troparion following the Great Doxology (we rarely serve the Liturgy at the moment except on Sundays & feasts due to lack of numbers and TOO MUCH WORK:-) On those days we miss out the small hours, which is a pity. (Please God, send us either more vocations or less to do.) Incidentally: blessed feast for tomorrow (Jan. 1st, Circumcision of our Lord and St Basil the Great). A certain Abbot of this Monastery who shall remain nameless got a bit mixed up on Sunday when he announced the upcoming feasts to our little congregation. He accidentally combined them to the "Circumcision of St Basil." Sharon, I think I may have heard St John Chrysostom expressing severe shock :-) In Christ, monk Maximos, sinner. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 17:19:13 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Prostopinije To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Jeff, Christ is Born! In a message dated 12/31/96 11:29:04 AM, you wrote: >I'd be willing to make copies at cost (3 90 minute cassete tapes run >about $5.00 here) for anyone who'd like them. Yes please. But I'm afraid I've lost the snail mail address for postage of checks (this is NOT a ploy to have the fee waived, the oldest monastic trick in the book :-) BTW, I have tremendous hopes of singing the Irmosy of the Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete this Lent according to the proper tone set out in the Prostonpinje. Does anyone know whether the music has been set to an English translation? If I don't hear from anyone I'm just going to set to and get done what I can. I despair of putting it onto my computer. Without a MIDI keyboard, it takes ages to get anything done on my music-writing program. I would be very happy to send anyone who wants it my working papers, either to use themselves, or to correct neaten! Just give me a month to get something together. Finally: I have been thinking for a while of writing an article to submit to Eastern Churches Journal or someone. "Doing the Byzantine Services in English: a view from the trenches". Something like that. It will be a plea for a new and sustained effort for better and more poetic translations, together with a cry that our Bishops not move too quickly to declare this or that translation "official" yet. I reckon we are at least a whole generation away from the happy day in which this becomes possible! Does anyone have any observations or ideas that might fit into such an article? One thing I've thought about is requesting that new translators and publishers waive copyright to the extent of permitting their works to be reproduced AND ADPATED (ie cut and pasted with other works) for the purposes of public worship. To encourage this, the various synods could set up an ecumenical foundation to remunerate translators in exchange for this waiver of copyright. Does this sound crazy? Has anyone else made a similar suggestion? monk Maximos, sinner. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 20:33:00 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Christ is Born! I want to thank those who've responded to my questions so far on the Hours. I have to admit, however, that I am lost as to how this is supposed to be done. Does the Hours begin with the same text that is on pages 1-3 of the blue (or maroon) edition of the Divine Liturgy book entitled "Prayers before the Divine Liturgy"? Is there a set selection of psalms to be chanted (or can the psalms legitimately be varied somewhat--by changing which hours are chanted?) What kind of time frame are we talking about if this is chanted (simple chant--nothing special, that may come later)? Would 30 minutes before Liturgy cover the time needed? Thanks again! Dave Brown Orthocath1@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 19:39:45 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L At 08:33 PM 12/31/96 -0500, Dave Brown wrote: >I have to admit, however, that I am lost as to how this is supposed to be >done. Does the Hours begin with the same text that is on pages 1-3 of the >blue (or maroon) edition of the Divine Liturgy book entitled "Prayers before >the Divine Liturgy"? Is there a set selection of psalms to be chanted (or can >the psalms legitimately be varied somewhat--by changing which hours are >chanted?) > >What kind of time frame are we talking about if this is chanted (simple >chant--nothing special, that may come later)? Would 30 minutes before Liturgy >cover the time needed? Dave (and everyone else), Christ is born! Here is a summary of what I do for the Hours. For one Hour, it takes about 15 minutes if I'm chanting aloud, 10 if I do it silently (as I do at work). If you are combining Hours (say the third and sixth), then after the Prayer proper to the Hour, you begin the next Hour at Come, let us adore... Two Hours together, in my experience, is about 25 minutes if chanted aloud. This is but a summary; I have it printed in full in WordPerfect format which runs 34 pages. (Yes, I did type all the Psalms in full...) I compiled this from the Uniontown Matins book, a book called the Hours of Prayer from West Virginia, the Unabbreviated Horologion from Jordanville and Byzantine Daily Worship. If anyone has any corrections and/or comments, I would be most appreciative to hear them. Glory be to Jesus Christ for all things! -Andy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Small Hours (summary) Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers... Glory be to You, O Lord. Glory be to You. O Heavenly King... Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us. (3) Glory...Now...Amen. O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, cleanse us of our sins. O Master, pardon our iniquities. O Holy One, come to us and heal our infirmities for your name's sake. Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory...Now...Amen. Our Father... O Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Lord, have mercy. (12) Glory...Now...Amen. Come, let us adore the King and our God. Come, let us adore Christ, the King and our God. Come, let us adore and fall down before the only Lord Jesus Christ, the King and our God. Psalmody 1: Ps 5, 89, 100 3: Ps 16, 24, 50 6: Ps 53, 54, 90 9: Ps 83, 84, 85 Glory...Now...Amen. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Glory be to You, O God! (3) Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory... Troparion 1: of the day 3: of the Saint of the day 6: of the Patron of the Church 9: of the Saint of the day Now...Amen. Theotokion and psalm-prayer 1: What shall we call you, O full of grace?...Direct my steps... 3: O Theotokos, you are the true vine...Blessed is the Lord God... 6: Seeing that we have no boldness...Let your compassions go quickly before us... 9: O You Who for our sake was born of a virgin...For the sake of your holy name... Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us. (3) Glory...Now...Amen. O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, cleanse us of our sins. O Master, pardon our iniquities. O Holy One, come to us and heal our infirmities for your name's sake. Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory...Now...Amen. Our Father... O Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Kontakion 1: of the day 3: of the Saint of the day 6: of the Patron of the church 9: of the Saint of the day Lord, have mercy. (40) O Christ God, who at all times and at every hour... Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory...Now...Amen. More honorable than the Cherubim... Prayer proper to the hour: 1: O Christ the True Light... 3: O Sovereign God, the Father Almighty, O Lord, the only-begotten Son... 6: O God and Lord of Hosts, Creator of all that exists... 9: O Master, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, who are long-suffering... Glory be to You, O Christ our God, our hope, glory be to You! Glory...Now...Amen. Lord, have mercy. (3) O Christ our true God, have mercy on us and save us... Amen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- redco@inficad.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 1 Jan 1997 01:35:26 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Update To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In a message dated 96-12-30 10:51:49 EST, you write: << I have some music for the resurrectional canons for people to look at; I'd like to send it around for review. Who's interested? >> Jeff, I am. Thanks for all the work! David M. James 420 Central Rd Rye, NH 03870-2546 ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 1 Jan 1997 02:15:26 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Andrew Wollert asks, in his excellent outline of the Hours: << If anyone has any corrections and/or comments, I would be most appreciative to hear them. >> My only comment would be that, in Orthodox use, a maximum of two troparia and one kontakion are read in any one hour. If there are three troparia, as, for example, on Sundays in Lent, then the most important troparion is read at each hour, while the other two are alternated. So, too, for the kontakia, except only one is read at each hour. Thus, the troparion and kontakion of the church are read at the hours only on the parish's Altar feast. Specific rules for reading the troparia and kontakia at the hours are given in the Typicon, which, unfortunately, only exists in Greek, Slavonic, Arabic, Japanese and Romanian editions. Partial English-language versions are published by St. Tikhon's Seminary and St. John of Kronstadt Press. In my experience, the St. Tikhon's version cannot always be trusted to reflect the instructions given in the Slavonic typicon as published each year by Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville. Personally, I would hesitate to introduce a new order for the troparia and kontakia on my own authority. Otherwise, your work would seem to be an invaluable practical aid for re-introducing the reading of the hours in parishes before the Divine Liturgy. Perhaps you could get your bishop's permission to xerox up 100 or so and offer them to other cantors in your diocese. If so, the inclusion of the Rule of Preparation for Holy Communion (the "Pravilo") would be helpful to re-introduce this important didactic practice, as well. With love in Christ, David James ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 1 Jan 1997 02:30:00 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In a message dated 97-01-01 01:36:18 EST, David James wrote: >In the usage of the Russian Church, the 3rd and 6th Hours are normally read >before Divine Liturgy. The 1st Hour is a part of the "All-Night Vigil" (which >*could* take all night if everything were to be celebrated slowly and >solemnly, as on Mt. Athos. In practice the Vigil normally takes only about >2.5 hours, if you don't read all the kathismata appointed for Vespers and >Matins -- about 3 hrs if you do. Parish practice usually omits the >kathismata). The All-Night Vigil consists of Vespers, Matins and the 1st >Hour. Thanks, David, for your most helpful post. I'm still digesting it! Just wanted to ask. Is the Ruthenian (Carpatho-Rusyn) liturgical tradition to have an "All Night Vigil" and have the Hours before Liturgy also? Would this be common to the Slavic Eastern Churches? As I understand the Greeks and Antiochians have Othros (Matins) before Liturgy, correct? Or, am I getting things mixed up? Could someone please enlighten me on this? Thanks! BTW, David, how long does it usually take your parish to do the Hours before Liturgy? Thanks again! Dave Brown Orthocath1@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 1 Jan 1997 02:36:34 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In a message dated 97-01-01 02:16:23 EST, David James wrote: >If so, the inclusion of the Rule of Preparation for >Holy Communion (the "Pravilo") would be helpful to re-introduce this >important didactic practice, as well. I should know what this is. Could someone enlighten me, please. Thanks! Dave ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 1 Jan 1997 12:21:47 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Dave, Glory to Jesus Christ! In a message dated 12/31/96 5:33:42 PM, you wrote: > Does the Hours begin with the same text that is on pages 1-3 of the >blue (or maroon) edition of the Divine Liturgy book entitled "Prayers before >the Divine Liturgy"? No. Those prayers are excerpts from the private Office of Preparation for Holy Communion. What you need is the Basilian Sisters Matins book, where the 4 canonical hours (though not, unfortunately, the Typica) are given. Actually many Orthodox prayer books give the Hours, but for public worship in a Ruthenian Church, you'd better stick with the usual. Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Dave, Glory to Jesus Christ! In a message dated 12/31/96 11:30:43 PM, you wrote: >Just wanted to ask. Is the Ruthenian (Carpatho-Rusyn) liturgical tradition to >have an "All Night Vigil" and have the Hours before Liturgy also? Would this >be common to the Slavic Eastern Churches? I really must stop sending multiple messages to the list. I need to be better organized. Anyway, I can't speak for all the Slavic Churches, but Ruthenian Churches can certainly celebrate the All-Night Vigil. The Typicon of Fr Petras indicates which feasts are to so celebrated. It is interesting to compare the usage indicated in that Typicon with what seems to be the practice in the OCA. The Liturgical Calendar for that Church indicates the All-Night Vigil much more frequently than our Typicon. Basically, any saint taking the Polyeleos seems to get bumped up to Vigil-status. David - the practice in ROCOR?? In Romania I am told by people who know that CHurch very well the following practice prevails. In parish Churches Matins is usually celebrated before Liturgy, Greek-style. In monasteries, the All-Night Vigil is taken instead, Russian-style. I have a tiny suspicion, with nothing more than geography and instinct as my guide, that in the old days this was probably the Ruthenian practice as well. Certainly if you talk to people old enough to remember the days when Matins was celebrated in Ruthenian Churches - and sung BY HEART by the people - they will tell you it was taken before Liturgy. At least that is what they've told me. As always, open to correction. monk Maximos, sinner. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 1 Jan 1997 22:42:37 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L At 02:15 AM 1/1/97 -0500, David James wrote: >Andrew Wollert asks, in his excellent outline of the Hours: ><< If anyone has any corrections and/or comments, I would be most >appreciative > to hear them. >> > >My only comment would be that, in Orthodox use, a maximum of two troparia and >one kontakion are read in any one hour. David, Thank you for the compliment. I'm a bit confused, though. I only have one troparion and one kontakion for each hour. The 1,3,6,9 in front of the troparia/kontakia indicate the hour. I'm willing to update it but I don't know where it's wrong. Please advise. Thanks! -Andy Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- redco@inficad.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 1 Jan 1997 22:48:00 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L At 02:36 AM 1/1/97 -0500, Dave Brown wrote: >In a message dated 97-01-01 02:16:23 EST, David James wrote: > >>If so, the inclusion of the Rule of Preparation for >>Holy Communion (the "Pravilo") would be helpful to re-introduce this >>important didactic practice, as well. > >I should know what this is. Could someone enlighten me, please. Dave, The Prayer Book from Holy Transfiguration Monastery (the blue-cover one we got at the Greek Cathedral; the $12 one) has The Service of Preparation for Holy Communion on pp 321-354. I'm not sure how this would be included with the hours. I sometimes use it personally on Sunday mornings at home before leaving for Liturgy. Perhaps David could elaborate, please? Also, a thank-you to David Jones for his most excellent information! -Andy Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- redco@inficad.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 01:39:21 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Andrew Wollert writes, in response to my comment on his outline for the hours: << Thank you for the compliment. I'm a bit confused, though. I only have one troparion and one kontakion for each hour. The 1,3,6,9 in front of the troparia/kontakia indicate the hour. I'm willing to update it but I don't know where it's wrong. Please advise. Thanks! >> You're right. I did misread it. You actually wrote: Troparion 1: of the day 3: of the Saint of the day 6: of the Patron of the Church 9: of the Saint of the day and Kontakion 1: of the day 3: of the Saint of the day 6: of the Patron of the church 9: of the Saint of the day But this is not the practice I am familiar with, either. Below are the rules we use, taken from "The Ordinary Order of Orthodox Divine Services," St. John of Kronstadt Press, Liberty, TN, Prototype Edition, Revision A, 1995: 1. For a Simple Commemoration on a Sunday: Troparia: At each hour, first the resurrectional troparion in the tone of the week; Glory..., the troparion of the saint, Now and ever..., the theotokion (of the hour, as provided in the Horologion). Kontakion: For the resurrection only, from the Sunday Octoechos. 2. For a Double Commemoration on a Sunday: Troparia, 1st and 6th Hours: The resurrectional troparion in the tone of the week; Glory..., the troparion of the first saint, Now and ever..., the theotokion. Kontakion, 1st and 6th Hours: For the resurrection only, in the tone of the week. Troparia, 3rd and 9th Hours: The resurrectional troparion in the tone of the week; Glory..., the troparion of the second saint, Now and ever..., the theotokion. Kontakion, 3rd and 9th Hours: For the resurrection only, in the tone of the week. 3. For a Six-Stichera Commemoration or a Doxology-Rank Feast: If it is a Six-Stichera Commemoration: Troparia: At each hour, first the resurrectional troparion in the tone of the week; Glory..., the troparion of the saint, Now and ever..., the theotokion. Kontakion: For the resurrection only, in the tone of the week. If it is a Doxology-Rank Feast: Troparia: At each hour, first the resurrectional troparion in the tone of the week; Glory..., the troparion of the saint, Now and ever..., the theotokion. Kontakion: At the 1st and 6th Hours, kontakion of the Saint, from the Menaion. At the 3rd and 9th Hours, kontakion of the resurrection, in the tone of the week. 4. For a Polyeleos-Rank Feast on a Sunday: Troparia: At each hour, first the resurrectional troparion in the tone of the week; Glory..., the troparion of the saint, Now and ever..., the theotokion. Kontakion: At the 1st and 6th Hours, kontakion of the Saint, from the Menaion. At the 3rd and 9th Hours, kontakion of the resurrection, in the tone of the week. 5. For a Vigil-Rank Feast on a Sunday: Troparia: At each hour, first the resurrectional troparion in the tone of the week; Glory..., the troparion of the saint, Now and ever..., the theotokion. Kontakion: At the 1st and 6th Hours, kontakion of the Saint, from the Menaion. At the 3rd and 9th Hours, kontakion of the resurrection, in the tone of the week. ***But if it is a feast of the Theotokos,*** we use the kontakion of the resurrection at the 1st and 6th Hours, and that of the Feast at the 3rd and 9th Hours. 6. For Simple, Double, Six-Stichera or Doxology-Rank Services on a Sunday during Pre- and Post-Festal Periods: Troparia: At the 1st and 6th Hours, the resurrectional troparion in the tone of the week; Glory..., the troparion of the forefeast or feast, Now and ever..., the theotokion. Kontakion: For the forefeast or feast. Troparia: At the 3rd and 9th Hours, the resurrectional troparion in the tone of the week; Glory..., the troparion of the saint, Now and ever..., the theotokion. Kontakion: For the resurrection, in the tone of the week. ***But if it is a Doxology-Rank feast, the Kontakia are said thus: 1st Hour, forefeast or feast; 3rd Hour, for the resurrection; 6th Hour, Saint; 9th Hour, forefeast or feast. 7. For Polyeleos and Vigil-Rank Services during Pre- and Post-Festal Periods: Troparia: At the 1st and 6th Hours: the resurrectional troparion in the tone of the week, Glory..., the troparion of the forefeast or feast, Now and ever..., the theotokion. At the 3rd and 9th Hours: resurrectional troparion in the tone of the week, Glory..., troparion of the saint from the Menaion, Now and ever..., the theotokion. Kontakia: At the 1st and 9th Hours: for the forefeast or feast. At the 3rd Hour: for the resurrection. At the 6th Hour: for the saint. 8. For the Apodosis of a Great Feast on a Sunday: Troparia: At each Hour, the resurrectional troparion in the tone of the week; Glory..., troparion of the feast; Now and ever..., the theotokion. Kontakion: At the 1st and 6th Hours, kontakion of the feast, from the Menaion. At the 3rd and 9th Hours, kontakion of the resurrection, in the tone of the week. Andy, I hope this clarifies my meaning. If anyone is interested in the rules for troparia and kontakia at the Hours on weekdays, I would be happy to post them. In Christ's love, David James ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 12:11:30 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Andrew and David, Glory to Jesus Christ! Ummmm...I hesitate to further confuse the discussion, but the troparia and kontakia at the small hours are distributed a little differently according to our Typicon than the Russian. Andrew's schema: > >Troparion > 1: of the day > 3: of the Saint of the day > 6: of the Patron of the Church > 9: of the Saint of the day works for week days with any saint below Polyeleos rank (for double commemorations take the first saint on the 3rd hours, the second on the 9th). On Polyeleos and Vigil commemoration we take the troparion/kontakion of the saint/feast only at each hour. On Sundays we're a little more stingy with the saints' troparia than our more expansive neighbors in the Great North :-) For saints up to Great Doxology the rule is... no on second thoughts I won't go into all that. Best thing is to get Father Phillip's permission to take Father Petras' Typicon out of the sacristy, learn to use it, and consult it five minutes before you start the Hours each Sunday. Pretty soon the rules fit together in your head much more clearly that when you see them written down in abstract. The advantage of using our Basilian sisters' Matins Book to do the Hours is that everything you need is in one volume. Just set one ribbon to mark the Sunday texts and another to mark the Saint's (or Saints') Practice makes perfect! In Christ monk Maximos, sinner (and recovering lawyer) ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 15:57:16 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Glory to Jesus Christ! Brother Maximos writes: << Ummmm...I hesitate to further confuse the discussion, but the troparia and kontakia at the small hours are distributed a little differently according to our Typicon than the Russian. Andrew's schema: > >Troparion > 1: of the day > 3: of the Saint of the day > 6: of the Patron of the Church > 9: of the Saint of the day works for week days with any saint below Polyeleos rank (for double commemorations take the first saint on the 3rd hours, the second on the 9th). On Polyeleos and Vigil commemoration we take the troparion/kontakion of the saint/feast only at each hour.>> I thought we were talking about the Hours on Sundays, but, even so, the above schema is more different from Orthodox use than I would expect, considering how recently our two Church's liturgical paths diverged. It looks awfully similar to the schema for the order of the troparia and kontakia after the Little Entrance at Divine Liturgy. I wonder if the divergence of usages regarding the troparia and kontakia in the Hours might be the result of some "fiddling" with the typicon in the 18th or 19th centuries to make things more "logical" or "consistent"? What is the authoritative source for the Ruthenian Church's current rubrics? I'd like to get a copy through inter-library loan and compare it with the Slavonic Typicon used in the Russian Church. I only make such an issue out of this because, in spite of the division of the last 350 years, I would expect that authentic Ruthenian Catholic practice would differ only in minor details from the Orthodox Russian practice, which is the same in this regard as that of the other Orthodox Churches. Why would the Ruthenian rules be different? ===== <> Are copies of Fr. Petras' Typicon hard to come by? Could I buy one? How much are they? ==== In Christ's love, David James ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 16:46:54 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In-Reply-To: <961231171858_2054095781@emout07.mail.aol.com> from "brother Maximos" at Dec 31, 96 05:18:59 pm Brother Maximos wrote: > > Incidentally: blessed feast for tomorrow (Jan. 1st, Circumcision of our Lord > and St Basil the Great). A certain Abbot of this Monastery who shall remain > nameless got a bit mixed up on Sunday when he announced the upcoming feasts > to our little congregation. He accidentally combined them to the > "Circumcision of St Basil." Sharon, I think I may have heard St John > Chrysostom expressing severe shock :-) > Hmmm.. My liturgical calendar shows: CIRCUMCISION OF OUR LORD BASIL THE GREAT ARCHBISHOP I see no punctuation therein, so perhaps Fr. Nicholas was just reading off the calendar??? :-) So - how many of us have had to struggle for the correct response when a priest sings "Let us pray to the Lord" in funeral tones on a feast day?? I know of more than one occurrence of "Eternal Memory" being invoked when "God Grant Him Many Years" was intended... Ain't we all humans? You bet. My personal favorite is the tale of Great & Holy Saturday when the hapless reader dove into my favorite Old Testament killer - "A reading from the book of Daniel." Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were more than this poor gentleman could manage, and after two manglings of their names, at their next mention, he simply chanted "those guys." (Of course, in our parish, there's a man who insists on reading the Epistles & Old Testament readings, which would be fine if he could read fluently, or was even open to correction........ A short time ago, we heard that Christ "expedited" our sins.....{I think maybe it shoulda been "expiated"} which puts a remarkable slant on the ministry of the Lord ;-) Anyway, in Parma-land, we have some Parma-published books, including one for Holy Saturday, which includes the full text of the notorious reading from Daniel - so any "adjustments" made by the reader are evident....Last year, aside from the mysterious contraction of "Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego" into "they," we noticed the peculiar phenomenon of "orchestral shrinkage." Every time the instruments were listed, {lyre, harp, bagpipe, etc, etc.} a few disappeared, and it seemed by the time it was over that poor old Nebuchadnezzar probably had to make do with a three piece lounge band.) Of course, were I to list even a fraction of my own cantorial screw-ups, it would require "more books than exist in this world." It is a great comfort to know that the Liturgy is whole, perfect and complete no matter what oopses we manage. We depend also upon the intercessory prayer of all the Saints who we figure ought to be tender-hearted toward well-meaning cantors - Ss. Romanos, Ephrem, Cecelia, and occasionally (praise God not TOO often) Jude. Sigh. I'm sure even St. John Chrysostom had an occasional off-day. One of the hardest thing about being a parent is trying to keep a straight face sometimes. The Lord must have a VERY hard time with it! Aren't you glad that God's grace isn't dependent on our gracefullness? Sharon Mech, sinner - and quite a klutz, too! ;-) sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 20:32:05 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear David James, Glory to Jesus Christ! In a message dated 1/2/97 12:58:56 PM, you wrote: >I would expect that authentic Ruthenian Catholic practice would >differ only in minor details from the Orthodox Russian practice, Aren't these minor enough for you??? :-) To be honest I'm not sure exactly how you track down our most authoritive texts. In this Eparchy our Bishop has decreed that Father Petras' Typicon is to be observed, at least insofar as it related to the Divine Liturgy. The legislation says nothing about the services. This Typicon is, according to the introduction, based on that approved for use in the Diocese of Mukachevo early this century. A photographic reprint is apparently available. Again, according to Fr David's introduction, this Typicon is identical to that Sabaite typicon authorised by the Most Holy Synod in Russia between 1801-1825. Beyond this, the only specifically authoritive Liturgical texts I am aware of for our Metropolia are the various texts published at Rome, popularly (if that's the word) referred to as the "Ruthenian Rescension." This includes the Ordo Celebrationis for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, Vespers and Matins (including vigils, incidentally!), the Liturgicon, Archieraticon and calendar ("Apostol"). These do certainly differ in details from the texts published for the Catholic Churches of the Great Russian tradition: Russian Catholic and Byelorussian Catholic Churches. Whereas the Churches of the Kievan branch (the Ukrainians and ourselves) use the "Ruthenian Rescension." As far as I am aware there is no official Ruthenian Catholic version of the Horologion, Trebnyk, Menaion, Triodion, Pentecostarion etc. If there is I would be delighted to be set straight. Assuming there is not then, for the proper celebration of the services, I think we have to rely on general provisions of Canon Law that direct us to use "authentic sources", together with the range of authorises and semi-authorised English translations that are around, such as the Basilian Sisters' books and the Bishop Kallistos/Mother Mary stuff etc. A nice little oriental mess, just as you'd hope! monk Maximos, sinner. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 19:51:11 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L At 01:39 AM 1/2/97 -0500, David James wrote: >If anyone is interested in the rules >for troparia and kontakia at the Hours on weekdays, I would be happy to post >them. Yes, please! I'm also going to have to get a copy of the book you mentioned from St John of Kronstadt Press.... Will it tell me the rank of the feast? Thank you again. This is proving to be a most enlightening discussion! -Andy Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- redco@inficad.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 19:55:07 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L At 12:11 PM 1/2/97 -0500, our esteemed Br Maximos wrote: >On Sundays we're a little more stingy with the saints' troparia than our more >expansive neighbors in the Great North :-) For saints up to Great Doxology >the rule is... no on second thoughts I won't go into all that. Best thing is >to get Father Phillip's permission to take Father Petras' Typicon out of the >sacristy, learn to use it, and consult it five minutes before you start the >Hours each Sunday. Pretty soon the rules fit together in your head much more >clearly that when you see them written down in abstract. Do you, or does anyone for that matter, have a list of the ranks of feasts? Some sort of documentation? >The advantage of using our Basilian sisters' Matins Book to do the Hours is >that everything you need is in one volume. Just set one ribbon to mark the >Sunday texts and another to mark the Saint's (or Saints') The Matins book is very compact and quite useful, although when they translate as "and You [Christ] love humankind" it fairly well grates on my nerves. One of these days, I'm going to get the white-out and zap the "hu". -Andy Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- redco@inficad.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 3 Jan 1997 11:07:53 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Andrew, Glory to Jesus Christ! In a message dated 1/2/97 6:54:33 PM, you wrote: >Do you, or does anyone for that matter, have a list of the ranks of >feasts? Some sort of documentation? I go by Fr Petras Typicon, which is based on the Ruthenian "Apostol" published in Rome. He gives you the rank of each saint by reference to the "format" to be followed in the commemoration, e.g. format 1 means a simple saint on a weekday, format 5 means a Polyeleos saint, while format 5A is a saint with a Vigil. You turn to the "calendar" section first, which is published annually, look up the date and find out the relevant format and any special features realting to the feast. Then you turn to the front section of the Typicon to consult the rubrics for each format. Quite easy to use once you get the hang of it. I supplement this by checking with the OCA's annual "Liturgical Calendar and Rubrics" which can be had for $21.95 + postage from St Tikhon's Bookshop in South Canaan, PA. This is useful for those saints that we sneak into our monastic calendar (St Seraphim, St Herman of Alaska etc) but who are not included in our Typicon. I'm sure there are other lists of saints and their ranks available, but the above serves out needs here quite satisfactorily. Wouldn't do for those who are not Ukrainian or Ruthenian Catholics, of course, because we're the only ones to whom the Roman "Apostol" applies. Finally, carrying on from Sharon's list of snafoos and glitches liturgical, I should confess at least one of my many brushes with the demon of dumbness. Instead of reading "as the eyes of a servant are on the hand of his master, as the eyes of a maid are on the hands of her mistress, " I very solemnly intoned, "as the hands of a servant are on the eyes of his mistress...." :-o In Christ, monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 30 Dec 1996 15:59:39 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Bill Metzar Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L >I read this evening about some parishes that have the Hours before Liturgy on >Sunday. Could someone tell me more about this? What would this consist of and >could this possibly work for a small parish that may not be able to do Matins >yet? Dave, I once attended a Liturgy at our local Synodal church and they did the first and third hours before Liturgy. This represents mostly a cantor reciting psalms. I must say that I did enjoy listening to the chanting. It sets a prayerful atmosphere (for lack of a better way of describing what I sensed.) The pastor was confessing someone at the time and the chanting covers up anything that someone might perchance hear. I think it would be a very nice addition! The Synodal churches do a vigil the evening before the Liturgy consisting of both Vespers and Matins. I stood for one of those at St Tikhon's seminary once - it is quite long. There are no pews in many Orthodox churches and my back rebels when asked to stand this long. Christ is born! Bill Metzar metzar_w@sunybroome.edu ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 17:19:05 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Dave, Christ is Born! In a message dated 12/31/96 9:39:19 AM, you wrote: >Can it be done >properly without obliging the priest to be involved? Gosh yes. Simply read (I mean sing, of course ) the two longish prayers at the end that the Basilian Matins Book says is for the Priest. As for blessings, the principles are the same as in the newly posted rubrics for Vespers without a Priest. Start with "Through the prayers..." instead of "Blessed is our God..." And use the same substitutes for the doxology after the "Our Father" and the blessings. Clear as mud? As for which Troparia and Kontakion you take for the Hours: consult Father Petras' Typicon each Sunday until you have it down pat. If you were going to add bits from Vespers or Matins I would do it separately after you finish the Hours. Don't mess about trying to combine them, it'll only confuse you. Better still, take the whole service... monk Maximos the maximalist (and sinner) ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 1 Jan 1997 01:35:32 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dave Brown writes: << I'm sending this to the list (glad to see it's still up! ) since I want to get some feedback on this. How, exactly, is this done? Can it be done properly without obliging the priest to be involved? How is that done? Is there a set format for doing the hours? Could one augment it once in awhile to include a refrain from Vespers or Matins (the theme of a particular feast)? Does anyone know if there is a set format for doing the hours published by the Ruthenian Metropolia? >> In the usage of the Russian Church, the 3rd and 6th Hours are normally read before Divine Liturgy. The 1st Hour is a part of the "All-Night Vigil" (which *could* take all night if everything were to be celebrated slowly and solemnly, as on Mt. Athos. In practice the Vigil normally takes only about 2.5 hours, if you don't read all the kathismata appointed for Vespers and Matins -- about 3 hrs if you do. Parish practice usually omits the kathismata). The All-Night Vigil consists of Vespers, Matins and the 1st Hour. In the Russian Church, the Hours are normally "read," which means they are intoned or chanted on one note. The technical term for this kind of sing-song recitation is "psalmody." For a fuller explanation of the different kinds of church chanting, see Johann von Gardner, "Russian Church Singing," Vol. 1, pp. 31-34. The Hours are sung in full only in Paschal-tide. The Royal Hours of Christmas, Theophany and Great Friday, and weekdays in Great Lent also have sung portions. The texts for the hours are found in the Horologion ("Chasoslov"). The English Horologion we use in our parish is published by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) and is in the "King James" style English ROCOR parishes use. I believe the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church in Johnstown has recently published a "Book of Hours," in ICEL-type English. The editor, Hieromonk Leonty, was trained at Jordanville and was a ROCOR priest in Milwaukee for several years, so I would think this Book of Hours is comparable to the Jordanville one, with adjustments for Ruthenian usages. For more information, write to: Hieromonk Leonty Assumption of the Virgin Mary Orthodox Church PO Box 221 Elkhorn, WV 24831-0221 Basically, the text of the Hours does not vary, except for the troparia and kontakia, which depend upon the rank of the feast being celebrated. Usually, on a Sunday, you will have two troparia (of the Tone and of the feast of the day) and two kontakia (likewise of the Tone and of the feastday). Both troparia are read at each hour, right after the three opening Psalms. For kontakia: the kontakion of the saint (i.e., the kontakion read after the 3rd Ode at Matins) is read at the 1st and 6th Hours, while the kontakion of the Resurrection in the Tone of the week (i.e., the kontakion read after the 6th Ode at Matins) is taken at the 3rd and 9th Hours. The kontakion is read right after the priest's exclamation which ends the Lord's Prayer. To know correctly which troparia and kontakia to use, you need a Typicon, such as the one by Fr. David Petras which Fr. Maximos mentioned in his post on this topic. Nothing in Church (including reader services) must be done without the prior knowledge of, and a blessing from, your pastor. This especially includes divergences from the order of the service, such as interpolations from Vespers or Matins. Of course, this can be done in certain circumstances, but it should not violate the structure or spirit of the service being celebrated. In our parish, we sing verses from the "Lord, I have cried...," at Vespers and other hymns of the feast during the lengthy Communion of the clergy. If there are many confessions before Liturgy and the priest is not done when the hours are finished, then we chant the Canon before Holy Communion and other pre-Communion prayers which we have set to different stichera tones. Other hymns could be sung at either of these points. But they should be discussed with the priest beforehand. This will avoid such aberrations as singing "The 12 Days of Christmas," which is not even sung in western churches for the very good reason that it is a love song and not a liturgical hymn, from being inflicted upon unsuspecting worshippers. (Sorry, Sharon.) God bless your good intention. Hope this helps. David James ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 1 Jan 1997 14:44:07 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dave Brown asks: << Just wanted to ask. Is the Ruthenian (Carpatho-Rusyn) liturgical tradition to have an "All Night Vigil" and have the Hours before Liturgy also? Would this be common to the Slavic Eastern Churches?>> I have not studied this matter, but I suspect it is. As Johann von Gardner has pointed out, up to the Union of Uzhgorod (whose anniversary you just celebrated), there was little difference between the printed liturgical books used by the Ruthenian and Russian Churches. This was before the Niconian reforms of the mid-17th century which created the Old Ritualist Schism in the Russian Church and, to this day, the wording of the Church Slavonic Ruthenian Catholic texts is identical in many respects to the Old Rite Slavonic texts as, for example, in the "Hail Mary" or "It is truly meet..." ("Dostoino Yest"). Both the Ruthenian Church and the Moscovite Church received the Orthodox faith through Kiev. One assumes the method of celebrating the liturgical offices in both local Churches differed little from that of the practice of the Kievan Church. What differences presently exist would seem to be a consequence of Patriarch Nicon's reforms (very minor to modern eyes) and the "latinization" that occurred in the Ruthenian Catholic Church over the past 350 years. Ruthenian practice at the turn of the 20th Century, when St. Alexis Tovt brought many Ruthenian parishes into the Russian Orthodox Church, seemed to have generally agreed with Russian practice -- at least, I never heard that these parishes had any great need to adapt to it. What is the current Ruthenian practice in the "old country" regarding vigils? Finally, Johann von Gardner, when he was a member of the St. Job of Pochaev Monastery in Ladimirovo, Carpatho-Russia, travelled extensively throughout Carpatho-Russia in the early '30s as part of his research into the chant of the Russian Church. His writings imply that the major difference was in the manner of performance: "In Carpatho-Russia, in all village churches (both Uniate and Orthodox), congregational chanting of *all the services in their entirety* [emphasis mine] has been practiced *exclusively,* including the hymns of the "proper," utilizing the full range of tones and melodies. The people chant from the Great Anthology (Veliky Sbornik), which contains all the necessary texts. The chants, which are quite diverse (including the melodies for all the prosomoia (podobny), *some of which* one cannot even find in the notated liturgical books published by the Most Holy Synod), were well-known to all, even to school children. The cantors [d'yaki] -- the more experienced chanters among the parishioners -- who stood on the kleros, began the chanting. As soon as those present recognized the melody, the whole church sang: they sang all the stichera, all the troparia, all the irmoi -- in a word, *everything that the typicon indicated was to be sung* [emphasis mine]." This quote indicates that the full cycle of daily services was celebrated, at least for Sundays and feastdays. Most likely, considering the proximity to Kiev, evening vigils were served. It is important to note that not every feast calls for an All-Night Vigil. Just as in the Western Church, feastdays are celebrated with varying degrees of solemnity. These ranks are (ranging from simplest to most festive): Simple commemoration, Double commemoration, Doxology rank feast, Polyeloes rank feast, Vigil rank feast, and Pascha (in a class by itself). In the Russian Church, Sunday is always of Vigil rank. On feasts of less than Vigil rank, Matins is celebrated in the morning. However, if Divine Liturgy is to follow, the hours are not omitted, as among those who follow the modern Constantinopolitan use. ===== <> See the above paragraph. Vigils are served in the Greek tradition for feasts of Vigil rank, at least among the Old Calendarists. Mt. Athos monasteries are famous for their lengthy vigils. The main difference is that in modern times Sunday is not considered to be a Vigil rank feast among the Greeks, unless a Vigil rank feast falls on that day (such as Christmas falling on a Sunday, for example). The usage of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in the New World is another discussion. ====== <> About 25 minutes. In our parish, the Hours begin at 9:30am and the Divine Liturgy follows at approximately 10am. Divine Liturgy takes about an hour and half, excluding the molieben (if there is one), sermon and post-Communion Prayers, which are read publicly in our parish, while the priest consumes the Holy Gifts and unvests. In Christ's love, David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Wed, 1 Jan 1997 14:52:39 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Lenten Triodion by Srs of St Basil To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Today I went to Liturgy at the Pro-Cathedral--St Stephen's here in Phoenix. I noticed in the bookshop a very large and thick _Lenten Triodion_ put out by the Srs of St Basil (published in 1995 or 6--can't remember which). It has a red cover. Anyone here familiar with it? It's the first I've seen it. I had planned to buy the one by Bishop Kallistos but now wonder if I should perhaps buy this one. Cost is $45 which is much more than I can get the one by Bishop Kallistos (the Greek Cathedral has them for $23). I'm not complaining--having been in the book binding business at one time I understand about costs for small run books. I'd be curious for any recommendation on the edition by the Sisters. Thanks! Christ is Born! Dave Brown Orthocath1@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 1 Jan 1997 14:52:48 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: Update To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Please inform me of costs for the music for the Resurrectional canons. My address is: 2912 W Glenrosa Ave Phoenix AZ 85017 Thanks! Dave Brown Orthocath1@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 6 Jan 1997 09:20:43 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In-Reply-To: <199701030255.TAA17140@mail.inficad.com> from "Andrew Wollert" at Jan 2, 97 07:55:07 pm > > The Matins book is very compact and quite useful, although when they > translate as "and You [Christ] love humankind" it fairly well grates > on my nerves. One of these days, I'm going to get the white-out and > zap the "hu". > How 'bout in the Marian Hymnal, specifically in "Mary Look upon us" where "Bozaja Mati" gets translated "Virgin Mother"!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! ('specially since "Mother of God" scans just FINE, thank you!) Sharon sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 6 Jan 1997 09:46:38 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy - sneaky saints To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In-Reply-To: <970103110752_1956828273@emout10.mail.aol.com> from "brother Maximos" at Jan 3, 97 11:07:53 am Brother Maximos mentioned sneaking some saints into the prayerful remembrances of the monastery. Does anybody know what the "official take" on this is? My pastor was more than willing to bless my son's icon of St. Seraphim, but I notice he didn't do it on a Sunday whan lotsa people would have been there... Is it kosher for Eastern Catholic Churches to have icons/prayers of/for/to post-split Orthodox saints? I'm not talking about private devotions, but in-church stuff. I'm curious. BTW, we have begun to take some "stuff" from Matins or Vespers when we can. Not only does it expose a few more folks to the richness that is there, but anything which gets us singing Samohlasen tones a bit more often is a good thing - it means that Lent will be less of a liturgical panic. Stoooopidly your'n Sharon ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 6 Jan 1997 17:35:49 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy - sneaky saints To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In a message dated 97-01-06 09:39:07 EST, Sharon Mech wrote: >Is it kosher for Eastern Catholic Churches to have icons/prayers of/for/to >post-split Orthodox saints? I'm not talking about private devotions, but >in-church stuff. I'm curious. Our parish (St Thomas the Apostle Byzantine Catholic in Gilbert, Arizona) has St Seraphim of Sarov and St Herman of Alaska painted on the side walls. Unfortunately, the Ruthenian calendar still doesn't recognize St Gregory Palamas but I know the Melkites observe the second Sunday of Great Lent as the Sunday of St Gregory Palamas. At the recent pilgrimage at Holy Resurrection Monastery there was commemoration of several "post-schism" saints and both Metropolitan Judson and Bishop George were in attendance. I guess that's fairly official . Blessed Theophany to all! Dave Brown Orthocath1@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 6 Jan 1997 18:54:17 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy - sneaky saints To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L Dear Sharon and everyone, Blessed Theophany! (and for all our old calendarist brethren: Christ is Born!!!) About honoring saints not on our calendar. I don't know that there is an "official" acceptance of Orthodox saints - if there were they'd re-do the calendar. Of course, after re-union they'll have to....but that's another matter. What I have detected is a semi-official thaw, whereby our bishops and priests (some of them, anyway) just kind of pretend there's nothing odd going on (Schism! What schism??) Alot depends on the individuals and the saints concerned. Our clergy are probably happiest of all with those saints whose cult is obviously without political overtones: St Seraphim, St Tikhon of Zadonsk, St Silouan of Athos, even St Herman of Alaska. But hands probably begin to shake a bit over the "political" saints, such as St Alexander Nevsky or the Tsar-Martyr Nicholas. (On the other hand we have our own "politicals", such as St Josaphat of Polotsk, so there!:-) A bit of a mess, of course. But that's what disunity is all about...sigh. In Christ monk Maximos, a worn out sinner after all these feasts and vigils...but content. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 01:36:58 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy - sneaky saints To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In a message dated 97-01-06 18:55:12 EST, Brother Maximos wrote: >What I have detected is a semi-official thaw, whereby our bishops and priests >(some of them, anyway) just kind of pretend there's nothing odd going on >(Schism! What schism??) Alot depends on the individuals and the saints >concerned. Our clergy are probably happiest of all with those saints whose >cult is obviously without political overtones: St Seraphim, St Tikhon of >Zadonsk, St Silouan of Athos, even St Herman of Alaska. But hands probably >begin to shake a bit over the "political" saints, such as St Alexander Nevsky >or the Tsar-Martyr Nicholas. (On the other hand we have our own "politicals", >such as St Josaphat of Polotsk, so there!:-) As I recall the Melkite restoration of St Gregory Palamas to their liturgical calendar received no objection from Rome. I believe it was Aidan Nichols in _Rome and the Eastern Churches_ who reported that. (BTW, do any of the Ruthenian churches commemorate him on the second Sunday of Great Lent?) Another post-schism saint that is officially on most Eastern Catholic calendars is St Sergius of Radzoneh (sp?) I'm going by memory but I think he fell after 1053 but before Florence, so he kind of was `grandfathered' in. I've read where his cult has "official" status. As for the politicals...our parish may have St Herman of Alaska but I doubt there'll be any icons of St Alexis Toth soon . Maybe after re-union, if it ever comes! Glory to Jesus Christ! Dave Brown Orthocath1@aol.com ÿ ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 12:38:38 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L In a message dated 96-12-30 23:21:41 EST, Andrew Wollert wrote: >At Holy Resurrection Monastery (Ruthenian), they (normally; please >correct me, Br Maximos, if I'm wrong) say two hours (3d and 6th?) >before Liturgy. Of course, this is a monastic environment. I know >the hours fairly well, and, being a new cantor, perhaps I might be >allowed to say an hour or two before Liturgy on Sundays. It's an >idea....and a good one at that. > >Dave, don't have a heart attack! Just an idea! Perhaps you might >approach Father about it... I'm sending this to the list (glad to see it's still up! ) since I want to get some feedback on this. How, exactly, is this done? Can it be done properly without obliging the priest to be involved? How is that done? Is there a set format for doing the hours? Could one augment it once in awhile to include a refrain from Vespers or Matins (the theme of a particular feast)? Does anyone know if there is a set format for doing the hours published by the Ruthenian Metropolia? Christ is Born! Dave Brown Orthocath1@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 12:59:30 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: Update To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L >> >I have some music for the resurrectional canons for people to look >> >at; I'd like to send it around for review. Who's interested? >> >> Oh, yes please! > >Me Too! Me too! Me three! >> monk Maximos, first of sinners. >> >Huh uh, Brother, you'll just have to wait in line! > >Sharon, REALLY first of sinners. >sharon@cmhc.com OK, you guys may have me beat! But, not by far!!! Dave Brown Orthocath1@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 1 Jan 1997 13:24:04 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Bill Metzar Subject: Re: Update To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L I too would like a copy of the music for the resurrectional canons. If you are sending this by snail mail please tell us what the copying and postage costs are and we will be happy to reimburse you. Bill Metzar 21 Hoffman Dr. Binghamton, NY 13901-5731 Thanks Jeff. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 8 Jan 1997 20:01:16 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: Hours before Liturgy To: Multiple recipients of list CANTOR-L At 03:57 PM 1/2/97 -0500, David James wrote: >Are copies of Fr. Petras' Typicon hard to come by? Could I buy one? How much >are they? I just got mine in the mail from Eastern Christian Publications. The Common Typicon is $10. The 1997 Typicon is $15. Shipping is 10% in the US, 20% elsewhere. They also have a short catalog which they will send upon request. Eastern Christian Publications PO Box 146 Fairfax, VA 22030-0146 ph 703-691-8585 -Andy Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- redco@inficad.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- From: "David Pancza" Date: Mon, 13 Jan 1997 18:50:29 Subject: Re: Greek vs. Slavic practices (was RE: Pews (was RE: Eucha Message-Id: To: cineast@catinfo.cts.com (Multiple recipients of CIN Eastern Rite Conference) Reply-To: cineast@catinfo.cts.com (Multiple recipients of CIN Eastern Rite Conference) Sender: cineast-owner@catinfo.cts.com > The Slavic tradition is to celebrate the 'All Night Vigil' on Saturday > nights. The Vigil consists of Vespers and Matins of Sunday combined. The > Greek tradition is to celebrate Vespers on Saturday night and then Matins > (known as Orthos) in the morning. The Slavic parishes do not celebrate a > Divine Liturgy on Saturday nights (at least not properly). In Slovakia both the orthodox and greekcatholic churches celebrate the vespers on Saturday evening and the Matins in the morning (if they celebrate them). But our tradition is very contradictional. David -- | CIN (619-449-6030) Fido: (1:202/1613) http://www.cin.org | St. Gabriel Gift & Book Nook: http://www.stgabriel.com | Subscribe/Unsubscribe at http://www.cin.org/mailsub.html ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Fri, 31 Jan 1997 15:12:48 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: , Subject: Re: Liturgics question - sticheras for "Lord I have cried" In-Reply-To: Message of 01/30/97 at 05:24:01 from hrycak@THE-HERMES.NET On 01/30/97 at 05:24:01 Peter D. Hrycak said: >St. Michael's in Baltimore will be having the Liturgy of the >Presanctified Gifts during lent this year for the first time! Being >a novice in liturgics, how does one come up with the sticheras >(verses) for "Hospody Vozvahk (Lord I have cried)"? Help please! These are the stichera for the fixed psalms at Vespers for the day. (The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is really Vespers + Communion.) They can be found in the Vespers book for most of the year; for Lent, in the Triodion; for Pascha, in the Pentecostarion; for feasts, in the Menaion. Let me know if you need more information! Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Sat, 22 Feb 1997 21:27:16 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Update! 1. Our parish priest, Father James Spontak, has asked me to prepare fifteen minutes of selections from Matins, to be sung each of the remaining Sundays of Lent just before the Divine Liturgy. If all goes will, we will continue after Lent is over! Next Sunday, we will sing Psalm 50 with its stichera, followed by several odes from the Canon, followed by the Canticle of Mary (the Magnificat) with the refrain, "More honoroble than the Cherubim." We will have the text for the psalm and the canticle available for all to sing; the canon will be sung by (gulp) yours truly. 2. I just received the music for Divine Liturgy tomorrow; we're going to be singing the tropar in honor of St. Gregory Palamas! This is the first time we've honored a post-schism saint publicly here. 3. Father Spontak told me, as well, that at last week's meeting at Mt. Saint Macrina to plan this year's pilgrimage, Bishop George's representative proposed that Matins should be celebrated as well as Vespers, and that people should leave knowing more about the liturgical Hours than they do now; and that those parishes and families who celebrated the hours in the past may be encouraged to start doing so again, and that others may start now. The priests there discussed the topic for most of an hour, and all were very positive. One of the major needs is for rubrics and textual and musical material, especially for the laity. Jerry Jumba is going to be sending me a complete set of the notes and music from the Advanced Cantor's School that was once in Pittsburgh (some 28 notebooks worth). I will index it and give you all a table of contents as soon as I have it. Jerry sends his encouragement to everyone on the CANTOR-L list. More to follow. Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 22:55:13 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Lenten Triodion by Srs of St Basil In-Reply-To: Message of 01/01/97 at 14:52:39 from Orthocath1@AOL.COM On 01/01/97 at 14:52:39 Dave Brown said: >Today I went to Liturgy at the Pro-Cathedral--St Stephen's here in Phoenix. I >noticed in the bookshop a very large and thick _Lenten Triodion_ put out by >the Srs of St Basil (published in 1995 or 6--can't remember which). It has a >red cover. Anyone here familiar with it? It's the first I've seen it. I had >planned to buy the one by Bishop Kallistos but now wonder if I should perhaps >buy this one. Cost is $45 which is much more than I can get the one by Bishop >Kallistos (the Greek Cathedral has them for $23). I'm not complaining--having >been in the book binding business at one time I understand about costs for >small run books. Now that I finally have both Triodia, I can comment on this one! The Lenten Triodion by Bishop Kallistos and Mother Mary is wonderful and widely used. It has a very good introduction on the liturgical and ascetical traditions of Great Lent. It includes the full cycle of Vespers, Matins and Liturgy for the Pre-lenten Sundays, all of the first week of Great Lent, the remaining Lenten Sundays, the Thursday of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, and Saturday of the Akathist, and Lazarus Saturday through Great and Holy Saturday. Most services are given in full, with some detailed rubrics. The Lenten Triodion of the Sisters of Saint Basil does not include commentaries, or much in the way of rubrics. But it does contain _all_ the texts for the Prelenten Sundays and _every Sunday and weekday from Cheesefare Sunday through Great and Holy Saturday. The weekday canons are verses and all given in full. The book also includes the Office of St. Gregory Palamas as well as the ancient Office of the Second Sunday of Lent. An appendix has the ordinary of Matins and the First, Third, Sixth and Ninth Hours. To summarize, the books are complementary. Mother Mary's book is better for anyone beginning to use the Triodion. For someone using the Triodion on a daily basis, or using it in a Ruthenian Catholic Church, the Uniontown book is indispensable. Yours, Jeff is Born! ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 24 Feb 1997 00:44:30 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Lenten Triodion by Srs of St Basil To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 97-02-23 22:56:53 EST, Jeff Brooks wrote: << The Lenten Triodion by Bishop Kallistos and Mother Mary is wonderful and widely used. It has a very good introduction on the liturgical and ascetical traditions of Great Lent. It includes the full cycle of Vespers, Matins and Liturgy for the Pre-lenten Sundays, all of the first week of Great Lent, the remaining Lenten Sundays, the Thursday of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, and Saturday of the Akathist, and Lazarus Saturday through Great and Holy Saturday. Most services are given in full, with some detailed rubrics. >> There is a "Supplement" to Bishop Kallistos' and Mother Mary's "Lenten Triodion" (published by the Monastery of the Veil in Bussey-en-Othe) which contains all the lenten texts missing in the "Lenten Triodion." These were not included in the Faber and Faber edition for financial reasons. The "Lenten Triodion" and "Supplement" together provide the complete texts for Great Lent. The "Triodion Supplement" is available from various Orthodox book suppliers, such as Light and Life or St. John of Kronstadt Press. SJOKP also publishes a series of liturgical booklets with complete text and music (as used in the Russian Church). Among these are the texts and music for the propers of the three pre-Lenten Sundays. We use them in our parish. David James ÿ=======================================================================V--F --- Date: Mon, 24 Feb 1997 12:21:13 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Bad Girl! Put that pen DOWN!! To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <970224110154_650725757@emout08.mail.aol.com> from "Dave Brown" at Feb 24, 97 11:01:54 am I, a sinner, confess to.... OOPS! wrong venue! I wuz bad. Anybody else have those blue Slavonic-on-the-left, English-on-the-right Marian Hymnals? In the hymn "Mary Look Upon Us," somehow 'Bozaja Mati' got translated as 'Virgin Mother.' Musta been a mistake. You know, 'Mother of God' has exactly the same number of syllables? It's a little messy penned in like that, but I can live with it. Wickedly and sinfully yours, Sharon sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 24 Feb 1997 11:01:54 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: Lenten Triodion by Srs of St Basil To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 97-02-23 22:56:53 EST, Jeff Mierzejewski wrote: >The Lenten Triodion of the Sisters of Saint Basil does not include >commentaries, or much in the way of rubrics. But it does contain >_all_ the texts for the Prelenten Sundays and _every Sunday and >weekday from Cheesefare Sunday through Great and Holy Saturday. >The weekday canons are verses and all given in full. The book >also includes the Office of St. Gregory Palamas as well as the >ancient Office of the Second Sunday of Lent. An appendix has >the ordinary of Matins and the First, Third, Sixth and Ninth >Hours. > >To summarize, the books are complementary. Mother Mary's book >is better for anyone beginning to use the Triodion. For someone >using the Triodion on a daily basis, or using it in a Ruthenian >Catholic Church, the Uniontown book is indispensable. Thanks, Jeff, for the review. It was also exciting to hear about the plans for starting selections from Matins in your parish. Let us know how that goes. I know it may be disappointing to have an abbreviated form of it but something is better than nothing :) As for the commemoration for St Gregory Palamas. As I understand, the Melkites have that officially on their calendar (Aidan Nichols in _Rome and the Eastern Churches_ said it was restored to their calendar after Vatican II.) Was it a part of the Ruthenian calendar before the Union? Anyone know? When did the Eastern Churches begin commemorating St Gregory Palamas on the second Sunday of Great Lent? Did we remove the commemoration from our calendar when we entered union with Rome? Or did that happen later? Or, did the commemoration of St Gregory only enter the Eastern calendar after our Churches broke with Constantinople? Anyone know? I realize that St Gregory Palamas has been "rehabilitated" in the Roman Church since Vatican II and that has most likely affected our Churches as well. I'm just wondering what the history of the observance has been in our Churches. Glory to Jesus Christ! Dave Brown DTBrown54@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 24 Feb 1997 17:29:57 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: Bad Girl! Put that pen DOWN!! To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 97-02-24 12:16:34 EST, Sharon wrote: >In the hymn "Mary Look Upon Us," somehow 'Bozaja Mati' got translated as >'Virgin Mother.' Musta been a mistake. You know, 'Mother of God' has >exactly the same number of syllables? It's a little messy penned in like >that, but I can live with it. Brings up a question I've had. It's a rare thing to hear the term "Theotokos" in the Ruthenian Church these days--it's there in some of the Vespers and Matins texts we use but we're used to "Mother of God" instead. Is that a Slavic thing? Is the Slavonic for "Mother of God" in the Liturgy, for example, a transliteration of "Theotokos" or is it "Mother of God"? Just wondering... Thanks! Dave Brown DTBrown54@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 24 Feb 1997 17:51:39 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Bad Girl! Put that pen DOWN!! To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <970224172945_1548630130@emout05.mail.aol.com> from "Dave Brown" at Feb 24, 97 05:29:57 pm Dave Brown Wrote: > Brings up a question I've had. It's a rare thing to hear the term "Theotokos" > in the Ruthenian Church these days--it's there in some of the Vespers and > Matins texts we use but we're used to "Mother of God" instead. Is that a > Slavic thing? Is the Slavonic for "Mother of God" in the Liturgy, for > example, a transliteration of "Theotokos" or is it "Mother of God"? Just > wondering... > English - Mother of God Greek - Theotokos Salvonic- Bohorodice "Theotokos" in our stuff is allowable, but it's kinda like the Greek "Kyrie" showing up in an otherwise English/Latin Mass. I be offline for a couple days - going to the wilds of Michigan on business. I have directions to get to the hotel tomorrow, to the site I'm visiting on Wednesday, and to the church in Flushing, MI for Presanctified on Wednesday night. (Have I prepared my presentation for Thursday?? details, details!!) See y'all Cheers, Sharon ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 24 Feb 1997 23:46:34 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Theotokos To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 97-02-24 17:46:43 EST, Sharon wrote: << English - Mother of God Greek - Theotokos Salvonic- Bohorodice >> The English phrase "Mother of God" is not the Slavonic equivalent of Bogoroditsa. The Slavonic for "Mother of God" is "Mati Bozhia" or "Bogomateri." Latin has the distinction "Deipara" or "Dei Genitrix" for Theotokos (God-bearer, Bogoroditsa), as opposed to "Mater Dei" -- Mother of God. Greek has the same distinction: Theotokos (God-bearer -- the theological and honorific title of Mary from the 3rd Ecumenical Council at Ephesus) vs. Mitir Theou (Mother of God). In English-speaking countries, among the Orthodox, the Greek word "Theotokos" has gained general acceptance wherever English is used in worship as the proper usage, replacing unwieldy phrases like "Birthgiver of God" or the inaccurate practice of treating "Theotokos" or "Bogoroditsa" (or "Deipara," for that matter, as in the ICEL translations of the Latin liturgy) as equivalent to "Mother of God." The term, Theotokos, is, in fact, an English word, defined in my Random House dictionary as "a title of the Virgin Mary as the Mother of the incarnate Son of God." For the practice of adapting Greek terms for use among English-speaking Orthodox, see Prokeimenon, Troparion, Kontakion, Phelonion, icon, iconstasis, analogion, Akathist, Trisagion, etc., etc. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 03:37:59 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: Theotokos To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 97-02-24 23:46:56 EST, David James wrote: >In English-speaking countries, among the Orthodox, the Greek word "Theotokos" >has gained general acceptance wherever English is used in worship as the >proper usage, replacing unwieldy phrases like "Birthgiver of God" or the >inaccurate practice of treating "Theotokos" or "Bogoroditsa" (or "Deipara," >for that matter, as in the ICEL translations of the Latin liturgy) as >equivalent to "Mother of God." The term, Theotokos, is, in fact, an English >word, defined in my Random House dictionary as "a title of the Virgin Mary as >the Mother of the incarnate Son of God." > >For the practice of adapting Greek terms for use among English-speaking >Orthodox, see Prokeimenon, Troparion, Kontakion, Phelonion, icon, iconstasis, >analogion, Akathist, Trisagion, etc., etc. Personally, I'd prefer it if our Churches would follow the same practice. I think it would also be in the spirit of the recent liturgical _Instructions_ for us to follow the standard practice of the other Eastern Churches. In the text we are using for the Hours before Liturgy every Sunday we use "Theotokos." Glory to Jesus Christ! Dave Brown DTBrown54@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================VP-- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 23:54:45 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Sunday of the Holy Cross This coming Sunday (at least according to the Byzantine calendar for the Western date of Pascha) is the Third Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross. Since several people have asked about how to set up the hours of prayer from the Typicon, I thought I'd write down some notes while I'm working on it. According to Father David's Typicon: March 2. Third Sunday of the Great Fast. Veneration of the Holy Cross Holy Martyr Theodotus, Bishop of Cyrene. Format 13. Saint's Office omitted. VES 129-132; MAT 95-98; 128-132; 142-143; LT 272-284; MMLT 334-350. Resurrection Tone 7. Matins Gospel 7 (John 20:1-11). Katavasii proper to this Sunday as prescribed in the Triodion. This says to use Format 13 (Sundays during the Triodion) in the companion Common Typicon. The necessary texts are in the Uniontown Vespers book (VES) and Matins book (MAT) and in either the Uniontown Lenten Triodion (LT) or Mother Mary's Lenten Triodion (MMLT) on the indicated pages. To set up Great Vespers on Saturday evening, we turn to Format 13, which says: Vespers: The First Kathisma ("Blessed is the man") is sung Stichera at Psalm 140: 10 stichera are sung: On the Sundays of the Prodigal Son, Meatfare, Cheesefare, and the First, Third and Fifth Sundays of Lent: 6 of the Resurrection tone, 4 of the Triodion; Glory, of the Triodion; Now and ever, Dogmatikon in the tone of the week Prokeimenon: Great Prokeimenon of Saturday evening Aposticha: of the Resurrection tone; Glory, of the Triodion; Now and ever, Theotokion in the same tone on the Third Sunday of Lent: Glory, now and ever, sticheron of the Triodion Troparia: on the Third Sunday of Lent: Troparion of the Resurrection tone; Troparion of the Triodion; Glory, now and ever, Festal Theotokion in the tone of the Troparion of the Triodion So how do we sing Vespers? Start in the Vespers book, on page 1: the usual beginning prayers Psalm 103 Litany of peace At "Readings from the Psalter", the typicon says to sing "Blessed is the man"; this is what we usually do on Saturday evenings. The text is on page 7, with a pointer to the music on page 197. Now we sing the lamp lighting psalms, beginning with Psalm 140 (O Lord, I have cried). These psalms will have poetic verses (stichera) added between psalm verses toward the end; the Typicon says there will be 10 of them, of which the first six will be the stichera of the Resurrection tone. Sing the beginning verses of Psalm 140 using the samohlasen tone which matches the first sticherin. The first sticheron is of the Resurrection tone, and we are in Resurrection tone 7 this week, according to the Typicon (remember this: we're in Resurrection tone 7). So we sing the first few verses in samohlasen tone 7, then sing the folllowing verses in a psalm tone until we get to the place to start inserting the stichera. The number of stichera varies; today we have ten. So in the psalm, there is a note: (For 10 stichera:) Lead my soul forth from prison that I may give thanks to your name (For 9 stichera:) The just shall gather around me when You have been good to me. etc. So we sing the given psalm verse, or "stich", in the samohlasen "stich" tone 7 (remember tone 7?); the melody is in Bokshai, or in Father Sokol's blue chant book. Lead me soul forth from prison <-- stich that I may give th Then we sing the first sticheron of Resurrection tone 7, which can be found in the Vespers book on page 129: "Tone Seven - Saturday evening - At Psalm 140". The sticheron is sung in the samohlasen "sticheron" melody for tone 7, which is given right after the "stich" melody in Bokshai or Sokol: Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, Who destroyed the power of Death and enlightened the human race; and let us cry out with the angels: Glory to You, our Creator and Savior! Flip back to page 8 for the next psalm verse, in "stich" melody tone 7: The just shall gather around me when You have been good to me. Then back to page 129 for the next resurrection tone sticheron, in the "sticheron" melody: O Savior, for our sake you suffered crucifixion and burial; and, as God, you destroyed Death by your death. Therefore, we adore Your resurrection on the third day and we sing: Glory to You, O Lord: Continue for four more verses and stichera, for a total of six. (Remember: six stichera of the Resurrection tone.) Out of the depths I cry... <- stich On seeing the resurrection of the Creator... <- sticheron 3 Let your ears be attentive... <- stich O Christ, although you were taken captive... <- sticheron 4 If You mark iniquities, O Lord... <- stich In fulfillment of the prophecy of David... <- sticheron 5 I have waited for You... <- stich O Christ, of Your own free will... <- sticheron 6 We're done for the moment with Resurrection tone 7; leave a ribbon marker where we are, on page 130 in the Vespers book. The Typicon says that after six stichera of the Resurrection tone, we have "4 of the Triodion; Glory, of the Triodion; Now and ever, Dogmatikon in the tone of the week". So we flip to "Third Sunday of the Great Fast" in the Triodion (page 272 in the Uniontown Triodion). Right away, we see "Vespers - at Psalm 140", followed by 4 stichera. _But_ right at the start of the stichera, it says "Tone 5." So we sing the next four psalm verses (stichs) (on pages 8-9 in the Vespers book) to the samohlasen "stich" melody in tone 5, alternating with the fou stichera from the Triodion, sung to the samohlasen "sticheron" melody in tone 5: From the morning watch until night... <- stich Shine brightly, O life-giving Cross... <- Triodion sticheron 1 For with the Lord there is mercy... <- stich Rejoice, O life-giving Cross... <- Triodion sticheron 2 Praise the Lord, all the nations... <- stich Rejoice, O life-giving Cross... <- Triodion sticheron 3 Strong is the love of the Lord for us... <- stich Rejoice, O first-created couple... <- Triodion sticheron 4 The typicon says "Glory, of the Triodion; Now and ever, Dogmatikon in the tone of the week." This means we sing "Glory be to the Father... and to the Holy Spirit", then the sticheron from the Triodion, then "Now and ever and forever, Amen," then the Dokmatikon (a special sticheron from this week's tone, in our case tone 7. Remember tone 7?) In the Triodion, it says: Tone 3 Glory: O Christ our God, You willingly suffered... (etc). So we sing the following: Glory be to the Father and to the Son <- stich melody, tone 3 and to the Holy Spirit. O Christ our God, you willingly suffered... <- sticheron melody, tone 3 For the Dogmatikon, sing the "Now and ever" in tone 7 while opening the Vespers book to the ribbon you left in Tone 7 - Saturday evening on page 130. The last sticheron at Psalm 140, marked "Theotokion" is the Dogmatikon you want: Now and ever and forever, Amen. <- stich melody, tone 7 O Mother of God, we acknowledge that... <- sticheron melody, tone 7 It so happens that in the old Carpathian Irmologia (chant books), there are wonderfully ornamented melodies for the dogmatika, which go on for pages. Don't worry. Just use tone 7 for now. In fact, if you only know one tone, use that tone for everything. Eventually you'll learn the others. Now you can rest your brain and praise God while the Hymn of the Evening ("O Joyful Light") us sung. Then the Evening Prokeimenon is sung. The Typicon says to use the Great Preokeimenon for Saturday evening. (A Great Prokeimenon is one with several verses.) Looking at the ones in the Vespers book, we find a special Prokeimeon for the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays of Great Lent: You have granted me the heritage, O God, of those who fear your name. (The melody is written out here.) Now, we need psalm verses. They are back on the previous page, under "On Saturday". So we sing them in a psalm tone, alternating with the Prokeimenon refrain we just sang: Robed is the Lord and girt about with strength. (chanted) You have granted me.... For He has made the world firm, which shall not be moved. (chanted) You have granted me.... Holiness befits Your house, O Lord, for length of days. (chanted) You have granted me.... Now we have the readings, if any. The typicon entry gives several Old Testament readings which can be used on this Sunday. Then the Litany of Supplication, and the Hymn of Glorification ("Vouchsafe, O Lord") for which music in given in the back of the Vespers book, on page 198. If we were celebrating a Vigil, we would not have Litija. Let's save that for another Sunday, and continue with the Aposticha. The Aposticha are psalm verses (stichs) alternating with stichera, just like at Psalm 140; but this time, the stichera comes first, then the stich. The typicon says to use the Aposticha of the Resurrection tone, so flip in the Vespers book to Tone 7 - Saturday evening, on page 130. O Savior of the World, You arose... <- sticheron melody, tone 7 The Lord reigns, He is clothed in... <- stich melody, tone 7 Come, let us worship Christ... <- sticheron melody, tone 7 For He has made the world firm... <- stich melody, tone 7 O Christ, Lover of Mankind... <- sticheron melody, tone 7 Holiness befits Your house... <- stich melody, tone 7 O Lord, what a fearful sight... <- sticheron melody, tone 7 And we've gotten to the "Glory be to the Father." Now, the typicon says that _normally_ on a Sunday in Great Lent, we'd sing "Glory be" then a sticheron from the Triodion (in the tone of the sticheron from the Triodion) then "Now and ever" and the theotokion of the current tone (in the tone of the week, tone 7). But the typicon says this Sunday is a special case, so we sing "Glory be", then "Now and ever" followed by the sticheron from the Triodion (all in the tone of the sticheron from the Triodion, in this case tone 4): Glory be to the Father and to the Son <- stich melody, tone 4 and to the Holy Spirit. Now and ever and forever, Amen. <- stich melody, tone 4 O Lord, you assisted David in battle... <- sticheron melody, tone 4 After the Aposticha, we sing the Canticle of Simeon (Now you shall dismiss your servant, O Lord) with music on page 199 in the appendix. Then the Trisagion prayers are chanted. Finally, we sing the troparia for the day. And we encounter a slight contradiction. (Where's a rabbi when you need one?) The typicon says to sing the troparion of the Resurrection tone, then a troparion from the Triodion, then "Glory, now and ever", then a Festal theotokion. But both the Uniontown Triodion and Mother Mary's Triodion have instead: To the troparion melody in tone 5, sung twice: Hail Mother of God, Virgin Mary full of grace... To the troparion melody in tone 1: Save your people O Lord, and bless your inheritance... I'd go with the Triodion as being more specific, followed by the dismissal. I'm honestly not sure whether to use the dismissal for Great Vespers or the dismissal for Fasts; since we do not fast on Sundays, and Saturday evening is part of Sunday, I assume we'd use the former. Brother Maximos? David James? At this point, you're probably too tired to do Small Compline from the typicon. So get some rest, and tomorrow I'll tell you about Matins for the Third Sunday of Lent. Corrections to the above are welcome -- preferably before the weekend :-) Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 27 Feb 1997 17:01:17 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David Pancza Subject: Re: Lenten Triodion by Srs of St Basil To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Glory be to Jesus Christ ! I'm a newcomer here, (invited by Dave Brown). Thanks! I am from Bratislava, Slovakia, my home is the greek-catholic parish of the Holy Cross (carpathorusyn trad.), and a little bit the orthodox church of st. Michael too (russian tradition). My father is rom. cath., my mother bulgarian orthodox (her father was a cantor), so I am a roman catholic in the papers and orthodox in the heart, 4 years I live in the gr.c. comunity. It seems that one day I will be married with an original gr.c. lady, and then I will change the rite. :-) I am 26.5 years old, teacher of mathematics on the technical university. In the parish I am not the main cantor (my voice isn't good enough), but one of the 4-5 people team responsible for the singing, preparing the note material, translating texts, and for other needs of the liturgy. I am the only one from them who is on internet... > As for the commemoration for St Gregory Palamas. As I understand, the It is unbelievable but for 2 years we are doing commemorations of st. Gregory Palama, st. Seraphim of Sarov, st. Sergij Radonezsky and some other orthodox saints (our priest uses the orthodox calendar, because there are the readings for each day, and so he mentions all the saints written there). Of course most of the people don't know who are these saints and the biggest anti orthodoxists sing loudly the tropar... and they are not disturbed. But the young ones are glad that it isn't a tabu more, these saints have a big influence on our spiritual lives. We have a big icon of st. Serafim in the church and no problem. Our bishop has seen it and said nothing. I don't know if it means that it is OK, or that he doesn't know who it is. It's a question... Something different: Do you sing the verses in Alleluia and Prokimen ? In most of our books they are simply omitted and a long time we didn't knew that something like that exists. Peace be to all of you ! David ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 27 Feb 1997 15:44:33 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: Bad Girl! Put that pen DOWN!! To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU As I understand it, Theotokos means "Mother of God" or "God-bearer". The Slavonic is "Bogoroditsa" which means "God-bearer" or maybe even "God-birther", in any rate, "Mother of God". At 05:29 PM 2/24/97 -0500, Dave Brown wrote: >In a message dated 97-02-24 12:16:34 EST, Sharon wrote: >>In the hymn "Mary Look Upon Us," somehow 'Bozaja Mati' got translated as >>'Virgin Mother.' Musta been a mistake. You know, 'Mother of God' has >>exactly the same number of syllables? It's a little messy penned in like >>that, but I can live with it. > >Brings up a question I've had. It's a rare thing to hear the term "Theotokos" >in the Ruthenian Church these days--it's there in some of the Vespers and >Matins texts we use but we're used to "Mother of God" instead. Is that a >Slavic thing? Is the Slavonic for "Mother of God" in the Liturgy, for >example, a transliteration of "Theotokos" or is it "Mother of God"? Just >wondering... > >Thanks! > >Dave Brown DTBrown54@aol.com Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- redco@inficad.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 27 Feb 1997 15:44:50 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: Sunday of the Holy Cross To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU THANK YOU, JEFF! This is WONDERFUL! More, please! -Andy At 11:54 PM 2/26/97 -0500, you wrote: >This coming Sunday (at least according to the Byzantine calendar >for the Western date of Pascha) is the Third Sunday of Great Lent, >the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross. Since several >people have asked about how to set up the hours of prayer from >the Typicon, I thought I'd write down some notes while I'm working >on it. > >According to Father David's Typicon: > >March 2. Third Sunday of the Great Fast. Veneration of the Holy Cross > Holy Martyr Theodotus, Bishop of Cyrene. > > Format 13. Saint's Office omitted. VES 129-132; MAT 95-98; > 128-132; 142-143; LT 272-284; MMLT 334-350. > > Resurrection Tone 7. Matins Gospel 7 (John 20:1-11). > Katavasii proper to this Sunday as prescribed in the Triodion. > >>big time snipola<< Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- redco@inficad.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 28 Feb 1997 01:44:50 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Lenten Triodion by Srs of St Basil To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 97-02-27 17:09:23 EST, David Pancza asks: << Do you sing the verses in Alleluia and Prokimen ? In most of our books they are simply omitted and a long time we didn't knew that something like that exists. >> I can't speak for the Carpatho-Rusyn practice, but in the Russian Orthodox practice the verses of the prokeimenon and Alleluia are chanted (on one note) by the reader (chtets) in the following way: If there is only one prokeimenon appointed: Reader: "The prokeimenon in the __ tone," and he chants (on one note) the words of the first verse. The choir repeats the words of the first verse, singing in the prokeimenon melody of the tone announced by the reader. The reader intones the words of the second verse. The choir repeats the words of the first verse, singing in the prokeimenon melody of the tone announced by the reader. The reader intones the first half of the first verse. The choir chants the second half. If there are two prokeimena appointed, as for a Polyeleos-rank feast (or higher) on a Sunday: Reader: "The prokeimenon in the __ tone," and he chants (on one note) the words of the first verse of the primary prokeimenon. The choir repeats the words of the first verse, singing in the prokeimenon melody of the tone announced by the reader. The reader intones the words of the second verse of the primary prokeimenon. The choir repeats the words of the first verse, singing in the prokeimenon melody of the tone announced by the reader. Reader: "In the __ tone," and he intones the first verse of the second prokeimenon. The choir repeats the words of the first verse of the second prokeimenon, singing in the prokeimenon melody of the tone announced by the reader. [Only the first verse of the second prokeimenon is used.] Likewise, for one Alleluia: Reader: "In the __ tone, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia." The choir repeats the triple Alleluia, singing in the prokeimenon melody of the tone announced by the reader. The reader intones the words of the first verse of the Alleluia. The choir repeats the triple Alleluia, singing in the prokeimenon melody of the tone announced by the reader. The reader intones the second verse of the Alleluia. The choir repeats the triple Alleluia, singing in the prokeimenon melody of the tone announced by the reader. But when two Alleluias are appointed: Reader: "Alleluia in the __ tone," and he intones the first verse of the primary Alleluia. The choir responds with the triple Alleluia, singing in the prokeimenon melody of the tone announced by the reader. The reader intones the words of the second verse of the primary Alleluia. The choir repeats the triple Alleluia, singing in the prokeimenon melody of the tone announced by the reader. Reader: "In the __ tone," and he intones the first verse of the second Alleluia. The choir repeats the triple Alleluia, singing in the prokeimenon melody of the tone announced by the reader. [Only the first verse of the second Alleluia is used.] David James ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Fri, 28 Feb 1997 01:44:55 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Sunday of the Holy Cross To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 97-02-26 23:56:23 EST, Jeff Mierzejewski writes: << Then the Evening Prokeimenon is sung. The Typicon says to use the Great Preokeimenon for Saturday evening. (A Great Prokeimenon is one with several verses.) Looking at the ones in the Vespers book, we find a special Prokeimeon for the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays of Great Lent: You have granted me the heritage, O God, of those who fear your name. (The melody is written out here.) >> In the Orthodox use, the Great Prokeimenon for Saturday Vespers is always "The Lord is King..." [Gospod' votsarisya...]. The rubric in the Lenten Triodion (Timothy Ware/Mother Mary) indicates: "Then the Theotokion (Dogmatikon) in the Tone of the week from the Octoechos, followed by the Entrance, "O joyful Light," and the Prokimenon of the day, "The Lord is King" (p. 335). <> Fr. David's typicon seems to presume that Vespers alone is being served on Saturday evening, instead of a Vigil. In that case, his instructions regarding the troparia would be (almost) correct, followed by the usual (non-Lenten) dismissal. [The order of the troparia at Vespers celebrated by itself is the same as at the beginning of Matins, which in this case would be: Troparion of the Resurrection in the tone of the week, "Glory...," the Troparion of the Cross ("O Lord, save Thy people..."), "Both now...," the Theotokion from the Triodion (p. 337) in the same tone (Tone One): "At Gabriel's salutation."] BUT..., a Vigil is appointed for a feast of this rank in both the Greek and Slavic typica. Therefore, the Uniontown and Mother Mary rubrics are for the troparia at Vespers when it is part of a vigil. If one is serving a vigil (the normal practice), one should follow those rubrics. If not, then Fr. David's rubrics should be followed. David James ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 28 Feb 1997 09:54:47 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Lenten Triodion by Srs of St Basil To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <154FAE77A99@kmat.elf.stuba.sk> from "David Pancza" at Feb 27, 97 05:01:17 pm > > Glory be to Jesus Christ ! > > I'm a newcomer here, (invited by Dave Brown). Thanks! > Welcome, David! > But the young ones are glad > that it isn't a tabu more, these saints have a big influence on our > spiritual lives. We have a big icon of st. Serafim in the church and > no problem. Our bishop has seen it and said nothing. I don't know if > it means that it is OK, or that he doesn't know who it is. It's a > question... I think that more and more, these saints are being "slid in under the door" in many places, and it seems that bishops are "not noticing." May they "not notice until such time as we officially recognize these saints! > Something different: > Do you sing the verses in Alleluia and Prokimen ? At St. John Chrysostom in Columbus Ohio, we sing EVERYTHING. (At least when we are in English. We know just enough Slavonic to screw up the short version..... Cheers, Sharon Mech cantor and sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Fri, 28 Feb 1997 22:19:35 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Prokimen and Alleluia verses In-Reply-To: Message of 02/27/97 at 17:01:17 from PANCZA@KMAT.ELF.STUBA.SK Welcome, David! I'm a mathematics teacher too, here in West Virginia, just south of the city of Pittsburgh, where many people from the Presov region settled early this century.` I was very pleased to hear about the veneration of saints, especially St. Seraphim of Sarov, in Slovakia. This year, for the first time, we commemorated St. Gregory Palamas in church (although my family for some time has had an icon of St. Gregory in our icon corner, given to us by an Orthodox priest-friend). Yes, we usually sing the Prokimen together with its verses. Our church book gives them both in English and Slavonic. For David James' benefit, I will sketch how we sing them. For one thing, because all our prokimen and alleluia melodies can be recognized from the first few notes, we never announce the tone; instead, the people begin singing as soon as they hear the melody. (From Johann Gardner's books, I understand that this is what was done 100 years ago in the Carpatho-Rusyn lands, when people sang from the texts in the Great Sbornik; they knew the music by heart, and once they heard the tone, could sing from just the texts.) So a prokimen goes like this: The cantor begins singing the prokimen in the proper melody: Cantor: You, O Lord, (and everyone else begins singing) All: will keep us and preserve us forever and ever, from this generation. The cantor and those people who have a book sing in a psalm tone: Help, O Lord, for good men have vanished. Everyone sings the prokimen again: You, O Lord, will keep us and preserve us.... If there are several verses, we sing: prokimen, verse, prokimen, verse,...,prokimen, and the same with the Alleluia. I have two copies of the Velikij Sbornik ("Great Anthology"): the older one has the prokimen and alleluia verses, and the newer one (intended more for the people than just the cantors) has only the prokimen itself. Perhaps that is how people in Slovakia stopped singing the verses? I know that the verses we sing are the same as the ones in the old Sbornik I have (1885 edition, printed in 1937). Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Fri, 28 Feb 1997 22:40:00 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Sunday of the Holy Cross In-Reply-To: Message of 02/28/97 at 01:44:55 from DMJAMES@AOL.COM On 02/28/97 at 01:44:55 David James said: >In a message dated 97-02-26 23:56:23 EST, Jeff Mierzejewski writes: ><< Then the Evening Prokeimenon is sung. The Typicon says to use the Great > Preokeimenon for Saturday evening. (A Great Prokeimenon is one with > several verses.) Looking at the ones in the Vespers book, we find a > special Prokeimeon for the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays of Great Lent: > You have granted me the heritage, O God, of those who fear your name. > (The melody is written out here.) > >> >In the Orthodox use, the Great Prokeimenon for Saturday Vespers is always >"The Lord is King..." [Gospod' votsarisya...]. The rubric in the Lenten >Triodion (Timothy Ware/Mother Mary) indicates: "Then the Theotokion >(Dogmatikon) in the Tone of the week from the Octoechos, followed by the >Entrance, "O joyful Light," and the Prokimenon of the day, "The Lord is King" >(p. 335). I stand corrected! The melody in our Vespers book is specifically for Vespers of _Sunday Evening_ on the given Sundays of Great Lent; it matches the prokeimenon in the same place in Bishop Kallistos' and Mother Mary's Triodion. (I'm used to Sunday Vespers = Great Vespers of Saturday). On Saturday we use the usual Great Prokeimenon. Thank you! ><contradiction. (Where's a rabbi when you need one?) The typicon >says to sing the troparion of the Resurrection tone, then a >troparion from the Triodion, then "Glory, now and ever", then >a Festal theotokion. But both the Uniontown Triodion and Mother >Mary's Triodion have instead: > To the troparion melody in tone 5, sung twice: > Hail Mother of God, Virgin Mary full of grace... > To the troparion melody in tone 1: > Save your people O Lord, and bless your inheritance...>> >Fr. David's typicon seems to presume that Vespers alone is being served on >Saturday evening, instead of a Vigil. In that case, his instructions >regarding the troparia would be (almost) correct, followed by the usual >(non-Lenten) dismissal. [The order of the troparia at Vespers celebrated by >itself is the same as at the beginning of Matins, which in this case would >be: Troparion of the Resurrection in the tone of the week, "Glory...," the >Troparion of the Cross ("O Lord, save Thy people..."), "Both now...," the >Theotokion from the Triodion (p. 337) in the same tone (Tone One): "At >Gabriel's salutation."] Checking the texts, these are exactly the troparia which are indicated by Father David's typicon (the festal theotokion you give is the proper one). >BUT..., a Vigil is appointed for a feast of this rank in both the Greek and >Slavic typica. Therefore, the Uniontown and Mother Mary rubrics are for the >troparia at Vespers when it is part of a vigil. If one is serving a vigil >(the normal practice), one should follow those rubrics. If not, then Fr. >David's rubrics should be followed. Agreed. Thank you. Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Mon, 3 Mar 1997 05:08:47 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David Pancza Subject: Re: Prokimen and Alleluia verses To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Thanks for all tour answers ! > I have two copies of the Velikij Sbornik ("Great Anthology"): > the older one has the prokimen and alleluia verses, and the > newer one (intended more for the people than just the cantors) > has only the prokimen itself. Perhaps that is how people in > Slovakia stopped singing the verses? I know that the verses we > sing are the same as the ones in the old Sbornik I have (1885 > edition, printed in 1937). The verses are in the older books, or in those from Ukraina. At Utrena, Vecerna and Presanctified we sing the verses, and in Liturgy on Alleluia. But only if there is someone who has that older Sbornik. The prokimens on liturgy are problematic. We have verses, but: It was so All people: Response verse (let us say it is in C dur) Ctec (cantor):Verse All: Response verse Ctec: First part of response (on one tone) All: second part of response (in a different "closing" melody, which ends in E dur) And after omitting the verses people sing the response and bind it with the mentioned second part in different melody. It is in their minds as one compact unit, we are unable to stop them "in the middle" and after singing it all it is hard to continue (it doesn't sound good, it is "closed") and return again to C dur. Doesn't matter. Many things are changing, after a time when people will accept the recent changes (we have a new iconostas, before we hadn't, and a "horror" thing: a red veil in the royal door) we will change this too.:-) David ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Mon, 3 Mar 1997 23:17:44 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Paschal Canon on the Sunday of the Cross To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Glory to Jesus Christ! Dear Jeff: The Irmosi for the Canon of the Triodion by St. Theodore the Studite *are* the Irmosi of the Paschal Canon. But..., these Irmosi are indicated in the Lenten Triodion (pp. 337 ff.) only by their incipits because, in fact, we use the Irmosi of the Canon of the Resurrection from the Octoechos in the Tone of the week. The proper Katavasias are indicated in the Triodion, as on p. 338. As far as I know, when there are several canons only the Irmosi of the first canon are sung. The katavasias vary by season. In this case, the katavasia is provided in the Triodion. I hope this is clear. With love in Christ, David James ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Tue, 4 Mar 1997 00:47:57 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Paschal Canon on the Sunday of the Cross In-Reply-To: Message of 03/03/97 at 23:17:44 from DMJAMES@AOL.COM On 03/03/97 at 23:17:44 David James said: >Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever! >The Irmosi for the Canon of the Triodion by St. Theodore the Studite *are* >the Irmosi of the Paschal Canon. But..., these Irmosi are indicated in the >Lenten Triodion (pp. 337 ff.) only by their incipits because, in fact, we use >the Irmosi of the Canon of the Resurrection from the Octoechos in the Tone of >the week. The proper Katavasias are indicated in the Triodion, as on p. 338. >As far as I know, when there are several canons only the Irmosi of the first >canon are sung. The katavasias vary by season. In this case, the katavasia is >provided in the Triodion. I hope this is clear. I _think_ I understand, then. So one would sing: The irmos of the Resurrectional Canon (sung) Troparia of the resurrectional Canon (chanted) The irmos of the Canon from the Triodion (chanted? omitted?) Troparia of the Canon from the Triodion (chanted) Glory; last tropar; Now and ever; Theotokion (chanted) Katavasiai (sung; special melody in our prostopinije books) The Order of Services from St. John of Kronstadt Press implies that the irmosy (first verse of each ode) of the additional canons should be omitted; it seems strange to have an initial verse (irmos) of a canon in the Triodion which is never used. What confuses me still is that (according to Mother Mary) the Canon of St. Theodore in the Triodion has eight troparia for each ode; counting the irmos and theotkion with the troparia, I still come up with only seven! But thanks for the information. Much of my confusion usually arises with those parts of the services which are understood, and neither written out nor mentioned. Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 4 Mar 1997 01:17:33 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Update! To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Deat All, Slava Isusu Christu! In a message dated 2/22/97 6:28:20 PM, Jeff wrote: > One of the major needs is for rubrics and > textual and musical material, especially for the laity. Well, let's get cracking :-) Just out of interest, would anyone be interested in this Monastery's Matins and Vespers booklets. It shows how we do things here. I'd have to send them by regular mail, as they're rather too large for posting electronically. I find I have to prepare our own service books from various sources for a number of reasons, not the least of which is a desire to standardize one translation of the psalter for the community (we use the Septuagint translation by Jose de Vinck). In Christ, monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 3 Mar 1997 16:31:08 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: Update! To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Slava na veki! Yes, please! I'd even pay the postage! (You already have my address....) -Andy At 01:17 AM 3/4/97 -0500, Br Maximos wrote: >Dear All, > >Slava Isusu Christu! > >In a message dated 2/22/97 6:28:20 PM, Jeff wrote: > >> One of the major needs is for rubrics and >> textual and musical material, especially for the laity. > >Well, let's get cracking :-) > >Just out of interest, would anyone be interested in this Monastery's Matins >and Vespers booklets. It shows how we do things here. I'd have to send them >by regular mail, as they're rather too large for posting electronically. I >find I have to prepare our own service books from various sources for a >number of reasons, not the least of which is a desire to standardize one >translation of the psalter for the community (we use the Septuagint >translation by Jose de Vinck). > >In Christ, > >monk Maximos Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- redco@inficad.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 23:44:51 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Paschal Canon on the Sunday of the Cross To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 97-03-04 00:49:03 EST, Jeff writes: << I _think_ I understand, then. So one would sing: The irmos of the Resurrectional Canon (sung) Troparia of the resurrectional Canon (chanted) The irmos of the Canon from the Triodion (chanted? omitted?) Troparia of the Canon from the Triodion (chanted) Glory; last tropar; Now and ever; Theotokion (chanted) Katavasiai (sung; special melody in our prostopinije books)>> Dear Jeff, the above is correct, with the clarification that the Irmos of the Canon from the Triodion is omitted. <> The Irmos was provided by the composer. Every canon has a proper irmos. If a canon is chanted by itself, as when one might not be able to get to church, then the irmos would be chanted. However, it is the practice (at least in the Russian Church, and I believe in the Greek Church also) when several canons are being chanted together, as at Sunday Matins, to omit the irmosi of all but the first canon. You can see evidence of this practice in the Sunday and Weekday Octoechos of Mother Mary, where only the incipits of certain canons are provided. This drove me nuts trying to find the complete irmosi texts, until I learned the proper usage. Then I discovered that there are only a finite number of irmosi, contained in a book called the Irmologion. I believe SJOKP is in the process of preparing an English Irmologion. With love in Christ. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 22:11:39 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Paschal Canon on the Sunday of the Cross In-Reply-To: Message of 03/05/97 at 23:44:51 from DMJAMES@AOL.COM On 03/05/97 at 23:44:51 David James said: ... >Dear Jeff, the above is correct, with the clarification that the Irmos of the >Canon from the Triodion is omitted. > < the irmosy (first verse of each ode) of the additional canons should > be omitted; it seems strange to have an initial verse (irmos) of > a canon in the Triodion which is never used. Thank you! The above is just what I needed to know. >The Irmos was provided by the composer. Every canon has a proper irmos. If a >canon is chanted by itself, as when one might not be able to get to church, >then the irmos would be chanted. However, it is the practice (at least in the >Russian Church, and I believe in the Greek Church also) when several canons >are being chanted together, as at Sunday Matins, to omit the irmosi of all >but the first canon. You can see evidence of this practice in the Sunday and >Weekday Octoechos of Mother Mary, where only the incipits of certain canons >are provided. This drove me nuts trying to find the complete irmosi texts, >until I learned the proper usage. Then I discovered that there are only a >finite number of irmosi, contained in a book called the Irmologion. I believe >SJOKP is in the process of preparing an English Irmologion. Yes, the Irmologion is traditionally a cantor's book, with the text and music for the irmosy of the year, and sometimes other items (dogmatika, antiphons, etc.) as well. One of the results of an overall adaptation of the Prostopinije would be an English Irmologion with Transcarpathian music. The texts of the most important canons (at least, the ones that have proper melodies in the Slavonic books) and we just need to adapt the hymns to English texts. Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Sat, 8 Mar 1997 06:38:17 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Fourth Sunday of the Great Fast - Matins (Part I) This coming Sunday (at least according to the Byzantine calendar for the Western date of Pascha) is the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent, normally the Sunday of the St. John of the Ladder. (This year, the feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste takes precedence over the commemoration of St. John). Here are some notes on Matins for Sunday. According to Father David's Typicon: March 9. Fourth Sunday of the Great Fast. Feast of the Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste. (The Commemoration of St. John Climacus is replaced by that of the Forty Martyrs.) VES 145-147; MAT 98-102; 133-137; 143; LT 341-352; MMLT 353-368; FM330-336; MAR 21-33; JKP 14 Resurrection Tone 8. Matins Gospel 8 (John 20:11-18) Katavasiai: Canon of the God-bearer ("I shall open my mouth") Vespers: The First Kathisma is sung. At Psalm 140, 4 stichera of the Resurrection Tone; 6 of the Martyrs (each of the three is repeated); Glory, of the Martyrs; Now and ever, Dogmatikon of Tone 8. Prokeimenon of Saturday evening. Readings: 1) Isaiah 43:9-14; 2) Wisdom 3:1-9; 3) Wisdom 5:15-6:3. Litija (optional): Stichera of the Martyrs (from Vespers on the Evening of the Feast, MAR 34). Aposticha of the Resurrection Tone; Glory, of the Martyrs, Now and ever, Theotokion, Tone 6. Troparion of the Resurrection Tone; Glory, of the Martyrs; Now and ever, Festal Theotokion, Tone 1 (FM 331) If bread is blessed, then: Rejoice, Virgin God-bearer,..., three times. Matins: Troparia at "The Lord is God...," as at Vespers, the Resurrection Tone being sung twice. Until Psalm 50, follow Format 11C. The Penitential stichera are sung at Psalm 50. Canons: of the Resurrection Tone; of the Triodion (Tone 5); of the Martyrs. [The Canon of St. John Climacus, Tone 8, is omitted.] At Ode 3, Kontakion of the Martyrs; Sidalen of the Triodion (Tone 5, Since we have your precious Cross.), then of the Martyrs. At Ode 6, Kontakion and Ikos of the Resurrection Tone. "More honorable..." is sung. Svitelens, "Holy is the Lord our God..."; of the Gospel; Glory, now and ever, of the Martyrs. At the Praises, 4 of the Resurrection Tone; 4 of the Martyrs, with its versicles (Psalm 65:1-2 and 10) replacing those of Sunday; then the versicle, Rise up, O God! Lift up Your hand! Forget not the afflicted, and the sticheron for the Triodion, Tone 1, Come, let us labor...; Glory, repeat the sticheron; Now and ever, you are most blessed... Troparion at the Great Doxology, Tone 8, You came forth from death... Since no format in the Common Typicon is given, most details will be given here. The necessary texts are in the Uniontown Vespers book (VES) and Matins book (MAT); in either the Uniontown Lenten Triodion (LT) or Mother Mary's Lenten Triodion (MMLT); in the Uniontown Festal Menaion (FM); and in the March volume of the Sophia Press Menaion (MAR) and in the Menaion from St. John of Kronstadt Press (JKP), all at the indicated places. If you managed to puzzle your way through last week's explanation of Vespers, most of the instructions from Vespers above should make some sense. The only new item is the instructions in a Vigil with Entreaty (Litija) and possibly with blessing of bread is celebrated. Using last week's instructions with the Vespers Book and the Typicon should make things clear. Now, on to Matins! Both the Uniontown Matins Book (for the year) and Lenten Triodion have the common parts of Vespers. We'll start with the Matins book, since it has the materials for the Resurrection Tones as well. Turn to page 1. Matins begins with the opening, the chanting of "Glory to God in the highest...." (3 times) and "O Lord, open my lips..." (2 times). Then the first three psalms are chanted in a psalm tone. What's a psalm tone, you may ask? Among the Russians, psalms are typically "straight chanted" - chanted recto tone, on a single note from beginning to end. However, the Ruthenians and Carpatho-Russians, when the say "chant", "straight chant" or even "chant on a single note", they one of the following: Uzhorod-style usage, more common in the Pittsburgh eparchy: How many are my foes, O Lord! How many are rising up a-gainst me. do - - - - - - - re - - - - - - - ti do Presov-style usage, more common in Parma and among the Carpatho-Russians How many are saying about me No help will come from God. do - - - - - - - - re - - mi re do These two tones are identical except for the conclusion; the first phrase is sung on the tonic ("do") of the scale; the second phrase is sung on the second ("re") and concludes with "ti-do" or "mi-re-do". These are adapted slightly to keep accented syllables in the right place; this is best learned by listening to an experienced cantor :-) In the prostopinije tradition, there are also special tones for Psalm 103 ("Bless the Lord, O my soul...") at Vespers and Psalm 50 ("Have mercy on me, O God...") at Matins. I'm setting Psalm 103 resently; Psalm 50 has been set by the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox but is not widely used. (The old people in church recognize it, though.) So whenever you are to "chant" or "chant in a psalm tone", use the psalm tone commonly used in your parish. Whenever you are to "sing", use the proper melody for the text, or a samohlasen, podoben (ah! I haven't mentioned podobny yet!) or Bolhar tone. After the first three psalms of the Six Psalms of Matins are chanted, we chant three times "Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! Glory be to You, O God!" The third time is usually sung more slowly in a special melody, but that's not a matter for the typicon, so we'll pass on. The remaining psalms of the Six Psalms of Matins are now chanted in a psalm tone, followed by Alleluia.... three times as before. Then the priest or deacon leads the Litany of Peace as usual. At this point, we've come to page 9 of the Matins book. Next, the rubrics say that "'God the Lord' is sung to the tone of the troparion that follows it." The typicon says that the Matins troparia at "The Lord is God..." (simply a more literal translation of "God the Lord...") are the same as at Vespers, except the Resurrection troparion is sung twice (a common practice when a particular number of troparia or stichera are needed). So we will start the troparia in the Resurectional tone of the week, which is tone 8. (Remember tone 8!) "God the Lord" has a special melody for each of the eight tones; these are available in manuscript form right now in English. If you don't know the melodies, then you can simply chant it. "God the Lord" is a refrain for cantors and people, with verses sung by the deacon (or priest, or ecclesiarch if there are no clergy): God the Lord has revealed Himself to us, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. (sung to the "God the Lord" melody of the tone of the first troparion, in this case Tone 8) v. Give thanks to the Lord... (chanted) God the Lord... (sung) v. They encircled me... (chanted) God the Lord... (sung) v. I shall not die... (chanted) God the Lord... (sung) v. The stone which the... (chanted) Next the troparia of the day are sung, with the doxology (in either one or two parts, as the typicon directs, inserted among them): Troparion of the Resurrection, twice (Tone 8, Matins book p. 72) Glory be.. Troparion of the Forty Martyrs (Tone 2, Matins book p. 309) Now and ever... Festal Theotokion (Tone 1, Festal Menaion p. 331) The Resurrectional troparia have their own section in the Matins book. The Troparia of saints days are in the abbreviated menaion in the Matins book. I don't have a copy of the Festal Menaion, but the Vespers book has a Festal Theotokion for Tone 1, and one could use that. Each of the eight tones has a troparion melody, consisting of a beginning phrase, one or more intermediate phrases which are repeated in order as many times as necessary, followed by a concluding phrase. Although several sources are available for "pre-set" troparia with melodies, it is important to learn the troparion melodies will enough that you can sing a given troparion text to a given tone. I'm checking to see what melody is used for the doxology (Glory be... Now and ever...) In the prostopinije books, a doxology melody is given with the kontakion melody, just after the troparion melody; that's probably the right one. (I'm still investigating.) Next, the Psalter is read. The 150 Psalms of David are divided into 20 sections called Kathismata, each consisting of three sections called stases or stations. A stasis may be several psalms, or part of a long psalm. The divisions of the Psalter are given in the Typicon. The psalms are chanted in a psalm tone; at the end of each Kathisma, the doxology "Glory be..., Now and ever..." is chanted, followed by "Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, Glory be to You, O God" three times, just as at the Six Psalms at the beginning. A note on the Psalter: several are available, including the translations from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, and from Archbishop Raya (approved for use by the Greek Orthodox in the USA as well) and a translation of the Church Slavonic psalterm, divided into kathismata (from the St. Joseph's Institute). All three are based on the Septuagint Psalter, the traditional Greek Old Testament, which sometimes has connections to the texts of the liturgy which are not present in the Hebrew. If you don't have a Septuagint Psalter, try the 1963 Grail psalter, or the Psalter of the Book of Common Prayer. After the first Kathisma, the deacon or priest leads the Small Litany ("Again and again, in peace..."), then the cantor sings the Sessional Hymns or Sedalen ("sitting hymns") while the people are seated. The Sessional Hymns look like the following (Sessional Hymn of Tone 8): Tone 8: You have risen from the dead, O Life of all, * and a resplendent angel said to the women: * Dry your tears and proclaim the good news to the apostles, * and cry out in praise that Christ the Lord is risen, and as God He was pleased to save the human race. (bold) Arise then, Lord, lift up your hand. O God, do not forget the poor! You truly rose from the tomb, * and as it is written, You commanded the holy women * to preach the Resurrection... (etc.) (bold) Glory be... Now and ever: Let us glorify the tabernacle and the heavenly gate, * the most holy mountain and the shining cloud, * .... (etc.) Therefore we cry out to her: * Interced with your Son and God to grant forgiveness of sins * to those who bow in true worship to your most holy birthgiving. Everything is sung in the samohlasen melody of the given tone (Tone 8). Remember that a samohlasen tone has a short melody (stich) and a long melody (stichera). Here, sing the hymn texts to the stichera melody and the refrain and doxology (the material in bold face) to the stich melody. The asterisks (*) show how to divide up the hymns into sections as an aid in singing the stichera melody. You have risen from the dead, O Life of all... (stichera melody, tone 8) Arise then, O Lord... (stich melody, tone 8) You truly rose from the tomb... (stichera melody, tone 8) Glory be... Now and ever... (stich melody, tone 8) Let us glorify the tabernacle... (stichera melody, tone 8) The sessional hymn or sidalen is concluded with a special doxology, sung by the priest. Next next Kathisma is chanted the same way as the first, followed by the Small Litany and Sessional Hymns of its own, and concluded with a different doxology sung by the priest. If a third Kathisma is prescribed, it is chanted and concluded "Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia" as usual. The Typicon says to follow Format 11C (Sunday with a Polyeleos Saint) for now). Format 11C says that we read Kathismata 2 and 3, with Sidalens of the Resurrection. The back of the Typicon says that Kathisma 2 consists of Psalms 9-16, and Kathisma 3 consists of Psalm 17-23. The Resurrectional Sidalens for Tone 8 are found in the Matins book on pages 98 and 99; use the ones marked Sessional Hymns I after the first Kathisma (Kathisma 2) and the ones marked Sessional Hymns II after the second Kathisma (Kathisma 3). The third Kathisma for the day is a special one called the Polyeleos ("many mercies"), which is really Psalms 134 and 135 sung to a special melody and used on greater feasts. The melody is available in manuscript in English. Format 11C continues "Third Kathisma: Polyeleos, followed by the Exaltation of the Feast and the enthronement of the icon." So after the Polyeleos, we sing the Exaltation (also called a Magnification), which is sung to a particular melody ("O my soul, O my soul, magnify....") and may have verses which are chanted to a psalm tone. The icon of the feast is enthroned on the tetrapod and incensed during the singing of the polyeleos). The Exaltation may have a Sessional Hymn (sidalen) of its own, which is sung in the same manner as the previous sidalens. Next, Format 11C says simply "Angelic choirs." This refers to a series of five resurrectional troparia (Tropari Neporochny) with the refrain "Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me your commandments". These troparia and refrain have a particular melody of their own, which I _think_ I have in manuscript. Enough for now. I'll try to write up the rest of Matins this evening. Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Sat, 8 Mar 1997 17:47:24 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Fourth Sunday of the Great Fast - Matins (Part I) To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 97-03-08 06:39:23 EST, Jeff writes: << This coming Sunday (at least according to the Byzantine calendar for the Western date of Pascha) is the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent, normally the Sunday of the St. John of the Ladder. (This year, the feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste takes precedence over the commemoration of St. John). Here are some notes on Matins for Sunday.>> Glory to Jesus Christ! First, Jeff, let me say that you have my highest admiration for what you are doing. It is an undertaking that is pleasing to Our Lord, and, while I make comments on your work (to the point where I fear it may be perceived as overly-critical), I really am enormously encouraged by your efforts, as I perceive that the practice (according to the typicon, at least) of liturgics in the Ruthenian Catholic Church is basically identical with that of the Orthodox Russian Church -- indeed, that of all Orthodox Churches. Moreover, I see in your efforts a mirror of my own attempts to learn the typicon in our mission parish over the past 8 years. Finally, I bow down before you all and ask you to forgive me, a sinner, as we Orthodox enter the Great and Holy Quadragessima. Of course, now I do have some comments (as usual!), which I hope you take in the spirit of charity and mutual respect which I certainly intend: <> On the Julian Calendar in 1992, the feast of the Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste coincided with the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas. I assume the same principles applied then as do in your case this year on the Gregorian Calendar. The typicon notation in our rubrics stated that "the service to St. Gregory Palamas is chanted on another day," i.e., it was not "replaced" as you stated above re: the service for St. John Climacus. <> Generally, the first sticheron of the Lity is that of the Temple. The Lity verses for the Holy Forty Martyrs come from the Vespers Aposticha of their service in the Menaion. <> The Russian use: Sessional Hymns (Sedalni) of the Resurrection. [NB: If the Sun. Theotokion chanted at "Both now and ever... at troparia at the beginning of Matins was *not* in the tone of the week (i.e., if the troparion of the saint of the day is not in the same tone as that of the week), then the Sunday Theotokion in the tone of the week is read in place of the theotokion at the end of the sessional hymns after the first kathisma reading. The displaced theotokion is omitted entirely. The sessional hymns of the second kathisma are read as usual. If the sessional hymns are sung (not customary in Russian parochial practice), Russians use the *troparion* melody.] <> Following the 1992 directions: After Ode 3: Kontakia of the Triodion (FM p. 362, bottom) and the Martyrs; sessional hymns of the Martyrs; G/N: Theotokion of the Martyrs. <> I.E., the Exapostilaria: Sunday; G: of the Martyrs; BN: Theotokion of the Sunday Exapostilarion. With love in Christ, David James ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 09:23:08 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Dumb Question - Presanctified To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: from "Jeff Brooks" at Mar 7, 97 10:11:39 pm Preface: Boy o boy do I miss having the encyclopedic Fr. Jack Custer around!! Query: We have 40 or so seminarians + a dozen or so assorted extras coming for Presanctified on Wednesday. What is proper to sing whilst Communion is being distributed? we rarely have more than 20 people, so "Taste and See" can be spun out just fine for the required time. I know some parishes use Sunday-type Eucharistic hymns. Is this proper, or is it just custom? Does anyone know what the relevant regs are, or if there even are any? Input appreciated! Looking forward also to Saturday - talked Father into actually having the Akathist on Akathistos Saturday. I hope a few "musical" types show up so we can sing harmony like they do in Hungary! Yum, yum! Cheers (gee, is that proper during Lent?) Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 04:53:05 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David Pancza Subject: Re: Prokimen and Alleluia verses To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU > << hadn't, and a "horror" thing: a red veil in the royal door) we will > change this too.:-) > >> > > Dear David: > > Why is a red sanctuary curtain a "horror thing"? > > David James Because it isn't a custom in other towns (long ago it was put away and everywhere the liturgy is celebrated with open royal door from the begining till the end.). It is something new, closing the door and the veil, it is new, "too orthodox" and "too russian" and the people are afraid."Put it away, we are not orthodox..." But it is there for 3 months and the thunderstorm has passed, now it is OK, the people are acustomed. I like it, it is a very deep symbol which helps me to see "much deeper" than without it. There were more thunderstorms, the iconostas (3 months we have an iconostas, and it is a rarity, in the past 50 years only 2 complete iconostases were built.) which is too big (people like only 2 icons, not the whole wall), burning of "orthodox" candles (the people were taught by the older priests that this is a satanic custom and that the orthodox are doing satanic rituals - it is so stupid and the people believe this rumours), and as it was on the last matins- using the word pravoslavnyj etc.!!! :-) and singing the prokimen with verses ... David ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 05:10:04 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David Pancza Subject: Re: Dumb Question - Presanctified To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU > being distributed? we rarely have more than 20 people, so "Taste and See" > can be spun out just fine for the required time. > > I know some parishes use Sunday-type Eucharistic hymns. Is this proper, or > is it just custom? Does anyone know what the relevant regs are, or if there > even are any? Our custom (I don't know if it is right) is to sing "Taste and see" in more different melodies, or to sing some parts of the Great Canon of st. Andrew. The communion is sometimes 10-15 minutes long (50 - 80 people and the priest doesn't like to hurry). And on sundays what do you sing except eucharistic hymns ? When the comunion takes a long time, we sing "chvalitne stichiry" from the matins, it is better than the older custom to fill the time with non- liturgical pious songs with controversial texts. Most of the people were not on the matins and if they were, doesn't matter, we sing it in slovak, and the regular matins are in churchslavonic. David ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 09:37:48 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Prokimen and Alleluia verses To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <268E782369F@kmat.elf.stuba.sk> from "David Pancza" at Mar 11, 97 04:53:05 am > > > << hadn't, and a "horror" thing: a red veil in the royal door) we will > > change this too.:-) > > >> > > > > Dear David: > > > > Why is a red sanctuary curtain a "horror thing"? > > > > David James > > > Because it isn't a custom in other towns (long ago it was put away > and everywhere the liturgy is celebrated with open royal door from > the begining till the end.). I most <> HUMBLY beg to disagree (note the throbbing vein in the forehead ;-) ) The Royal doors really aren't supposed to stay open from start to finish. At St. John Chrysostom, we have Royal Doors and a red drape. They both get used at the appropriate times during the Liturgy. Otherwise you get a heckuva draft when the Holy Spirit rushes in.......... ;-) Liturgically Correctly Yours, (at least in Ohio) Sharon Mech Cantor and sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 11:14:36 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Fourth Sunday of the Great Fast - Matins (Part I) To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear all, In a message dated 3/8/97 3:39:23 AM, Jeff wrote: >In the prostopinije books, a doxology melody is >given with the kontakion melody, just after the troparion melody; >that's probably the right one. (I'm still investigating.) The man who did those training tapes put out by the Byzantine Seminary Press says somewhere that the Kontakion melodies are used only at the Divine Liturgy and never at any other kind of service. If so, then would it not make sense to sing the "Glory...now and ever..." between the troparia at Matins in the Troparion Tone of the succeeding text? That's what I do, anyway. (I've since noticed in many Seminary liturgical musical settings that this rule about the Kontakion melody, if it is a rule, is often ignored. For example, the Kontakion of the Dead ("With the saints, O Lord, grant rest...) is always set to the Tone 8 Kontakion melody, even during the Parastas. For myself, I am anything but consistent - I usually sing the Kontakia prescribed during the Canon at Matins in the Kontakion Tone - except, of course, when my brain fails and all I come up with is the Troparion Tone, or even something completely different:-)) Jeff, you also said that the sessional hymns are sung to the Samohlasen Tones. I was taught by our Fr Robert Pipta that they were sung to the Troparion Tones - at least that is what they did at the Seminary when he was there. Also, from memory I think the various Seminary publications, such as the Holy Week pamphlets and the funeral services provide settings of the Troparion Tones to those texts called "Sessional Hymn" or "Sidalen" and the Samohlasen Tones to anything called "Stichera." I wonder whether there is a difference in usage here? I know that the OCA music books always seem to set the sessionals to the same tones as the stichera and apostichera. Let us keep one another in our prayers as we all move into Great Week mode... In Christ monk Maximos, sinner. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 11:14:44 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Update! To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Sharon, Glory to Jesus Christ! In a message dated 3/5/97 6:29:34 AM, you wrote: >P.S. Please send any spare prayers you might have lying around for the >benefit of Liz Marco. She is the wife of one of my cantorial cohorts, and >will be undergoing surgery + otherstuff for uterine cancer this week, >possibly today. I just read this today. Liz is in our prayers. In Christ, monk Maximos, sinner ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 13:19:23 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Akathistos Saturday To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 97-03-10 09:26:36 EST, Sharon wrote: >Looking forward also to Saturday - talked Father into actually having the >Akathist on Akathistos Saturday. I hope a few "musical" types show up so >we can sing harmony like they do in Hungary! Yum, yum! Of the different versions of the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos that I've seen the main translational differences seem to be using "Rejoice" instead of "Hail." Does anyone know more about why the difference? Is one more literal than the other? Just curious. Thanks! Dave Brown DTBrown54@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Sat, 8 Mar 1997 02:33:07 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Fwd: Hirmoi - Lent 3 To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Glory to Jesus Christ! Dear fellow members of the Cantor List: Since how to chant the irmosi of the canons at Matins has been a topic under discussion here of late, I thought I would forward the following clear and concise message on this same subject, which appeared today on the Orthodox List. With love in Christ, David James PS, to Sharon: If the English Irmologion ever sees the light of day, I will be sure to let everyone know. << ---------------------- Information from the mail header ----------------------- Sender: Orthodox Christianity Poster: Archimandrite Kyril Jenner Subject: Re: Hirmoi - Lent 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - >I don't mean to question your judgment at all; I was just wondering what >exactly the Typikon says about this, and in what chapter? > >Thanks, > >Steve Knowlton > > It is a general rule for the reading/singing of Canons at Orthros that only the Hirmoi of the first Canon are sung (see the St John of Kronstadt Press English edition of the Typikon). There are exceptions to this on certain Feasts where the Hirmos of the Second Canon actually belongs to that Canon and is therefore sung with it. In general the Hirmoi (other than on Great Feasts) are not actually part of any Canon with which they are associated, merely indications of the melody to be used. In the Lenten Triodion the Paschal Hirmoi are not printed for the final Canon of the Sunday of the Cross, merely the first few words being given in the most usual way, again simply to indicate the melody. Archimandrite Kyril Jenner. >> --------------------- Forwarded message: From: cm1984@WLV.AC.UK (Archimandrite Kyril Jenner) Sender: ORTHODOX@IUBVM.UCS.INDIANA.EDU (Orthodox Christianity) Reply-to: ORTHODOX@IUBVM.UCS.INDIANA.EDU (Orthodox Christianity) To: ORTHODOX@IUBVM.UCS.INDIANA.EDU Date: 97-03-07 04:25:37 EST ---------------------- Information from the mail header ----------------------- Sender: Orthodox Christianity Poster: Archimandrite Kyril Jenner Subject: Re: Hirmoi - Lent 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - >I don't mean to question your judgment at all; I was just wondering what >exactly the Typikon says about this, and in what chapter? > >Thanks, > >Steve Knowlton > > It is a general rule for the reading/singing of Canons at Orthros that only the Hirmoi of the first Canon are sung (see the St John of Kronstadt Press English edition of the Typikon). There are exception to this on certain Feasts where the Hirmos of the Second Canon actually belongs to that Canon and is therefore sung with it. In general the Hirmoi (other than on Great Feasts) are not actually part of any Canon with which they are associated, merely indications of the melody to be used. In the Lenten Triodion the Paschal Hirmoi are not printed for the final Canon of the Sunday of the Cross, merely the first few words being given in the most usual way, again simply to indicate the melody. Archimandrite Kyril Jenner. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 23:05:08 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Fourth Sunday of the Great Fast - Matins (Part I) In-Reply-To: Message of 03/08/97 at 17:47:24 from DMJAMES@AOL.COM Dear-in-Christ David James, Thanks for writing! On 03/08/97 at 17:47:24 David James said: >In a message dated 97-03-08 06:39:23 EST, Jeff writes: >comments on your work (to the point where I fear it may be perceived as >overly-critical) ... Not at all! I appreciate any corrections; I'm still learning! >perceive that the practice (according to the typicon, at least) of liturgics >in the Ruthenian Catholic Church is basically identical with that of the >Orthodox Russian Church -- indeed, that of all Orthodox Churches. Except for a few pre-Nikonian usages (where our prayers suddenly start matching the Old Believers' prayer book instead of the Great Russian ones), I agree. Our Order of Services for Vespers, Matins and Liturgy is used by at least one Orthodox seminary in the United States. >On the Julian Calendar in 1992, the feast of the Holy Forty Martyrs of >Sebaste coincided with the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas. I assume the same >principles applied then as do in your case this year on the Gregorian >Calendar. The typicon notation in our rubrics stated that "the service to St. >Gregory Palamas is chanted on another day," i.e., it was not "replaced" as >you stated above re: the service for St. John Climacus. It's quite possible that our typicon has undergone a simplification. I note that the only "transferred" offices I saw at first glance in this year's typicon were for a specific case -- parishes with patronal feasts taken from the West (such as St. Therese of Liseaux, or St. Francis of Assisi) which conflicted with Eastern feasts (such as the Protection of the Mother of God). In such cases, the Western patronal feast is displaced to another day. > < Stichera of the Martyrs (from Vespers on the Evening of the Feast, > MAR 34).>> > Generally, the first sticheron of the Lity is that of the Temple. The Lity >verses for the Holy Forty Martyrs come from the Vespers Aposticha of their >service in the Menaion. Our books don't say one way or the other; the Order of Vespers just says "Litija stichera according to the typicon." I would note, though, that Hapgood says to use "stichera of the temple _or_ of the feast" (emphasis added). Right -- the "MAR 34" notation is a pointer to the Menaion. > <> >The Russian use: Sessional Hymns (Sedalni) of the Resurrection. The same with us; I neglected to mention the source. The Sessional Hymns of the Resurrection are given in our Matins book. > If the sessional hymns are sung (not customary in >Russian parochial practice), Russians use the *troparion* melody.] Our tradition is to sing them; as someone (Brother Maximos, I think) pointed out, the troparion melody should ordinarily be used. However, the Sbornik indicates that on certain feasts, one of the podobny melodies (which in the prostopinije are embellished sticheral melodies) are to be used. For example, the sidalen at the first kathisma at Matins on Flowery Sunday is proper, and is sung to the podoben melody "Udivsja Josif", "The noble Joseph". (By back-formation, I made the error of guessing that the sticheral melody rather than the troparion melody should be used. My apologies!) >< Canons: of the Resurrection Tone; of the Triodion (Tone 5); > of the Martyrs. [The Canon of St. John Climacus, Tone 8, is > omitted.] At Ode 3, Kontakion of the Martyrs; Sidalen of > the Triodion (Tone 5, Since we have your precious Cross.), > then of the Martyrs.>> >Following the 1992 directions: After Ode 3: Kontakia of the Triodion (FM p. >362, bottom) and the Martyrs; sessional hymns of the Martyrs; G/N: Theotokion >of the Martyrs. Yes, there is definitely a difference in the way concurrences are handled. The typicon Father David uses is the Ustav used in the Greek Catholic diocese of Uzhorod in the 19th century; it is based on the Russian Synodal typicon of 1801-1825, with minor changes to reflect Galician and pre-Nikonian usages. ><> I.E., the Exapostilaria: Sunday; G: of the Martyrs; BN: >Theotokion of the Sunday Exapostilarion. Our typicon gives the same except for omitting the theotokion. The body of the typicon gives simplified rules for theotokia, but contains the full rules in a four-page appendix. Consulting the appendix gives the full format you describe above. Actually, I haven't gotten as far in Matins as the svetilens yet; perhaps tomorrow I can finish it, and those of you who have been holding your breath since last week can finally finish Matins! :-) Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 23:24:50 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Fwd: Hirmoi - Lent 3 In-Reply-To: Message of 03/08/97 at 02:33:07 from DMJAMES@AOL.COM On 03/08/97 at 02:33:07 David James said: >Glory to Jesus Christ! >Dear fellow members of the Cantor List: >Since how to chant the irmosi of the canons at Matins has been a topic under >discussion here of late, I thought I would forward the following clear and >concise message on this same subject, which appeared today on the Orthodox >List. > ---------------------- Information from the mail header >----------------------- > Sender: Orthodox Christianity > Poster: Archimandrite Kyril Jenner > Subject: Re: Hirmoi - Lent 3 >------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >- > It is a general rule for the reading/singing of Canons at Orthros that only > the Hirmoi of the first Canon are sung (see the St John of Kronstadt Press > English edition of the Typikon). There are exceptions to this on certain > Feasts where the Hirmos of the Second Canon actually belongs to that Canon > and is therefore sung with it. In general the Hirmoi (other than on Great > Feasts) are not actually part of any Canon with which they are associated, > merely indications of the melody to be used. > In the Lenten Triodion the Paschal Hirmoi are not printed for the final > Canon of the Sunday of the Cross, merely the first few words being given in > the most usual way, again simply to indicate the melody. Actually, I found this somewhat confusing. Since the 1500's at least (perhaps the Stoglav Council of 1551?) the Russian tradition has been to recite the troparia of the canon instead of singing them. If only the first irmos of each of is sung, why would you need to know the "melody to be used" for the troparia of the various canons when they are combined? Those troparia would always be recited/chanted in any case. Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 7 Apr 1997 14:59:17 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Abbreviated Services To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Having just completed the Services for Holy Week and noticing what the local Orthodox parishes have planned for Holy Week, I wanted to ask: Is it just the Ruthenian Church that abbreviates so much? I realize there is some abbreviation among Orthodox parishes but it seems we Ruthenians abbreviate on a much larger scale. Does anyone know if the Carpatho-Rusyn Orthodox follow pretty much the same sort of abbreviations we do? Or, perhaps this is something that is peculiar to our area with the Ruthenian Chuch? Do the Carpatho-Rusyn (or any other Orthodox) not conclude Liturgy with the veneration of the Cross and the antidoron? Are there some Orthodox jurisdictions that only distribute the antidoron on special feast days like we do? Does anyone know of a Ruthenian parish that celebrated the entire Resurrection Matins? We just did about three or four Odes combined with the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning. Anyone know if the Carpatho-Rusyn do something similar? I realize the amount of abbreviation varies from parish to parish but it seems we Ruthenians are more prone to do so. Anyone know of an Orthodox parish that did not celebrate the entire Resurrection Matins? Is it just my lack of experience among Ruthenian parishes that accounts for this perception? Or my lack of experience among Orthodox parishes? Christ is Risen! Dave Brown DTBrown54@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 7 Apr 1997 15:48:22 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Abbreviated Services To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <970407145907_1152966809@emout07.mail.aol.com> from "Dave Brown" at Apr 7, 97 02:59:17 pm Climb on soapbox: THE PARMA EPARCHY'S HOLY SATURDAY-RESURRECTION MATINS BOOK *****************BARKS AND WAGS ITS TAIL!!!!!!!******************** Climb off soapbox. Put on big fangs and claws. We have almost always used the Byz Seminary Press books for Vespers & St. Basil on Holy Saturday (usually early evening) and Resurrection Matins (usually about 10:30 going into Easter Divine Liturgy about midnight) but this year we did it like most of the rest of Parma, which meant Vespers & St. Basil going directly to Resurrection Matins, no Liturgy following, Easter Liturgy Sunday morning. (we always had Sunday Liturgy as well. Pascha is a "nap" feast day!) As a liturgical resource, the Parma book has a very pretty cover. It has: No music. No phrasing (the asterisks between phrases convention) No bold/regular typeface differentiation between the priest's & the people's parts. No Priest-Cantor version A truncated Psalm 104. We've been singing the whole Psalm every Wednesday & Friday throughout the Great Fast, and on Great & Holy Saturday it becomes somehow less important, and thus disposable??????? Lots of stuff pitched. Some stuff inexplicably changed. Case in point: in the Liturgy, the Parma book does not have that beautiful hymn "Mourn not for me O mother," but instead, an "O My soul" & hirmos. My eyes bugged out when I saw that, and I ran to check the Typikon, where I found the astonishing notation that "mourn not for me.....was prescribed" followed by a parenthetical "except in the Eparchy of Parma, where...." HUH??????? An incomplete service. There are places where it says "continue with Liturgy." I believe that only cantors should have to juggle more than one book at a time. We're used to it. The people should be left free to participate in the Liturgy without having to worry about when to jump from text to text. Oh - at one point during the Holy Saturday Liturgy, the Parma book says "continue with Vigil Liturgy." HUH????????????????? It's confusing as all get-out to follow. And, in my TOTALLY unbiased opinion, I much prefer a separation of at least a few hours between Holy Saturday services & Resurrection Matins + Liturgy. You don't have the "He's in the tomb--->BING!--->He's Out!" syndrome that the combined Holy Saturday---->Resurrection Matins service gives. Splitting them up is harder on feet and sleep deprivation if one happens to be singing Sunday morning as well, but oh is it richer! I intend to write a very respectful CAN WE PLEASE GET A DECENT BOOK letter to Bishop Basil. One should not sing Holy Saturday & Resurrection Matins services and be so frustrated and annoyed with the resources at hand that one requires a trip to the Most Neglected Sacrament before the blessing of the Easter baskets! Sigh. At least Daniel got read well this year. God bless Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and all the lyres, harps, psalteries, et cetera. Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! Quietly and benignly yours, Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 7 Apr 1997 18:21:17 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Re: Abbreviated Services To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <199704071948.PAA04710@cmhcprd.cmhcsys.com> Sharon, I understand your frustration. We Ukrainian Catholics don't have anything at all that is standard and published. The music for these services is so exceptionally beautiful, and I'm afraid that it'll be lost if we don't capture it. This year, I put together booklets for most of Holy Week in Ukrainian with music (except Jerusalem Matins ... next year, Jerusalem). However, our bishops, to my knowledge, haven't standardized anything, so every parish sort of does their own versions of these services (which is a shame and a waste of energy). I'm hoping to put together booklets in English for next year. Where can one get the Parma books you were referring to? Peter ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 8 Apr 1997 05:32:37 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Abbreviated Services To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear all, In a message dated 4/7/97 1:16:21 PM, Sharon wrote: >but >this year we did it like most of the rest of Parma, which meant Vespers & >St. Basil going directly to Resurrection Matins, no Liturgy following, OK, I give up. Why? This one really stumps me. No other Byzantine usage that I know of organizes its little self in quiiiiiite that way. In fact, from the copy of the "Horizons" I happen to have in front of me (Parma Eparchy's newspaper, March 23 1997, p.11) it appears even the Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Parma scheduled Vespers and St Basil's Liturgy separately from Resurrection Matins and St John Chrysostom's Liturgy (former on Sat. evening, latter Sunday morning). So is the arrangement you describe just some kind of horrible experiment gone wrong - like cloned sheep, Model A? >Case in point: in > the Liturgy, the Parma book does not have that beautiful hymn "Mourn not > for me O mother," but instead, an "O My soul" & hirmos. My eyes bugged out > when I saw that, and I ran to check the Typikon, where I found the > astonishing notation that "mourn not for me.....was prescribed" followed by > a parenthetical "except in the Eparchy of Parma, where...." HUH??????? So you take the Irmos of Ode 9 of a Canon you haven't sung yet? Good plan. The unbridled joy of "The Angel Cried" is, I suppose, much more in keeping with the spirit of Great Saturday than the joy-making sadness of "Mourn not for me O Mother..."?? :-0 >And, in my TOTALLY unbiased opinion, I much prefer a separation of at least >a few hours between Holy Saturday services & Resurrection Matins + Liturgy. >You don't have the "He's in the tomb--->BING!--->He's Out!" syndrome that >the combined Holy Saturday---->Resurrection Matins service gives. > >Splitting them up is harder on feet and sleep deprivation if one happens >to be singing Sunday morning as well, but oh is it richer! I think Schmemann wrote something to the point in an introduction to one of those little service booklets the OCA puts out. He calls Great Saturday the "day that lasts forever" or some such thing. He was talking about the extraordinary transformation that takes place as the desolation of the Cross *turns into* the unimaginable joy of the Resurrection. It is not a sorrow that is *replaced* by joy. Rather, it actually is transformed *from within*. I think that is precisely why the Rites about which I know something (ours and the Copts') insist on there being a long period of time between the services characteristic of the Saturday and the services characteristic of Sunday. We actually trace in time the journey from darkness to light - real time! The longest day that ends too soon. I'm with you all the way on this, Sharon. Thanks again for the psyanky! It arrived perfectly intact - and just in time to show off to a visiting Copt who was suitably impressed. Please pray for me, monk Maximos, sinner. PS I found out today that the day we call Bright Monday, the Copts call in Arabic "Shem Neseem". It means, I was told, "Smell the Breeze" 'cos that's all you have to do aaaall day :-) What's Slavonic for "Chow Down on Kielbasi"? ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 8 Apr 1997 05:32:42 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Abbreviated Services To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Dave, Christos Voskrese! In a message dated 4/7/97 12:00:05 PM, you wrote: >Does anyone know of a Ruthenian parish that celebrated the entire >Resurrection Matins? Well, I guess we're not actually a parish... :-) I will say this, though, for Ruthenians. When they go to these abbreviated services they do tend to stay from beginning to end. The standard practice in almost every Greek Church as far as I am aware is for thousands of people to turn up to Church for about 20 minutes, get their Easter Light, sing "Christos Anesti" and then rush home for boiled eggs and roast lamb. Very few stay for the bulk of the service. This has not been my experience with Slavs, I must say. The Russian parishes I've seen all had healthy numbers for the whole service - and for the Vodka fest in the hall afterwards :-) If we could just cross the Ruthenian attendance-ethic with Russian abbreviation-phobia with Greek casualness, we might have... One last rave. At the major services through Great Week, we had an average att endance of a dozen people. On Pascha night we had 12 men to help read the whole Acts of the Apostles, and around 30 people for the Matins and Liturgy that started at 11.00 p.m. and ended at 2.30 a.m. This is in the middle of the Mojave Desert, with 3 monks who have been there less than 2 years, can't sing, make all kinds of rubrical mistakes, and who are not even seriously trying to attract worshippers. We don't even have pews, and before us most of these people wouldn't have known a Byzantine church from a Walmart. Many of them had not stepped into any church for 20 or 30 years. Those that had were accustomed to 45 minute masses. They never once complain that the services are too long. Sure, they *observe* that they're long (they're not dumb, they do notice!). Sure, they laugh about the extra stamina they require - BUT THEY KEEP COMING. And kissing all those beaming faces on Pascha night, I know something good was going on. So what could be done by some dedicated clergy in parishes of a couple of hundred people that have been there for decades, have trained singers, know the services and are desperate for new worshippers? Sorry to be so radical, but maybe cutting out the things that make the services special is not the answer? The totally unabbreviated, but still unworthy, monk Maximos Holy Resurrection Monastery ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 8 Apr 1997 16:11:28 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Abbreviated Services To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Dave, In a message dated 4/8/97 10:44:23 AM, you wrote: >Instead of complaining about abbreviations I've decided to put my body where >my mouth is...I mean, this week I volunteered to start singing with the >choir. Welcome to the wonderful frustrating world of cantoring! :-) Saint Romanos the Melodist, pray to God for us. monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 01:52:25 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Questions on Vespers In-Reply-To: Message of 04/10/97 at 15:04:16 from redco@INFICAD.COM On 04/10/97 at 15:04:16 Andrew Wollert said: >Glory be to Jesus Christ! Glory forever! >As Winnie-the-Pooh said, "I am a Bear of Little Brain." I'm >confused with a couple of things concerning Vespers. Me, too. However, bear-ing my head in the presence of the assembled monastics and clergy, I'll try. :-) >1. How do I determine what kathisma to say on what day? I > have a copy of the Festal Menaion which lists which > kathisma are said on which day of the week. The problem > is that it is ambiguous when it comes to vespers. Is > the entry for Sunday said on Sunday night or Saturday > night? How can I tell? Here is an example: >(Sunday of St Thomas - 21 Sept) > Matins Vespers >Sunday 2,3,17 - >Monday 4,5 6 >Tuesday 7,8 9 >Wed 10,11 12 >Thursday 13,14 15 >Friday 19,20 18 >Saturday 16,17 1 Matins is given before Vespers, so this table corresponds to the calendar day. The key here is that the liturgical week begins with Vespers on Saturday evening, the vigil of the Lord's Day. We begin on Saturday evening with the beginning of the Psalter ("Blessed in the man", Kathisma 1). On Sunday morning, we chanht the next two kathismata, and the Polyeleos or the seventeenth Kathisma. *The Psalter is not normally used on Sunday evening* except when a Feast of the Lord falls on Monday, hence the "-" above for Sunday evening Vespers. The rest of the week is as given above. (Note that is changes in different seasons.) So the table might more clearly be Matins Vespers Saturday 1 Sunday 2,3,17 - Monday 4,5 6 Tuesday 7,8 9 Wed 10,11 12 Thursday 13,14 15 Friday 19,20 18 Saturday 16,17 > This is probably the most confusing thing the the rubrics: >I never know if they're talking about the calendar day or the >liturgical day since Sunday vespers are said on calendar Saturday. I agree. I'd like to make a recommendation: when trying to figure out a problem involving Matins or Vespers, always look in - the Typicon - the Uniontown Matins and Vespers books for ordinary rubrics, and possibly the "Order of Celebration for Vespers, Matins and Divine Liturgy" - Archbishop Reya's _Byzantine Daily Worship_ for another explanation of the rubrics - the Festal Menaion, Triodion or Pentecostarion as appropriate - the Order of Services and Calendar from St. John of Kronstadt Press for a widely used ROCOR explanation I have an English translation of the Church Slavonic Psalter (prepared by the St. Joseph's Institute) which contains very detailed rubrics for the use of the Psalter. Sometimes having a variety of complementary sources really helps. >2. How do the stichera at Psalm 140 work? If the typicon says > that there are six, do I read the verses for stichera 10 - 7? > Does the stichera come after the Psalm verse or before? What > do I do if the typicon calls for "3 from the Menaion" when I > don't have a Menaion? I've used some from the Sunday since > I had them and don't feel guilty about it but perhaps I should > have repeated the ones from the Pentecostarion. Each sticheron follows the psalm verse (stich) is goes with: Psalm verse (stich melody) Sticheron (sticheron melody) You count backwards from the end of the last psalm; so if the Typicon says to use 6 stichera, read/chant the psalm till you get to the verse marked "For 6 stichera": this will be "If you mark iniquities". Switch to the appropriate samohlasen melody (if you can), sing the psalm verse then the first sticheron prescribed. Then continue with the next verse and sticheron, and so on. If 4 stichera were prescribed, you would read the psalm until the verse "From the morning watch until night", at which point you would start using the stichera. If you don't have a Menaion (and there isn't a complete one in English yet!), use the section marked "General Menaion" in the Uniontown Vespers book. There you will find stichera (for both Psalm 140, "Lord I have cried", and the Aposticha) for the classes of celebrations: Feasts of the Lord, the Theotokos, prophets, apostles, monastics, etc. IN some cases you will simply insert the name of the saint(s) at the appropriate place in the text. If you don't know the samohlasen melodies yet, you can always punt and use tone 6, or even straight-chant the texts. But the stichera are not too hard (especially once you get used to juggling the two or three books involved!). >3. Is there anything special to do with the Aposticha or are they > just sung as presented in the Pentecostarion? Nothing special. If you can, use the samohlasen stich melody for the psalm or other verse (in bold face in the Uniontown books) and the samohlasen stichera melody for the stichera. >4. If you haven't guessed that I'm still new with this.... >5. When are readings (Scripture) prescribed for vespers and where > can I find the list of those readings? If they are prescribed, they'll be in the Typicon. Father David also recommends optional readings in some cases. The Epistle book has some Vespers readings, but these may be only for Great Lent (for the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts). >I apologize for the length of this note and for all the questions, >please forgive me if I've overstepped....I am sincerely interested >in saying vespers (and all of the offices as I learn them) in the >correct manner. Thank you in advance.... No problem! It's wonderful that you're trying. May God bless you in your labors! Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 15:04:16 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Questions on Vespers To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Glory be to Jesus Christ! As Winnie-the-Pooh said, "I am a Bear of Little Brain." I'm confused with a couple of things concerning Vespers. 1. How do I determine what kathisma to say on what day? I have a copy of the Festal Menaion which lists which kathisma are said on which day of the week. The problem is that it is ambiguous when it comes to vespers. Is the entry for Sunday said on Sunday night or Saturday night? How can I tell? Here is an example: (Sunday of St Thomas - 21 Sept) Matins Vespers Sunday 2,3,17 - Monday 4,5 6 Tuesday 7,8 9 Wed 10,11 12 Thursday 13,14 15 Friday 19,20 18 Saturday 16,17 1 This is probably the most confusing thing the the rubrics: I never know if they're talking about the calendar day or the liturgical day since Sunday vespers are said on calendar Saturday. 2. How do the stichera at Psalm 140 work? If the typicon says that there are six, do I read the verses for stichera 10 - 7? Does the stichera come after the Psalm verse or before? What do I do if the typicon calls for "3 from the Menaion" when I don't have a Menaion? I've used some from the Sunday since I had them and don't feel guilty about it but perhaps I should have repeated the ones from the Pentecostarion. 3. Is there anything special to do with the Aposticha or are they just sung as presented in the Pentecostarion? 4. If you haven't guessed that I'm still new with this.... 5. When are readings (Scripture) prescribed for vespers and where can I find the list of those readings? I apologize for the length of this note and for all the questions, please forgive me if I've overstepped....I am sincerely interested in saying vespers (and all of the offices as I learn them) in the correct manner. Thank you in advance.... -Andy Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Blazhen rab tot, kotorogo gospodin Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- ego, pridja, najdet postupajushchim redco@inficad.com NI|KA tak. Luka 12.43 ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 04:09:03 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David Pancza Subject: Re: Akathistos Saturday To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU > Of the different versions of the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos that I've > seen the main translational differences seem to be using "Rejoice" instead of > "Hail." Does anyone know more about why the difference? Is one more literal > than the other? Just curious. The greek akathistos has "Chaire", and literally it is exactly "Rejoice" (in ch.s. "radujsja"). But these words were normally used as a phrase of greeting, as we today say "hallo" or "hi" or so. So there are two possibilities. 1. to translate it literally and to explain under the line that it means in the archaical language a greeting, not only an imperative to have joy. 2. to use another words of greeting, which are used today The word "hail": Is it normally used in today's english ? If yes, OK. If no, so when using an archaical sound, it is better to use that what is more near in the literal meaning. This was our thinking when we were translating the akathist, and we prefered the literal translation "raduj sa" (rejoice) instead of the word "zdravas" used by the rom. catholics (it is a word that nobody understands, so they translated centuries ago the word Ave, which is a translation of Chaire.) David ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 23:14:35 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Hirmoi - Lent 3 To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 97-03-13 23:26:09 EST, Jeff writes: << Actually, I found this somewhat confusing. Since the 1500's at least (perhaps the Stoglav Council of 1551?) the Russian tradition has been to recite the troparia of the canon instead of singing them. If only the first irmos of each of is sung, why would you need to know the "melody to be used" for the troparia of the various canons when they are combined? Those troparia would always be recited/chanted in any case. >> I believe the Council of the Hundred Chapters (Stoglav) took place c. 1651, not 1551. But the custom of reading the troparia of canons (except for the Paschal Canon, of course) dates from the reign of Peter the Great, who issued this directive in order to shorten the services. Unfortunately, the custom is now entrenched. In Old Rite parishes, as in Erie, PA, where the full canon is chanted and the complete kathismata are read, Vigil takes about 5 hours, as opposed to about 2.5 hours in the typical "new rite" parishes. BTW, one presumes that the troparia on the Beatitudes at Liturgy would also be sung in the Irmos tone of the canon(s) from which they are taken. We simply read them. It was Tsar Peter, also, who ordered that St. Alexander Nevsky be depicted on icons in the garb of his princely rank in the world, as opposed to the monastic garb which is more proper. The Old Believers continue to depict St. Alexander in monastic garb, and this is becoming increasingly common lately in the Russian Church both abroad and in Russia. In Churches that follow the Greek traditions, the troparia of canons have always been chanted, so the incipit of the Irmos retains its practical purpose. With love in Christ, David James ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 05:41:44 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David Pancza Subject: Synaxarion To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU We had never read the synaxarion before, but these year we want to do it. How to do it ? At the begining is "Father, bless to read it". Who tells it ? I think, that only the reader, can it be ? What has the priest to say, how to bless the reader ? Below that are 2 stich-s written (sometimes 4). How to sing them ? Alone ? Or do they belong to the "Father bless to read it" which has to be repeated ? Or is there anything other which has to be repeated ? Or are they an answer to what the priest says ? Thanks ! David ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sun, 13 Apr 1997 12:38:53 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: samoglasen and other things To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Glory be to Jesus Christ! Thank you, Jeff, for your most wonderful explanations! I think that, juggling all the books aside, I can now actually get through daily Vespers at least... I don't know the samoglasen melodies. I do, however, have a book entitled Tserkovnoe Prostopenie (the whole thing's in Slavonic, reprinted by Byzantine Seminary Press) that has samoglasen melodies for each of the tones. Are these the ones? It wouldn't be too hard to practice with the piano for awhile until I could do them from memory. If so, it's a good thing I can read Slavonic.... I'm assuming also that if there are no readings prescribed for Vespers I just skip over that part. And another: I've been a reader at my parish for some months now. Basically, the "junior cantor". The other cantors take turns at being "leader" and at reading the Epistle. I would like to start getting into the "rotation" but I need to know does anyone have the music for how the Epistle is chanted? Of the three cantors I have heard do it at St Thomas, I've heard three different ways. The monks at Holy Resurrection say it a bit different I *think* since I've heard it but thrice in three years. I don't want to "wing it". I can always ask one of the cantors to show me (and if a picture is worth a thousand words, I guess so would hearing it done and having a little coaching on it) but I'm still curious if there is notation for it. Thanks! Christ is risen! -Andy Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Blazhen rab tot, kotorogo gospodin Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- ego, pridja, najdet postupajushchim redco@inficad.com NI|KA tak. Luka 12.43 ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 04:22:28 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David Pancza Subject: Re: samoglasen and other things To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU > And another: I've been a reader at my parish for some months now. > Basically, the "junior cantor". The other cantors take turns at being > "leader" and at reading the Epistle. I would like to start getting into > the "rotation" but I need to know does anyone have the music for how the > Epistle is chanted? Of the three cantors I have heard do it at St Thomas, > I've heard three different ways. The monks at Holy Resurrection say it > a bit different I *think* since I've heard it but thrice in three years. > I don't want to "wing it". I can always ask one of the cantors to show > me (and if a picture is worth a thousand words, I guess so would hearing > it done and having a little coaching on it) but I'm still curious if there > is notation for it. When I started to read, I was afraid to sing, so I read it all on the tone A. :-) Later I tried to read on two tones, then - on 3 tones, and today I use a 4 tone melody. It "grew up alone", nobody teached me. But ... when I was on bulgarian vespers, they used the same melody as I ... It looks perhaps so: CCCCCC. DDDDDDCCCCCCCCCHCC. AAAAAHHHHHCCCCCCC. DDDDDDDDDDDCCCCCCCCCCCC. HHHHHHHHHHHHCCCCCCCCC. CCCCCDCCCCCAAAHHHHCCCC. AHCCCCCCCCCDCCCC. The end: DDDDDDDDDDDDCCCAHC. or : DDDDDDDDDDDCHCCC. or : DDDDDDDDDDDDDCCC. or : HHHHHHHHHHHHHCCC. the bulgarian end : CCCCCCCCCCCEEEDDDC. The russians use this melody: FFFFFFFF+F+F+F+F+GGGGGGGGGG+G+G+G+G+G+AAAAAAAAAABBBBBBBBBHHHHHHHHHCCCC CCCCC+C+C+C+C+C+C+DDDDDDDDDDDD+D+D+D+D+D+D+EEEEEEEEEFFFFFFFFFF+F+F+F+ F+F+GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGFGGG. David ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 12:58:30 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: samoglasen and other things To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU At 04:22 AM 4/14/97 -0400, David wrote: > When I started to read, I was afraid to sing, so I read it all on >the tone A. :-) I'm *very* good at Tone 4. It was the tone of the day on the first day I every attended an Eastern Liturgy and it imprinted itself in my brain.... Thanks for the information! -Andy Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Blazhen rab tot, kotorogo gospodin Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- ego, pridja, najdet postupajushchim redco@inficad.com NI|KA tak. Luka 12.43 ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 14:33:31 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Doxasticon? To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Glory be to Jesus Christ! Yet another Vespers question concerning doxasticons... In the Uniontown Vespers book, after Psalm 116 on p 9, it says; Glory be to the Father... And the Doxasticon, if prescribed Now and ever and forever. Amen. And the Theotokion. If only a Theotokion is taken: Glory: Now and ever: What I don't understand is this: 1. What is a doxasticon? I assume that if it is prescribed it will be in the Typicon. Will the text be there? 2. If I don't have a doxasticon, then is it: Glory: Now and ever: Theotokion. Glory: Now and ever: or Theotokion. Glory: Now and ever: It's a little confusing to me...My guess is the second one. -Andy Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Blazhen rab tot, kotorogo gospodin Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- ego, pridja, najdet postupajushchim redco@inficad.com NI|KA tak. Luka 12.43 ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 01:02:29 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: samoglasen and other things To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Andrew, Christos Voskrese! In a message dated 4/14/97 5:46:19 AM, you wrote: > I would like to start getting into >the "rotation" but I need to know does anyone have the music for how the >Epistle is chanted? Of the three cantors I have heard do it at St Thomas, >I've heard three different ways. The monks at Holy Resurrection say it >a bit different I *think* since I've heard it but thrice in three years. >I don't want to "wing it". Please don't try and copy me! :-( I have being "winging" the epistle reading for 2 years now, trying to do it "by ear" from the infrequent times I've heard it sung by a real cantor. Someone once told me there were even different intonations for the prophecies as opposed to the epistles, and the Gospel is different again. I must say, though, that at most Liturgies I've been at in parishes, I couldn't detect any obvious difference between the epistle and the Gospel tones. Was I given, as we Australians say, the raw prawn? :-) Anyway, I second Andrew's motion for any help that can be provided. In Christ, monk Maximos, sinner ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 05:32:55 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David Pancza Subject: Questions To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Christos voskrese ! We have a little problem, a condradiction between the typics. It is about the antiphones, which have to be sung in the Divine Liturgy: 1. On Sundays during the "normal" time of the year (not in the fast or Pascha), the paschal antiphones shall be sung, or Izobrazitelny (Ps.102, Ps.?, Beatitudes) ? 2. During the weekdays (monday ... friday) after the Thomas Sunday until the end of the Paschal 40 days, the paschal antiphones, or Izobrazitelny ? Another question: The prayer before Communion (Viruyu, Hospodi, i ispoviduju, ...) shall be recited before "So strachom Boziim pristupite" together with the priest or after that words, after priests communion ? The nearly last question: In the church slavonic creed there is one passage which is in some books used with genitive and in others with akusative. It is: 1. ... tvorca nebU i zemli, vidimyM ze vsiM i nevidimyM, ... 2. ... tvorca nebA i zemli, vidimiCH ze vsiCH i nevidimyCH, ... Which is right ? Or are the both correct ? (I think grammatically are the both OK, but I am not sure.) The absolutely last question: On matins in the Sundays of Myronosicy, Razslablennyj,..., it means the second, third, ... sundays after Pascha, there is in our books prescribed the whole Paschal canon, with 2 tropars to God's Mother and one Irmos to the theme of that Sunday added in every ode. Is it correct ? Or better, what is in your books ? David PS: This last sunday no one of the older cantors could be present on the matins, so it was my duty to sing it. For the first time I was leading alone the singing, ufff, thanks God, it was without problems (only one, I sang a second part of the Exapostilarion instead of the Evanhelska stichira:-( ) ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 05:37:23 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David Pancza Subject: Re: Doxasticon? To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU > 2. If I don't have a doxasticon, then is it: > > Glory: Now and ever: Theotokion. Glory: Now and ever: > > or > > Theotokion. Glory: Now and ever: > > > It's a little confusing to me...My guess is the second one. > > -Andy If I understood good, what it is about, I think that Glory... now and... Theotokion. is correct. The theotokion is always sung after the words "now and forever...", it is typical. David ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 10:08:52 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Questions To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <121A2BD25DC@kmat.elf.stuba.sk> from "David Pancza" at Apr 15, 97 05:32:55 am Ohmygosh! A question that I MIGHT know the answer to!! ;-) With respect to the Antiphons vs. Beatitudes - I was told (by whom I forget, sorry!) that the Beatitudes were/are the norm for most Eastern Chuches on Sundays, except that the Ukrainian/Ruthenian tradition placed such importance upon the Sunday Liturgy as a "Little Pascha" that the Pascha Antiphons came into use on all Sundays. Some parishes so the Antiphons year-round except in Lent, when they stick in the Beatitudes. One of these days I'm going to have to try that..... Hope this is responsive, (and maybe even correct...) Cheers, Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 19:40:17 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Re: Questions To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <199704151408.KAA23902@cmhcprd.cmhcsys.com> > > With respect to the Antiphons vs. Beatitudes - > > I was told (by whom I forget, sorry!) that the Beatitudes were/are the norm > for most Eastern Chuches on Sundays, except that the Ukrainian/Ruthenian > tradition placed such importance upon the Sunday Liturgy as a "Little Pascha" > that the Pascha Antiphons came into use on all Sundays. I think that the practice varies. In Baltimore, we use the typica on all Sundays except during Easter season, when we sing the Resurectional Antiphons. Other Churches use the Resurrectional Antiphons all year on Sunday, with the exception of Great Lent. Personally, I love having the beatitudes during the Divine Liturgy. Peter ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 16:24:27 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: Questions To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU I was told this as well. At our parish we have the Paschal Antiphons on all Sundays except for Great Lent. I want to say that we say the Beatitudes during the Nativity Fast as well but my memory is failing. The first Sunday of Lent is usually a little confusing to the parishioners but after that it's no problem.... -Andy At 10:08 AM 4/15/97 -0400, Sharon wrote: >Ohmygosh! A question that I MIGHT know the answer to!! ;-) > >With respect to the Antiphons vs. Beatitudes - > >I was told (by whom I forget, sorry!) that the Beatitudes were/are the norm >for most Eastern Chuches on Sundays, except that the Ukrainian/Ruthenian >tradition placed such importance upon the Sunday Liturgy as a "Little Pascha" >that the Pascha Antiphons came into use on all Sundays. > >Some parishes so the Antiphons year-round except in Lent, when they stick >in the Beatitudes. One of these days I'm going to have to try that..... > >Hope this is responsive, (and maybe even correct...) > >Cheers, > >Sharon Mech >Cantor & sinner >sharon@cmhc.com > > Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Blazhen rab tot, kotorogo gospodin Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- ego, pridja, najdet postupajushchim redco@inficad.com NI|KA tak. Luka 12.43 ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sat, 19 Apr 1997 12:20:49 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Doxasticon? To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Andrew, Christos Voskrese! In a message dated 4/14/97 10:22:32 PM, you wrote: >1. What is a doxasticon? I assume that if it is prescribed > it will be in the Typicon. Will the text be there? The "doxasticon" is, I think, just the special sticheron inserted after "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit." Because it comes after "Doxa Patri..." is is called the doxasticon. Often it especially mentions the Life-Creating Trinity, but it may simply continue the theme of the feast. It is also often a different tone to the preceding stichera, but not always. If there is a doxasticon it will be found in the relevant service book: Menaion, Pentecostarion etc. If there isn't one there, you just chant "Glory be...now and ever...Amen" in full and then the final sticheron which is almost always dedicated to the All-Holy Mother of God (the "theotokion"), except on certain Great Feasts where the texts are perhaps very ancient (ie pre-dating the practice of adding the Theotokia). I think this gets tricky only on weekdays through the year. Sometimes a saint has a doxasticon, and sometimes not. But on big feasts and Sundays, you will normally have everything in front of you in the Festal Menaion or the Octoechos/Triodion/Pentecostarion. When you get ready to do Matins on Sundays, you will have to get used to a special set of texts taken each week as doxastica at the Psalms of Praise, just before the Great Doxology. These rotate according to the cycle of the 11 Resurrection Gospels, not the 8 tones. Let's deal with that at the time. In practice it just means setting the ribbon to the right place in the Basilian sisters' Matins Book, and then remembering to turn to it! :-) Pray for me! In Christ, monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 13:36:38 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: Doxasticon? To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Thank you, Br Maximos, for this information. Vespers is moving along well. I simply chant the stuff I don't know the tones for. It's amazing that it gets easier with practice. Of course, having the right books helps, too. This brings up another question. The dismissals in the Uniontown book are very confusing. Could you elaborate on what to do when for the dismissal? I would also ask the prayers of those on the list for the next couple of days. I'm considering taking the plunge and being the "lead" cantor this Sunday; this means reading the Epistle and leading the chanting, something that I've not done before. I'm praying I don't "wimp out". It's tone 4, though--my favorite. At 12:20 PM 4/19/97 -0400, Br Maximos wrote: >Dear Andrew, > >Christos Voskrese! > >In a message dated 4/14/97 10:22:32 PM, you wrote: > >>1. What is a doxasticon? I assume that if it is prescribed >> it will be in the Typicon. Will the text be there? > >The "doxasticon" is, I think, just the special sticheron inserted after >"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit." Because it >comes after "Doxa Patri..." is is called the doxasticon. Often it especially >mentions the Life-Creating Trinity, but it may simply continue the theme of >the feast. It is also often a different tone to the preceding stichera, but >not always. >snip< Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Blazhen rab tot, kotorogo gospodin Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- ego, pridja, najdet postupajushchim redco@inficad.com NI|KA tak. Luka 12.43 ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 25 Apr 1997 09:14:18 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Doxasticon? To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <199704242036.NAA01277@mail.inficad.com> from "Andrew Wollert" at Apr 24, 97 01:36:38 pm Go for it Andrew! What's the worst that could happen? In my experience, the Lord is generally very uncooperative about having the earth open up and swallow you up after Horrible Liturgical Gaffes, SO WHAT'S TO WORRY ABOUT???? ;-) Take the plunge. Best wishes, (been there, done that, STILL WAITING for the T-shirt...) Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 25 Apr 1997 13:56:28 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Doxasticon? To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Andrew, Christ is Risen! In a message dated 4/24/97 7:20:26 PM, you wrote: >This brings up another question. The dismissals in the >Uniontown book are very confusing. Could you elaborate >on what to do when for the dismissal? First: when you do a Reader's service you express the dismissal differently from the Priest. The latter pronounces the blessing in the subjunctive mood (MAY Christ our true God...for HE is gracious...) because this reflects his ministry in the Church to stand before the Altar of God on behalf of the people. The lay person pronounces the blessing in the vocative mood ("O Christ our true God...for YOU are gracious...) which reflects the fact that in Baptism we are all given access to the Lord. Then, the blessing itself varies according to the day of the week: READER O Christ our true God, have mercy on us and save us through the prayers of Your most pure Mother, Sunday: through the protection of the honorable, heavenly, incorporeal powers, Monday: through the prayers of the honorable, glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, Tuesday: through the might of the precious and life-giving cross, Wednesday: through the prayers of the holy, glorious and praiseworthy apostles, through the prayers of our holy father Nicholas the Wonder-worker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, Thursday: through the might of the precious and life-giving cross, Friday: through the might of the precious and life-giving cross, through the protection of the honorable, heavenly and incorporeal powers, through the prayers of the honorable, glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, of the holy, glorious and praiseworthy apostles, of our holy father Nicholas the Wonder-worker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, of the holy, glorious, triumphally benevolent martyrs; of our venerable and God-bearing fathers; of the holy and righteous ancestors of God, Joachim and Anne Continue all days: through the prayers of Saint(s) (name(s)) whose memory we commemorate today, and through the prayers of all the saints, for You are gracious and You love mankind. All: Amen. Is this any clearer? :-) In Christ monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sat, 26 Apr 1997 08:45:29 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Miracle (was Doxasticon?) To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In relation to cantoring, I wanted to share a little miracle with you. As you know, it is a tradition in the Eastern Church to read the Resurrection Gospel on Pascha in as many languages as possible. Given my fleeting fluency in Russian, I was to read in that language. We also had English, Slavonic and Spanish. (Next year, we will have Greek, as soon as I can learn how to pronounce it correctly...but that's beside the point). I was surprised that Father Phil chanted the Gospel in English. Then our senior cantor Mike chanted in Slavonic. The deacon chanted in Spanish. Oh, boy. I don't know how to chant this....So, fully intending to simply read the Gospel, I started. Got out two words and then proceeded to chant. Several people commented on it after Liturgy. Even my wife said it sounded wonderful. All I know is that I had absolutely NO intention of chanting; I had never practiced chanting it; but it was chanted and it sounded GOOD. My Guardian Angel(s) must speak Russian! It was a miracle, in my opinion. Yes, they still happen. Thanks, Sharon, for your words of encouragement. You might just hear of the earth opening up and swallowing someone tomorrow...you never know... ;-)=== (my beard is getting very long) Also, to Brother Maximos, your answer was wonderful. Thank you. -Andy Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Blazhen rab tot, kotorogo gospodin Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- ego, pridja, najdet postupajushchim redco@inficad.com NI|KA tak. Luka 12.43 ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 28 Apr 1997 17:14:56 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: Miracle (was Doxasticon?) To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 97-04-26 18:28:18 EDT, Andrew Wollert wrote: >Thanks, Sharon, for your words of encouragement. You might >just hear of the earth opening up and swallowing someone >tomorrow...you never know... ;-)=== (my beard is getting >very long) No, there are no new holes in our church floor...though I think having an adult baptistery would be great...That just might happen if I ever take the "plunge" (not in the foreseeable future). Andy's guardian angel was hard at work...guess he speaks English besides Russian . BTW, Andy, thanks for having us sing everything for the Tropar and Kontak...I think it was a St Thomas first not to abbreviate them. I hope it's a new tradition for us! Christ is Risen! Dave ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Sat, 14 Jun 1997 03:07:24 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Vespers, again In-Reply-To: Message of 06/08/97 at 21:04:30 from redco@INFICAD.COM Glory be to Jesus Christ! >1. What is the difference between Great Vespers and Daily > Vespers? I'm assuming that Great Vespers are said on > feasts and Sundays, Daily otherwise. Right. Compared to daily Vespers, Great Vespers 1. Usually has selected verses of the First Kathisma of the Psalter, or specially selected psalms. 2. Has eight or ten stichera at the Lamp-lighting Psalms, instead of six. 3. On feast days, has three Old Testament readings after the prokeimenon. 4. Has the Augmented Litany after the prokeimenon (and readings, if any), 5. On feasts, may have Litija. >2. What is the correct practice of Vespers at a Vigil? Is > the Vigil just the combination of Vespers and Matins? > Are Vigils only on Sundays or on feasts as well? The Vigil, or "All-Night Vigil", consists of Vespers, followed immediately by Matins and the First Hour. Vigils can be held on certain feasts. _Some_ accounts I have seen from SLovakia indicate that our churches there traditionally celebrate Saturday evening Vespers and Sunday morning Matins, like the Greeks, instead of always having a Vigil on Saturday as the Russians do. Check the Typicon. For example, Father David's typicon says that June 24 (Nativity of John the Forerunner and Baptizer) gives Format 5A, Saint with a Vigil. Also, certain vigils (Christmas, Theophany; Annunciation?) consist of Great Compile, Matins and First Hour. >As always, I appreciate immensely any information that you >can offer. >As a side note, I ask these questions for two reasons: >1) It is my intention to learn enough about Vespers to be >able to offer it correctly for any given day so that I might >offer a "reader service" of Vespers on Saturday evenings at >my parish. (We are very small, with no permanent priest. Our >priest drives over 40 miles to offer Liturgy on Sundays. I >cannot ask him to serve Vespers on Saturday night as well.) >I am the "new" (junior) cantor and have a lot to learn. >Eventually, I would also like to do the same with Matins, >but that's a whole 'nother story... Wonderful! I have some notes from Father David Petras for the rubrics for celebration of Vespers without a priest. I'll put the current version online this weekend. >2) I am still learning how to pray and thus I rely on the >services of the Church (Vespers, the Hours and the rest...) >for my personal prayers. I want to say them properly and >without "innovation". Amen! Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sat, 24 May 1997 23:47:19 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Vespers question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Glory be to Jesus Christ! I have a question about the dismissal for Vespers. In the Uniontown Vespers book there are three dismissals: Great Vespers, Daily Vespers and Fasts. Is the dismissal for Fasts used only during Great Lent, or would the Apostle's Fast (beginning tomorrow) be included (as well as Dormition and Nativity)? I notice that on page 24 it talks about the conclusion of Vespers during the "Minor Fasts" as opposed to the Great Fast. Is the Prayer of St Ephrem said during the Minor Fasts? I'm assuming that Sunday Vespers (said on Saturday evening) is "Great Vespers" and thus doesn't fall in the "Fasts" dismissal but the "Great Vespers" dismissal. I apologize if I've muddled the questions beyond recognition or answerablity. Any information that you can offer would be most gratefully appreciated. -Andy the sinner Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Blazhen rab tot, kotorogo gospodin Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- ego, pridja, najdet postupajushchim redco@inficad.com NI|KA tak. Luka 12.43 ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 22:48:56 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Vespers question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Andrew, Slava Isusu Christu! In a message dated 5/24/97 10:46:23 PM, you wrote: >I have a question about the dismissal for Vespers. In the Uniontown >Vespers book there are three dismissals: Great Vespers, Daily Vespers >and Fasts. Is the dismissal for Fasts used only during Great Lent, >or would the Apostle's Fast (beginning tomorrow) be included (as well >as Dormition and Nativity)? I notice that on page 24 it talks about >the conclusion of Vespers during the "Minor Fasts" as opposed to >the Great Fast. Is the Prayer of St Ephrem said during the Minor >Fasts? I'm assuming that Sunday Vespers (said on Saturday evening) >is "Great Vespers" and thus doesn't fall in the "Fasts" dismissal >but the "Great Vespers" dismissal. Sorry to take so long to get back to you. Here in the monastery we follow the rubrics in the Uniontown book, which also conforms to those in Fr. David's *Typicon*. This means that on certain days during the minor fasts we take the dismissal on p.22 to which you refer. This involves, principally: -fasting troparia (Hail Mother of God... etc) with prostrations; -blessing (Blessed is He-Who-is...) with the prayer "O Heavenly King, strengthen your people..." and subsequent fiddly bits; - Prayer of St. Ephrem & Trisagion prayers; -Dismissal. The other Lenten elements, ("O All-HOly Trinity", Psalm 33 etc) we take only during the Great Fast. Anyway, that is what *we* do. What is done in other places and usages I'm not sure. For e.g., we had a couple of Orthodox monks visit us during the Nativity Fast last year, who were a little surprised that we did the Ephrem prayer at Vespers. They knew that was what the books say to do, but it wasn't their practice to do it! Such is life. Now, the procedure outlined above is not followed on every day of these minor fasts, but only on certain ones. These days are designated "Days of Alleluia" because at Matins we sing "Alleluia" (and the Trinity Hymns) on these days instead of "God is the Lord" (and troparion of the saint of the day). We also sing "Alleuia" at Vespers instead of the Prokiemenon. On days that are not of "Alleluia", Vespers ends as usual. Originally, most days throughout the year were "Alleluia". "God is the Lord" was part of the festive office, taken only for the more important saints. Gradually, however, all saints began to take "God is the Lord" and the singing of "Alleluia" was restricted to the fast periods. Even now, during minor fasts, you have to check each day in the Typicon to determine whether the day is one of "Alleluia" or "God is the Lord." There doesn't seem to be any principle by which you can tell which is which without consulting the Typicon. Does this make things any easier for you??? :-) If you don't have access to the Typicon, I would suggest forgetting about the special fasting dismissal as part of Vespers except during Great Lent. Otherwise, in these minor fasts, you'll run the risk of demoting certain days--which seems to be worse than promoting others! Perhaps you could just make the central elements--e.g. the Prayer of Ephrem--a part of your other daily prayers e.g. just before bed, and just after getting up. In Church, of course, you will have the Typicon handy, in which case it's pretty easy to follow the rubrics fully. Please keep me in your prayers. monk Maximos, sinner ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 21:04:30 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Vespers, again To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Glory be to Jesus Christ! I am still sifting through all my information on Vespers, in an attempt to understand how it is to be said and have more questions. 1. What is the difference between Great Vespers and Daily Vespers? I'm assuming that Great Vespers are said on feasts and Sundays, Daily otherwise. 2. What is the correct practice of Vespers at a Vigil? Is the Vigil just the combination of Vespers and Matins? Are Vigils only on Sundays or on feasts as well? As always, I appreciate immensely any information that you can offer. As a side note, I ask these questions for two reasons: 1) It is my intention to learn enough about Vespers to be able to offer it correctly for any given day so that I might offer a "reader service" of Vespers on Saturday evenings at my parish. (We are very small, with no permanent priest. Our priest drives over 40 miles to offer Liturgy on Sundays. I cannot ask him to serve Vespers on Saturday night as well.) I am the "new" (junior) cantor and have a lot to learn. Eventually, I would also like to do the same with Matins, but that's a whole 'nother story... :-)=== (beard's getting longer...) 2) I am still learning how to pray and thus I rely on the services of the Church (Vespers, the Hours and the rest...) for my personal prayers. I want to say them properly and without "innovation". Please pray for me -Andy Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Blazhen rab tot, kotorogo gospodin Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- ego, pridja, najdet postupajushchim redco@inficad.com NI|KA tak. Luka 12.43 ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 21:47:46 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Questions To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Glory be to Jesus Christ! Two questions, please, relating to the Hours. 1) I would like to verify that the proper manner of reciting the troparia for the day is: Glory... troparion Now... Theotokion or if there are two: troparion Glory... troparion Now... Theotokion 2) Is the irmos after Lord have mercy [40] and the prayer of the hours replaced with "the angel exclaimed... shine in splendor" during the Paschal season? Thank you! please pray for me -Andy Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Blazhen rab tot, kotorogo gospodin Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- ego, pridja, najdet postupajushchim redco@inficad.com NI|KA tak. Luka 12.43 ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sat, 14 Jun 1997 08:48:19 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Re: Questions To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU At 03:17 AM 6/14/97 -0400, Jeff wrote, quoting me: >>2) Is the irmos after Lord have mercy [40] and the prayer >> of the hours replaced with "the angel exclaimed... shine >> in splendor" during the Paschal season? > >No, but the paschal tropar is sung three times a little later on. Where is this, exactly? I can't find any indication of it in the books that I have. Perhaps after Glory be to You, O Christ our God...? I'm also very interested in the Vespers rubrics you mentioned in your other note.... Thanks for all the help. I know that there will be more questions later. :-)=== Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Blazhen rab tot, kotorogo gospodin Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- ego, pridja, najdet postupajushchim redco@inficad.com NI|KA tak. Luka 12.43 ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 18:47:19 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Andrew Wollert Subject: tones To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Glory be to Jesus Christ! I have a question regarding about tones. On my calendar, it has the tones on Sunday. For example, this past Sunday 15 is marked Tone 3. My question is, when does the Tone 3 start and end, day-wise? Is it Monday - Sunday or Sunday - Saturday? If this past Sunday was Tone 3, is today (Thursday) Tone 3 or Tone 4? Thanks! -Andy confused Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Blazhen rab tot, kotorogo gospodin Gilbert, Arizona USA --|-- ego, pridja, najdet postupajushchim redco@inficad.com NI|KA tak. Luka 12.43 ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 26 Jun 1997 19:53:02 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: (h) irsmosy To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <970625134849_-461566971@emout08.mail.aol.com> Do the Ukrainians and the Ruthenians use the same melodies for the irmosy? Peter ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 27 Jun 1997 05:40:30 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Liturgcal Music To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: Jeff, I'm trying to learn all the tones. I started by posting the tropar, and prokimen tones (midi files0 on my home page. Any suggestions on how to make the use of singing the tones automatic? I usually have to print out the music and add words. Peter ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Fri, 27 Jun 1997 20:47:29 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: (h) irsmosy To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Jeff, Glory to Jesus Christ! In a message dated 6/26/97 9:29:09 PM, you wrote: >on the other hand, the Prostopinije does not include melodies >for certain things (such as the Sunday steppena texts), for >which some Ruthenians have used the Ukrainian melodies instead. I'm interested. Please tell more. In Christ, monk Maximos, sinner ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Mon, 25 Aug 1997 23:29:35 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: Subject: Update An update on what's been going on here with prostopinije... 1. I have completed a rough draft of the first section of the CANTOR-L FAQ, which I will send out to everyone for review later this evening. 2. Vespers and Matins Father Pipta has sent me a setting of the stichera at the Lamp-Lighting Psalms, in the Uniontown translation, in all eight tones. This means that we basically have a complete set of musical settings in English for Vespers. Father James Gleason mentioned to me in passing that he hopes to work on setting the Litija stichera to the appropriate (Bolhar) tones over the coming year or so. With the emphasis in the _Liturgical Instruction_ on the hours of prayer, the organizers of the annual Uniontown pilgrimage have scheduled the celebration of Matins for both Saturday and Sunday. I sent a packet of music off to Mr. John Petro, who will be serving as cantor for Matins at the pilgrimage. Also, Bishop Michael (Dudick), a great proponent of the Church's chant, will celebrate Matins on Sunday; I hope to talk to him this weekend about our projects. I have completed the settings of the Resurrectional Canons in all eight tones, and am setting them up on the computer now. I'm also preparing a set of notes to go with them, detailing the sources I used, what changes to texts or music I made, and what parts need to be improved. I've sent copies to Brother Maximos, and I owe a set to Bill Metzar. Would anyone else like to look at them and make suggestions? Having completed the Resurrectional Canons, I'm going to start on the canons for feast days as they come around, beginning with the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14). With luck and God's help, I may be able to keep up with the feasts in the coming year! 3. I've assembled materials for a concordance of the contents of the Bokshay, Ratsin and Papp collections of prostopinije, so people can locate the necessary music for any particular text, but I haven't started on it yet. **sigh** So... anyone else have stuff to share? Andy, how's the glossary of liturgical terms? Also, can anyone recommend a music typesetting program that can be used in conjunction with a package like WordPerfect to produce printed books for cantors? And can anyone tell me how to find a good latinica font, one that includes the diacritical marks for typing in Church Slavonic texts in Latin characters? Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Mon, 25 Aug 1997 23:32:07 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: Subject: CANTOR-L FAQ Here's the first draft of the CANTOR-L Frequently Asked Questions list. Any suggestions would be appreciated. At the least, I need to add addresses for the book sources mentioned, and for the various private distributors of chant materials (Jerry Jumba, John Vernosky, etc.) Ladies and gentlemen, start your flamethrowers! :-) Questions That Are (Or Should Be) Frequently Asked About Carpatho-Ruthenian Chant, or "Prostopinije" ---Overview--- 1. Who are the Ruthenians? The Ruthenians are a Slavic people of the Carpathian Mountain region of southeastern Europe. The Ruthenians are also called Rusini, Carpatho-Russians, Carpatho-Ruthenians, Carpatho-Ukrainians, Rusyns and Little Russians. The division of the Ruthenians into Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholics does not erase the fact that the traditional religious practices and observances of Orthodox Ruthenians and Catholic Ruthenians are largely identical. In what follows, references to the practice of the "Ruthenian Churches" apply without distinction to both Orthodox and Catholic Ruthenians. Specific mention will be made in places to the practices of Carpatho-Russians (meaning Orthodox Ruthenians) and Ruthenian Catholics. 2. What are the public services of the Ruthenian Churches? The principal public liturgical services of the Ruthenian Churches are the same as those of all Eastern Christians: Vespers -- the evening prayers, traditionally at sunset, marking the start of the liturgical day Matins -- the morning prayers, during the night or at daybreak Divine Liturgy -- the Eucharistic celebration of the Eastern Church, using the liturgies ascribed to St. Basil and to St. John Chrysostom In addition, the following public services are celebrated daily as occasion permits; the full round of services in monasteries. Compline Midnight Vigil First Hour Third Hour Sixth Hour Ninth Hour Under certain circumstances, an All-night Vigil consisting of Vespers, Matins and First Hour, without a break, may be celebrated. The following are celebrated as needed or desired: Moleben - a prayer service of praise, petition or thanksgiving Panachida - a memorial service Consecration of a Bishop Ordination of Priests and Deacons Dedication of a Church Building Rite of Holy Matrimony Rite of Burial Blessing of Waters 3. What are the Ruthenian service books? The following are the principal Ruthenian service books: The Typicon contains the directions for the celebration of various services, as well as the calendar and instructions for combining feasts which occur together The Euchologion (Sluzhebnik) contains the three Divine Liturgies and the rites for the Mysteries (sacraments), benedictions and other ceremonies. In Slavic practice, the blessings and sacramental rites are often collected in a separate book called a Trebnik (sometimes called the Book of Needs). The Horologion (Chasoslav) contains the ordinary or unchanging prayers of the canonical hours, as well as the theotokia, the Akathist hymn, etc. The Parakletike (Octoechos or Oktoich) contains the changing parts of Vespers, Matins and Lauds for all regular days of the year, divided into an eight week cycle called the Eight Tones The Prophetologion and Apostolos contain the readings from the Old Testament and the Epistles and Book of Acts, respectively. In Slavic practice, they are sometimes combined into a single book called the Apostol. The Evangelion contains the readings from the Holy Gospel. The Psalter contains the Psalms and the canticles (Old Testament hymns) used in the divine services. It is traditionally divided into kathismata ("sittings") with additional hymns added after each section The Menaion contains the hymns and prayers specific to the feasts (such as saints' days) which are fixed to particular dates of the year. In its complete form, the Menaion consists of twelve volumes, one for each month. An abridged volume called the Festal Menaion (containing the greater feast days of the Menaion only) is often used. The Triodion contains the proper prayers for Great Lent The Pentecostarion contains the proper prayers from Pascha (Easter) through Pentecost The Archieraticon contains services for use by a bishop 4. Where can I find Ruthenian service books? Ruthenian Catholic service books ================================ Church Slavonic: ---------------- The standard Church Slavonic editions of the Ruthenian liturgical books are printed by the Vatican Polyglot Press in Rome. There are two versions: the Common Recension (used by the Russians and Bulgarians) and the Ruthenian Recension (used by Galician Ukrainians and Carpatho-Ruthenians): Ordo Celebrationis (1944) Liturgicon (1942) Trebnik (1947) Chasoslav (1950) Archieraticon (1973) The two recensions differ mainly in certain changes made in Russia under the reforms of Patriarch Nikon in the seventeenth century; many of these reforms were never made in Galicia and the Carpathians. The service books of the Ruthenian Recension can be quickly identified by having page numbers in both Cyrillic and arabic numerals; the Common Recension has page numbers in Cyrillic only. Before the typical editions described above, most churches used some form of the 1905 Lviv _Sluzhebnik_, which contains a number of Latinizations (liturgical borrowings from the Latin Rite Catholic Church); many of these Latinizations were removed in the typical editions. Both the typical editions and the Lviv Sluzhebnik can be obtained from Byzantine Seminary Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also of interest is the Velikij Sbornik, or "Great Anthology." This book, first printed in 18xx, contained all the hymns, prayers and responses for congregational singing of Vespers, Matins and Divine Liturgy for the Sundays and major feast days of the year. With the widespraed availability of the Sbornik, congregational singing of all the people's parts of the liturgy became the command practice in the Ruthenian churches. The Sbornik did not contain music, but instead indicated for each text which melody was to be used; the people, who internalized these melodies with repetition, could sing all their parts under the direction of an experienced cantor. To my knowledge, this is currently no edition of the Ruthenian Sbornik in print, although Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Jourdanville, New York, has printed an Russian Orthodox Sbornik. English: -------- Between 1955 and 1970, most Ruthenian Catholic parishes gradually changed from Church Slavonic to English in the liturgy. Service books in English for the Divine Liturgy have been standardized for some time; service books for Vespers and Matins in English are available, but have not been officially promulgated. Typicon An (unofficial but very widely used) Typicon for the Ruthenian Catholic Church is prepared annually by Father David Petras, and is available from Eastern Christian Publications (P.O. Box 146, Fairfax, Virginia 22030, (703) 691-8585). Divine Liturgy Several English Liturgicons are available from the Byzantine Seminary Press in Pittsburgh. Most Ruthenian Catholic parishes of the Metropolitan Archeparchy of Pittsburgh use _The Divine Liturgy: A Book of Prayer_, compile by the Reverend William Levkulic and customarily known as "the pew book." It contains the people's parts of the Divine Liturgy for the entire year, exclusive of Great and Holy Week, in paralle Church Slavonic (Latin letters) and English, as well as the Moleben and Panachida. It is available from the Byzantine Seminary Press Gospel and Epistle books as well as service books for Great and Holy Week, weddings and funerals are also available from the Byzantine Seminary Press. Chasoslav/Horologion and Parakletike/Octochos: There is no single Ruthenian Catholic Horologion in English. The following unoffical volumes are available from the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great in Uniontown, Pennsylvania: The Office of Vespers (1982) Common parts and Octoechos of Vespers for the year in English plus a "common menaion" for use when the proper parts for a particular saint's day are not available. The Office of Matins (1989) Common parts and Octoechos of Matins and the Little Hours for the year in English; it also contains the Resurrectional Canons, the eleven week Gospel cycle, and the Troparia and Kontakia from the Menaion, Triodion and Pentecostarion Menaion A complete Menaion is not yet available in English (although one is presently being prepared by St. John of Kronstadt Press). An unnoficial Festal Menaion is available from the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great, and is being used by both Ruthenan Catholics and Carpatho-Russian Orthodox. In addition, the Festal Menaion of Mother Maria and Bishop Kallistos Ware, a standard Orthodox work, contains useful rubrics and commentary. Psalter Psalms used in the divine services may come from any translation approved by the competent ecclesiastical authority. Earlier English service books used the translations of Archbishop Joseph Raya (from _Byzantine Daily Worship_); Archbishop Raya has in the meantime produced a complete Psalter based on the Septuagint Greek text, which is traditionally used in the Christian East. More recently, Ruthenian Catholic service books have used the Grail psalter, which is well suited to chanting chorally. A complete psalter translated from the Slavonic and Greek Septuagint, divided into kathismata and containg the kathismata prayer and the Scriptural odes, was published in 1985 by the St. Joseph's Institute. A booklet containing the kathismata prayers of the psalter is available from Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Triodion The Lenten Triodion is available from the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great, containing complete texts for Lenten services without rubrics. The Lenten Triodion of Mother Mary and Bishop Kallistos Ware, a standard Orthodox work, contains useful rubrics and commentary. Pentecostarion The Pentecostarion is available from the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great, containing complete texts from Pascha to the Sunday of All Saints. An English prayerbook in the tradition of the Sbornik is the _Byzantine Book of Prayer_, available from Byzantine Seminary Press in Pittsburgh. It includes complete texts for the Divine Liturgies, and extracts from Vespers and Matins. Addresses: Byzantine Seminary Press Liturgical Books Sisters of Saint Basil the Great Eastern Christian Publications Carpatho-Russian Orthodox service books ======================================= 5. What is prostopinije? Prostopinije (literally, "plain singing" or "plain chant") is the traditional liturgical music of the Ruthenian people. It is related to the Znammeny or Old 'Rus chant which originated in Kiev and Novgorod as Byzantine Christian chant was gradually assimilated and transformed by Slavic monks and cantors. During the fifteenth century, the northern 'Rus chant (Novgorod / Moscow) and the southwestern 'Rus chant (Kiev / Lviv) developed their own regional variations, but were still recognizable as two forms of the same tradition. In the sixteenth century, there was a great deal of musical contact between the monasteries of the Ruthenian lands and the monastic centers of Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia. At the same time, the introduction of part singing and polyphony into liturgical use in Moscow gradually displaced monophonic chant in the Russian Orthodox Church, except among the Old Believers or Old Ritualists, who resisted the reforms of Patriarch Nikon (d. 1658) and retained their own Znammeny chant. Thus, the old 'Rus monophonic chant survived primarily in the backwaters and periphery of Slav Christianity. The portion of this chant tradition that survived in the Ruthenian lands, based on Greek models, adapted to the Slavonic language and Slav sensibilities, and supplemented by Bulgarian and Serbian material, is the chant form known as prostopinije. 6. Where can I find prostopinije materials? Although the prostopinije chant was largely an oral tradition, some of the melodies (especially the more complicated ones) were notated in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries But these books, called Irmologia, were usually hand-copied and thus could not be widely distributed. In 1899, Bishop Julius Firczak of Uzhorod desired to unify the chant in his eparchy, and commissioned Father John Bokshay, a priest-musican, and Joseph Malinic, the cantor of Holy Cross Cathedral in Uzhorod, to compile the liturgical chant then in use in Uzhorod. The result of their work was a volume entitled _Tserkovnoje Prostopinije_ (Plainchants of the Church), published in 1906. The Bokshay and Malinic _Prostopinije_ (often referred to as "Bokshay" or "the prostopinije book) is the basic volume of Ruthenian liturgical chant. It contains almost every chant used at Sunday and feast day services throughout the year. Printed in Cyrillic, it has been reprinted by the Byzantine Seminary Press several times, and remains in print. In 1925, a cantor named Theodor Ratsin, trained at the Mukachevo Monastery in Subcarpathia and residing in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, compiled a privately prepared edition of the Bokshay and Malinic _Prostopinije_, to which he added many Lenten chants and irmosy which were not contained in the Bokshay work. Meticulously done, this volume is not currently in print. In 1970, two Ruthenian priests, Stefan Papp and Nikifor Petrashevic published a new edition of the Bokshay collection in Preshov, Czechoslovakia. This work, entitled _Irmologion_, contains the same basic chants as Bokshay, with some corrections and additional material from the Preshov region, along with an essay on the history of prostopinije. It is printed in latinica (Latin characters with Slav diacritical marks) rather than in Cyrillic. It may still be available from the Greek Catholic Ordinariate in Preshov. In the United States, Father Andrew Sokol published two collections of prostopinije, entitled _Plain Chant_ (1st ed. n.d., 2nd ed. 1982 and _Basic Chant_ (1955). _Plain Chant_ contains the prostopinije chants for the Divine Liturgies and the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, the funeral service, wedding services, Easter Matins and paraliturgical hymns. _Basic Chant_ contains the prostopinije melodies for the Eight Tones, and the special melodies for Vespers and Matins. Both books contain Church Slavonic texts, printed in rather than Cyrillic, with English titles and commentary. _Plain Chant_ (sometimes called the Sokol blue book) is available from the Byzantine Seminary Press); _Basic Chant_ (the Sokol brown book) is out of print. With the changeover from Church Slavonic to English, new materials were needed. _Byzantine Liturgical Chant_ (1970) was a spiral-bound collection of prostopinije chants for the Divine Liturgy in English It contained melodies for fixed and changing parts of the Divine Liturgy for Sundays and major feasts throughout the year. It is not currently in print. As liturgical books in English appeared (such as the books for Holy Week and the funeral service), they usually contained prostopinije melodies for sung texts where possible. In addition, both the Advanced Cantor's School in Pittsburgh and various private cantors distributed prostopinije materials for the Divine Liturgy on Sunday and feast days. However, no Ruthenian Catholic collections of music for Vespers and Matins have yet appeared. Several projects in this area are underway. 7. What is Church Slavonic? Church Slavonic is the ancient and traditional liturgical of the Slavs. Although it is most closely to modern Russian, it is understandable to most speakers of related languages. A distinction is sometimes made between Old Church Slavonic (the language used by Saints Cyril and Methodius and their disciples in translating the Holy Scriptures into the Slav language) and Church Slavonic, the language of the hymns and prayers of Slavic Christianity over the centuries. Until recently, most Ruthenian churches in North America celebrated their services in Slavonic. In the last forty years, many parishes have switched almost entirely to English, with only parts of the liturgy in Church Slavonic. Others retain a much larger Slavonic component. 8. Do I need to learn Church Slavonic? No, unless the services you sing are in Church Slavonic. However, there are three good reasons to learn at least a _little_ Slavonic: a. Even in English-only parishes, some texts (such as the Trisagion, Many Years, Eternal Memory and some Lenten hymns) continue to be sung in Slavonic, or in Slavonic and English in alternation. You need to be able at least to pronounce a few basic Slavonic texts with facility. b. Some familiarity with common Slavonic terms makes it much easier to locate needed melodies in collections of liturgical texts and music. b. Most important, the distinctive style of prostopinije is best displayed and learned in Slavonic. Learning to sing at least a little Slavonic makes it easier to learn prostopinije in English. Some grasp of Slavonic is essential to anyone who is setting new English texts to prostopinije melodies which were originally intended to be sung in Slavonic. 9. Where can I find out more? The best introduction to the musical background for prostopinije is Johann bon Gardner's _Russian Church Singing, Volume 1: Orthodox Worship and Hymnnography_ (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1980). This book describes the liturgical services of the Slav Christian churches and the music associated with them. The best introduction to the prostopinije itself is Sister Joan Roccasalvo's _The Plainchant Tradition of Southwestern 'Rus_ (East European Monographs, 1986). The author covers the history of prostopinije in detail, discusses the printed texts in detail, and compares the oral tradition recorded in the Bokshay _Prostopinije_ with existing 17th and 18th century manuscripts to demonstrate the stability of the overall tradition underlying the prostopinije. A good source for background reading on Orthodox worship in general (particularly among the Slavs) is Isabel Hapgood's _Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church_ (Antiochean Orthodox Christian Diocese of North America, 1922). Its explanatory material covers many of the details of worship as used in the Ruthenian Churches. ---Liturgical texts--- 100. What is a troparion? 101. What is a kontakion? 102. What is a canon? 103. What is a stich? 104. What is a stichera? 105. What is a prokimen? 106. What is a kathisma? 107. What is a sidalen? 108. What is a steppena? ---Basics of Prostopinije--- 200. How is the liturgical chant organized? (mention Ordinary chants, recitative chants, varietal chants) 201. What are the recitative tones? 202. What is the difference between "recite", "chant" and "sing"? 203. How is an epistle sung? 204. How is a prophecy sung? 205. How is a psalm sung? 206. How is a troparion sung? 207. How is a kontakion sung? 208. How are stichiry sung? 209. What are samohlasen tones? 210. What are podoben tones? 211. What are Bulgarian tones? 212. What are Dogmatic tones? 213. How is a prokimen sung? ---Vespers--- 300. What is Vespers? 301. How does Vespers begin? 302. How is Psalm 103 sung? 303. How is the Psalter sung? 304. How are the Lamp-Lighting Psalms sung? 305. How do I know what stichiry to use? 306. How are the Aposticha sung? 307. How does Vespers conclude? ---Matins--- 400. What is Matins? 401. How does Matins begin? 402. How is "God the Lord" sung? 403. How is the Psalter sung? 404. How are the Sessional Hymns (Sidalen) sung? 405. How is the Polyeleos sung? 406. How is the Exaltation sung? 407. How is the Hypakoe sung? 408. How are the Gradual Hymns (Steppena) sung? 410. How is Psalm 50 sung? 411. How is the Canon sung? 412. How is the Ikos sung? 413. How is the Magnificat sung? 414. How are the Hymns of Light sung? 415. How are Psalms 148-150 sung? 416. How is the Great Doxology sung? 417. How does Matins conclude? ---Divine Liturgy--- 500. ((Open to suggestions for organization)) ---Special Liturgies--- 600. How is a wedding liturgy sung? 601. How is a funeral liturgy sung? 602. How are the Royal Hours sung? 603. How are Jerusalem Matins sung? 603. How is Paschal Matins sung? 604. How many ways are there to sing the Paschal troparion? 605. How is a moleben sung? 606. How is a panachida sung? 607. How is the Akathistos sung? ---Paraliturgical and Folk Hymns--- ---On Being a Cantor--- Mr. David James, ROCA 800. What are the responsibilities of a cantor? It is the responsibility of the cantor to know the order of services and the canonical church chants, so that he may competently assist the clergy in conducting compunctionate services that are in conformity with the sacred traditions of the Church and that evoke reverence and contrition in the hearts of the faithful. 801. What should a cantor be able to sing? The competent cantor must know by heart the 8 tones of the Church chant (according to the usage of his local Church) and, as much as possible, the special melodies (podobni). In addition, he should be able to sing from she music the responses necessary for the orderly celebration of Vespers, Matins and the Divine Liturgy, as well as the Moleben, Funeral Service and Wedding Service. He should be able to give the pitch and lead the others on the cleros. 802. How do I learn to be a cantor? First of all, by diligent attendance at all scheduled services. Volunteer to help your cantor. If your parish has no cantor, volunteer, and ask your priest for help. If your parish does not already have regularly scheduled Vespers and Matins services, ask your priest to reinstate them. If you have been reliable at other services (and a tither), he will be more inclined to listen to you. Explain to him your belief that there is great spiritual merit in performing the Vigil service on Sundays and feastdays, even if no one el se comes. If the services are served, eventually people will come, because God will send them. 803. How should I prepare spiritually for a service? In general, by obeying God's commandments. Say your morning and evening prayers. Attend all scheduled services at your parish. Love your neighbor. Tithe of your gross income (see Malachi, Chapt. 3). Keep the Church fasts (the traditional ones, not the "relaxed" rules). Go to confession at least weekly. Before the service, arrive at the church early. Venerate the icons and ask God to have mercy on you. Ask Him for the grace to perform your duties worthily, so that you will not scandalize anyone, and that the service will be fitting. Ask him to keep you from anger and judging others, and that your service will be for His glory, and unto salvation and not for condemnation. 804. How should I prepare physically for a service? Everyone, including the faithful, should attend Divine Liturgy fasting (from midnight, including water), even if they don't intend to commune. Even the antidoron is supposed to be received fasting. I suppose singers should vocalize, although I never do this myself. In lenten periods, I find that 12 or 33 prostrations puts one in the proper frame of mind. ---Glossary of Liturgical and Musical Terms--- ---Church Slavonic terms and phrases you should know--- ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 09:18:53 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Update To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: from "Jeff Brooks" at Aug 25, 97 11:29:35 pm Jeff, Huzzah! Huzzah! Great Piles of Work, Batman!!! I'd be happy to look at da stuff. I am (as you well know) the most rudimentary of musicians, but (e-mail aside) am an evil proofreader known 'round my company at least as the Demon Editor From Hell. ;-) I can even save you postage..... (see ya Friday) Cheers, Sharon ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 10:16:19 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: CANTOR-L FAQ To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: from "Jeff Brooks" at Aug 25, 97 11:32:07 pm Jeff, On the whole, a great piece. I've never seen all the historical stuff together in such a nice, concise format. With respect to services - I saw the Panachida, should we also mention the Parastas? Menaions - should it be mentioned here that most Byz prayer books have some sort of baby Menaion tucked somewhere inside? Reference books - There seems to be a wide variety of "stuff" out there. Would it be useful to anybody else (it would have been to me!!) to include with each listing a TV-Guide kind of legend with indicators like: SC - Written in Slavonic, in the Cyrillic Alphabet SL - In Slavonic, in the Latin Alphabet SE - Materials in Slavonic, with additional English text E - English M - Contains musical notation Do we want to mention Byzantine Daily Worship? It is a tad expensive, but it IS in print, available, and does not suffer from the Latinizations of the Byzantine Book of Prayer... In addition to the Levkulic Brown,Blue or Red (depending on which color your parish bought) pew book, the most common book I've seen is the "green book" the name of which escapes me now (I'm at work) which has music in it for the Liturgy, but has no Propers (does that make it improper??). Should this one be mentioned? It's REALLY a handy book for folks with some musical background who are just beginning to get familiar with the Divine Liturgy. And, uhh... um... uhh.. I'm just a leeeeetle bit uncomfortable with some of the "How to be a Cantor" section.... A few months (or a year, who counts?) ago, on this list, we had a nice discussion about how we each go about this business of trying to prepare physically and spiritually to lead our parishes in leaping the abyss. There was no single "method" or "rule" which fit everybody, and there was a refreshing lack of True Believers that My Way Is The Right And Only Way. With respect to stuff like fasting, confession, et cetera, the overall consensus which I remember (I've been wrong before.....) was that we each do what we can, and if it is OK with our priest and confessor, and if it gives glory to God, then it is probably good. The rest of the FAQ is largely facts. Here, the contents are not facts, but one particular vision - which is not entirely universal, and is a bit more rigorous than many may find possible or desirable. Weekly (or more often) confession is a lovely thing. If you have a priest who is accessible that often - and your schedule allows it. Fasting from midnight is quite do-able, unless one happens to be hypoglycemic, diabetic, etc. Fasting from water is NOT a very good idea if you happen to live, say, in the Mojave desert, or if you are pregnant or nursing (tho' I kinda doubt that's an issue in churches which don't allow female cantors..). I am uncomfortable with this "voice" being presented as authoritative when we are trying to address all of the East. (Do we wanna address the issue of Cantors Who Have Two X Chromosomes?? It IS a Frequently Asked Question.....) I also have a problem with the quick dismissal given to issues of vocal hygiene like vocalization. We ARE singers. Singers had bloody well better take care of their instruments, or they are gonna ruin them. We have some specific hazards (like singing for hours at a time in the middle of thick incense) which would HORRIFY most singers, and with good reason! We should promote good vocal practice. It is for our own benefit, and benefits our parishes as well. Back to the beginning - it is a very, very promising beginning, and shows a tremendous amount of care. Thanks for all the work, and for letting me spout off. My $.03 (too much for $.02) Cheers, Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 10:54:17 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: CANTOR-L FAQ In-Reply-To: Message of 08/26/97 at 10:16:19 from sharon@CMHCSYS.COM On 08/26/97 at 10:16:19 Sharon Mech said: >With respect to services - I saw the Panachida, should we also mention the >Parastas? I included the Panachida because (at least among the Orthodox) it is often celebrated separately from any funeral service -- on All-Souls Saturdays, or after a Divine Liturgy for a reposed Christian, etc. Is the Parastas celebrated apart from funerals? If so, it should be in the list; otherwise, it should be described as part of the funeral service. >Menaions - should it be mentioned here that most Byz prayer books have some >sort of baby Menaion tucked somewhere inside? Good idea. >Reference books - There seems to be a wide variety of "stuff" out there. Would >it be useful to anybody else (it would have been to me!!) to include with >each listing a TV-Guide kind of legend with indicators like: > SC - Written in Slavonic, in the Cyrillic Alphabet > SL - In Slavonic, in the Latin Alphabet > SE - Materials in Slavonic, with additional English text > E - English > M - Contains musical notation How about just using combinations of SC, SL and M? For example, (SL/E/M) after an entry means "Slavonic in Latin characters, English, with music". >Do we want to mention Byzantine Daily Worship? It is a tad expensive, but it >IS in print, available, and does not suffer from the Latinizations of the >Byzantine Book of Prayer... Definitely -- at least as an additional resource. >In addition to the Levkulic Brown,Blue or Red (depending on which color >your parish bought) pew book, the most common book I've seen is the "green >book" the name of which escapes me now (I'm at work) which has music in it >for the Liturgy, but has no Propers (does that make it improper??). Should this >one be mentioned? It's REALLY a handy book for folks with some musical >background who are just beginning to get familiar with the Divine Liturgy. Yes. Our parish has old copies -- does anyone know if it's still in print? >I'm just a leeeeetle bit uncomfortable with some of the "How to be a Cantor" >section.... So am I. Unfortunately, only two people proposed answers for these questions - and Bill's "do whatever the priest wants", while sociologicaly true, begged the question of whether maybe a cantor should be _better_ prepared than the priest is asking for at the moment :-) I'll try to merge Bill's answers to the other questions -- which were apropos -- and restructure it more in the line of suggestions. OK, Bill? David James? >The rest of the FAQ is largely facts. Here, the contents are not facts, but >one particular vision.... I agree completely, which is why I would rather see _many_ suggestions rather than just a few - more a list of practical suggestions (some contradictory, even) than a how-to. (I also was afraid of being the _only_ one writing :-) ). >(Do we wanna address the issue of Cantors Who Have Two X Chromosomes?? It >IS a Frequently Asked Question.....) My personal experience of Russian Orthodox services is that, in the absence of clergy (ordained subdeacons/readers/etc.) the priest's wife and daughters often do the bulk of the singing :-) which seriously undercuts the "only men may lead the singing in Church." tradition. Perhaps a "miscellaneous" Q&A pointing out the theoretical tradition, and the fact that is has been ignored more often than followed, would be enough :-) >I also have a problem with the quick dismissal given to issues of vocal >hygiene like vocalization. We ARE singers. Singers had bloody well better >take care of their instruments, or they are gonna ruin them. We have some >specific hazards (like singing for hours at a time in the middle of thick >incense) which would HORRIFY most singers, and with good reason! We should >promote good vocal practice. It is for our own benefit, and benefits our >parishes as well. I agree. Could you write your own answers to the preparation questions, and I'll include 'em? In Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 12:04:02 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: CANTOR-L FAQ To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU ------ =_NextPart_000_01BCB218.42C383C0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I had forgotten about these comments, which were essentially = off-the-cuff. However, if you and/or Sharon can be more specific about = what makes you "a leeetle bit uncomfortable," I will try to expand and = improve my musings. David James -----Original Message----- From: Jeff Brooks [SMTP:JEFF@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU] Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 1997 10:54 AM To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Subject: Re: CANTOR-L FAQ On 08/26/97 at 10:16:19 Sharon Mech said: >With respect to services - I saw the Panachida, should we also mention = the >Parastas? I included the Panachida because (at least among the Orthodox) it is = often celebrated separately from any funeral service -- on All-Souls = Saturdays, or after a Divine Liturgy for a reposed Christian, etc. Is the Parastas celebrated apart from funerals? If so, it should be in the list; = otherwise, it should be described as part of the funeral service. >Menaions - should it be mentioned here that most Byz prayer books have = some >sort of baby Menaion tucked somewhere inside? Good idea. >Reference books - There seems to be a wide variety of "stuff" out = there. Would >it be useful to anybody else (it would have been to me!!) to include = with >each listing a TV-Guide kind of legend with indicators like: > SC - Written in Slavonic, in the Cyrillic Alphabet > SL - In Slavonic, in the Latin Alphabet > SE - Materials in Slavonic, with additional English text > E - English > M - Contains musical notation How about just using combinations of SC, SL and M? For example, = (SL/E/M) after an entry means "Slavonic in Latin characters, English, with = music". >Do we want to mention Byzantine Daily Worship? It is a tad expensive, = but it >IS in print, available, and does not suffer from the Latinizations of = the >Byzantine Book of Prayer... Definitely -- at least as an additional resource. >In addition to the Levkulic Brown,Blue or Red (depending on which color >your parish bought) pew book, the most common book I've seen is the = "green >book" the name of which escapes me now (I'm at work) which has music in = it >for the Liturgy, but has no Propers (does that make it improper??). = Should this >one be mentioned? It's REALLY a handy book for folks with some musical >background who are just beginning to get familiar with the Divine = Liturgy. Yes. Our parish has old copies -- does anyone know if it's still in = print? >I'm just a leeeeetle bit uncomfortable with some of the "How to be a = Cantor" >section.... So am I. Unfortunately, only two people proposed answers for these = questions - and Bill's "do whatever the priest wants", while sociologicaly true, = begged the question of whether maybe a cantor should be _better_ prepared than = the priest is asking for at the moment :-) I'll try to merge Bill's answers to the other questions -- which were apropos -- and restructure it more = in the line of suggestions. OK, Bill? David James? >The rest of the FAQ is largely facts. Here, the contents are not facts, = but >one particular vision.... I agree completely, which is why I would rather see _many_ suggestions = rather than just a few - more a list of practical suggestions (some = contradictory, even) than a how-to. (I also was afraid of being the _only_ one writing = :-) ). >(Do we wanna address the issue of Cantors Who Have Two X Chromosomes?? = It >IS a Frequently Asked Question.....) My personal experience of Russian Orthodox services is that, in the = absence of clergy (ordained subdeacons/readers/etc.) the priest's wife and = daughters often do the bulk of the singing :-) which seriously undercuts the "only = men may lead the singing in Church." tradition. Perhaps a "miscellaneous" = Q&A pointing out the theoretical tradition, and the fact that is has been = ignored more often than followed, would be enough :-) >I also have a problem with the quick dismissal given to issues of vocal >hygiene like vocalization. We ARE singers. Singers had bloody well = better >take care of their instruments, or they are gonna ruin them. We have = some >specific hazards (like singing for hours at a time in the middle of = thick >incense) which would HORRIFY most singers, and with good reason! We = should >promote good vocal practice. It is for our own benefit, and benefits = our >parishes as well. I agree. Could you write your own answers to the preparation questions, and I'll include 'em? In Christ, Jeff =00 ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 12:47:20 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: CANTOR-L FAQ To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: from "Jeff Brooks" at Aug 26, 97 10:54:17 am > > > SC - Written in Slavonic, in the Cyrillic Alphabet > > SL - In Slavonic, in the Latin Alphabet > > SE - Materials in Slavonic, with additional English text > > E - English > > M - Contains musical notation > > How about just using combinations of SC, SL and M? For example, (SL/E/M) > after an entry means "Slavonic in Latin characters, English, with music". That's kinda what I had in mind. I don't know if the above covers all the bases, but I think we do need to somehow convey enough info in an easy format so that people can see "this is gonna be accessible to me" or "don't pursue this unless you can read Cyrillic" or "this has MUSIC!!" > >In addition to the Levkulic Brown,Blue or Red (depending on which color > >your parish bought) pew book, the most common book I've seen is the "green > >book" the name of which escapes me now (I'm at work) which has music in it > >for the Liturgy, but has no Propers (does that make it improper??). Should th is > >one be mentioned? It's REALLY a handy book for folks with some musical > >background who are just beginning to get familiar with the Divine Liturgy. > > Yes. Our parish has old copies -- does anyone know if it's still in print? Yes. I think you can get 'em from Byz Seminary Press. > > >(Do we wanna address the issue of Cantors Who Have Two X Chromosomes?? It > >IS a Frequently Asked Question.....) > > My personal experience of Russian Orthodox services is that, in the absence > of clergy (ordained subdeacons/readers/etc.) the priest's wife and daughters > often do the bulk of the singing :-) which seriously undercuts the "only men > may lead the singing in Church." tradition. Perhaps a "miscellaneous" Q&A > pointing out the theoretical tradition, and the fact that is has been ignored > more often than followed, would be enough :-) I was given to understand that there are several Traditions - and in some places there is a long tradition (or at least history) of female cantors, and NOT just 'cause there weren't any men around. I wish I had solid info on this. Does anyone? > > >I also have a problem with the quick dismissal given to issues of vocal > >hygiene like vocalization. We ARE singers. Singers had bloody well better > >take care of their instruments, or they are gonna ruin them. We have some > >specific hazards (like singing for hours at a time in the middle of thick > >incense) which would HORRIFY most singers, and with good reason! We should > >promote good vocal practice. It is for our own benefit, and benefits our > >parishes as well. > > I agree. Could you write your own answers to the preparation questions, > and I'll include 'em? > I'll take a whack at 'em. Thanks! Anybody else out there with comments? Cheers! Sharon ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 15:23:15 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Vespers/Matins To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Jeff, A little while ago the post office returned my package to you with the Vespers book and Matins book. I must have the wrong address. Could you let me have it again,please. Now, Father Nicholas, my Hegumen, is going to be at Otpust this weekend, so if you think you'll be able to track him down, IO can send some copies with him. Or I can mail them again, this time with the right address. Let me know! In Christ, monk Maximos, sinner (and mail-klutz) ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 15:50:25 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Vespers/Matins To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <970826152008_571940854@emout08.mail.aol.com> from "brother Maximos" at Aug 26, 97 03:23:15 pm Brother Maximos, I will also be at Otpust, and am staying at Chez Jeff & Bonni, so if Fr. Nicholas & Jeff don't know one another by sight, perhaps I can help. Cheers, Sharon ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 27 Aug 1997 13:07:36 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Vespers/Matins To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Sharon, Glory to Jesus Christ! In a message dated 8/26/97 1:21:34 PM, you wrote: >Brother Maximos, > >I will also be at Otpust, and am staying at Chez Jeff & Bonni, so if Fr. >Nicholas & Jeff don't know one another by sight, perhaps I can help. > >Cheers, > > >Sharon Oops, forgot you were probably going to be there too. Fr Nicholas will pack an extra set of books for you. On the question of identification, I think Fr N will stand out just a tad among the worthies at Uniontown :-) But just in case, it will be good for you to keep an eye peeled. I'm pretty sure he'll be concelebrating the main Saturday Liturgy, the one that Hegumen Leo Schlosser is skippering. I'm very glum that I'll be here, holding down the fort with Br Basil. Pray for me! In Christ monk Maximos, sinner ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 27 Aug 1997 13:07:57 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: CANTOR-L FAQ To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Jeff, Slava Isusu Christu! A masterpiece! Clear, concise, comprehensive and readable. Very few comments: Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: CANTOR-L FAQ To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Jeff, Glory to Jesus Christ! In a message dated 8/26/97 11:18:04 AM, you wrote: >Is the Parastas >celebrated apart from funerals? If so, it should be in the list; otherwise, >it should be described as part of the funeral service. I've been present in a Russian Church when they sang the Parastas apart from a funeral. Ruthenians would have done the "Small Panachyda", I guess. They (the Russians) cut abbreviated the Parastas by omitting most of the canon: they just sang the refrains. I guess the answer to your question is it depends on the usage. I don't see why the Parastas couldn't be done any time. It's just a variation on the Matins service, a moleben for the dead if you will. But I don't know enough to say whether there have grown up any hard and fast rules. >>(Do we wanna address the issue of Cantors Who Have Two X Chromosomes?? It >>IS a Frequently Asked Question.....) > >My personal experience of Russian Orthodox services is that, in the absence >of clergy (ordained subdeacons/readers/etc.) the priest's wife and daughters >often do the bulk of the singing :-) which seriously undercuts the "only men >may lead the singing in Church." tradition. Perhaps a "miscellaneous" Q&A >pointing out the theoretical tradition, and the fact that is has been ignored >more often than followed, would be enough :-) I agree. It's enough to point out facts, and not try to interpret them. It is a reality that many Ruthenian Churches have women who lead the singing. There is nothing contrary to the faith in this--*nuns* have always led their own singing, even at the height of Byzantium! The presence of women cantors in Orthodoxy is widespread, especially if you count female choristers throughout the Slavic world. That is the main reason why I'm comfortable about them in our Church, as I could never be about female altar servers, for example. A good test of what falls within the living tradition is to see how all the Byzantine Churches live it and search for an underlying consensus. It's not a fool proof test, obviously, but it's better than an archaelogical view that relies exclusively on patristic and canonical texts and ignores the real world of flesh and blood people. I don't know much about the history of this issue. I would imagine, though, that in a Church such as ours where *congregational* singing remains the norm, it's simply less of an issue than in cantor-only usages such as the Greek. Especially in the Liturgy, our cantor is just there to give everyone a leg up. Should be the best person for the job. Personally, I think the objection to women cantors is based on a confusion of the (unordained) cantor with (ordained) reader. The latter's main job is to read the epistle and prophecies, and to take those parts of the services that tradition prescribes be "read" rather than sung. (Which parts these are varies from usage to usage.) Obviously the clear tradition is that only men can be ordained to this order. Cantors, on the other hand, are lead singers. So far as I know there has never been a specific rite to make a cantor. It's just a matter of training and competance. Pace the fundamentalist interpreters of St Paul, there is absolutely no reason to object to XX chromysone cantors :-) There are so many unordained cantors out there functioning as "readers" (including me!) that it's very easy to forget that there's a formal distinction between the roles. As a practical matter that's not going to change in a hurry. In Christ, monk Maximos, sinner ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Mon, 1 Sep 1997 23:47:43 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: cc: Subject: Re: Challenge In-Reply-To: Message of 09/01/97 at 20:41:16 from freuge@pacbell.net Andrew Wollert asked about the celebration of Vespers without a priest. Late last year there was some discussion of priestless Vespers and Matins on the Ruthenian Cantors' List (CANTOR-L), and as part of this I forwarded some materials to Father David Petras, who is currently in Pittsburgh, for review. He gave his blessing, for the most part, to what we had prepared, with a few suggested changes and additions, which I gratefully incorporated. Father David, would you have any objections to my posting here the rubrics for priestless Vespers that you proposed? Yours in Christ, Jeff Mierzejewski ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Sun, 7 Sep 1997 00:22:16 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Chant Notes - Nativity of the Holy Mother of God - Vespers I thought it might be apropos to post some notes on the feasts of the liturgical year as they come around. Although material for the Divine Liturgy on feast days is usually well known to cantors, some of the texts and music for Vespers and Matins can be harder to find. Let me know if these "chant notes" are of use to you, and I'll keep posting them! September 8 - Nativity of the Holy Mother of God The texts for the feast can be found in the Festal Menaion (hereafter abbreviated FM) of the Sisters of Saint Basil in Uniontown, and the Festal Menaion of Mother Mary and Bishop Kallistos Ware (MMFM). As usual, the Uniontown book uses reverent but more modern English, and Mother Mary's book has more complete rubrics. Father David's typicon directs the use of Format 6A (Feast of the Mother of God). Vespers is sung as usual: Beginning Prayers Psalm 103, "Bless the Lord, O my soul!" Litany of Peace Psalter - the First Kathisma Lamp-lighting Psalms the typicon directs the use of 8 or 10 stichera of the feast; the Festal Menaion gives 8 (FM pp. 12-13; note that the third and fourth stichera are sung twice). All are in tone 6. So sing the opening verses of Psalm 140 ("O Lord I have cried") to the samohlasen stich melody for tone 6, then straight chant the psalms as far as the beginning of Psalm 129, which is marked "For 8 stichera". Sing that verse in stich tone 6, then sing the first sticheron in stichera tone 6. Keep repeating this pattern, all in tone 6, through the Glory / Now and ever and the last sticheron. "O Joyful Light" Prokeimenon for the day of the week Readings of the feast (from the Common of the God-bearer) Litany of Supplication for Great Vespers Hymn of Glorification ("O Lord, keep us this evening without sin") Litany of Supplication Litija The hymns of the litija (FM pp. 13-14) are now sung to the samohlasen melodies. Samohlasen tones 1, 2 and 8 are used. Festal Litany Aposticha The hymns of the aposticha (FM pp. 14-15) are now sung to the samohlasen melodies. The first three are in tone 4; use the stichera melody for the stichera themselves and the stich melody for the intervening psalm verses. The Glory / Now and ever and the last hymn are in tone 8; use the stich melody for the Glory / Now and ever, and the stichera melody for the hymn. Canticle of Simeon Troparion of the Feast (FM p. 15, to the tropar melody of tone 4) Festal Blessing Psalm 33 Dismissal As you can see, the musical variation for the feast comes at the Lamp-Lighting Psalms, the Litija (if there is one), the tropar and the Aposticha. This is fairly typical of feast-day Vespers. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 1 Sep 1997 18:22:39 -0700 Reply-To: redco@inficad.com Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: Andrew Wollert Organization: Redco International Subject: Vespers without a priest To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Glory be to Jesus Christ! I have been trying to learn all the ins and outs of serving Vespers without a priest, for eventual use in my parish. Can I ask questions of you concerning this? I'm a bit dense at times and probably would ask stuff that is painfully obvious to most. If you prefer that it be done privately, that is ok with me as well. Please let me know. Thanks! -Andy -- Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Gilbert, Arizona USA --+-- redco@inficad.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Sat, 6 Sep 1997 22:17:05 -0700 Reply-To: redco@inficad.com Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: Andrew Wollert Organization: Redco International Subject: Re: Chant Notes - Nativity of the Holy Mother of God - Vespers To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: Thank you, Jeff, for the notes. Yes, they are very useful to me. Please consider continuing posting them. Where can I find samohlasen tone 6? I have the Prostopinije book that was reprinted by Byzantine Seminary Press and it has some samohlasen melodies in it... How exactly are the stichera sung in tone 6? Is this samohlasen as well? Have you been able to send out the revised Vespers rubrics that Fr David looked at? Did I miss it? Thanks! Glory be to Jesus Christ! -Andy a cantor totally immersed in continuing education.... -- Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Gilbert, Arizona USA --+-- redco@inficad.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Sun, 7 Sep 1997 22:30:37 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: Subject: Samohlasen tones In-Reply-To: Message of 09/06/97 at 22:17:05 from redco@INFICAD.COM On 09/06/97 at 22:17:05 Andrew Wollert said: >Where can I find samohlasen tone 6? I have the Prostopinije book >that was reprinted by Byzantine Seminary Press and it has some >samohlasen melodies in it... >How exactly are the stichera sung in tone 6? Is this samohlasen as >well? A "sticheron" (pl. "stichera") is a poetic text that points out some particular aspect of the hour, day or feast. Stichera are typically intended to be sung in alternation with psalm verses. Usually the psalm verse (called in Slavonic "zapev" (introductory intonation) or "stich") comes before the sticheron; sometimes it follows the sticheron. For example, after Psalm 50 at Matins on the feast of Saint Nicholas, the following is sung in tone 6: Zapev/stich: Have mercy on me, O God, in your kindness. In your compassion blot out my offenses. Sticheron: O holy Nicholas, faithful servant of God * and worker in the vineyard of Christ, * your life, in accordance with the meaning of your name, * has given light to old knowledge. * The splendor of your countenance gave witness to your innocence of soul. * Your life was an example of the quiet innocence of the Word; * now you are glorious among the Saints. * Implore Christ in behalf of our souls. Now, since there are literally thousands of stichera in the Byzantine offices, they are normally intended to be sung to reasonably simple melodies, which can be adapted to any particular text. The basic prostopinije melodies for stichera are the "samohlasen tones"; there are also "bolhar tones" and "podobny". Each samohlasen tone consists of two melodies: - a simple, non-repeating melody for the zapev or stich - a melody consisting of an initial phrase, a series of phrases that repeat in a particular order, and a concluding phrase, for singing the sticheron To find a particular samohlasen melody, look in the Bokshai _Prostopinije_ or the Sokol _Basic Chant_ in the section labeled Octoechos, or Eight Tones. Find the tone indicated for the sticheron you need to sing; for example, in Bokshai the melodies for Tone 6 start on page 28. The order of melodies for each tone in Bokshai is: Boh Hospod' ("God the Lord", from Matins) Tropar Kondak (if different from the tropar melody) Prokimen (for Matin) Vsjakoje Dychanije ("Let everything that breathes", from Matins) Irmosy of the canon (9 odes, with Chvalite verse before 8th ode) Svjat Hospod' ("Holy is the Lord", from Matins) Prokimen (for the Divine Liturgy) Alleluia (for the Divine Liturgy) Samohlasen zapev melody Samohlasen sticheron melody Podoben melodies (if any) Bolhar melody (if any) Now, the only confusing part is that the samohlasen zapev melody is labelled in the chant books as "samohlasen", while the samohlasen sticheron melody is labelled "stichera". Both melodies together form a samohlasen tone. So look at the melody in Bokshai on page 32 (setting the text "Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit) and sing it: Sla-va Ot-cu i Sy-nu i Svja- to- mu Du - chu. F F F G A A G F-G-A-Bfl C G Bfl A-G-Fsh G With the psalm text above, count syllables backwards from the end to find that the four-note run occurs on "blot": Have mercy on me, O God, in your kindness. In your compassion F F F G A A A A A A A (pause) A A A A G blot out my of- fen- ses. F-G-A-Bfl C G Bfl A-G-Fsh G If this rote process results in a horrible match to the English word accents, adjust the melody slightly by repeating the initial F only twice, or four times, or adjust the ending phrase to put word accents in "good places", while trying to preserve the general sense of the melody (for example, don't sing the four-note run over four syllables). Now that you can sing the psalm verse to its melody, look at the samohlasen sticheron tone, labelled "stichera". It has six phrases, marked by bar lines. The first phrase is used to sing the first phrase of the sticheron, "O holy Nicholas, faithful servant of God". Note that the text in the liturgical book is _divided for you into phrases, usually with asterisks (*)_. Each musical phrases has a beginning part, a constant reciting tone and an ending part; sing each musical phrase and you can usually determine the reciting tone. Since the first syllables of the text phrase to the beginning of the musical phrase, continue on the reciting tone until you approach the end of the text phrase. Sing the last few syllables of the text phrase to the concluding part of the musical phrase: O holy Nicholas, faithful servant of God, Efl F G G G G G G F A A G Sing it expressively to place the accents correctly. I was originally tempted to combine the two A's at the end into a single one: O holy Nicholas, faithful servant of God, Efl F G G G G G G G F A(hold) G But singing it twice, I found I could make the first version sing well. Keeping to the original melody is good; but if you have to, tweak it slightly to match the text. Just don't make a habit of changing the the melodies on your own authority. Now, the text we have has eight phrases. The sticheron melody has six; call them A B C D E F. initial middle middle middle middle ending |repeat in order as needed| Mismatches like this are common. Sing the first phrase of the text to musical phrase A, then sing the following phrases to the music phrases in order, repeating as necessary: B C D E B C. We are now at the last phrase of the text, so sing it to the ending musical phrase, F: Implore Christ in behalf of our souls. G G A Bfl-A Bfl C D(hold) C-Bfl-A-Bfl G With practice, you internalize the order in which the musical phrases follow one another; learn the initial and middle phrases, and practice jumping to the ending phrase from any one of the middle phrases. The melodies are designed to make this relatively painless. Some of the samohlasen melodies in Bokshai or Sokol are followed immediately by the text "Nyni i prismo..." ("Now and ever...") This is useful when singing the doxology (as one usually does at the end of a series of stichera) but it is not part of the stichera melody; it is actually just another example of the zapev or stich melody in the same tone. Go forth, he said, and do likewise! :-) By the way: MOST stichera are sung to the eight samohlasen melodies. If a sticheron just says "Tone 2:" or whatever, you use the samohlasen melody. But if it says, for example: Tone 2 bolhar: -- use the Bolhar or Bulgarian melody given in the chant books for Tone 2 Podoben "Jako dobl'a" -- use the Podoben melody whose setting in the chant books begins with the words "Jako dobl'a"". (I'm preparing an index of podobny melodies for people like me who don't have everything memorized :-) ). Unless indicated otherwise, just use the zapev/stich melody of the same tone for singing the psalm verse that accompanies the sticheron. The bolhar and podoben melodies are more complicated, but are applied to a text in the same way. They take more work to set, however. Several priests I know have worked or are working to set the relatively small number of texts sung to these tones to written-out music in English. Stay tuned! Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Mon, 8 Sep 1997 07:42:32 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Chant Notes - Nativity of the Holy Mother of God - Matins September 8 - Nativity of the Holy Mother of God The texts for the feast can be found in the Festal Menaion (hereafter abbreviated FM) of the Sisters of Saint Basil in Uniontown, and the Festal Menaion of Mother Mary and Bishop Kallistos Ware (MMFM). As usual, the Uniontown book uses reverent but more modern English, and Mother Mary's book has more complete rubrics. Father David's typicon directs the use of Format 6A (Feast of the Mother of God). Matins is sung as usual: Opening Prayers Six Psalms Litany of Peace "God the Lord" on the tone of the week (tone 7) Troparia (the typicon directs the troparion of the feast, twice; Glory, Now and ever; the troparion of the feast once more. Since the troparion is marked "Tone 4", sing it according to the Tone 4 troparion melody in the chant books.) First Reading of the Psalter The typicon says "daily kathismata", so look in the table and straight-chant kathisma 4, followed by a small litany and a Sessional Hymn, or Sidalen. The Sidalen ("O David, proclaim the oath") is found in the Festal Menaion on page 15, marked Tone 4. There is no special sidelan melody for Tone 4 (it would be listed in the chant books as a "podeben sidalnyj"), sing the sidalen to the tropar melody for Tone 4. The Menaion says to then sing Glory be, Now and ever, and the sidalen a second time. For the Glory be, Now and ever, use the same melody you would use just before a Tone 4 kontakion. Second Reading of the Psalter Working from the Psalter table for a Monday in summer, straight-chant kathisma 5, followed by a small litany and the second Sessional Hymn for the feast ("From the root of Jesse"), again in Tone 4. Sing it to the Tone 4 troparion melody, then Glory, Now and ever, then sing the sessional hymn again. Third Reading of the Psalter The typicon prescribes the Polyeleos (much mercy), sung to its own melody (Bokshai _Prostopinije_, p. 44; I have it in English) followed by the Exaltation of the Feast (FM p. 16, which I _don't_ know how to sing), the enthronement of the festal icon, and the third Sessional Hymn, the "sidalen of the feast" (FM p. 16), in Tone 8, followed by Glory, Now and ever and repeated. Again, use the Tone 8 tropar melodies for the sidalen. --Suddenly, a disturbance is felt in the Force-- Both Festal Menaia (FM and MMFM) say "Gradual Hymns", with MMFM adding "in Tone 4". The typicon doesn't mention them, but they are standard fare at Sunday and festal matins. The gradual hymns for all feasts not on a Sunday are found in the FM on page 14. They have a proper melody, found in the Bokshai _Prostopinije_ book on page 47, labelled "Steppena" (the Slavonic name for what are known in English as Gradual Hymns, or Hymns of Ascent). This has been set in English by Father Robert Pipta; see me for a copy. Prokeimenon Of the feast (FM p. 16) in Tone 4. Each tone has a special melody for the prokeimenon at Matins, but most cantors use the prokeimenon melody from the Divine Liturgy, which is different. The psalm verse is straight-chanted, and the prokeimonen is repeated. Gospel Luke 1:39-49,56. (Not explicitly stated in FM or the typicon; given in MMFM, an example of why it's good to have several books.) For goodness' sake, let the priest or deacon sing his part and rest your voice for a minute! Psalm 50 Chanted while the people approach the tetrapod and kiss the Gospel Book and the icon of the feast. There is a proper chant melody for Psalm 50 (Carpatho-Russian) or you can straight-chant it. At the end, there are stichera (FM p. 17). No tone is given for the Glory be and its sticheron, or the Now and ever and its sticheron; you could sing these to the samohlasen tone of the week (Tone 7). Then comes another psalm verse and its sticheron, marked Tone 6. Sing these to the stich and sticheron melodies from samohlasen Tone 6. The Canon The Canon of the Feast is sung, consisting of eight odes (FM 17-22) Ode 1 Sing the irmos according to the melody in the _Prostopinije_, if you have it set in English, or sing it as a slightly florid recitation (like the Epistle or Gospel). Then sing the refrain, which I sing to the prostopinije melody given for the refrains at the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete: Most Ho-ly Mother of God, save us! mi-fa so so so so mi fa(hold) mi(hold) re(hold) Then sing the first troparia at a goodly pace in a recitative. Repeat the refrain (in my parish our people pick this up very quickly), the tropation, the refrain, etc. Then Glory be to the refrain melody, the next-to-last troparion, the Now and ever to the refrain melody, the last troparion (slow the ending so the people know the ode is over). All the troparia are chanted in a recitative; only at Pascha do we sing all the troparia to the irmos melody. Finally, after the last troparion of the ode, sing the katavasia. This is the irmos of some canon or another, sung to the proper melody in the _Prostopinije_. The typicon specifically says that the katavasiai for the day are from the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, so after the last troparion of Ode 1, flip to September 14 in the Festal Menaion and sing the irmos (very beginning) of Ode 1 of the Canon, to its proper melody if you know it, or in a florid recitative. Mark your place here, because you'll come back to it! Ode 2 ode 2 is penitential, and it only taken on rare occasions (not today, for example) Ode 3 irmos, troparion with refrains, katavasia (irmos of Ode 3 from the canon for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross) TO BE CONTINUED! ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L Message-Id: Date: Tue, 9 Sep 1997 01:41:28 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Chvalim blahoslovim In-Reply-To: Message of 09/08/97 at 09:59:25 from HCommun871@AOL.COM On 09/08/97 at 09:59:25 brother Maximos said: >In a message dated 9/7/97 9:06:39 PM, you wrote: >> Irmosy of the canon (9 odes, with Chvalite verse before 8th ode) >What is the Chvalite verse? Ah! The Chvalite verse is one of the hidden liturgical secrets of Eastern Christianity! :-) First off, I made a mistake. "Na Chvalite" (At the praises) is the tag in the Slavonic books for the stichera at the Psalms of Praise (Pss. 148-150) at Matins. What I should have said was "The Chvalim Blahoslovim" verse. But it's still a neat secret. In the chant books (Bokshai, Sokol, etc.), between Odes 7 and 8 of each canon in the Octoechos (book of eight tones), these is a simple musical setting for the following verse: Chvalim blahoslovim poklanajemsja Hospodevi Hospoda pojem i prevoznosim Jeho vo vsja viki. Praise, bless and worship the Lord all you works of the Lord, and exalt Him above all forever. (I think) In the Uniontown books, this verse sometimes turns up in place of the Glory, Now and ever at Odes 7, 8 or 9 of a canon. But I could never find out why it appeared at all. Finally, I found the clue in my Velikij Sbornik (a complete anthology of hymns for Vespers, Matins and Divine Liturgy for the Sundays and feast days of the year; mine is a 1936 from Presov, and bears the approval of Bishop Paul Gojdich of blessed memory). In the ordinary for Matins, it directs that the verse Chvalim blahoslovim poklanajemsja Hospodevi, pojushche i prevoznosjashche jeho vo vsja viki. Let us praise, bless and workship the Lord, singing and exalting Him above all forever is to be sung --immediately before the katavasia of the eighth Ode of the Canon--. So the sequence would be something like this: Eight Ode Irmos refrain, tropar refrain, tropar ... Glory, tropar Now and ever, theotokion "Let us praise, bless and worship..." Katavasia of the Eighth Ode Priest: "Let us greatly extol the Theotokos and the Mother of Light with hymns." The Magnificat, or Exaltation Ninth Ode Looking further, I have found precisely the above indicated, but usually in a cursory fashion, in both Greek Catholic and Orthodox Matins books, including Mother Mary's Festal Menaion (p. 92). So it is fairly obvious that such a verse is always to be sung after the theotokion of the 8th Ode and before the katavasia. Furthermore, this verse makes liturgical sense, in a way; it is an obvious reminder of the Canticle of the Three Youths, which the Eighth Ode of a canon is a commentary upon. Even though we no longer sing the scriptural canticles outside of Great Lent, it makes sense to have such a reminder-verse. There remain two unexplained points: 1. Why is the melody in the chant books given before Ode 8 instead of between Odes 8 and 9? 2. Why is the text different from that of the liturgical books, such as the Sbornik? It may be that this is simply an older formula for the same verse. On the other hand, it may have another purpose: although I don't have a Slavonic text of the Canticle of the Three Youths (Daniel 3:57-88), it looks to me like the verse in the chant books is actually the first verse of the Canticle. If that is so, it may be that this is a melody to be used in singing the entire Canticle. Since the canticle would be sung before the corresponding Ode of the canon, the order in Bokshai would make sense. But I don't know (a) whether this was really done, or (b) why only this canticle would have its own melody in each tone. Practically, I would either use the Chvalim blahoslovim melody for the appointed verse before the katavasia of the eighth Ode of the Canon. But I'd love to find out a little more about why things are the way the are! Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Mon, 8 Sep 1997 20:22:53 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: brother Maximos Subject: Re: Chant Notes - Nativity of the Holy Mother of God - Matins To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Jeff, Slava Isusu Christu! In a message dated 9/8/97 3:43:49 AM, you wrote: > Ode 1 > Sing the irmos according to the melody in the _Prostopinije_, > if you have it set in English, or sing it as a slightly florid > recitation (like the Epistle or Gospel). Then sing the refrain, > which I sing to the prostopinije melody given for the refrains > at the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete: > > Most Ho-ly Mother of God, save us! > mi-fa so so so so mi fa(hold) mi(hold) re(hold) You are simply *toooo* efficient. I was about to ask you how you did those refrains. :-) So let me ask you this instead! I've been experimenting lately with singing said refrains as though they were the last line of the irmos, ie. recitative + ending cadence. If works OK, but is it a sin?? And here's a thought. *If* the day ever dawned that a body could actually sing those canon tones, and *if* he or she were minded to tell Peter the Great to jump in the lake and sing *every* troparion of each ode, would it be make sense to sing the refrains to, oh say the pripiv tone? In Christ, monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 8 Sep 1997 18:33:05 -0700 Reply-To: redco@inficad.com Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: Andrew Wollert Organization: Redco International Subject: Re: Samohlasen tones To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: Thank you, Jeff! A treasure-trove of information; more than I could have asked for even if I had the questions to ask! I am indebted to you. Please continue to share this with us. May the Lord richly bless you! -Andy -- Reader Andrew J. Wollert IC|XC Gilbert, Arizona USA --+-- redco@inficad.com NI|KA ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 22:12:21 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: Subject: I'm baaaack! Greetings as those of us on the Gregorian Calendar begin the Nativity Fast! Things have been quite crazy here in Morgantown, from our trip to Jordanville, the Uniontown pilgrimage, buying some land in New York and general insane business at work. But work has eased up a bit, and I'll try to get caught up this evening on various questions people posed that I haven't answered. Please, if you've got something to contribute, jump in! To start with, here is the current iteration of the CANTOR-L Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list. I'm working on the "Basics of Prostopinije" section; would anyone care to take on the Divine Liturgy and Special Liturgies sections? Also, we had some discussions on the "How to Prepare for a Liturgy" section, pro and con; I'm open to specific recommendations. Should we omit it for now? Or flag several individuals' responses to each question, to allow different voices to be heard? Also, for the glossary: does anyone know of a code page or character set we could standardize on that includes the appropriate diacritical marks for transcribing Church Slavonic terms into Latin characters? Yours in Christ, Jeff Questions That Are (Or Should Be) Frequently Asked About Carpatho-Ruthenian Chant, or "Prostopinije" ---Overview--- 1. Who are the Ruthenians? The Ruthenians are a Slavic people of the Carpathian Mountain region of southeastern Europe. The Ruthenians are also called Rusini, Carpatho-Russians, Carpatho-Ruthenians, Carpatho-Ukrainians, Rusyns and Little Russians. The division of the Ruthenians into Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholics does not erase the fact that the traditional religious practices and observances of Orthodox Ruthenians and Catholic Ruthenians are largely identical. In what follows, references to the practice of the "Ruthenian Churches" apply without distinction to both Orthodox and Catholic Ruthenians. Specific mention will be made in places to the practices of Carpatho-Russians (meaning Orthodox Ruthenians) and Ruthenian Catholics. 2. What are the public services of the Ruthenian Churches? The principal public liturgical services of the Ruthenian Churches are the same as those of all Eastern Christians: Vespers -- the evening prayers, traditionally at sunset, marking the start of the liturgical day Matins -- the morning prayers, during the night or at daybreak Divine Liturgy -- the Eucharistic celebration of the Eastern Church, using the liturgies ascribed to St. Basil and to St. John Chrysostom In addition, the following public services are celebrated daily as occasion permits; the full round of services in monasteries. Compline Midnight Vigil First Hour Third Hour Sixth Hour Ninth Hour Under certain circumstances, an All-night Vigil consisting of Vespers, Matins and First Hour, without a break, may be celebrated. The following are celebrated as needed or desired: Moleben - a prayer service of praise, petition or thanksgiving Panachida - a memorial service Consecration of a Bishop Ordination of Priests and Deacons Dedication of a Church Building Rite of Holy Matrimony Rite of Burial Blessing of Waters 3. What are the Ruthenian service books? The following are the principal Ruthenian service books: The Typicon contains the directions for the celebration of various services, as well as the calendar and instructions for combining feasts which occur together The Euchologion (Sluzhebnik) contains the three Divine Liturgies and the rites for the Mysteries (sacraments), benedictions and other ceremonies. In Slavic practice, the blessings and sacramental rites are often collected in a separate book called a Trebnik (sometimes called the Book of Needs). The Horologion (Chasoslav) contains the ordinary or unchanging prayers of the canonical hours, as well as the theotokia, the Akathist hymn, etc. The Parakletike (Octoechos or Oktoich) contains the changing parts of Vespers, Matins and Lauds for all regular days of the year, divided into an eight week cycle called the Eight Tones The Prophetologion and Apostolos contain the readings from the Old Testament and the Epistles and Book of Acts, respectively. In Slavic practice, they are sometimes combined into a single book called the Apostol. The Evangelion contains the readings from the Holy Gospel. The Psalter contains the Psalms and the canticles (Old Testament hymns) used in the divine services. It is traditionally divided into kathismata ("sittings") with additional hymns added after each section The Menaion contains the hymns and prayers specific to the feasts (such as saints' days) which are fixed to particular dates of the year. In its complete form, the Menaion consists of twelve volumes, one for each month. An abridged volume called the Festal Menaion (containing the greater feast days of the Menaion only) is often used. The Triodion contains the proper prayers for Great Lent The Pentecostarion contains the proper prayers from Pascha (Easter) through Pentecost The Archieraticon contains services for use by a bishop 4. Where can I find Ruthenian service books? Ruthenian Catholic service books ================================ Church Slavonic: ---------------- The standard Church Slavonic editions of the Ruthenian liturgical books are printed by the Vatican Polyglot Press in Rome. There are two versions: the Common Recension (used by the Russians and Bulgarians) and the Ruthenian Recension (used by Galician Ukrainians and Carpatho-Ruthenians): Ordo Celebrationis (1944) Liturgicon (1942) Trebnik (1947) Chasoslav (1950) Archieraticon (1973) The two recensions differ mainly in certain changes made in Russia under the reforms of Patriarch Nikon in the seventeenth century; many of these reforms were never made in Galicia and the Carpathians. The service books of the Ruthenian Recension can be quickly identified by having page numbers in both Cyrillic and arabic numerals; the Common Recension has page numbers in Cyrillic only. Before the typical editions described above, most churches used some form of the 1891 Lviv _Sluzhebnik_, which contains a number of Latinizations (liturgical borrowings from the Latin Rite Catholic Church); many of these Latinizations were removed in the typical editions. Both the typical editions and the Lviv Sluzhebnik can be obtained from Byzantine Seminary Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also of interest is the Velikij Sbornik, or "Great Anthology." This book, first printed in 18xx, contained all the hymns, prayers and responses for congregational singing of Vespers, Matins and Divine Liturgy for the Sundays and major feast days of the year. With the widespraed availability of the Sbornik, congregational singing of all the people's parts of the liturgy became the command practice in the Ruthenian churches. The Sbornik did not contain music, but instead indicated for each text which melody was to be used; the people, who internalized these melodies with repetition, could sing all their parts under the direction of an experienced cantor. To my knowledge, this is currently no edition of the Ruthenian Sbornik in print, although Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Jourdanville, New York, has printed an Russian Orthodox Sbornik. English: -------- Between 1955 and 1970, most Ruthenian Catholic parishes gradually changed from Church Slavonic to English in the liturgy. Service books in English for the Divine Liturgy have been standardized for some time; service books for Vespers and Matins in English are available, but have not been officially promulgated. Typicon An (unofficial but very widely used) Typicon for the Ruthenian Catholic Church is prepared annually by Father David Petras, and is available from Eastern Christian Publications (P.O. Box 146, Fairfax, Virginia 22030, (703) 691-8585). Divine Liturgy Several English Liturgicons are available from the Byzantine Seminary Press in Pittsburgh. Most Ruthenian Catholic parishes of the Metropolitan Archeparchy of Pittsburgh use _The Divine Liturgy: A Book of Prayer_, compile by the Reverend William Levkulic and customarily known as "the pew book." It contains the people's parts of the Divine Liturgy for the entire year, exclusive of Great and Holy Week, in paralle Church Slavonic (Latin letters) and English, as well as the Moleben and Panachida. It is available from the Byzantine Seminary Press Gospel and Epistle books as well as service books for Great and Holy Week, weddings and funerals are also available from the Byzantine Seminary Press. Chasoslav/Horologion and Parakletike/Octochos: There is no single Ruthenian Catholic Horologion in English. The following unoffical volumes are available from the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great in Uniontown, Pennsylvania: The Office of Vespers (1982) Common parts and Octoechos of Vespers for the year in English plus a "common menaion" for use when the proper parts for a particular saint's day are not available. The Office of Matins (1989) Common parts and Octoechos of Matins and the Little Hours for the year in English; it also contains the Resurrectional Canons, the eleven week Gospel cycle, and the Troparia and Kontakia from the Menaion, Triodion and Pentecostarion Menaion A complete Menaion is not yet available in English (although one is presently being prepared by St. John of Kronstadt Press). An unnoficial Festal Menaion is available from the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great, and is being used by both Ruthenan Catholics and Carpatho-Russian Orthodox. In addition, the Festal Menaion of Mother Maria and Bishop Kallistos Ware, a standard Orthodox work, contains useful rubrics and commentary. Psalter Psalms used in the divine services may come from any translation approved by the competent ecclesiastical authority. Earlier English service books used the translations of Archbishop Joseph Raya (from _Byzantine Daily Worship_); Archbishop Raya has in the meantime produced a complete Psalter based on the Septuagint Greek text, which is traditionally used in the Christian East. More recently, Ruthenian Catholic service books have used the Grail psalter, which is well suited to chanting chorally. A complete psalter translated from the Slavonic and Greek Septuagint, divided into kathismata and containg the kathismata prayer and the Scriptural odes, was published in 1985 by the St. Joseph's Institute. A booklet containing the kathismata prayers of the psalter is available from Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Triodion The Lenten Triodion is available from the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great, containing complete texts for Lenten services without rubrics. The Lenten Triodion of Mother Mary and Bishop Kallistos Ware, a standard Orthodox work, contains useful rubrics and commentary. Pentecostarion The Pentecostarion is available from the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great, containing complete texts from Pascha to the Sunday of All Saints. An English prayerbook in the tradition of the Sbornik is the _Byzantine Book of Prayer_, available from Byzantine Seminary Press in Pittsburgh. It includes complete texts for the Divine Liturgies, and extracts from Vespers and Matins. Addresses: Byzantine Seminary Press Liturgical Books Sisters of Saint Basil the Great Eastern Christian Publications Carpatho-Russian Orthodox service books ======================================= 5. What is prostopinije? Prostopinije (literally, "plain singing" or "plain chant") is the traditional liturgical music of the Ruthenian people. It is related to the Znammeny or Old 'Rus chant which originated in Kiev and Novgorod as Byzantine Christian chant was gradually assimilated and transformed by Slavic monks and cantors. During the fifteenth century, the northern 'Rus chant (Novgorod / Moscow) and the southwestern 'Rus chant (Kiev / Lviv) developed their own regional variations, but were still recognizable as two forms of the same tradition. In the sixteenth century, there was a great deal of musical contact between the monasteries of the Ruthenian lands and the monastic centers of Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia. At the same time, the introduction of part singing and polyphony into liturgical use in Moscow gradually displaced monophonic chant in the Russian Orthodox Church, except among the Old Believers or Old Ritualists, who resisted the reforms of Patriarch Nikon (d. 1658) and retained their own Znammeny chant. Thus, the old 'Rus monophonic chant survived primarily in the backwaters and periphery of Slav Christianity. The portion of this chant tradition that survived in the Ruthenian lands, based on Greek models, adapted to the Slavonic language and Slav sensibilities, and supplemented by Bulgarian and Serbian material, is the chant form known as prostopinije. 6. Where can I find prostopinije materials? Although the prostopinije chant was largely an oral tradition, some of the melodies (especially the more complicated ones) were notated in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries But these books, called Irmologia, were usually hand-copied and thus could not be widely distributed. In 1899, Bishop Julius Firczak of Uzhorod desired to unify the chant in his eparchy, and commissioned Father John Bokshay, a priest-musican, and Joseph Malinic, the cantor of Holy Cross Cathedral in Uzhorod, to compile the liturgical chant then in use in Uzhorod. The result of their work was a volume entitled _Tserkovnoje Prostopinije_ (Plainchants of the Church), published in 1906. The Bokshay and Malinic _Prostopinije_ (often referred to as "Bokshay" or "the prostopinije book) is the basic volume of Ruthenian liturgical chant. It contains almost every chant used at Sunday and feast day services throughout the year. Printed in Cyrillic, it has been reprinted by the Byzantine Seminary Press several times, and remains in print. In 1925, a cantor named Theodor Ratsin, trained at the Mukachevo Monastery in Subcarpathia and residing in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, compiled a privately prepared edition of the Bokshay and Malinic _Prostopinije_, to which he added many Lenten chants and irmosy which were not contained in the Bokshay work. Meticulously done, this volume is not currently in print. In 1970, two Ruthenian priests, Stefan Papp and Nikifor Petrashevic published a new edition of the Bokshay collection in Preshov, Czechoslovakia. This work, entitled _Irmologion_, contains the same basic chants as Bokshay, with some corrections and additional material from the Preshov region, along with an essay on the history of prostopinije. It is printed in latinica (Latin characters with Slav diacritical marks) rather than in Cyrillic. It may still be available from the Greek Catholic Ordinariate in Preshov. In the United States, Father Andrew Sokol published two collections of prostopinije, entitled _Plain Chant_ (1st ed. n.d., 2nd ed. 1982 and _Basic Chant_ (1955). _Plain Chant_ contains the prostopinije chants for the Divine Liturgies and the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, the funeral service, wedding services, Easter Matins and paraliturgical hymns. _Basic Chant_ contains the prostopinije melodies for the Eight Tones, and the special melodies for Vespers and Matins. Both books contain Church Slavonic texts, printed in rather than Cyrillic, with English titles and commentary. _Plain Chant_ (sometimes called the Sokol blue book) is available from the Byzantine Seminary Press); _Basic Chant_ (the Sokol brown book) is out of print. With the changeover from Church Slavonic to English, new materials were needed. _Byzantine Liturgical Chant_ (1970) was a spiral-bound collection of prostopinije chants for the Divine Liturgy in English It contained melodies for fixed and changing parts of the Divine Liturgy for Sundays and major feasts throughout the year. It is not currently in print. As liturgical books in English appeared (such as the books for Holy Week and the funeral service), they usually contained prostopinije melodies for sung texts where possible. In addition, both the Advanced Cantor's School in Pittsburgh and various private cantors distributed prostopinije materials for the Divine Liturgy on Sunday and feast days. However, no Ruthenian Catholic collections of music for Vespers and Matins have yet appeared. Several projects in this area are underway. 7. What is Church Slavonic? Church Slavonic is the ancient and traditional liturgical of the Slavs. Although it is most closely to modern Russian, it is understandable to most speakers of related languages. A distinction is sometimes made between Old Church Slavonic (the language used by Saints Cyril and Methodius and their disciples in translating the Holy Scriptures into the Slav language) and Church Slavonic, the language of the hymns and prayers of Slavic Christianity over the centuries. Until recently, most Ruthenian churches in North America celebrated their services in Slavonic. In the last forty years, many parishes have switched almost entirely to English, with only parts of the liturgy in Church Slavonic. Others retain a much larger Slavonic component. 8. Do I need to learn Church Slavonic? No, unless the services you sing are in Church Slavonic. However, there are three good reasons to learn at least a _little_ Slavonic: a. Even in English-only parishes, some texts (such as the Trisagion, Many Years, Eternal Memory and some Lenten hymns) continue to be sung in Slavonic, or in Slavonic and English in alternation. You need to be able at least to pronounce a few basic Slavonic texts with facility. b. Some familiarity with common Slavonic terms makes it much easier to locate needed melodies in collections of liturgical texts and music. b. Most important, the distinctive style of prostopinije is best displayed and learned in Slavonic. Learning to sing at least a little Slavonic makes it easier to learn prostopinije in English. Some grasp of Slavonic is essential to anyone who is setting new English texts to prostopinije melodies which were originally intended to be sung in Slavonic. 9. Where can I find out more? The best introduction to the musical background for prostopinije is Johann bon Gardner's _Russian Church Singing, Volume 1: Orthodox Worship and Hymnnography_ (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1980). This book describes the liturgical services of the Slav Christian churches and the music associated with them. The best introduction to the prostopinije itself is Sister Joan Roccasalvo's _The Plainchant Tradition of Southwestern 'Rus_ (East European Monographs, 1986). The author covers the history of prostopinije in detail, discusses the printed texts in detail, and compares the oral tradition recorded in the Bokshay _Prostopinije_ with existing 17th and 18th century manuscripts to demonstrate the stability of the overall tradition underlying the prostopinije. A good source for background reading on Orthodox worship in general (particularly among the Slavs) is Isabel Hapgood's _Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church_ (Antiochean Orthodox Christian Diocese of North America, 1922). Its explanatory material covers many of the details of worship as used in the Ruthenian Churches. ---Liturgical texts--- 100. What is a troparion? 101. What is a kontakion? 102. What is a canon? 103. What is a stich? 104. What is a stichera? 105. What is a prokimen? 106. What is a kathisma? 107. What is a sidalen? 108. What is a steppena? ---Basics of Prostopinije--- 200. How is the liturgical chant organized? (mention Ordinary chants, recitative chants, varietal chants) 201. What are the recitative tones? 202. What is the difference between "recite", "chant" and "sing"? 203. How is an epistle sung? 204. How is a prophecy sung? 205. How is a psalm sung? 206. How is a troparion sung? 207. How is a kontakion sung? 208. How are stichiry sung? 209. What are samohlasen tones? 210. What are podoben tones? 211. What are Bulgarian tones? 212. What are Dogmatic tones? 213. How is a prokimen sung? ---Vespers--- 300. What is Vespers? 301. How does Vespers begin? 302. How is Psalm 103 sung? 303. How is the Psalter sung? 304. How are the Lamp-Lighting Psalms sung? 305. How do I know what stichiry to use? 306. How are the Aposticha sung? 307. How does Vespers conclude? ---Matins--- 400. What is Matins? 401. How does Matins begin? 402. How is "God the Lord" sung? 403. How is the Psalter sung? 404. How are the Sessional Hymns (Sidalen) sung? 405. How is the Polyeleos sung? 406. How is the Exaltation sung? 407. How is the Hypakoe sung? 408. How are the Gradual Hymns (Steppena) sung? 410. How is Psalm 50 sung? 411. How is the Canon sung? 412. How is the Ikos sung? 413. How is the Magnificat sung? 414. How are the Hymns of Light sung? 415. How are Psalms 148-150 sung? 416. How is the Great Doxology sung? 417. How does Matins conclude? ---Divine Liturgy--- 500. ((Open to suggestions for organization)) ---Special Liturgies--- 600. How is a wedding liturgy sung? 601. How is a funeral liturgy sung? 602. How are the Royal Hours sung? 603. How are Jerusalem Matins sung? 603. How is Paschal Matins sung? 604. How many ways are there to sing the Paschal troparion? 605. How is a moleben sung? 606. How is a panachida sung? 607. How is the Akathistos sung? ---Paraliturgical and Folk Hymns--- ---On Being a Cantor--- Mr. David James, ROCA 800. What are the responsibilities of a cantor? It is the responsibility of the cantor to know the order of services and the canonical church chants, so that he may competently assist the clergy in conducting compunctionate services that are in conformity with the sacred traditions of the Church and that evoke reverence and contrition in the hearts of the faithful. 801. What should a cantor be able to sing? The competent cantor must know by heart the 8 tones of the Church chant (according to the usage of his local Church) and, as much as possible, the special melodies (podobni). In addition, he should be able to sing from she music the responses necessary for the orderly celebration of Vespers, Matins and the Divine Liturgy, as well as the Moleben, Funeral Service and Wedding Service. He should be able to give the pitch and lead the others on the cleros. 802. How do I learn to be a cantor? First of all, by diligent attendance at all scheduled services. Volunteer to help your cantor. If your parish has no cantor, volunteer, and ask your priest for help. If your parish does not already have regularly scheduled Vespers and Matins services, ask your priest to reinstate them. If you have been reliable at other services (and a tither), he will be more inclined to listen to you. Explain to him your belief that there is great spiritual merit in performing the Vigil service on Sundays and feastdays, even if no one el se comes. If the services are served, eventually people will come, because God will send them. 803. How should I prepare spiritually for a service? In general, by obeying God's commandments. Say your morning and evening prayers. Attend all scheduled services at your parish. Love your neighbor. Tithe of your gross income (see Malachi, Chapt. 3). Keep the Church fasts (the traditional ones, not the "relaxed" rules). Go to confession at least weekly. Before the service, arrive at the church early. Venerate the icons and ask God to have mercy on you. Ask Him for the grace to perform your duties worthily, so that you will not scandalize anyone, and that the service will be fitting. Ask him to keep you from anger and judging others, and that your service will be for His glory, and unto salvation and not for condemnation. 804. How should I prepare physically for a service? Everyone, including the faithful, should attend Divine Liturgy fasting (from midnight, including water), even if they don't intend to commune. Even the antidoron is supposed to be received fasting. I suppose singers should vocalize, although I never do this myself. In lenten periods, I find that 12 or 33 prostrations puts one in the proper frame of mind. ---Glossary of Liturgical and Musical Terms--- ---Church Slavonic terms and phrases you should know--- ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 22:44:12 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: (h) irsmosy In-Reply-To: Message of 06/27/97 at 20:47:29 from HCommun871@AOL.COM On 06/27/97 at 20:47:29 brother Maximos said: >>on the other hand, the Prostopinije does not include melodies >>for certain things (such as the Sunday steppena texts), for >>which some Ruthenians have used the Ukrainian melodies instead. >I'm interested. Please tell more. The Ukrainian _Hlasopisnets_ includes melodies for the following: 1. Proper melodies for the sidalnyi (sessional hymns) for at least six of the eight tones 2. Proper melodies for the steppeni (graduals or "antiphons") in at least three of the eight tones 3. Bolhar (Bulgarian or Bolharskij) melodies in all eight tones The Carpatho-Ruthenian _Prostopinije_ contains only a few podoben melodies for the sidalnyi, a proper melody only for the Steppena in tone 4 used on feasts, and an incomplete set of Bohlar melodies (although Theodor Ratsin's edition of the _Prostopinije_ includes two more Bolhar melodies than the original Bokshai _Prostopinije_). Now, the 1700 Irmologion that Sister Joan studied in her monograph on prostopinje contained not only the steppena (gradual) melodies in all eight tones, but the dogmatika melodies (very, very long and complicated) as well. None of these made their way into the Bokshai collection. So normally we would sing these to a tropar melody in the suitable tone; but one could use the Ukrainian melodies instead. I've never been able to obtain a reprint of the 1700 Irmologion; I'd love to compare it with the Hlasopisnets to see if the melodies are at all related. Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 22:54:27 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Chant Notes - Nativity of the Holy Mother of God - Matins In-Reply-To: Message of 09/08/97 at 20:22:53 from HCommun871@AOL.COM On 09/08/97 at 20:22:53 brother Maximos said: >In a message dated 9/8/97 3:43:49 AM, you wrote: >> Ode 1 >> Sing the irmos according to the melody in the _Prostopinije_, >> if you have it set in English, or sing it as a slightly florid >> recitation (like the Epistle or Gospel). Then sing the refrain, >> which I sing to the prostopinije melody given for the refrains >> at the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete: >> >> Most Ho-ly Mother of God, save us! >> mi-fa so so so so mi fa(hold) mi(hold) re(hold) >You are simply *toooo* efficient. I was about to ask you how you did those >refrains. :-) >So let me ask you this instead! I've been experimenting lately with singing >said refrains as though they were the last line of the irmos, ie. recitative >+ ending cadence. If works OK, but is it a sin?? Not at all. As far as I can tell, the refrain melody, like much of the ordinary parts of the Liturgy, is a local tradition as much as anything. The books indicate melodies only in a few cases (the Paschal Canon, the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete). >And here's a thought. *If* the day ever dawned that a body could actually >sing those canon tones, and *if* he or she were minded to tell Peter the >Great to jump in the lake and sing *every* troparion of each ode, would it be >make sense to sing the refrains to, oh say the pripiv tone? First off, the irmosy melodies are just too darn complicated to add-lib; that's why we have tropar and stichera melodies, which are much more adaptable. (In Greek, all the troparia followed the same pattern of syllables and accents, so you could use the irmos melody. Not so in Slavonic, at all.) You could certainly sing each troparion of the canon to the proper tropar melody. BTW, which "pripiv" (verse) tone do you mean? Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 10:13:56 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "Dr. Elizabeth W. Riggs" Subject: Orthodox Music Info Web Pages?? Comments: To: nschid@phoenix.Princeton.EDU, llew@cais.com, agape@dekalb.net To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Given the current capabilities of computers and web-pages, is it possible that workshops at music conferences could be shared for all of us via audio and video? It would be nice to have a tone teaching web page -- canon, eirmos, etc. If money is an object, I suppose they might be "fixed" so they can be accessed only by subscription? These ideas were first voiced by Photini Henderson on the Orthodox List (Indiana), but IMHO they are worth serious pursuit. We may have to wait until after the October Music Conference to begin, but OTOH, those who are not already involved in that project might be willing to start?? Are there any who are interested in this and who are talented in web-page design, etc? In Christ, Elizabeth The Perennial Student Our Lady, the Joy of All Who Sorrow Orthodox Church (ROCOR) Atlanta/Cumming, GA Parish Web-page: http://www.avana.net/~fralexis ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Message-Id: <199712060209.VAA07157@seeker.hermesnet.net> Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" To: CANTOR-L-request@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 22:31:39 +0000 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Subscribe Reply-to: hrycak@the-hermes.net X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Windows (v2.53/R1) My email providers have changed me address. The following message got bounced. Please resubscribe me and post the following response. Thanks, Peter ------------------------------------ Have a look at: http://www.the-hermes.net/~hrycak/Welcome.html There is a link to a page that has the Gallician Resurrectional Tones. It was a feeble attempt at a tones teaching page. If you settle for midi files to conserve on disk storage, it isn't too bad to set up. The biggest challenge is to get some good harmonization. Peter ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 22:39:50 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Orthodox Music Info Web Pages?? In-Reply-To: Message of 12/05/97 at 10:13:56 from ewriggs@MINDSPRING.COM On 12/05/97 at 10:13:56 Dr. Elizabeth W. Riggs said: >Given the current capabilities of computers and web-pages, is it possible >that workshops at music conferences could be shared for all of us via audio >and video? It would be nice to have a tone teaching web page -- canon, >eirmos, etc. If money is an object, I suppose they might be "fixed" so they >can be accessed only by subscription? Sounds like a great idea! One of our list members is with the Russian Church Abroad, and posted some teaching materials on the Russian tones. It would be wonderful to see a common source for the different sets of chant tones: Russian, Ukrainian, Carpatho-Ruthenian (including the Bulgarian/Bokharskij melodies) and so on. Several times I've met cantors who believe that all the churches use the tones they are familiar with! Peter Hrycak (who's e-mail address is in the process of changing) asked me to post the following. Yours in Christ, ------------------------------------ Have a look at: http://www.the-hermes.net/~hrycak/Welcome.html There is a link to a page that has the Gallician Resurrectional Tones. It was a feeble attempt at a tones teaching page. If you settle for midi files to conserve on disk storage, it isn't too bad to set up. The biggest challenge is to get some good harmonization. Peter ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sat, 6 Dec 1997 21:36:18 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "Dr. Elizabeth W. Riggs" Subject: Re: Orthodox Music Info Web Pages?? To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU If you >settle for midi files to conserve on disk storage, it isn't too bad to >set up. The biggest challenge is to get some good harmonization. > >Peter Yes, I can perceive the theory, but am unable to practice it - I don't know how. I can't even get my silly netscape to play the tones at the site you gave. What about midi files that can be downloaded? or sent via e-mail? Will they all play regardless of the playback software and regardless of computer type (ie PC/Mac)? How might this best be accomplished? One voice line, with instructions on harmonization rules? What about sheet music graphic for those who are hopelessly "page-bound"? In Christ, Elizabeth, a sinner and Perennial Student Our Lady, the Joy of All Who Sorrow Orthodox Church (ROCOR) Atlanta/Cumming, GA Parish Web-page: http://www.avana.net/~fralexis ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Sat, 27 Dec 1997 10:18:13 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: , Subject: Re: Ruthenian Music In-Reply-To: Message of 12/27/97 at 11:15:17 from hrycak@HERMESNET.NET On 12/27/97 at 11:15:17 Peter D. Hrycak said: >I just got a request via the internet from a person in Texas who is >assuming the responisbilites as cantor for a mission in Huston TX. >Unfortunately, she does not have access to any music. She contacted >the Byzantine Seminary Press and got nada. Christ is born! Peter, if you can give me an e-mail address, I'll get in touch with her and send her whatever she needs. (Some of it depends on what they're doing already.) Yours in Christ, Jeff who does mission work from home :-) ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Sat, 27 Dec 1997 11:15:17 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Ruthenian Music To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: I just got a request via the internet from a person in Texas who is assuming the responisbilites as cantor for a mission in Huston TX. Unfortunately, she does not have access to any music. She contacted the Byzantine Seminary Press and got nada. Could anyone help? Thanks! Peter PS Visit my web site and hear some Christmas carols ... It is one of the many things that Ruthenians and Ukrainians share. The web site is: http://www.the-hermes.net/~hrycak/Welcome.html ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 19:02:42 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Nicolas Schidlovsky Subject: Re: Ruthenian Music To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: What kind of music would she like? On Sat, 27 Dec 1997, Jeff Brooks wrote: > On 12/27/97 at 11:15:17 Peter D. Hrycak said: > >I just got a request via the internet from a person in Texas who is > >assuming the responisbilites as cantor for a mission in Huston TX. > >Unfortunately, she does not have access to any music. She contacted > >the Byzantine Seminary Press and got nada. > > Christ is born! > > Peter, if you can give me an e-mail address, I'll get in touch with her > and send her whatever she needs. (Some of it depends on what they're > doing already.) > > Yours in Christ, > > Jeff > who does mission work from home :-) > ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 19:06:07 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Nicolas Schidlovsky Subject: Re: Ruthenian Music Comments: To: hrycak@the-hermes.net To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <199712271451.JAA04586@seeker.hermesnet.net> Russians (or those guys from the North), by the way, also have quite a bit of carols. A slightly different repertory, but some shared items too. I gotta admit, though, when it comes to Christmas carols...these wonderful Ukrainian melodies can't be beat...Sincerely...a Russian. On Sat, 27 Dec 1997, Peter D. Hrycak wrote: > I just got a request via the internet from a person in Texas who is > assuming the responisbilites as cantor for a mission in Huston TX. > Unfortunately, she does not have access to any music. She contacted > the Byzantine Seminary Press and got nada. > > Could anyone help? > > Thanks! > > Peter > > PS > Visit my web site and hear some Christmas carols ... It is one of > the many things that Ruthenians and Ukrainians share. The web site > is: > > http://www.the-hermes.net/~hrycak/Welcome.html > ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sun, 7 Dec 1997 09:16:31 +0000 Reply-To: hrycak@the-hermes.net Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Peter D. Hrycak" Subject: Re: Orthodox Music Info Web Pages?? To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <1.5.4.32.19971207023618.006cd728@pop.mindspring.com> Elizabeth > > Yes, I can perceive the theory, but am unable to practice it - I don't know > how. I can't even get my silly netscape to play the tones at the site you gave. Question: 1. What version are you using? 2. Did you undestand the instructions at the top of the tones page.html? If not, send me some private mail and we can work this through. To play the music, you'll n eed Netscape 3.0 or higher. Version 4.04 is the latest. > > What about midi files that can be downloaded? or sent via e-mail? Will they > all play regardless of the playback software and regardless of computer type > (ie PC/Mac)? How might this best be accomplished? One voice line, with > instructions on harmonization rules? What about sheet music graphic for > those who are hopelessly "page-bound"? > They can be downloaded and sent via email. In fact, if you use the right button of the mouse when you click on the treble cleff, you should get an option to "save as" which will allow you to save the file on disk for playback. Sheet music is more of a challenge. I use MusicTime to create music, sheet music, and midi files. The reason I use this program is that it is fairly inexpensive (~$70) compared to others. It is ok to do choir related stuff. However, posting sheet music per se on a page is a real memory hog and will take a page a long time to load for any piece that is reasonable long. Peter ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 22:23:33 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Sbornik - Part I Hi, folks! Please keep my family in your prayers; my wife has been having serious health problems, and is on the mend, but life is very hectic here :-) The CANTOR-L FAQ (by the way, would anyone care to write something for the FAQ about the Divine Liturgy? I've been busy with Vespers and Matins!) is one way to approach plainchant: top-down, somewhat organized, etc. Alongside that, I'd like to go over the basic liturgical books used in the Old Country for the _practice_ of liturgical singing in Ruthenian (Greek Catholic) and Carpatho-Russian (Orthodox) churches. A number of first-hand accounts of liturgical singing in the Carpathians have come down to us from the first half of this century. The best known is that of the Orthodox musicologist Johann von Gardner: ...Shortly before World War II in Orthodox and Uniate village churches in the region known a sCarpatho-Russia, singing at services was performed by the entire congregation. Each person had before him a book (sbornik) containing all the prescribed hymns. An experienced cantor began the singing, and as soon as the familiar melody was heard, everyone -- men, women and children -- joined in the singing, performing the entire service in this manner. Even the children knew many of the texts by heart and could sing them from memory. -- Johann von Garner, _Russian Church Singing_, I. pp. 26-27 Now, the melodies for our plainchant consist of the old oral tradition which was finally notated in printed from by Bokshai and Malinich in their _Tserkovnoje Prostpinije_ (Church Plainchant) in 1906. But the use of the Bokshai _Prostopinije_ depends on a knowledge of the services themselves. (For example, a feast day hymn may be the same one used in another feast, and the cantor needs to remember that fact and turn to the appropriate page.) Furthermore, the Bokshai _Prostopinije_ was in the hands of the parish cantor -- Bishop Firczak, who commissioned the work, ordered every parish to acquire two copies -- but was not the book used by the people. They had something called a Sbornik. So _what's a Sbornik_? A Walking Tour of the Velikij Sbornik -- or -- Liturgical Texts for the Busy Cantor Our liturgical texts come in a dozen fat volumes, and even those may not be complete. But the most important ones -- for Vespers, Matins and Divine Liturgy for Sundays and feast days -- can be contained in a single book. In 1866, a Greek Catholic priest named Andrew Popovich arranged for the printing of a book entitled _Velikij Sbornik_ (Great Anthology, or Large Collection) containing the liturgical texts for Sundays and feast days. He taught his parishioners how to use them, and congregational singing spread throughout the Carpathians. The Velikij Sbornik went through several editions and many reprintings, and even has some modern descendents such as the _Byzantine Book of Prayer_. Unfortunately, there is no English volume containing the same texts as the _Velikij Sbornik_ has in Church Slavonic. But the layout of the Sbornik is a key to organized liturgical church singing, and I propose to give an overview of the Sbornik -- what it contains, and how to use it -- in the hope that one day, an "English Sbornik" may come into existence. I have two Sborniks: a somewhat tattered 1937 edition in Cyrillic from Uzhorod, and 1936 edition in Latinica (Latin alphabet) from Presov. Because it is in better shape (and my Cyrillic is not), all references here will be to the _Velikij Cerkovnyj Sbornik_ printed at the Petra press in Presov in 1937, with the imprimatur of Bishop Paul Gojdich. Warning: my Church Slavonic is sketchy at times, and anything said here is subject to revision. Questions or comments are welcome! The Sbornik is a medium-sized black volume, about 5 1/2 by 7 1/2 inches. It has 752 pages, with the table of contents at the end. It abbreviates common liturgical texts shamelessly, and has not a blessed line of music. Part The First -- Vespers and Matins The first page gets right down to business: "Cin Vecerni" (At Vespers). Printed in smaller type, the service starts with the usual beginning prayers, abbreviated like so: "Blessed be our God. Amen. Heavenly King. Trisagion. Our Father. Lord have mercy 12. Glory be and now. Come let us adore 3." As I said, the Sbornik can be terse. Some Slavonic to know: Blahosloven Boh nas Blessed be our God Amin Amen Trisvjatoje Thrice-holy ("Holy God, Holy and Mighty One...") Otce nas Our Father Slava Glory Be i and Nyni Now (and ever and forever) Psalm 103 follows. Psalms are generally written as block text, not in sense lines like poetry. Verses are separated by long dashes; each verse is divided in the middle by an asterisk, so the various psalm tones can be used. Next comes the Litany of Peace. No indication is give as to "who sings what"; a long dash indicates a change is who's singing. When repeated, the people's response is only given the first time. The comes Blazen muz ("Blessed is the man", the selected verses from the first kathisma of the Psalter, used on Saturdays and some feasts). On some days another kathisma would be used; the Sbornik gives the text that would be sung in common, and assumes you'll start singing if you hear the cantor sing "Blessed is the man"). The following little litany ("Jektenija malaja") is not written out. The Lamp Lighting Psalms (Psalms 140, 1341, 129 and 116) are given next, with indications of where the stichera verses go, followed by a short prayer with a rubric that indicates it is used on certain feasts. Then "Premudrost', prosti!" (Wisdom, be attentive) and the Hymn of the Evening, "Svite Tichij" (Joyful Light). The vespers Prokeimena as given for each day of the week, then the Litany of Supplication (with a rubric indicating that it is sometimes omitted) and the Hymn of Glorification, "Spodobi, Hospodi" (Keep us, O Lord, this evening without sin). The two opening words are in bold face, indicating the exact point at which the new liturgical day is deemed to begin. After the second Litany of Supplication, a rubric indicates that special Litija hymns if any are sung at this point, otherwise proceed to the aposticha stichiry ("stichiry na Stichovnach"; "stichovnach"=aposticha). Then the (long and beautiful) Litany of the Litija is given in full. At this point, the Uniontown Vespers book gives the daily aposticha verses; but the Sbornik contains Sundays and feast days only, so it simply notes "the aposticha are sung here" and proceeds with the Canticle of Simeaon, "Nyni otpuscajesi" ("Now you shall dismiss your servant, O Lord"), then the concluding prayers (like the beginning prayers, only the initial words are give). After indicating that the troparia are sung, it gives the festal blessing and Psalm 33 (both for the Litija if there is one) and the "otpusty" (dismissals) for each day of the week. Thus, the entire order of Vespers is given in 16 pages, by 1. omitting Sunday and feast day-specific texts found elsewhere in the book 2. using shorthand for common prayers and responses 3. omitting any rubric or exception which the priest or cantor should already know, and which the people can simply follow 4. Concentrating on the common details for Sundays and feasts, and letting exceptions be noted elsewhere in the book. I hope this series proves to be helpful. In my experience, the titles and notes in music volumes like the Bokshai _Prostopinije_ simply make a lot more sense if you understand the relationship between the _Prostopinije_ -- all the music, a minimum of texts -- and the Sbornik -- all the texts, no music at all. The opening words of each hymn keep the two in sync. (The best reason, to my mind, for our hierarchs to standardize English texts!) Tomorrow: on to Matins, and: what is a "stolp", and does it need to be removed surgically? Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 01:08:58 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: DTBrown Subject: Re: Sbornik - Part I To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 98-03-14 22:25:09 EST, Jeff wrote: >In 1866, a Greek Catholic priest named Andrew Popovich arranged for the >printing of a book entitled _Velikij Sbornik_ (Great Anthology, or Large >Collection) containing the liturgical texts for Sundays and feast days. >He taught his parishioners how to use them, and congregational singing >spread throughout the Carpathians. The Velikij Sbornik went through >several editions and many reprintings, and even has some modern descendents >such as the _Byzantine Book of Prayer_. Fascinating stuff, Jeff. Thanks for all the work on this project. Question. Does congregational singing among Ruthenians date from the mid- nineteenth century then? Or did I misread you? I think it's a beautiful tradition in the Ruthenian Church. Just wondering about the history of it. Thanks! Dave Brown DTBrown@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 09:47:13 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Presanctified - Parma "wersion" To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <9a76595.350cc1fc@aol.com> from "DTBrown" at Mar 16, 98 01:08:58 am Hi guys, Dunno how many of you are interested in the Parma version of anything, but if y'are, I'm doing some desperation-driven stuff for the Parma Presanctified, for use in our parish, where our "head cantor" (don't ask) has never heard Samohlasen tones, etc. I'm cobbling together the Stichera for each Wed and Fri, trying to codify the way we sing the hymns which no longer fit the "old" (Pittsburgh) music, and noting out Psalm 140 in each of the 8 tones. Eventually I hope to actually swallow the whole book into a looseleaf Cantor's edition which would actually be fit to sing from. Please note that this is an ENTIRELY UNOFFICIAL PROJECT (tho' I do intend to send a copy to the Bishop when I get finished ;-) ) If anyone could make use of this, let me know. I'm happy to share, but it'll have to be AFTER Lent. Cheers, Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner P.S. Jeff, I hain't fergot 'bout the "care & feeding of the voice" stuff for the FAQ, just hain't gotten to it ....yet. Hugs to you, Bonni & the boys! ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 21:24:50 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Sbornik - Part I In-Reply-To: Message of 03/16/98 at 01:08:58 from DTBrown@AOL.COM On 03/16/98 at 01:08:58 DTBrown said: >Fascinating stuff, Jeff. Thanks for all the work on this project. >Question. Does congregational singing among Ruthenians date from the mid- >nineteenth century then? Or did I misread you? I think it's a beautiful >tradition in the Ruthenian Church. Just wondering about the history of it. I'm fairly sure that the tradition goes back much further; but only for those parts of the services that were memorized -- the ordinary parts, the eight tones, and the major feasts. Certainly we know that the hand-copying of Irmologia (plainchant manuscripts) was a common pious practice among the laity in the 17th and 18th centuries. Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sat, 21 Mar 1998 02:03:30 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: DTBrown Subject: Re: Sbornik - Part I To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU >>Question. Does congregational singing among Ruthenians date from the mid- >>nineteenth century then? Or did I misread you? I think it's a beautiful >>tradition in the Ruthenian Church. Just wondering about the history of it. Jeff wrote: >I'm fairly sure that the tradition goes back much further; but only for >those parts of the services that were memorized -- the ordinary parts, >the eight tones, and the major feasts. Certainly we know that the >hand-copying of Irmologia (plainchant manuscripts) was a common pious >practice among the laity in the 17th and 18th centuries. Interesting. BTW, was congregational singing unique to Carpatho-Rusyns? How about early Ukrainians? Or in other Eastern Christian Churches? Anyone know? Dave ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 05:45:53 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Sbornik - Part II A Walking Tour of the Velikij Sbornik -- or -- Liturgical Texts for the Busy Cantor Part II: Matins The Order of Matins (Cin Utreni) begins on page 16 of the 1936 Presov Sbornik. I intend to cover the book's text of the service, noting the places which are of particular interest, or which differ from our current received text for Matins (the edition of the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great, Uniontown). (The latter is a wonderful and valuable work, but does include a few omissions and errors one should know about.) The service begins with the following prayers (which the Sbornik abbreviates as usual to the first words): Blessed is our God. Trisagion. Our Father. Lord have mercy 12. Glory: now and ever: Come let us adore 3. Then Psalms 19 and 20. If during Pjatdesjatnici (Paschal season -- literally, "the fifty days") or Vsenoscnym (All-night Vigil), begin with Glory to the holy, consubstantial -- Amen -- Glory to God in the highest: and continue with the Six Psalms. A number following a text (such as "Hospodi pomiluj 3") means to sing the text a total of three times. Those familiar only with the Uniontown Matins books, or with certain Orthodox books, will have no idea what is going on here. This is the introductory part of Matins sometimes called the "Royal Office". Foonote 109 of the new edition of the Ordo Celebrationis notes that this introduction was a spiritual recompense to the ruler who founded a given monastery, and "in modern practice, it is seldom used." But here it is :-) An English text can be found in the Hapgood Service Book, or in Mother Mary's Festal Menaion. The Sbornik gives Psalms 19 and 20, divided into verses with dashes, each verse divided into halves with asterisks. Two troparia of the Cross follow, then a Bohorodicen (theotokion, or hymn to the God-bearer). Then a short litany, ending "Give the blessing in the name of the Lord", and the priest begins "Glory to the holy, consubstantial..." By the way, note the following indications for prayers and responses: Jerej or J: priest Lik or L: congregation, or choir Then come the verses Glory to God in the Highest and Lord open my lips, written out in full, followed by the Six Psalms (Pss. 3,37,62,87,102,142), the Litany of Peace (a pointer back to the same in Vespers, not the text), "God is the Lord" with its verses, and a rubric saying to sing the troparia of the day, Lord have mercy 3, Glory: now and ever. The rubric then calls for a kathisma from the Psalter, Little Litany and the first sidalen (sidelen 1-yj). The sidalen (a troparia sung while everyone is seated, hence its name) to be used is indicated in the Typicon entry for the day; it is sung to the "Podoben sidalnyj" melody if there is one for the given tone, or else to the troparion melody. The sidalen is also called a "sessional hymn" (seated hymn). The rubric then prescribes another kathisma of the Psalter, another Little Litany, and the second sidalen. The Sbornik then gives the texts of the Polyeleos (Polijelej) sung on feasts and certain Sundays, says to sing the Magnification of the feast if there is one, followed (on Sundays) by "Host of Angels" (a series of troparia with the refrain "Blessed are You, O Lord, teach me Your command- ments"). Then the rubric "Jektenija malaja. Ipakoj i Stepenna hlasa." In other words: A Little Litany (the Uniontown Matins book omits this one) The Hypakoe and Stepenna of the tone (hlas) of the week On a Sunday, the Hypakoe and Stepenna (Gradual) are given in each of the eigth tones in the Octoechos (Book of Eight Tones). But on a feast day, the Hypakoe is replaced by a sidalen, or sessional hymn, and the stepenna is a special one in tone 4. THE RUBRIC DOES NOT TELL YOU THIS! You need to be aware of it because... The next page is titled "Stepenna prazdnicnaja" (Stepenna for feasts). This is the stepenna used on feasts, and omitted on Sundays. Again, you need to know to skip over it on a Sunday! Then the introduction to the Prokimen (the prokimena themselves are given elsewhere) and the Gospel, introduced by the deacon's singing of a kind of litany beginning "Let everything that breathes, praise the Lord." On Sundays, the hymn "Having beheld the resurrection" is sung, and the Sbornik gives the text in full, followed by Psalm 50 with its Sunday stichera. Then the notation "The Canon follows." Never was there such a rubrical understatement. The a rubric says that "Before the Katavasia of the Eighth Ode:" (i.e. the repeated irmos at the end of the ode), "We praise, bless and worship the Lord, praising and extolling Him above all forever." There is a special melody in each tone for this verse in the Bokshay _Prostopinije_, but since the verse itself is not given with each canon in the liturgical books, people have sometimes been unaware of its existence. (The Uniontown books sometimes include it, not necessarily in the correct location.) After the Katavasia (Po Katavasii) of the 8th ode comes the verse, "Let us greatly extol the God-bearer and the Mother of Light with hymns" and the Magnificat with refrain, "More honorable than the Cherubim." The Canticle of Zechariah is not given, since it is not normally sung on Sundays or feasts. Then "Po 9-oj pisni Jektenija malaja." With a tiny bit of Slavonic one can follow: After the 9th Ode (pisn), a Small Litany." Then "Holy is the Lord our God", which the Sbornik's rubric says is sung on Sundays "in the tone of the prokimen" (na hlas Prokimena). This, for a cantor, is an example of the utility of the Sbornik -- the Uniontown books, like Mother Mary's books, sometimes omit those facts that "everyone knows," such as the tone used for "Holy is the Lord our God." Then "Svitilen voskresny", says the rubric. A svitilen (Hymn of Light, or Exapostilarion) is a special hymn of Sundays and feast days, usually speaking to some aspect of Divine Illumination in its various forms. "Voskresny" refers to the svitilen of Sunday; the Sbornik assumes that the cantor knows to use the festal svitilen if it is a feast. The Sunday svitilens are given elsewhere (see below). We have come to the end of the night office proper, and begin Lauds with the Psalms of Praise (148, 149 and 150). Oddly enough, Psalm 150 is labelled "Psalm 108" in both my Latinia and Cyrillic Sborniks. If anyone knows the reason for this attribution, please drop me a line! The locations for inserting the stichera are marked. These stichera are called the stichera "at the praises" (Stichiry na Chvalite) for a Sunday or feastday. The rubric "Slava: Stichera Evanhelskaya" indicates that at Glory Be, one sings the "Gospel sticheron." Then comes the Great Doxology (Slavoslovije velikoje) and its following prayers and troparia. Then come TWO litanies: "Have mercy on us, O God" (the Sbornik refers back to Vespers for the text) and "Let us complete our morning prayer." The Uniontown Matins book gives only the second litany, but the Ordo Celebrationis indicates that both are to be sung. Then come the concluding prayer, and the dismissal (the Sbornik refers back to Vespers for the latter). So... we made it through Matins. :-) Then why are the tops of the pages labelled "Cin Utreni" for six pages more? Following the Order of Matins proper is a little table labelled "Stolpy evanhelijny" (Gospel stolp). "Stolp", literally, is "pillar". You're already familiar with one, the "Pillar of Tones" (Hlasovoi stolp), which is another name for the cycle of eight tones, each consisting of tropar, kondak, canon and so on. But alongside this eight-week cycle is an eleven week cycle of Gospel readings at Matins. This is the Gospel Pillar (Stolpy evanhelijny), and the little table after the Order of Matins tells which week of the Gospel stolp to use depending on the season and weekly tone. The exact same information is given in the Typikon, where Father David refers, for example, to "Matins Gospel 2". But the Gospel Pillar consists of more than just Gospel readings. Each Gospel reading comes with an associated Sunday svitilen (Hymn of Light), Bohorodicen (theotokion, or hymn to the Mother of God), and Gospel sticheron. These are given in the Sbornik immediately after the Gospel Pillar table, labelled "Svitilny voskresny i Stichiry evanhelskiya" (Sunday svitilens and Gospel stichera). The English translations are given in the Uniontown Matins book in the section titled "Hymns of Light and Gospel Stanzas." A word on languages: frequently I will give a term in English, Slavonic _and_ Greek. This is not mere pedantry. Both the liturgical books themselves and reference works such as Gardner's _Russian Church Singing_ switch back and forth between the various names of the same hymn. It really helps to know what's what, so that when the Typikon calls for a "Svitilen" you know that a hymn in the Uniontown book in the appropriate location labelled "Sessional Hymn" is the same thing. Next time: the Great Collection of Theotokia, the Book of Eight Tones, and an English/Slavonic/Greek reference table of liturgical terms. May God grant you all a blessed and fruitful Lent! (Meaning this holy season, and not the penitential value of reading these posts. Then again, you can make that part of your penance, too.) Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================---- --- Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 11:18:06 +0000 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Paul Gilbert Subject: psalter (LXX) with tropars and prayers Comments: cc: paul_gilbert@mcoe.k12.ca.us To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Greetings, I have just joined the list, although we are in the process of installing a new server, so there are still some problems, and glitches. I don't know if this will get out, or other posts will all get in. I do have a question, perhaps someone can help me with. Does anyone know where I can get a copy of the St. Joseph Institute PSALTER(an English translation of the Church Slavonic version of the Greek Septuagint), , published in 1985. Also, what is (was) this Institute. Is it still around, at what address, with what publications, and of what current value? Are there other published psalters in English from the LXX, with the traditional Slavonic (and Greek?) tropars of contrition, and prayers, divided according to the Kathismata of the liturgical offices (all in English, of coruse)? Thank you for your help +pavlo pavlo@mcoe.k12.ca.us ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 21 Apr 1998 23:15:12 EDT Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: DTBrown Subject: St Peter's Schola Cantorum To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU From _Horizons_ (official newspaper of Eparchy of Parma): (Speaking of a celebration of Forgiveness Vespers at Munster, Indiana with the Schola Cantorum) "The schola sang completely in English in _prostopinije_ chant enchanced with harmonization written by Schola Director J. Michael Thompson. This included the proper stichera for Forgiveness Sunday in the seventh tone and those for the feast of the Hieromartyr Polycarp of Smyrna. The setting for the great prokimen was that of the Kievan Monastery of the Caves. The apositcha of Pascha sung during the ceremony of personal forgiveness was from the New Skete monastery in Cambridge, NY. Texts were from the liturgical books published by the Sisters of St Basil the Great, Uniontown, PA." (March 22, 1998 issue) I have a CD done by the Schola of the Vespers of St Nicholas. It's absolutely beautiful...even if I don't understand Ukrainian. It's playing as I type this. This article mentions that the Schola has done other recordings of Eastern Church music. Anyone know how to find out more about them? Are any of them like the one described in this article...English version of prostopinije chant? Christ is Risen! Dave Brown DTBrown@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 11:13:29 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: @#$%!!#&*!!! (and thank you Jeff!) To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: from "Jeff Brooks" at Aug 25, 97 11:32:07 pm Hi guys, Just blowin' off a bit o' steam ;-) I was up WAAAAAAAAAY too late last night. Despite the fact that Horizons (Parma eparchial paper) sez that today the Moleben for vocations is in Lorain, it actually is right here in Cow-lumbus this evening at 7:00. I accosted Father after Liturgy on Sunday, and asked if we might perhaps have some books?? He said "yes," and "I'm glad you reminded me." We were sent two books, which, of course, have NO MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Last night after work was my first opportunity to sit down and tear into the thing. It's a nice little booklet, printed by the GCU. Mind you, we can do Troparion tone 8 just fine without music, and Samohlasen tone 6, too (tho' the versicles might suffer a bit), but I much prefer music in front of me for an unfamiliar service, and it is a bit of a necessity for one of our number who is a crack sightreader, but still getting the hang of the tones. So mostly it's just cramming text into the appropriate melody, with the occasional groan over the inclusive language word with three more syllables than the original. At about 1:00am, I think I'm almost-just-about-maybe done, and I come across the last bit I haven't musicked yet. It's "Rejoice O Isaiah", and the bloody thing calls for Irmos Tone 5. Anybody (who doesn't live in a monastery) know THAT one off the top of yer head? I looked through every stinkin' book on my shelf, and didn't find it anywhere (tho' it is called for, again WITHOUT music, in the wedding service, where my Standard Operating Procedure has always been to 1. Panic, and then 2. either fake it, or take it to the melody the Greek Orthodox use). So finally I hauled out my Prostopinije, and the cheat sheet that Jeff Mierzejewski made for us awhile back (my copy looks like it has lived a hard life) , and looked. Never having actually heard this thing, I wasn;t sure I was looking at the right one, so I turned to where Jeff sez Irmos Tone 6 is, and could recognize the music for "When Israel walked upon the sea..", so I figured that I must be in the right place for the other one. Turns out, what is given in the Prostopinije fit the text with only a bit of fiddling, and is really beautiful. (I hope I can pull it off tonight. I'm a fairly crummy sightreader.) Anyway, what really fries my toenails is that they are doing these Molebens all over the eparchy, expecting folks to "rise to the occasion" and NOT GIVING THEM THE RESOURCES TO DO IT WELL!!!!!!!!!! I know there are parishes where folks struggle, if not with the Resurrection Tones, then definitely with the Samohlasen Tones, which, unless ya do Vespers and/or Matins, ya only use during Lent and on other rare occasions. God help us on something as obscure (at least to me; am I missing something??) as Irmos Tone 5! I will be sure to pass a copy of the stuff I worked out to Father Dennis Hrubiak, who is the Vocation Director for the Eparchy, and the main celebrant of these shindigs around the eparchy. I don't claim my stuff is perfect, but once again, it's a whole lot better than NOTHING!!!! I hope he will pass it on to some of the upcoming parishes. So, sorry for yelling, but I think it's safe to do this kind of yelling in this crowd. ;-) And God Bless You, Jeff! Your cheat sheet is a Godsend! (Private Note: the Houseguests From Hell will be coming this weekend - I'll drag along a copy of the "Rejoice, O Isaiah" & you can recoil in horror at my work ;-) ) So, happy Wednesday, everybody. Pray for us this evening! Christ is risen! Cheers, Sharon Mech Cantor, Mezzo & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 17:52:19 -0700 Reply-To: redco@inficad.com Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List Comments: Authenticated sender is From: Andrew Wollert Subject: Is the list still up? To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: Please forgive the intrusion, but I haven't recieved anything from the list in quite a while. The typical listserv commands aren't coming back either. Is the list still active? -Andy -- Andrew J. Wollert Gilbert, Arizona USA redco@inficad.com http://www.inficad.com/~redco ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 20:21:01 +0000 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Paul Gilbert Subject: Re: Is the list still up? Comments: To: redco@INFICAD.COM To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Andy, I -- at least -- got your message. I've wondered the same. Either the cantors are singularly busy or unusually silent. I, however, have a different e-mail address for sending posts: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Is thi correct, or yours, or both? In joining, I was hoping to learn from your (i.e. the cantors) experiences and thoughts. I seem to have missed all the discussions, though. Maybe I'll throw out a question. Where could I find a good book in English for the Ukrainian liturgy, describing the cantor's, deacons, priest's (and even the acolyte's?) roles in liturgy? I'm afraid the Ukrainian language liturgikons that I have found are beyond my comprehension. Also, what would be considered indispensible books to have at hand, as a parish cantor, for reference, or for frequent use? (Perhaps each has his own favorites?) Please mention by title, author, publisher and date. Pray for me +pavlo ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 23:40:04 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Nativity of the Mother of God; Uniontown In-Reply-To: Message of 09/07/98 at 17:52:19 from redco@INFICAD.COM On 09/07/98 at 17:52:19 Andrew Wollert said: >Please forgive the intrusion, but I haven't recieved anything from >the list in quite a while. The typical listserv commands aren't >coming back either. Is the list still active? It's still here, Andy! Unfortunately, my wife has been ill for several months, and combined with the Uniontown pilgrimage, I haven't had much time to post. However... Something users of the Uniontown chant books should note: for the feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God (September 8), there are two canons at Matins, one attributed to St. John of Damascus ("Come, O ye people, and let us sing") and one to St. Andrew of Crete ("He who shattered the enemy"). Reasonably complete books like Mother Mary's Festal Menaion and the Velikij Sbornik give both sets of irmosy. The chant books such as the Bokshay _Prostopinije_ and the Papp _Irmologion_ give the irmos melodies for the first canon only, together with the ninth ode of the second canon, since the other irmosy of the second canon would normally be chanted along with the troparia rather than sung. HOWEVER, the Uniontown Festal Menaion gives only the second canon of the feast, making it very confusing to try to fit the printed music in the Slavonic editions to the English text of a completely different canon. I almost finished the first canon in prostopinije (all but the last two odes) using the text from Mother Mary, modernizing the English and making very slight adaptations (from Hapgood) to match the Slavonic text. It will go into the set of festal canons for September-November which I hope to send out for people to look at around the middle of this month. Also, note that the Papp _Irmologion_ gives the first canon (Odes 1,3-9) and the ninth ode of the second canon, numbering them 1-9. (Very few canons include a second ode, based on the _Song of Warning_ of Moses from Deuteronomy.) If you work with the Papp, watch out for the faulty numbering. I was very glad to see that the Uniontown pilgrimage had Matins celebrated on all three days; obviously we need to keep working on the musical material, but it's a good sign for the future. Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 23:32:33 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Pittsburgh Cantor School, September 19 The Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh just held the first session of the 1998-1998 School for Cantors last Saturday, and it went very well -- so I thought a trip report might be in order: The day began at 9:00 with Divine Liturgy in the chapel of the Byzantine Catholic seminary in Pittsburgh. The service was quite beautiful, and gave the cantors and beginning cantors there the chance both to praise God and to get a sense of the (minor but obvious) changes in the singing that will likely occur with the new translation of the Divine Liturgy, which is being used on a trial basis at the seminary. The anaphora was taken aloud, and I noticed a very small number of alterations, mostly to bring our translation more in line with that used by English-speaking Slav Orthodox Churches (no filioque; "essence" instead of "substance" when speaking of the consubstantiality of the Trinity; "Mercy, peace" where we have "The offering of peace" and the Carpatho-Russians have "A mercy of peace"; etc.) The liturgy was reverently carried out. It made a good start to the day. We then moved to the gymnasium downstairs for a welcome from Metropolitan Judson and an introduction to to the day by Father Petro. The room was very acoustically "live" (wonderful for singing) and experienced cantors were asked not to harmonize, for the sake of beginning cantors who are just learning the melodies of the chant. From 10:10 to 10:40, Father Alexis Mihalik led us through the singing of the first half of the Divine Liturgy, singing the most common variations of the hymns, and emphasizing the spiritual content of the hymns, indicating especially the necessity for proper tempo in the different parts of the service, and correcting mistakes commonly made by cantors. The Father David Petras spoke for 20 minutes or so on the Divine Liturgy as "source and summit" of our life with God and in the Church, and also addressing the personal and liturgical "background" of prayer that must be in place to give a setting to the Liturgy. After a 15 minute break, Father Donald Valasek led us through the first half of the Parastas, showing us how to interpret the chant rhythmically by noting where recitatives should be sung in a very regular and even fashion, and where notated rhythms should be adjusted. He emphasized the nature of the chant as an oral tradition, while recommending that we conform to to published versions of the chant to the extent possible. But he also encouraged each parish to keep any particularly beautiful or worthy local variations than have come into being. Over the lunchtime break (box lunches provided by the seminary and cantor school staff), we got a chance to visit and chat with the cantors and clergy in attendance. I noticed quite a number of younger cantors as well as teenagers: a very good sign. At this point the total number of cantors in attendance was about 130. At 1:00, Father Mihalik let us in singing the remainder of the hymns of the Divine Liturgy until about 1:40, when Father Valasek spoke for 15 minutes or so about the practical details of cantoring a funeral, and led us through the rest of the Parastas. He also spoke briefly on the various versions of the funeral chants available in English, and the differences between them. After a 15 minute break, Father David gave an introduction to the Typikon and its use, going through the annual typikon entry for the Sunday of the Forefathers of the Lord this year. For some, this was rather dry; for many of the cantors, however, it gave a much better sense that the proper parts of the services really do "make sense." After a 30 minute break at 3:30, during which we picked up the cassette tapes of the Divine Liturgy chants that we were given as "homework", Father Elias, O. Carm., gave a masterful 45 minute presentation on "The Psalter and Prayer", after which we went upstairs to the chapel for the celebration of Great Vespers. The chapel was *full*, and the singing was very well done by the seminarians and experienced cantors, singing (as was done in the old days) from printed texts with only an indication of the tone to be used for each hymn. The school was dismissed for the day around 6:00; I'm very much looking forward to the next session on October 31. I think the measured proportions of singing together with spiritual and liturgical formation will provide many of these cantors with something of value to take back to their parishes. Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================VP-- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 23:54:38 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: , Subject: Canon for the Protection of the Mother of God Glory to Jesus Christ! I'm sending this to both CINEast and the Ruthenian Church Music List (CANTOR-L); please forgive me if you receive two copies! I'm working on setting the canon for the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God (October 1) to the traditional Ruthenian prostopinije (plainchant) melodies, and I've run into a problem with translation. The Uniontown Festal Menaion only gives the first and last odes for the feast, and since it's not kept as a great feast by the Greeks, it's not in Mother Mary's Festal Menaion. BUT the canon of the Holy Protection is also used as a concluding (katavasia) canon on the Second Sunday of Great Lent; both the Uniontown Triodion and Mother Mary's Triodion give all nine odes. Now, the canon for the Protection is also used for a number of other feasts of the Theotokos, with minor changes. But Ode 4 of the canon, as given in translation in the Triodion, does not match the Slavonic text in the Sbornik or the old Ukrainian Utrenya set. The Triodions give a fourth ode taken from the Canon of the Presentation (November 21). The Slavonic canon for October 1 has a different Ode 4. So I could _really really_ use a translation of the Slavonic Ode 4 of the canon for October 1, from the Sbornik or any other Slavonic version. As best I can transliterate it, it runs: Sid'aj vo slavi, na prestol'i Boz(h)estva vo oblaci lehci, priide Isus preboz(h)estvennyj, netl'innoju dlaniju, i spase zovus(h)c(h)yja: slava, Christe, sil'i Tvojej. I can make out parts of it, and it is definitely NOT the Ode 4 katavasia given on page 224 of the Uniontown Triodion, and beginning "Habbakuk the Prophet"; that is a translation of the Slavonic ode "Neizsl'idnij Boz(h)ij sovit" for November 21. Anybody out there have a copy of the St. John of Kronstadt Press Menaion for October 1? Thanks in advance!! Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Message-Id: <199809221349.JAA08102@mime3.prodigy.com> From: SXHV44A@prodigy.com (MR DAVID M PETRAS) Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 09:49:24, -0500 To: cineast@cin.org Subject: Internet Message Reply-to: cineast@cin.org This irmos is also the Irmos for Ode 4 of the Feast of the Annunciation, in the Uniontown Festal Menaion on p. 345. Fr. David Petras _________________________________________________________________________ Opinions are those of the author and do not represent CIN. All posts are public, archived at: http://www.cin.org/digest.html Sponsored by CATHOLIC INFORMATION NETWORK (CIN) - http://www.cin.org and ST. GABRIEL GIFT & BOOK NOOK - http://www.stgabriel.com SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE at: http://www.cin.org:81/guest/RemoteAvailableLists ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 14:10:55 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Canon of the Holy Protection Glory to Jesus Christ! I've just finished a copy of the Canon of the Holy Protection of the Mother of God, which is also used throughout the year as a katavasia canon. Anyone out there who would be willing to sing through it and comment? Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1998 01:24:40 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Canons for Early December? Glory to Jesus Christ! I'm starting work on the canons for December and January, and I hope to have them done in time to distribute to anyone who wants them. In particular, it would be wonderful to see how many parishes could use the ninth ode of the Nativity and Theophany canons, set to the proper festal melodies, at the Liturgy in place of "It is truly proper". The melodies, especially the one for Theophany, are exceptionally beautiful. Anyway, I'm done with the canons for October (Holy Protection) and November (Entry into the Temple), and I find that the Uniontown Festal Menaion gives only the first and last odes of the canons for early December. Could anyone provide me with an English text for the canons of Saint Nicholas and the Conception of Saint Anne (Immaculate Conception)? Thanks for any help you can provide -- Yours in Christ, Jeff P.S. Yes, Sharon, I _do_ have copies for you to proofread now! ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 09:14:53 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Canon of the Holy Protection To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: from "Jeff Mierzejewski" at Sep 23, 98 02:10:55 pm > > Glory to Jesus Christ! > > I've just finished a copy of the Canon of the Holy Protection > of the Mother of God, which is also used throughout the year > as a katavasia canon. Anyone out there who would be willing > to sing through it and comment? > > Yours in Christ, > > Jeff Jeff, I'd be willing to try stumblin' through it. Cheers, Sharon Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1998 11:05:05 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Nicolas Schidlovsky Subject: Re: Is the list still up? To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: Aside from language, what, in your minds, are the differences in actual practice between Ukrainian and Russian musical/liturgical practice? (Name only the main two or three points, if possible, please.) Thank you. On Mon, 7 Sep 1998, Paul Gilbert wrote: > Andy, > I -- at least -- got your message. I've wondered the same. Either the > cantors are singularly busy or unusually silent. I, however, have a > different e-mail address for sending posts: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU > Is thi correct, or yours, or both? > > In joining, I was hoping to learn from your (i.e. the cantors) experiences > and thoughts. I seem to have missed all the discussions, though. > > Maybe I'll throw out a question. Where could I find a good book in > English for the Ukrainian liturgy, describing the cantor's, deacons, > priest's (and even the acolyte's?) roles in liturgy? I'm afraid the > Ukrainian language liturgikons that I have found are beyond my > comprehension. > > Also, what would be considered indispensible books to have at hand, as a > parish cantor, for reference, or for frequent use? (Perhaps each has his > own favorites?) Please mention by title, author, publisher and date. > > Pray for me > +pavlo > ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 23:08:31 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Mad. Completely Mad. Dear Friends of Prostopinije, OK, I've finally lost my mind. (It was bound to happen.) I'm spending altogether too much time resending people copies of articles I or other cantors have written recently. This has to STOP. :-) Well, not really. Therefore, I'm going to take a leaf from Saint Maximilian Kolbe and put out a newsletter. It will consist initially largely of edited versions of stuff that has appeared on CANTOR-L. Here's a proposed table of contents: The Plainchanter, Issue 1 An Occasional, Unofficial Journal of Prostopinije Introduction - Who We Are The Cantor's Bookshelf Recommended Reading about Carpathian Plainchant and its History Feature Articles The Triodion - The Church's Lenten Prayer Book Psalm Tones in the Prostopinije Tradition Reading the Typikon - Vespers for the Third Sunday of Great Lent The Praying Cantor The Prayer Rope, or Chotki News, Reviews and Coming Events Review - Schmemann's _Great Lent_ Pittsburgh Cantor's School Supplement: An Index to the Bokshai Prostopinije In our next issue: Reading the Typikon - Matins Introduction to the Samohlasen Tones The Cantors Bookshelf - Chant Books If this actually flies, I'd like to solicit articles on the Bokshai _Prostopinije_ (since this year is the 100th anniversary of its commissioning by Bishop Firczak of Uzhorod!) for a future issue. I already have a three member editorial board (Father James Gleason, Sharon Mech, and Brother Maximos (pending approval of Fr. Nicholas)) and I'd also like to find a Byzantine Catholic priest who's willing to help out. Would anyone be willing to write: an article on the Triodion? an article on the chotki or prayer rope, and its use? If nobody stops me real quick, I'm going to mock up an issue for Father Elias and ask if he'll give us his unofficial blessing, then write to the Archbishop and ask for his semi-official blessing (or at least his approval-by-not-telling-us-to-stop). The first issue would appear sometime in February. Other projects being undertaken around the list: - I'm expanding Holy Resurrection Monastery's Matins book to include music for the common hymns of matins - Father Gleason and I are looking to set the Lenten chants of Theodore Ratsin's _Prostopinije_ to the Uniontown Triodion texts. Ratsin, an Uzhorod-trained cantor who emigrated to America early in the century, published a hand-copied expansion of the Bokshai _Prostopinije_ which contains many hymns omitted in the latter book: several Bolhar tones and podobny, as well as an entire set of katavasia canons for Great Lent (approximately 50 pages of new material). Any other projects going on out there? What are people doing to get ready for the pre-Lenten season, and Lent itself? Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 23:09:22 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Sbornik - Part III Last year, I began a commentary on the Velikij Sbornik, or "Great Anthology" of church hymns in our tradition, for use by choir and layfolk on Sundays and feastdays. Although much of the material in the Sbornik has found its way into our liturgical books in English, the privileged position of the Sbornik as _the_ book containing all the hymns for Sunday and festal Vespers, Matins and Divine Liturgy makes it of especial interest to those of us determined to implement a more complete cycle of liturgical observances in our churches. If you'd like to see Parts I and II (Vespers and Matins, respectively), just drop me a note. I hope to put the final version on the Web. A Walking Tour of the Velikij Sbornik -- or -- Liturgical Texts for the Busy Cantor Part III: Theotokia After the Order of Vespers and the Order of Matins come two sections titled "Bohorodicny otpustitelnii" and "Bohorodicny osmy hlasov." A bohorodicen (or theotokion) is a special troparion dedicated to the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. The first section (Bohorodicny otpustitelnii) contains the theotokia that are sung _with other troparia_: - at the end of Vespers, after the Our Father - at the beginning of Matins, after The Lord is God - at the end of Matins, after the Our Father or the Trisagion, depending on which doxology is used The Sbornik section begins by saying (in bold face) that the theotokia for Sunday Vespers and Monday Matins are given later, with the other materials in the Book of Eight Tones. For each tone (hlas), the section gives a theotokion for Monday at the end of Matins Monday Vespers, and Tuesday Matins at: The Lord is God Tuesday at the end of Matins Tuesday Vespers, and Wednesday Matins at: The Lord is God ... Friday Vespers, and Saturday Matins at: The Lord is God Saturday at the end of Matins The second section (bohorodnicy osmy hlasov) contains the theotokia that are sung _with stichera_: - at the Lamp-Lighting Psalms of Vespers - at the Praises (Psalms 148-150) of Matins - at the apstichera As with the dismissal troparia, two are given for each day of the week other than Sunday. The best reference on theotokia I've found is Father David Petras' _Common Typicon_, "Appendix 2: Theotokia", where he notes (as one discovers in the Sbornik!) that only a selection of theotokia have made it into our liturgical books in English. At the end of the two sections of theotokia is a one-page index to katavasiai. A katavasia is a canon whose irmosi (leading stanzas) are sung _after_ the irmos and troparia of each ode. (See my previous post on "Reading the Typikon -- Matins" for details.) The katavasia can consist of the same canon being sung, or a different one. In the former case, the "leading thought" of each ode is repeated at the end; in the latter, a "new thought" is appended at the end. Thus, for example, every canon from August 24 through September 21 of this year has appended to it, ode by ode, the Canon of the Exaltation of the Cross (September 14). In the Sbornik, the katavasia canon is often indicated by the opening words of the first ode. So a single page of the Sbornik is devoted to giving the first words of each frequently used katavasia canon, and pointing to the feast in which the complete canaon is given. By the way - the name "katavasia" (Greek for "descent") refers to the practice, for this canon and for some other hymns, of having a soloist descend into the nave of the church to sing, or of having both choirs descend into the church and sing together. Next time: The Octoechos - Like You've Never Seen It Before! ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 22:51:34 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "J. Michael Thompson" Subject: new subscriber To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Glory to Jesus Christ! My name is J. Michael Thompson. I am the director of music ministry at St. Peter's RC Church "in the Loop," Chicago, Illinois, and the director of the Schola Cantorum of St. Peter's in the Loop. I have been working with prostopinije and samoilka for about fifteen years now, and am very glad to hear of others deeply involved with the plainchant renaissance--especially in connnection with Matins and Vespers. I look forward to good exchange of ideas and transcriptions through this service. Many thanks to Jeff M., whose idea this is, and who does all the work to keep it up. Mnohaja l'ita! ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 10:25:26 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: new subscriber To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <2f247147.36ad3bc6@aol.com> from "J. Michael Thompson" at Jan 25, 99 10:51:34 pm > > Glory to Jesus Christ! > > My name is J. Michael Thompson. I am the director of music ministry at St. > Peter's RC Church "in the Loop," Chicago, Illinois, and the director of the > Schola Cantorum of St. Peter's in the Loop. I have been working with > prostopinije and samoilka for about fifteen years now, and am very glad to > hear of others deeply involved with the plainchant renaissance--especially in > connnection with Matins and Vespers. I look forward to good exchange of ideas > and transcriptions through this service. Many thanks to Jeff M., whose idea > this is, and who does all the work to keep it up. > Mnohaja l'ita! > Welcome in the name of the Lord, from the least of His children! Michael, WONDERFUL to have you here. (I met you last summer in CT. I was the obnoxious pain-in-the-neck who got up & harrangued the assembled eminent and holy attendees about publishing lovely new translations with no music during he Q&A following your presentation. Cheers, Sharon Mech Cantor, mezzo & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 10:36:57 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Madness....... To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: from "Jeff Mierzejewski" at Jan 25, 99 11:08:31 pm Jeff asked: >Any other projects going on out there? What are people doing to get ready >for the pre-Lenten season, and Lent itself? I'M PEDALLING AS FAST AS I CAN!!!!!!!!! ;-) Aside from that, dusting off the Triodion, building up arm-strength to be able to tote it around...... I'm hoping to have the time to sit down at the computer & whack out Psalm 140 in all 8 Samohlasen tones, 'cause if I don't have it in front of me, it might just come out in Tone 13. According to Fr. Jack Custer, using the Parma Presanctified version (which doesn't have music, tho' I've been working on that, at least unofficially) Psalm 140 is chanted in the Samohlasen Tone corresponding to the Resurrection tone-of-the-week. Does anybody already have this done in English? Somebody with a real clue? I am not particularly confident in the absolute fidelity of my stuff..... Cheers on a very unusual day - the sky is blue, and there's a big round yellow thing in the sky... Sharon Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 10:44:18 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Psalm 140 In-Reply-To: Message of 01/26/99 at 10:36:57 from sharon@CMHCSYS.COM On 01/26/99 at 10:36:57 Sharon Mech said: >I'm hoping to have the time to sit down at the computer & whack out Psalm 140 >in all 8 Samohlasen tones, 'cause if I don't have it in front of me, it might >just come out in Tone 13. According to Fr. Jack Custer, using the Parma >Presanctified version (which doesn't have music, tho' I've been working on that, >at least unofficially) Psalm 140 is chanted in the Samohlasen Tone >corresponding to the Resurrection tone-of-the-week. Does anybody already have >this done in English? Somebody with a real clue? I am not particularly >confident in the absolute fidelity of my stuff..... I have two sets of music for the Lamp-Lighting Psalms at Vespers: - The opening verses for Psalm 140 in all eight tones, together with the resurrectional stichera, again in all eight tones, according to the Uniontown books. I also have the proper stichera for the weeks of Lent for the Pre-sanctified Liturgy, but I need to check the ownership of these before copying them. - The opening verses for Psalm 140 in all eight tones, together with the resurrectional stichera and Lenten stichera. Not sure without looking what the translation is, but the chant is the Presov variant used by the Johnstown diocese (this is something prepared by one of their priests some years ago). It's intended for use at Saturday evening Vespers. I'm going to try to put together a list of all the materials I have that can be reproduced at no additional charge. In the meantime, you want the Lamp-lighting psalms, Sharon, I can get them to you. Give my godson a kiss for me. Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 09:12:33 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Br Maximos Subject: Re: new subscriber To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Michael and Sharon, Glory to Jesus Christ! And another welcome, Michael. I also met you at the conference in CT. I was one of the ones in black :-) I remember asking you about the possibility of coming out to the monastery to do a few talks on the chant. Unfortunately I haven't been able to follow up on that because God has decided we don't need much money this year :-) I was also one of the ones who looked admiringly at the doughty Mech as she proclaimed the cantors' lament. The only pain in the neck I felt while you were talking, Sharon, came from nodding my head in too-vigorous agreement :-o For a start, Michael, I have a question for you about harmonizing the prostopinie chant. I remember you said in your talk that you often applied something like an ison to the irmos tones, that being the simplest way to introduce harmony. Do I remember that correctly? And if so, are there any particular rules you have worked out, e.g. particular intervals that work well for certain melodies? Also, how do you harmonize the samohlasen melodies? (If at all, of course) Finally, I seem to remember seeing somewhere a CD from your choir ofhe Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete. Again, if I'm right, where can you get hold of a copy of this? Keep me in your prayers, unworthy monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 12:50:07 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Psalm 140 To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: from "Jeff Mierzejewski" at Jan 26, 99 10:44:18 am Jeff, If they can be copied without moral, ethical or legal entanglements, would you be kind enough to drag a set along to the upcoming Pittsburgh Cantorial Hootenany? Anybody else coming to P-burgh on the 13th? Thanks! Sharon "I'm From Parma" Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 17:31:11 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: crazy question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: from "Jeff Mierzejewski" at Jan 26, 99 10:44:18 am Hey guys, I've been asked to help out with some "penance services" one of our guys is doing for an RC High School during Lent. There will be a short service, a blessing, and then opportunity for individual confession. This will all happen in the last week of February. We're kind of pasting a service together, 'cause it's gotta be short & sweet. We'll be doing it maybe 8 times in 1 or 2 days. Tentative order is: *Heavenly King..--------->.. the Only Lord Jesus Christ, the King and our God! *Psalm 102(103) *Sessional Hymn 1 for Tuesdays, shamelessly stolen from the Office of Matins *Litany *Dismissal (I will haul along my Lenten Triodion and any other Interesting Stuff so I can chant "cover" while confessions are going on as well.) My inclination is to set the Psalm for antiphonal chanting, and the Sessional Hymn to something reeeeeaaaaally easy, like Res. Tone 4. I think the whole thing should come in at about 8-10 minutes, do the deed, and not be Too Liturgically Horrible. Comments? Rude remarks? What do y'all think? Cheers, Sharon Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 19:01:02 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "J. Michael Thompson" Subject: Re: new subscriber To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 1/26/99 11:21:02 AM Central Standard Time, monkmax@MSCOMM.COM writes: << Finally, I seem to remember seeing somewhere a CD from your choir ofhe Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete. Again, if I'm right, where can you get hold of a copy of this? >> Glory to Jesus Christ! Dear Fr. Maximos: Let me answer the easy question first, please. The schola's website is www.synasoft.com/scholaspl At that place you can get information about the cd and then set up a direct connection to The Liturgical Press, which publishes it. You can also find out all about our 31 other recordings. (Hint...) If you would rather skip this step and just call LitPress, you can do that, too [1-800-858-5450]. JMT ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 18:58:13 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "J. Michael Thompson" Subject: Exciting news! To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU From July 12-16, 1999, the National Association of Pastoral Musicians is holding its biennial national convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This year, the NPM is beginning the organization of an "EASTERN CATHOLIC DIVISION," focusing on clergy and musicians who use the Byzantine liturgy--the Ruthenians, the Ukrainians, the Melkites, and the Romanians. There will be an "Eastern" track running through the entire convention, with liturgical theology (the Rev. Dr. Peter Galadza, Sheptytskiy Institute, Ottawa), Byzantine Master Schola (directed by Dr. Vladimir Morosan of Musica Russica), and cantor's programs for cantors working with (1) prostopinije, (2) samoilka, and (3) Melkite chant. The Schola Cantorum of St. Peter's in the Loop will sing a concert entitled "Light From the East: Chant of Christmas and Carols from Central and Eastern Europe," and also lead the singing of Vespers on Wednesday night. There will be a final Byzantine Divine Liturgy, where the assembly singing will be led by cantors and by the "Byzantine Master Schola" from the convention. We need at least 50 priests, cantors, choir conductors, and choristers to sign up to make this effective. This is a wonderful attempt for Eastern Catholics (and Eastern Orthodox, too!) to come across jurisdictional lines to promote the ministry of liturgical music in our churches. For the informational brochure, please contact Ms Lisa Tarker at the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, 202-723-5800 during business hours (Eastern time--they're in Washington, DC). For more information or details, email J. Michael Thompson at chantermt@aol.com, or call at St. Peter's Music Office, 312-853-2397. Please spread the word all around, and pray to St. Romanos for our success! ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 11:11:37 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: crazy question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Sharon: Why not simply use the traditional service, as provided in Hapgood? It's short and sweet. Moreover, it will give everyone a chance to observe and participate in the *actual* full rite of confession. The priest usually gives a short homily beforehand, when the full rite is served (as is often the case in Great Lent). When there are large numbers of people to confess, the priest may even read the prayer of absolution over everyone (but everyone still has to tell their sins individually). In our parish, we read the "pravilo" during the actual confessions. "Pravilo," in the Russian tradition, is the Canon to Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Canon to the Theotokos, the Canon to the Guardian Angel and the Canon Before Holy Communion. Optionally, after the Sixth Ode, one can sing the Akathist Before Holy Communion. Following the canons, one reads the Pre-Communion Prayers, or one can read them in the moring, before the Divine Liturgy. We usually sing the Irmosi, the Katavasias and the kontakion after the Sixth Ode. If we do the Akathist, we sing that, too. David James > -----Original Message----- > From: Sharon Mech [SMTP:sharon@CMHCSYS.COM] > Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 1999 5:31 PM > To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU > Subject: crazy question > > Hey guys, > > > I've been asked to help out with some "penance services" one of our guys > is > doing for an RC High School during Lent. There will be a short service, a > blessing, and then opportunity for individual confession. This will all > happen in the last week of February. > > We're kind of pasting a service together, 'cause it's gotta be short & > sweet. > We'll be doing it maybe 8 times in 1 or 2 days. > > Tentative order is: > > *Heavenly King..--------->.. the Only Lord Jesus Christ, the King and our > God! > *Psalm 102(103) > *Sessional Hymn 1 for Tuesdays, shamelessly stolen from the Office of > Matins > *Litany > *Dismissal > > (I will haul along my Lenten Triodion and any other Interesting Stuff so I > can chant "cover" while confessions are going on as well.) > > > My inclination is to set the Psalm for antiphonal chanting, and the > Sessional > Hymn to something reeeeeaaaaally easy, like Res. Tone 4. I think the whole > thing should come in at about 8-10 minutes, do the deed, and not be Too > Liturgically Horrible. > > Comments? Rude remarks? What do y'all think? > > > Cheers, > > > Sharon > > > Sharon Mech > Cantor & sinner > sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 11:59:01 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Exciting news! To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU May I add that, if you would like to rapidly disseminate knowledge of how to do the All-Night Vigil (and/or Matins), gatherings like these are the perfect opportunity. You have a concentration of both expertise and willing and able students! In the Russian Orthodox tradition, it is necessary for the celebrating clergy and any laity who wish to partake of Holy Communion to attend Vespers and Matins beforehand (or read them on their own, if unable to perform/attend the services in church). Plus, the Vigil is beautiful. Conferences like this are a great opportunity to learn how to do antiphonal choirs, serve with a bishop, etc., etc., in addition to the basics of liturgics and music. As a veteran of the annual music conferences organized by the Synod of Bishops' Church Music Advisory Board of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, I can promise you that this type of event (brief as it is), can have a tremendously uplifting effect on your Church's level of liturgical and musical practice, over time. Examples: in the ROCOR, over the past ten or 12 years, it has now become usual to sing the prokeimena and alleluias according to the proper tone, to chant the stichera at Vespers and Matins in the proper tones (as opposed to reading most of them), to read the stichera on the Beatitudes at Liturgy, and the use of podobens (special melodies) is also becoming more widespread. And now almost all of our parishes have choir directors and chanters who know the tones and typicon well enought to properly assist the clergy to serve the Vigil in conjunction with every Divine Liturgy (in North America, sadly, the Divine Liturgy is usually served in Orthodox parishes only on feast days of vigil rank). So, since you hope to have at least 50 clergy, choir directors, cantors and choristers, why not schedule a Vigil (with a bishop or bishops, priests, deacons and antiphonal choirs), instead of just Vespers? Have a torzhestvjennij prazdnik, a triumphal festival, of Byzantine worship! David James > -----Original Message----- > From: J. Michael Thompson [SMTP:Chantermt@AOL.COM] > Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 1999 6:58 PM > To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU > Subject: Exciting news! > > From July 12-16, 1999, the National Association of Pastoral Musicians is > holding its biennial national convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. > > This year, the NPM is beginning the organization of an "EASTERN CATHOLIC > DIVISION," focusing on clergy and musicians who use the Byzantine > liturgy--the Ruthenians, the Ukrainians, the Melkites, and the Romanians. > > There will be an "Eastern" track running through the entire convention, > with > liturgical theology (the Rev. Dr. Peter Galadza, Sheptytskiy Institute, > Ottawa), Byzantine Master Schola (directed by Dr. Vladimir Morosan of > Musica > Russica), and cantor's programs for cantors working with (1) prostopinije, > (2) > samoilka, and (3) Melkite chant. The Schola Cantorum of St. Peter's in > the > Loop will sing a concert entitled "Light From the East: Chant of > Christmas > and Carols from Central and Eastern Europe," and also lead the singing of > Vespers on Wednesday night. There will be a final Byzantine Divine > Liturgy, > where the assembly singing will be led by cantors and by the "Byzantine > Master > Schola" from the convention. > > We need at least 50 priests, cantors, choir conductors, and choristers to > sign > up to make this effective. This is a wonderful attempt for Eastern > Catholics > (and Eastern Orthodox, too!) to come across jurisdictional lines to > promote > the ministry of liturgical music in our churches. > > For the informational brochure, please contact Ms Lisa Tarker at the > National > Association of Pastoral Musicians, 202-723-5800 during business hours > (Eastern > time--they're in Washington, DC). For more information or details, email > J. > Michael Thompson at chantermt@aol.com, or call at St. Peter's Music > Office, > 312-853-2397. > > Please spread the word all around, and pray to St. Romanos for our > success! ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 16:50:26 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Conference To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <1A8DBED953E9D111A1EE006008A1AE051CAE89@mail.nsmt.org> from "David James" at Jan 27, 99 11:59:01 am Responding to David James' post, suggesting "more than just Vespers," Yes indeedy! If possible, it would be Exceedingly Cool to be able to have enough motivated bodies of the ordained, serving and singing lay variety to be able to do stuff daily, whether a part of the "official" agenda or not. Not only 'cause of the opportunity, but to "feed the hungry." Starvin'..... Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 17:24:38 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: crazy question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <1A8DBED953E9D111A1EE006008A1AE051CAE87@mail.nsmt.org> from "David James" at Jan 27, 99 11:11:37 am David wrote: > > Why not simply use the traditional service, as provided in Hapgood? It's > short and sweet. Moreover, it will give everyone a chance to observe and > participate in the *actual* full rite of confession. The priest usually > gives a short homily beforehand, when the full rite is served (as is often > the case in Great Lent). When there are large numbers of people to confess, > the priest may even read the prayer of absolution over everyone (but > everyone still has to tell their sins individually). In our parish, we read > the "pravilo" during the actual confessions. "Pravilo," in the Russian > tradition, is the Canon to Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Canon to the > Theotokos, the Canon to the Guardian Angel and the Canon Before Holy > Communion. Optionally, after the Sixth Ode, one can sing the Akathist Before > Holy Communion. Following the canons, one reads the Pre-Communion Prayers, > or one can read them in the moring, before the Divine Liturgy. We usually > sing the Irmosi, the Katavasias and the kontakion after the Sixth Ode. If we > do the Akathist, we sing that, too. > David, I don't have Hapgood, and have never heard of the service you mention. I'd love to see it some time! As for the "actual full rite of confession," I'm puzzled- what do you mean? This isn't going to be one of those mass absolution horrors - the participants will be making individual confession. Fact is, I don't have ANY of the services you mention - I'm fascinated.... Sharon Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 18:21:32 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: crazy question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Sharon, if I have time, I will post the Rite of Confession from Isabel Hapgood's Service Book. I thought everyone knew about this book, but perhaps it's not approved for use amongst the Eastern Rite Catholics. The Preparation for Communion is too long for me to type in, but if you send me your snail-mail address, I will send you a hard copy. It probably will seem like overkill to someone not used to it, but once you become accustomed to it, it is hard to imagine going to Communion without preparing in this fashion. The canons are sometimes omitted, if there are extenuating circumstances, but never the Pre-Communion Prayers themselves. It is best if there is some arrangement made to say them communally. Usually, the Canons are said prior to the beginning of Vigil, or right afterwards, while the pre-Communion Prayers are said before the beginning of the Hours the next morning, before Liturgy. Otherwise, it is assumed that people will say them privately. If this is the case, they are appended to the Evening or Morning Prayers. > -----Original Message----- > From: Sharon Mech [SMTP:sharon@CMHCSYS.COM] > Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 1999 5:25 PM > To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU > Subject: Re: crazy question > > David wrote: > > > > Why not simply use the traditional service, as provided in Hapgood? It's > > short and sweet. Moreover, it will give everyone a chance to observe and > > participate in the *actual* full rite of confession. The priest usually > > gives a short homily beforehand, when the full rite is served (as is > often > > the case in Great Lent). When there are large numbers of people to > confess, > > the priest may even read the prayer of absolution over everyone (but > > everyone still has to tell their sins individually). In our parish, we > read > > the "pravilo" during the actual confessions. "Pravilo," in the Russian > > tradition, is the Canon to Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Canon to the > > Theotokos, the Canon to the Guardian Angel and the Canon Before Holy > > Communion. Optionally, after the Sixth Ode, one can sing the Akathist > Before > > Holy Communion. Following the canons, one reads the Pre-Communion > Prayers, > > or one can read them in the moring, before the Divine Liturgy. We > usually > > sing the Irmosi, the Katavasias and the kontakion after the Sixth Ode. > If we > > do the Akathist, we sing that, too. > > > David, > > I don't have Hapgood, and have never heard of the service you mention. I'd > love to see it some time! As for the "actual full rite of confession," I'm > puzzled- what do you mean? This isn't going to be one of those mass > absolution horrors - the participants will be making individual > confession. > > Fact is, I don't have ANY of the services you mention - I'm fascinated.... > > Sharon > > > Sharon Mech > Cantor & sinner > sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 18:52:50 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: crazy question In-Reply-To: Message of 01/27/99 at 18:21:32 from dmjames@NSMT.ORG On 01/27/99 at 18:21:32 David James said: >Sharon, if I have time, I will post the Rite of Confession from Isabel >Hapgood's Service Book. I thought everyone knew about this book, but perhaps >it's not approved for use amongst the Eastern Rite Catholics. We don't really have "approved books" as Eastern Rite Catholics, except to the extent of a liturgikon translation prepared some years ago under our bishops' guidance. The following are all used in our parishes: The Uniontown books Mother Mary's Festal Menaion and Triodion Archbishop Raya's Byzantine Daily Worship Isobel Hapgood's Service Book The "Five-Pounder" (Antiochean service book) and the Menaion done for the ROCOR from St. John of Kronstadt Press All of these are indexed in the appropriate places in our annual Typikon prepared by Father David Petras. I mentioned the Hapgood in the CANTOR-L FAQ: A good source for background reading on Orthodox worship in general (particularly among the Slavs) is Isabel Hapgood's _Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church_ (Antiochean Orthodox Christian Diocese of North America, 1922). Its explanatory material covers many of the details of worship as used in the Ruthenian Churches. I would be wonderful if you could post the Service of Confession. When Sharon comes to the Cantor's School in two weeks, I'll loan her a book with the canons. By the way, I agree completely about services as a teaching moment. Having both Divine Liturgy and Great Vespers at the Cantor's School in Pittsburgh has been a blessing; and although we Ruthenians don't generally celebrate All-night Vigil, but have (according to our traditions) followed the Greek practice of Vespers with Litia, then Matins in the morning, we HAVE started having Matins every day at the annual pilgrimage in Uniontown, along with evening Vespers. There's still a lot of work to be done on music, rubrics for reader services, etc. But the services are becoming better known! Thanks for the suggestion on public use of the Confession Prayers... Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 09:18:17 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: crazy question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <1A8DBED953E9D111A1EE006008A1AE051CAE94@mail.nsmt.org> from "David James" at Jan 27, 99 06:21:32 pm David, I am familiar with the existence of Isabel Hapgood's book, but do not have a copy. I'd be interested in seeing whatever you'd like to post, and if you will e-mail me privately, I'll give you my snail address. Thanks! Sharon ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 13:23:04 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Re: new subscriber To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 99-01-26 19:23:24 EST, you write: << monkmax@MSCOMM.COM writes: << Finally, I seem to remember seeing somewhere a CD from your choir ofhe Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete. Again, if I'm right, where can you get hold of a copy of this? >> Let me answer the easy question first, please. The schola's website is www.synasoft.com/scholaspl At that place you can get information about the cd and then set up a direct connection to The Liturgical Press, which publishes it. You can also find out all about our 31 other recordings. (Hint...) If you would rather skip this step and just call LitPress, you can do that, too [1-800-858-5450]. >> I just got my copy yesterday from Liturgical Press. Very well done! Very worshipful. It combines the beauty of plain chant with comprehension. Looking forward to further Eastern recordings from the Schola! In Christ, Dave Ignatius DTBrown@aol.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 00:53:31 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: The Cantor's Bookshelf - Chant History The Cantor's Bookshelf A cantor's view of the world can sometimes seem to be dominated by books - books for liturgical texts, books for music, books for figuring out the other books! A good cantor needs to have one of the essential traits of a reference librarian: he may not need to know everything, but he should know where to find practically anything. In this series, I hope to give a basic introduction to the books with which a cantor should be familiar - what they are, where to get them, and which ones you need most. Part I - Church Plainchant and Its History The best introduction to the prostopinije itself is Sister Joan Roccasalvo's _The Plainchant Tradition of Southwestern 'Rus_ (East European Monographs, 1986). The author covers the history of of prostopinije in detail, setting it in the context of both church history and Eastern European life and culture. She discusses the hand-written and printed plainchant collections in detail, and compares the oral tradition recorded in the Bokshay _Prostopinije_ with existing 16th and 17th century manuscripts to demonstrate that the musical traditions of prostopinije have been maintained very successfully over more than 400 years. Sister Joan gives the necessary background for understanding the samohlasen and podoben melodies, as well as the irmos melodies used at Matins, and shows how basic musical building blocks for the various tones were put together to set the hymns in the different tones. This book is available through << >>. Also highly recommended is Johann von Gardner's _Russian Church Singing, Volume 1: Orthodox Worship and Hymnnography_ (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1980). Von Gardner was German musicologist who spend several years in Russia and the Carpathian Mountains in the first half of this century, and wrote a two-volume work on the theory and practice of Russian Orthodox church music. His book contains some of the best source material on the practice of congregational singing in our churches, and he knew and loved the prostopinije. But this book is most valuable because it explains, in an organized way, both the liturgical services in the Slav Christian tradition and the music traditionally used for them. His detailed explanations of the basic liturgical texts (troparion, kontakion, canon, stichera) and their music is without equal in English. He also describes the process by which Greek Byzantine chant was adopted by the Kievan Rus' and influenced by Bulgarian and Latin musical traditions. This book is available from St. Vladimir's Seminary Press << >>. Future articles for the Cantor's Bookshelf: Chant Collections: The Basics Russian and Ukrainian Chant Recorded Music Liturgical Books: The Typikon The Divine Liturgy The Divine Praises The Menaion The Triodion and Pentecostarion Occasional Services Prayer Books and Anthologies -------- Comments, corrections, and suggestions for future topics would be greatly appreciated!! Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 11:25:32 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: crazy question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Jeff, Thanks for the clarification about liturgical texts in the Byzantine Rite. You mentioned that the "All-Night" Vigil is not customary among the Ruthenians, and that you follow the Greek usage (the pre-19th century usage for matins, I presume). The main difference between Greek and Slavic use about when to celebrate the All-Night Vigil is that, in the Russian Church, the Sunday Resurrection service is considered to be of Vigil-rank, while among the Greeks it typically is not. (But when I was a novice at the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Boston years ago, they celebrated the All-Night Vigil on Sundays.) But the Greeks *do* have the All-Night Vigil (the Greek term is "Agrypnia"). In fact, the Athonite monasteries are famous for the fact that their vigils often literally last all night. The Typicon is quite specific about the rank of the various feasts, which affects how they are celebrated. The most important feasts, of course, are vigil rank. The ranks (from lowest to highest) are: simple commemoration; double commemoration; six-stichera service; doxology-rank service; polyeleos-rank service; vigil-rank service; Pascha. Since, unfortunately, parishes where the full cycle of services is celebrated are extremely rare, it is the polyeleos and vigil-rank services that are most often celebrated in parishes. Regarding Ruthenian usage: I was under the impression that it was quite close to the Russian/Ukrainian. In fact, I thought that the Ruthenian Rite was, in many ways, closer to the Russian Orthodox Old Rite than the Niconian texts of the contemporary Russian Church. Certainly, many of the parishes in the OCA and ROCOR have Ruthenian roots and I am not aware that there was ever a discrepancy in this regard. I always assumed that the Jordanville practice, since most of the founding monks came from the Ladimirovo monastery in Slovakia, was not radically different from the Carpatho-Russian traditions. Is this assumption incorrect? David James > -----Original Message----- > From: Jeff Mierzejewski [SMTP:JEFF@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU] > Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 1999 6:53 PM > To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU > Subject: Re: crazy question > > On 01/27/99 at 18:21:32 David James said: > >Sharon, if I have time, I will post the Rite of Confession from Isabel > >Hapgood's Service Book. I thought everyone knew about this book, but > perhaps > >it's not approved for use amongst the Eastern Rite Catholics. > > We don't really have "approved books" as Eastern Rite Catholics, except to > the extent of a liturgikon translation prepared some years ago under our > bishops' guidance. The following are all used in our parishes: > > The Uniontown books > Mother Mary's Festal Menaion and Triodion > Archbishop Raya's Byzantine Daily Worship > Isobel Hapgood's Service Book > The "Five-Pounder" (Antiochean service book) > > and the Menaion done for the ROCOR from St. John of Kronstadt Press > > All of these are indexed in the appropriate places in our annual Typikon > prepared by Father David Petras. > > I mentioned the Hapgood in the CANTOR-L FAQ: > > A good source for background reading on Orthodox worship in general > (particularly among the Slavs) is Isabel Hapgood's _Service Book of > the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church_ (Antiochean Orthodox > Christian Diocese of North America, 1922). Its explanatory material > covers many of the details of worship as used in the Ruthenian > Churches. > > I would be wonderful if you could post the Service of Confession. > When Sharon comes to the Cantor's School in two weeks, I'll loan her > a book with the canons. > > By the way, I agree completely about services as a teaching moment. > Having both Divine Liturgy and Great Vespers at the Cantor's School > in Pittsburgh has been a blessing; and although we Ruthenians don't > generally celebrate All-night Vigil, but have (according to our > traditions) followed the Greek practice of Vespers with Litia, then > Matins in the morning, we HAVE started having Matins every day at the > annual pilgrimage in Uniontown, along with evening Vespers. There's > still a lot of work to be done on music, rubrics for reader services, > etc. But the services are becoming better known! > > Thanks for the suggestion on public use of the Confession Prayers... > > Yours in Christ, > > Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 08:38:33 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Br Maximos Subject: Re: crazy question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear David, Glory be to Jesus Christ! > Regarding Ruthenian usage: I was under the impression that it was quite > close to the Russian/Ukrainian. In fact, I thought that the Ruthenian Rite > was, in many ways, closer to the Russian Orthodox Old Rite than the Niconian > texts of the contemporary Russian Church. Certainly, many of the parishes in > the OCA and ROCOR have Ruthenian roots and I am not aware that there was > ever a discrepancy in this regard. I always assumed that the Jordanville > practice, since most of the founding monks came from the Ladimirovo > monastery in Slovakia, was not radically different from the Carpatho-Russian > traditions. Is this assumption incorrect? > I didn't know that about the Jordanville foundation. Where would be a good place to read about their history? I must say I was very heartened by the friendly reception I had when I was there briefly last year. I was afraid a uniate monk would be shown the door! Far from it, I was shown a very welcome breakfast :-) It is interesting as well that there seems to come from Jordanville a preference for simpler, more monodic plainchant over the highly ornate polyphony of the Russian recent history. Am I right? In Christ unworthy monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 13:06:52 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "J. Michael Thompson" Subject: Re: crazy question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 99-01-29 11:20:21 EST, you write: << Regarding Ruthenian usage: I was under the impression that it was quite close to the Russian/Ukrainian. In fact, I thought that the Ruthenian Rite was, in many ways, closer to the Russian Orthodox Old Rite than the Niconian texts of the contemporary Russian Church. Certainly, many of the parishes in the OCA and ROCOR have Ruthenian roots and I am not aware that there was ever a discrepancy in this regard. I always assumed that the Jordanville practice, since most of the founding monks came from the Ladimirovo monastery in Slovakia, was not radically different from the Carpatho-Russian traditions. Is this assumption incorrect? >> Glory to Jesus Christ! The answer to your question is "yes and no." Many of the customs of the Ruthenian and Galician Catholic Churches are in fact pre-Niconian; some of the discrepencies include singing all texts (with very little use of recto tono, though with some use of "psalm tones"); a wider variety of dismissals for feasts; different ranking for some of the same feasts. But most of the OCA and ROCOR parishes with Ruthenian roots lost their customs (and, in many cases, their chant) when they returned from the Unia to Orthodoxy. There were polemics against unison singing and congregational singing (from Great Russian bishops) as "something papist." If you would like to verify this from an historical point of view, please contact His Grace, Bishop JOB of Chicago (OCA), whose family is of Carpatho-Russian background, and whose father was a cantor at Ss. Peter & Paul on the south side of Chicago. In the seminary training at St. Vladimir, St. Tikhon, or at Holy Trinity Jordanville, there is no reference to prostopinije or to samoilka. While it is correct that Athonite monasteries celebrate the Agrypnia, it does not happen in any parishes churches (save, perhaps, among those in the Greek Old Calendar dioceses). It is a monastic usage, and has been so for centuries. In most Ruthenian parishes, Vespers was celebrated with Litija on the eve of the feast, and Matins was sung in the morning before Divine Liturgy. The only extended evening services in parish memory would have been Great Compline and Matins on the Nativity of the Lord and Theophany. And now, of course, the parishes who observe the full weekend of services can be counted (alas) on one hand. J. Michael Thompson Chicago, IL ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 13:36:00 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: The Rite of Confession To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU The "Choir," Reader," "Priest" indications are given for a public celebration. If it is just the priest and penitent, then all would be said by the priest, except for the Creed. The Spiritual Father leadeth the Person who desireth to confess (to an analogion with the Gospel and Blessing Cross) before the holy icon of our Lord Jesus Christ "Not made with Hands." And he saith: Choir: O Heavenly King... Reader: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3) Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, wash away our sins, O Master, pardon our transgressions. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy Name's sake. Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from the evil one: Priest: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, both now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Reader: Amen. Lord, have mercy (12). Glory..., Both now... O come, let us worship God our King (bow). O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King and our God (bow). O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ Himself, our King and our God (bow). Psalm 50. And the following penitential troparia, in Tone 6: Choir: Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, / for, at a loss for any defence, / this prayer do we sinners offer unto Thee, as Master: // have mercy on us. Glory... O Lord, have mercy on us, / for we have hoped in Thee. / Be not angry with us greatly, / neither remember our iniquities, / but look upon us now, as Thou art compassionate, / and deliver us from our enemies; / for Thou art our God, / and, we, Thy children, all are the work of Thy hands, // and we call upon Thy Name. Both now... The door of compassion open unto us, / O blessed Theotokos, / for, hoping in thee, let us not perish; / but, through thee, may we be delivered from adversities; // for thou art the salvation of the Christian race. Reader: Lord, have mercy (40). Priest: Let us pray to the Lord. O God our Savior, who by Thy prophet Nathan didst grant unto repentant David pardon of his transgressions, and didst accept Manasses' prayer of penitence: Do Thou, with Thy usual love towards mankind, accept also Thy servant (handmaid), N., who repenteth him (her) of the sins which he (she) hath committed; overlooking all that he (she) hath done, pardoning his (her) offences, and pasing by his (her) iniquities. For Thou hast said, O Lord: With desire have I desired not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from the wickedness which he hath committed, and live: and that even unto seventy times seven, sins ought to be forgiven. For Thy majesty is incomparable, and Thy mercy is without measure; and if Thou shouldest regard iniquity, who should stand? For Thou art the God of the penitent, and unto Thee do we ascribe glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Choir: Amen. Priest: Let us pray to the Lord. O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, both Shepherd and Lamb, Who takest away the sins of the world; Who didst remit the loan unto the two debtors, and didst vouchsafe to the woman who was a sinner the remission of her sins: Do Thou, the same Lord, absolve, remit, forgive the sins, transgressions and iniquities, whether voluntary or involuntary, whether of wilfulness or of ignorance, which have been committed unto guilt and disobedience by these thy servants. And if they, bearing flesh and dwelling in the world, in that they are men, have in any way been beguiled of the devil; if in word or deed, whether wittingly or unwittingly, they have sinned, either scorning the word of a priest, or falling under his anathema, or have broken their oath: Do Thou, the same Master, in that Thou art good and cherishest not ill-will, graciously grant unto these thy servants the word of absolution, remitting unto them their anathema and curse, according to Thy great mercy. Yea, O Lord and Master, Who lovest mankind, hear Thou us who make our petitions unto Thy goodness on behalf of these Thy servants, and disregard Thou all their errors, inasmuch as Thou art exceedingly merciful; and loose them from punishment eternal. For Thou hast said, O Master: Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. For Thou alone art without sin, and unto Thee do we ascribe glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Choir: Amen. Priest: Behold, my child, Christ standeth here invisibly, and receiveth thy confession: wherefore, be not ashamed, neither be afraid, and conceal thou nothing from me: but tell me, doubting not, all things which thou hast done; and so shalt thou have pardon from our Lord Jesus Christ. Lo, His holy image is before us: and I am but a witness, bearing testimony before Him of all things which thou dost say to me. But if thou shalt conceal anything from me, thou shalt have the greater sin. Take heed, therefore, lest, having come to the physician, thou depart unhealed. And then shall the priest question the penitent diligently, point by point, and shall await his reply to every question. And first of all he shall inquire concerning his faith: Priest: Tell me, my child, dost thou believe that which hath been transmitted and is taught by the Catholic, Apostolic Church, which was planted and nurtured in the East, and hath spread from the East throughout the world, and which abideth even unto this day, immovable and unchangeable? And dost thou doubt any of her doctrines? And if the penitent believeth rightly and undoubtingly, he shall repeat the Symbol of the Faith: I believe in one God... And when he hath finished, the priest shall interrogate him in detail. [NOTE: The priest doth not use the questions of olden days, which are still retained in the Ritual, but interrogateth the penitent discreetly: and at the last, when he hath questioned him concerning the seven deadly sins, he saith the following Exhortation: Priest: In all these points thou must henceforth be upon thy guard. For thou has received a second Baptism, according to the Christian Mystery. And thou must see to it that, God helping, thou make a good beginning. But, above all, thou must not bear thyself lightly towards these things, let thou become a cause of scorn to men; for these things do not befit a Christian. But may God, by His grace, aid thee to live honorably, uprightly and devoutly. And when the priest hath said all these things unto him; and when he that revealed all things concerning himself, concealing nothing, the priest shall say unto him: Bow thy head. Then the person who hath made his Confession boweth his head (resting the forehead on the Gospel), and the Confessor reciteth this prayer: Priest: Let us pray to the Lord. O Lord God of the salvation of Thy servants, gracious, bountiful and long-suffering, who repentest Thee concerning our evil deeds, and desirest not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live: Show Thy mercy now upon Thy servant (handmaid), N., and grant unot him (her) an image of repentance, forgiveness of sins, and deliverance, pardoning his (her) every transgression, whether voluntary or involuntary. Reconcile and unite him (her) unto Thy holy Church, through Jesus Christ our Lord, with Whom also are due unto Thee dominion and majesty, both now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. May our Lord and God Jesus Christ, through the grace and bounties of His love towards mankind, forgive thee, my child N., all thy transgressions. And I, His unworthy priest, through the power given unto me by Him, do forgive and absolve thee from all thy sins, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. And having finished the Absolution, the priest maketh with his hand over the penitent the Sign of the Cross. Then: Choir: It is truly meet..., Lord, have mercy (3), Glory..., both now..., Father, bless. Priest: May Christ, our true God, through the prayers of his most holy Mother, and of all the saints, have mercy upon us and save us: for He is gracious and loveth mankind. Choir. Amen. Lord, have mercy (3). > -----Original Message----- > From: Sharon Mech [SMTP:sharon@CMHCSYS.COM] > Sent: Thursday, January 28, 1999 9:18 AM > To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU > Subject: Re: crazy question > > David, > > I am familiar with the existence of Isabel Hapgood's book, but do not have > a copy. > > I'd be interested in seeing whatever you'd like to post, and if you will > e-mail > me privately, I'll give you my snail address. > > > Thanks! > > > Sharon ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 16:35:25 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: crazy question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Br. Maximos: Most of what I know of Jordanville's history comes from articles I have read in "Pravoslavnaya Rus" or "Orthodox Life." However, they do have a nice pictorial brochure which gives a brief history of the Monastery. Unfortunately, it only mentions the infusion of monks from Ladimirovo, c. 1947, in passing. Archbishop Laurus, the current abbot and a native Carpatho-Russian, became a novice in Ladimirovo, but was tonsured in Jordanville. Archbishop Alipy of Chicago is also Carpatho-Russian and a monk of Ladimirovo and Jordanville, and both Archbishop Anthony and Metropolitan Vitaly, although Russian, were monks of Ladimirovo. Johann von Gardner was also a monk of Ladimirovo. He was later Bishop Philip of Hamburg, but was laicized at his own request, in order to marry. He and the late Archbishop Anthony of Los Angeles once engaged in fisticuffs on the cleros of the Gethsemane Convent. But I digress... The monastic chants were never displaced in most of the monasteries of the Russian Church. Of late, there has been great progress made in the study/revival of authentic chant "variants" [napevi, local chants, as opposed to raspevi, i.e., major chant families]. The (wonderful) music that came out the synthesis of Russian Chant and Western music, was/is used almost exclusively in parishes. David James > -----Original Message----- > From: Br Maximos [SMTP:monkmax@MSCOMM.COM] > Sent: Friday, January 29, 1999 10:39 AM > To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU > Subject: Re: crazy question > > Dear David, > > Glory be to Jesus Christ! > > > > Regarding Ruthenian usage: I was under the impression that it was quite > > close to the Russian/Ukrainian. In fact, I thought that the Ruthenian > Rite > > was, in many ways, closer to the Russian Orthodox Old Rite than the > Niconian > > texts of the contemporary Russian Church. Certainly, many of the > parishes in > > the OCA and ROCOR have Ruthenian roots and I am not aware that there was > > ever a discrepancy in this regard. I always assumed that the Jordanville > > practice, since most of the founding monks came from the Ladimirovo > > monastery in Slovakia, was not radically different from the > Carpatho-Russian > > traditions. Is this assumption incorrect? > > > > I didn't know that about the Jordanville foundation. Where would be a > good place to read about their history? I must say I was very heartened > by the friendly reception I had when I was there briefly last year. I > was afraid a uniate monk would be shown the door! Far from it, I was > shown a very welcome breakfast :-) > > It is interesting as well that there seems to come from Jordanville a > preference for simpler, more monodic plainchant over the highly ornate > polyphony of the Russian recent history. Am I right? > > In Christ > unworthy monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 16:47:27 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: crazy question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Michael: Thank you for your informative reply, especially regarding the suggestion that the use of prostopinije was suppressed by the preference for things "Russian," which would have included harmonized chants. It sounds plausible, and I would love to have the time to research this more. But I am still unclear as to whether or not the Vigil service was ever a part of the Ruthenian usage. Has it only fallen into desuetude here in America, as it has even among many OCA parishes (though there appears to be a trend to reverse this, in their case)? Or was the practice you describe as centuries-old among the Greeks (not to celebrate the Agrypnia), also the case in Carpatho-Russia, even before the Unia? David > -----Original Message----- > From: J. Michael Thompson [SMTP:Chantermt@AOL.COM] > Sent: Friday, January 29, 1999 1:07 PM > To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU > Subject: Re: crazy question > > In a message dated 99-01-29 11:20:21 EST, you write: > > << Regarding Ruthenian usage: I was under the impression that it was quite > close to the Russian/Ukrainian. In fact, I thought that the Ruthenian > Rite > was, in many ways, closer to the Russian Orthodox Old Rite than the > Niconian > texts of the contemporary Russian Church. Certainly, many of the parishes > in > the OCA and ROCOR have Ruthenian roots and I am not aware that there was > ever a discrepancy in this regard. I always assumed that the Jordanville > practice, since most of the founding monks came from the Ladimirovo > monastery in Slovakia, was not radically different from the > Carpatho-Russian > traditions. Is this assumption incorrect? > >> > > Glory to Jesus Christ! > > The answer to your question is "yes and no." Many of the customs of the > Ruthenian and Galician Catholic Churches are in fact pre-Niconian; some of > the > discrepencies include singing all texts (with very little use of recto > tono, > though with some use of "psalm tones"); a wider variety of dismissals for > feasts; different ranking for some of the same feasts. But most of the > OCA > and ROCOR parishes with Ruthenian roots lost their customs (and, in many > cases, their chant) when they returned from the Unia to Orthodoxy. There > were > polemics against unison singing and congregational singing (from Great > Russian > bishops) as "something papist." If you would like to verify this from an > historical point of view, please contact His Grace, Bishop JOB of Chicago > (OCA), whose family is of Carpatho-Russian background, and whose father > was a > cantor at Ss. Peter & Paul on the south side of Chicago. In the seminary > training at St. Vladimir, St. Tikhon, or at Holy Trinity Jordanville, > there is > no reference to prostopinije or to samoilka. > > While it is correct that Athonite monasteries celebrate the Agrypnia, it > does > not happen in any parishes churches (save, perhaps, among those in the > Greek > Old Calendar dioceses). It is a monastic usage, and has been so for > centuries. In most Ruthenian parishes, Vespers was celebrated with Litija > on > the eve of the feast, and Matins was sung in the morning before Divine > Liturgy. The only extended evening services in parish memory would have > been > Great Compline and Matins on the Nativity of the Lord and Theophany. And > now, > of course, the parishes who observe the full weekend of services can be > counted (alas) on one hand. > > J. Michael Thompson > Chicago, IL ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 18:28:48 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "J. Michael Thompson" Subject: Re: crazy question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 1/29/99 3:41:04 PM Central Standard Time, dmjames@NSMT.ORG writes: << But I am still unclear as to whether or not the Vigil service was ever a part of the Ruthenian usage. Has it only fallen into desuetude here in America, as it has even among many OCA parishes (though there appears to be a trend to reverse this, in their case)? Or was the practice you describe as centuries-old among the Greeks (not to celebrate the Agrypnia), also the case in Carpatho-Russia, even before the Unia? >> Glory to Jesus Christ! Dear David: The text of the rubricist Mikita (and his Galician parallel, Dolnytskiy) describe as normal the celebration of Vespers and Matins separately on Sundays and feasts. The books date from the 18th century, before the immigration to America. So, I think the answer is: the Rusyns did as the parochial Greeks. The parochial vigil is pretty much a Great Russian thing. Does anybody know what the Serbs and Romanians do? Outside of monasteries, I don't. J. Michael Thompson Chicago ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 11:56:52 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Br Maximos Subject: Re: All-night Vigils (was:crazy question) To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear All, Glory to Jesus Christ! J Michael Thompson wrote: > The parochial > vigil is pretty much a Great Russian thing. Does anybody know what the Serbs > and Romanians do? Outside of monasteries, I don't. > I seem to remember reading an American Orthodox nun's account of her time in Romanian monasteries (the book's in the library, but I'm not, so I'll have to check later :-) I think she noted that the Vigil was taken in monasteries but not in parishes. In CHrist unworthy monk, br Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1999 10:33:55 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Exciting news! To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <3475b727.36ae5695@aol.com> from "J. Michael Thompson" at Jan 26, 99 06:58:13 pm Hey guys, I got a Big Box in the mail yesterday, full of flyers for the NPM convention. I will drag said flyers to Pitsburgh for the Cantor's School session on the 13th. There was a leetle notice on the back, talking about the possibility of group discounts. I called & yakked with a very nice lady, who said that the discounts were generally aimed at parishes, but if a group (say, an Eparchy or a Metropolia maybe....) approached them & said "We have 40 people who want to come, let's dicker," they would be unlikely have the door slammed in their faces. The reason I am interested in pursuing this is that if I go, it is likely to come out of my pocket (which is full of lint, and not much else) and I suspect that there are others in the same leaky boat. With enough bodies, the discount can be substantial. So far, is anyone planning to go? Cheers, Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1999 20:05:48 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "J. Michael Thompson" Subject: Re: Exciting news! To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 2/2/99 10:01:58 AM Central Standard Time, sharon@CMHCSYS.COM writes: << There was a leetle notice on the back, talking about the possibility of group discounts. I called & yakked with a very nice lady, who said that the discounts were generally aimed at parishes, but if a group (say, an Eparchy or a Metropolia maybe....) approached them & said "We have 40 people who want to come, let's dicker," they would be unlikely have the door slammed in their faces. >> Glory to Jesus Christ! Dear brothers and sisters-- Please, PLEASE take NPM up on this offer. Get together a group of 40 folks, and the discounts will be lovely. We need to have at least 50 people to make the Eastern Catholic track at NPM a financially viable option to continue. This is our chance to piggy-back onto a larger organization and use its resources to improve the state of music in our Eastern Catholic Churches. Please take this seriously, and please plan on attending. If I can be of any help, please call me at work (312-853-2397). Yours in the Lord, J. Michael Thompson St. Peter's Church, Chicago ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 09:55:45 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Exciting news! To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <78d32899.36b7a0ec@aol.com> from "J. Michael Thompson" at Feb 2, 99 08:05:48 pm J. Michael Thompson wrote: > > Dear brothers and sisters-- > Please, PLEASE take NPM up on this offer. Get together a group of 40 folks, > and the discounts will be lovely. We need to have at least 50 people to make > the Eastern Catholic track at NPM a financially viable option to continue. > This is our chance to piggy-back onto a larger organization and use its > resources to improve the state of music in our Eastern Catholic Churches. > Please take this seriously, and please plan on attending. Just to clarify, so far, there is no "in stone" offer. We need to gather the numbers first, and then go to NPM & say "what about it?" I am more than willing to serve as the Collector Of Names and Aggregator Of Numbers, so if y'all plan to go, or are thinking about it, e-mail me. Or you can reach me at work at (800)-528-9025 (toll free). I'm in from 9-6 Eastern Time. Cheers, Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 12:42:28 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Exciting news! To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU If I may be so bold, I suggest you do a mailing to all the Byzantine Rite (or all Eastern Rite, as you see fit) Churches to pitch the weekend. Direct mail works. The annual direct mail notice, over each of the past ten years, of the fall Russian Orthodox Church Musicians' Conference and the Summer School of Liturgical Music at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville is to what I attribute a large part of their success. Additionally, or alternatively, you could try to get your diocesan newspapers, like the Byzantine Catholic World, to run an announcement or series of ads. David James > -----Original Message----- > From: J. Michael Thompson [SMTP:Chantermt@AOL.COM] > Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 1999 8:06 PM > To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU > Subject: Re: Exciting news! > > In a message dated 2/2/99 10:01:58 AM Central Standard Time, > sharon@CMHCSYS.COM writes: > > << There was a leetle notice on the back, talking about the possibility of > group discounts. I called & yakked with a very nice lady, who said that > the discounts were generally aimed at parishes, but if a group (say, an > Eparchy or a Metropolia maybe....) approached them & said "We have 40 > people > who want to come, let's dicker," they would be unlikely have the door > slammed > in their faces. > >> > > Glory to Jesus Christ! > > Dear brothers and sisters-- > Please, PLEASE take NPM up on this offer. Get together a group of 40 > folks, > and the discounts will be lovely. We need to have at least 50 people to > make > the Eastern Catholic track at NPM a financially viable option to continue. > This is our chance to piggy-back onto a larger organization and use its > resources to improve the state of music in our Eastern Catholic Churches. > Please take this seriously, and please plan on attending. > > If I can be of any help, please call me at work (312-853-2397). > > Yours in the Lord, > J. Michael Thompson > St. Peter's Church, Chicago ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 08:46:00 +0000 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Paul Gilbert Subject: Trebnyk on the net??? Comments: To: cineast@cin.org To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Does anybody know if there is a trebnyk or other liturgical books and textsavailable on the WWW for examination? The only thing I've found so far is an OCA sluzhebnyk (complete text) of Bishop Dimitri's translation. In Christ Pavlo ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 09:51:23 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: The Cantor's Bookshelf - Chant History To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Sharon: Did you get the Rite of Confession from the Isabel Hapgood Service Book? I sent it last week, but have not seen it show up on the list. One point: Since you are planning to serve the rite publicly, I would suggest that the priest begin with the usual blessing, "Blessed is our God...," rather than have the choir jump right in with "O heavenly King..." David ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sun, 7 Feb 1999 22:26:57 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "J. Michael Thompson" Subject: Hello? To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Long time no hear. DId everyone have a good Meatfare Sunday today? Hope to hear from you all soon. J. Michael Thompson Chicago, IL ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 8 Feb 1999 11:19:13 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Rite of Confession To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <1A8DBED953E9D111A1EE006008A1AE051CAF57@mail.nsmt.org> from "David James" at Feb 5, 99 09:51:23 am Soon-to-be-Deacon-David wrote: > > Sharon: > > Did you get the Rite of Confession from the Isabel Hapgood Service Book? I > sent it last week, but have not seen it show up on the list. One point: > > Since you are planning to serve the rite publicly, I would suggest that the > priest begin with the usual blessing, "Blessed is our God...," rather than > have the choir jump right in with "O heavenly King..." > David, Yes, and thank you. Thanks also for the booklets you sent - they arrived late last week. I look forward to perusing them fully just as soon as things slow down a bit. (Like that's going to happen with Lent coming?? ;-) ) We will not be able to use the Rite at this particular upcoming shindig, but I look forward to perhaps having the opportunity to use it in the future. I really appreciate having a copy. If the opportunity does arise, we will likely utilize your sugestion of beginning with "Blessed is Our God..." As far as the choir jumping in, I <> the choir for this little hootenanny. I am not constructed in such a way as to facilitate jumping, save for the occasional "leap of faith." ;-) BTW, your post came through fine, but I've noticed that (at least with my primordial mailer) my posts to CANTOR-L do not echo back to me, so if I want to see what I sent (eating my own words is easier whan I can at least see them) I have to cc myself. HEY JEFF!! Am I doing something wrong, or is that how the list is set? Cheers, and see at least some of ya on Saturday in Pittsburgh, Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 22:34:40 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Pittsburgh Cantor School A brief report on the third session of the Byzantine Catholic Aprcheparchy of Pittsburgh's Cantor School, held yesterday, February 14: The program was held at Holy Ghost Church in McKee's Rocks, because the Byzantine Catholic Seminary building is without heat due to a gas line leak. Please pray for some very cold seminarians! The day was entirely devoted to two subjects: Lenten liturgies, and the celebration of Vespers. After a greeting from Metropolitan Judson and a brief introduction by Father Petro to the Lenten season and the character of its liturgies, Father Joseph Raptosh and Msgr. Alexis Mihalik led the assembled cantors through the music of the Liturgy of the Pre-sanctified Gifts. After a coffee break, Father Elias, directory of the Cantor's School, and Father Don Valasek went over the music of Saturday evening Vespers. The cantors present were each given copies of three new booklets from John Vernosky of Annandale: Saturday evening Vespers "throughout the year" Saturday evening Vespers from the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee through Flowery Sunday Sunday evening Vespers for the Sundays of Great Lent, and Flowery Sunday The books are VERY well prepared, and although they assume the cantor can sing the Vespers stichera, they provide music for the common hymns as well as the _beginning_ of the Lamp-Lighting Psalms in all eight tones. These new books can be expected to get some play in parishes that try to use them. After lunch (egg-salad and tuna-fish rather than the usual meat sandwiches!) we went again through the Pre-sanctified Liturgy, concentrating on the more difficult melodies, and the remaining hymns of Vespers, practicing the singing of stichera in the eight tones without written-out music. In between singing sessions, Father Elias spoke on the necessity and value of actually experiencing the liturgy year; Father Joseph Raptosh spoke on the wealth contained in the Lenten Triodion, drawing from his monastic experience to give a schematic explanation of weekday Lenten Matins as a "pilgrimage from darkness into the light"; and Father David Petras concluded with a talk on Vespers, explaining its current format as a confluence of parochial morning- and-evening prayer and monastic psalms-sung-with-prayer-and-meditation. Highlight for me: Father Raptosh's recounting of the knock used to call the monks to Matins, and comparing it (along with the Beginning Prayers) to Noah's knocking upon the Ark, calling upon all those to enter who wished to be saved. The turnout was a little down from the last session, partly due to weather and illness, and to the last-minute change of location (one cantor from Morgantown drove back home when she found out that the program was moved), and the change prevented us from having Liturgy and Vespers :-) Perhaps 70-80 cantors attended in all. The day was (rightfully so, I think) focussed VERY tightly on the Great Fast about to begin, and on the celebration of Vespers, which many parishes are beginning to consider celebrating, at least occasionally. Sharon Mech brought flyers about the upcoming NAPM conference in Pittsburgh and its special program on Eastern Catholic church music. I handed out some 70 copies of the initial issue of a new newsletter, of which more anon. All in all, a very hopeful day for the cantor's program in Pittsburgh. Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 22:58:54 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Re: Pittsburgh Cantor School In-Reply-To: Message of 02/15/99 at 19:30:34 from redco@INFICAD.COM On 02/15/99 at 19:30:34 Andrew Wollert said: >How can one obtain the Vespers booklets by Mr Vernosky that you >mentioned? Thanks! Unfortunately, John doesn't put any sort of mailing address on his materials, and he asked for my mailing address in December but I never received his catalog. I'll try to call him tomorrow and let you all know what's up. Yours in Christ, Jeff Mierzejewski ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 12:06:43 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Pittsburgh Cantor School To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU John's address is: John Vernoski 5523 Lakewhite Ct Fairfax, VA 22032-4031 Deacon David James ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 23:37:46 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: The Plain Chanter The first issue of _The Plain Chanter: An Unofficial Journal of Prostopinije_ is now available! A compilation of material that has appeared on CANTOR-L, it contains: The Cantor's Bookshelf: Carpathian Chant and Its History Feature Article: The Triodion Reading the Typikon: Vespers for Sunday of the Holy Cross Book Review: _Great Lent: Journey to Pascha_ Supplement: An Index to the Bokshai _Prostopinije_ A very rough HTML transcription is available at: http://wvnvm.wvnet.edu/~jeff/chant/pc1.html For a paper copy, send me your snail-mail address! I'd also be interested if you have any recommendations of others who should receive a copy. And we'd certainly like contribution of material for the next issue. What is there that cantors should know about the chant? Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 10:19:13 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Passaic Presanctified?? To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: from "Jeff Mierzejewski" at Jan 25, 99 11:09:22 pm Hey guys, Anybody know anything about a freshly-published Passaic Presactified book with music, et cetera?? As one who has been spending LOTS of time knocking out the music for our (Parma) Presanctified, I feel a bit like the guy who climbed the mountain with ice-axes and pitons, got to the top & discovered that someone had built a 4 lane highway up the other side. On the one hand, it'll be a heckofalot easier to get there, but on the other hand.... anybody wanna buy an ice axe? Questions to any who have seen it... Who publishes? How much $$ ? Does it match Parma text? Thanks, Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner (Still climbing the mountain, cause I don't know where the road is..) sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 11:52:19 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: The Plain Chanter To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Jeff: Thank you for all your hard work! Please send copies to: Deacon David James 420 Central Rd Rye, NH 03870-2546 Nicolas G. Schidlovsky, Ph.D. 95 Spruce St Princeton, NJ 08542-3801 [President of the Russian Orthodox Church Musician's Fund/Member of the (ROCOR) Synod of Bishops' Church Music Advisory Board] Protodeacon Andrei Papkov 54 4th St Ilion, NY 13357-2129 [Director of the Summer School of Liturgical Music at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville/Member of the Synod of Bishops' Church Music Advisory Board] George Skok 291 Vaughan Rd Toronto, ON M6C 2N3 CANADA [An expert on the chant of the Kiev Caves Lavra] Fr. George Johnson 10707 Lombardy Rd Silver Spring, MD 20901-1632 [Assistant Pastor of St. John the Baptist Cathedral (ROCOR) in Washington, DC/Author and editor of an English version of the Psalmist's Companion (Sputnik Psalomshchika)] David M. Brzuchalski 320 Pine St. Jermyn, PA 18433-1216 [Choir director of St. John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Church, Mayfield, PA] Walter G. Obleschuk 12 Sunset Dr Burlington, MA 01803-4113 [Choir director of Holy Trinity OCA Cathedral, Boston/author of a collection of podoben melodies/music editor of PSALM Notes] Fr. Michael Carney 2015 Argyle Ave Apt 14 Los Angeles, CA 90068-3336 [Assistant pastor of Holy Protection Russian Orthodox Church/church music specialist] Reader Maelrubha Donley St. Xenia of Petersburg Russian Orthodox Church PO Box 147 Methuen, MA 01844-0147 [Choir director of St. Xenia Church] Mary Mansur PO Box 121 Groton, MA 01450-0121 [Church musician/editor of Orthodox America] ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 22:57:57 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Brooks" To: Subject: The Plain Chanter #2 Well, the initial reactions to the inaugural issue of The Plain Chanter have been positive. The good news is that I've been asked to prepare a second issue in time for the final Pittsburgh Cantor's School meeting. The bad news is that the meeting is on March 20 :-) so this issue will be a little short. I'd like to include articles on the following: Our Chant Books (summary of the available materials in Church Slavonic and English, with availability information) The Paschal Canon, with an explanation of how to sing a canon when one is prescribed Psalm Tones in the Prostopinije Tradition (both Uzhorod and Presov variants, plus the minor key, Psalm 50 and Psalm 103 variants) The next installment of Reading the Typikon (complete singing instructions for Matins) will probably run to 6-7 pages, so I think this will have to wait for issue #3. On the other hand, 8 pages is a good length for a printed newsletter, and we've probably got a page or two left in this issue. Anybody have suggestions? Would anyone be willing to write a review of some prostopinije recordings, or perhaps something on a spiritual topic? I should have the chant books article on the list tonight or tomorrow for comments. ALSO -- beginning with this issue, each issue of The Plain Chanter will be available in WordPerfect format on the World Wide Web, so anyone can download and print a copy. For people who'd like print, I'll take limited (no more than 6 issue) subscriptions at $6.00 for 6 issues, which is about my out-of-pocket costs. Reasonable? Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 00:02:45 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: The Cantor's Bookshelf: Chant Books For the nest issue of The Plain Chanter. Please sent any corrections or additions you can! The Cantor's Bookshelf: Chant Books From its beginnings until the end of the last century, the prostopinije chant was largely an oral tradition, passed on from cantor-teacher to cantor-student by rote. Some of the melodies (especially the more complicated ones) were notated in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. But these books, called Irmologia, were usually hand-copied and thus could not be widely distributed. In 1899, Bishop Julius Firczak of Uzhorod desired to unify the chant in his eparchy, and commissioned Father John Bokshai, a priest-musican, and Joseph Malinic, the cantor of Holy Cross Cathedral in Uzhorod, to compile the liturgical chant then in use in Uzhorod. The result of their work was a volume entitled _Tserkovnoje Prostopinije_ (Plainchants of the Church), published in 1906. The Bokshai and Malinic _Prostopinije_ (often referred to as "Bokshai" or "the prostopinije book) is the basic volume of Ruthenian liturgical chant. It contains almost every chant used at Sunday and feast day services throughout the year. Printed in Cyrillic, it has been reprinted by the Byzantine Seminary Press several times, and remains in print. A Hungarian-language edition of the prostopinije melodies, entitled _Egyhazi Kozenekek_, was published at the same time as the Church Slavonic edition, but found little use in this country. While is contains some errors, and does not include variants of the chant used, for example, in the Presov region, the Bokshai _Prostopinije_ is the single most important work for a cantor of prostpinije to be familiar with. (As an aid to those cantors with a weak grasp of the Cyrillic alphabet, the first issue of The Plain Chanter contains a complete index to the Bokshay _Prostopinije_ in Latin characters.) In 1925, a cantor named Theodor Ratsin, trained at the Mukachevo Monastery in Subcarpathia and residing in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, compiled a privately prepared edition of the Bokshai and Malinic _Prostopinije_, to which he added many Lenten chants and irmosy which were not contained in the Bokshai work. Meticulously done, this volume is not currently in print. In 1970, two Greek Catholic priests, Stefan Papp and Nikifor Petrashevic, published a new edition of the Bokshai collection in Preshov, Czechoslovakia. This work, entitled _Irmologion_, contains the same basic chants as Bokshai, with some corrections and some additional melodies, along with an essay on the history of prostopinije., The Papp _Irmologion_ is printed in latinica (Latin characters with Slav diacritical marks) rather than in Cyrillic. It may still be available from the Greek Catholic Ordinariate in Preshov. In the United States, Father Andrew Sokol published two collections of prostopinije, entitled _Plain Chant_ (1st ed. n.d., 2nd ed. 1982) and _Basic Chant_ (1955). _Plain Chant_ contains the prostopinije chants for the Divine Liturgies and the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, the funeral service, wedding services, Easter Matins and paraliturgical hymns. _Basic Chant_ contains the prostopinije melodies for the Eight Tones, and the special melodies for Vespers and Matins. Both books contain Church Slavonic texts, printed in Latinica rather than Cyrillic, with English titles and commentary. _Plain Chant_ (sometimes called the Sokol blue book) is available from the Byzantine Seminary Press); _Basic Chant_ (the Sokol brown book) is out of print. With the changeover from Church Slavonic to English, new materials were needed. A small booklet entitled _The Divine Liturgy of Our Father Saint John Chrysostom_ (1965) contained the text of the unchanging parts of the Divine Liturgy with music throughout. This booklet can still be obtained from the Byzantine Seminary Press. The Seminary Press also printed _Byzantine Liturgical Chant_ (1970), a spiral-bound collection of prostopinije chants for the Divine Liturgy in English. It contained melodies for fixed and changing parts of the Divine Liturgy for Sundays and major feasts throughout the year. It is not currently in print, but copies can be found in many parishes. Of course, the Divine Liturgy was the first and most important service to be set in English to the traditional church plainchant. As additional liturgical books in English appeared (e.g., for Holy Week and the funeral service), they usually contained prostopinije melodies for sung texts where possible. In addition, both the Advanced Cantor's School in Pittsburgh and various priests and cantors distributed prostopinije materials for the Divine Liturgy on Sunday and feast days. These materials, sometimes ephemeral in nature, reflect the gradual evolution of English settings of the prostopinije chant. Father William Levkulic did much of the ground-breaking work of the early settings of English texts to liturgical chant. The _Holy Week Services_ and _Office of Christian Burial According to the Byzantine Rite_ contain complete music for these services, and are essential parts of a cantor's collection. Although some melodies have been simplified, and quite a few "pastoral abbreviations" made, they contain all the basic types of chant melodies we use in church. These books are available in hardbound form from Byzantine Seminary Press. Also of note is Father Levkulic's _Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (Priest-Cantor Edition)_, available from the Byzantine Seminary Press as a softbound booklet. <> Mr. Jerry Jumba, who along with Father Alexis Mihalik taught the Advanced Cantor's School in Pittsburgh from 1984 through 1992, has spend many years studying, collection and singing Rusyn (Ruthenian) music. His collection of chant material, currently in some 27 volumes of unbound music and explanatory materials, is the most complete set of plainchant, hymns, and background reading in prostopinije available from one source, and contains much music not available elsewhere, derived from Jerry's work with many cantors here and in Europe: Jerry Jumba, 312 Hamilton Street, McKees Rocks, PA 15136. Mr. John Vernoski has for more than a decade produced singing materials for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy on Sundays and feast days, which are ideal for distribution in a parish setting where the chant is being introduced or revived. His materials are available on a subscription basis, updated annually, and he has also produced a number of booklets with music for the celebration of Vespers: John Vernoski, 5523 Lakewhite Ct., Fairfax, VA 22032-4031. No prostopinije collections of music for Matins have yet appeared in English, but several projects in this area are underway. For more information, contact: Jeffrey Mierzejewski, Rt. 2, Box 168-A, Maidsville, WV 26541. Several Orthodox jurisdictions in the United States use the same prostopinije melodies the Byzantine (Ruthenian) Catholics. _The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom_ (1988) published by the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of Johnstown contains a complete set of prostopinije chant for Divine Liturgy, including the Eight Tones and feast-day chants. In some cases, its melodies follow the Presov tradition of prostopinije, which differs slightly from the Uzhorod tradition found in Bokshai. ((what other books from Johnstown should be mention?>> <> <> If you know of other collections of prostopinije chant, in either Church Slavonic, please let us know! Write to The Plain Chanter at the address on the cover. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 08:42:39 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "J. Michael Thompson" Subject: Re: The Plain Chanter #2 To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Jeff: It would be inappropriate to write a review of one of the Schola's recordings, but I would love to tell people about the "Have Mercy On Me O God: The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete" recording. Would you be able to use that? JMT ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 11:23:47 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "Michael S. Dancisin" Subject: Re: The Plain Chanter #2 To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU May be able to use it, where is the recording available? Mike ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 12:23:48 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "J. Michael Thompson" Subject: Re: The Plain Chanter #2 To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Glory to Jesus Christ! The recording, "Have Mercy On Me, O God: The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete" contains the service of Matins for Thursday in the Fifth Week of the Great Fast, when the Canon of Repentance is sung in its full form. The recording is in English, sung in prostopinije. The irmosi of the Great Canon are sung in the transcription of His Grace, Bishop Job of Chicago; the katavasiai are sung in the transcription of the Very Rev. Mitered Archpriest Conrad Dachuk, of Welland, Ontario. The recording is available from The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota. Their toll-free number is 800-858-5450. If you prefer to fax an order, you can do so; the number is 800-363-3278. You can also access their website by going to www.osb.org (this will get you the site for St. John's University. Look in the directory for The Liturgical Press and ask for that.) The order number of the compact disc (which has considerably detailed notes in its booklet) is 7937-4, and retails for $14.95. The order number of the audio cassette is 7936-6, and retails for $11.95. The contents are as follows. Items marked with an asterisk (*) are on the cd, but are not on the audio cassette. 1. Call to Worship 2. Psalm 3 3. Litany of Peace 4. Alleluia in Tone VIII 5. Triadic Hymns in Tone VIII 6. Great Canon, Ode I 7. Great Canon, Ode II 8. Great Canon, Ode III 9. Sedalen to the Apostles, Tone VIII 10. Great Canon, Ode IV 11. Great Canon, Ode V 12. Great Canon, Ode VI 13. Kontakion and Ikos 14. Beatitudes in Tone VI* 15. Great Canon, Ode VII 16. Great Canon, Ode VIII 17. Magnificat 18. Great Canon, Ode IX 19. Exapostilarion, Tone VIII 20. Aposticha, Tone VIII 21. Dismissal As much of the service as could possibly have been included (given the time restrictions of the cd medium) was included. The recording is by the Schola Cantorum of Saint Peter's in the Loop. For information on other recordings by the Schola, please contact the Schola's website at www.synasoft.com/scholaspl/ where all 31 recordings are listed, along with a history of the group and a current calendar of events. Those wishing to purchase the music (i.e., the score) for this service should send a check for $20 to J. Michael Thompson, St. Peter's Church, 110 W. Madison Street, Chicago, IL 60602. The music may then be reproduced for your parish and your choir, but not given to others. ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 15 Mar 1999 13:59:25 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David Pancza Subject: Re: The Cantor's Bookshelf: Chant Books To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU > If you know of other collections of prostopinije chant, in either > Church Slavonic, please let us know! Write to The Plain Chanter > at the address on the cover. I know about one - I hope it was not mentioned. It is the irmologion of fr. Bobak, in cyrilic. It is the Preshov variant of prostopinie. It was never published as a book, only xerox copies exist (I have one, it is perhaps a 10th copy, black on dark grey :-). Some melodies are identical with Papp/Petrasevic, but most of them differ a little bit. In these days in Presov was published a little book - "Guide for cantors", really a horrible peace. Melodies are from Preshov cathedral (there they sing strange ... I don't like it), and a little bit arranged by a person who I think has not musical knowledges needed for such work. I have one xero-copie of a handwritten irmologion by a student in Preshov seminary during the 30-ies. The melodies are in 90% identical with Lvov irmologion, other 10% with Bokshay. Very interesting piece is the Olshavica (a village 70 km from Preshov) irmologion, handwritten, cyrillic, from cca. 17-18. century. Melodies are those of Lvov, but unarranged, without respect to accents. About the Papp/Petrasevic irmologion - a big part of its content - before all cca. 50% of canons, is identical with the Lvov irmologion (canon of Uspenie, Preobrazenie, 50-ica, Nedila Thomina, and others). David ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 04:20:03 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Akathist to the Mother of God Glory to Jesus Christ! With the Saturday of the Akathist Hymn either one or seven days away, depending on your Paschalion, I'd like to propose a question for discussion. I serve in a parish without a resident priest; therefore, while I have prayed the Akathist to the Mother of God, I've never been present when it was sung publicly. So, for those of you who know this one better than I... 1) How would _you_ direct the Akathist Hymn to be sung, in detail, in church when a priest is leading prayer? 2) What is the present practice in your part of the Church, if different from your answer to question 1? 3) How would you sing the Akathist privately (say, on a Saturday at home)? Also, please note in your response whether you are answering from within the prostopinije (Ruthenian/Carpatho-Russian) tradition, or some other tradition, such as the Great Russian or Greek. Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1999 14:46:23 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: The Plain Chanter is now on-line The first two issues (February and March) of _The Plain Chanter: An Unofficial Journal of Prostopinije_ are now on-line in WordPerfect format: http://wvnvm.wvnet.edu/~jeff/chant/pc1.wpd http://wvnvm.wvnet.edu/~jeff/chant/pc2.wpd We distributed about 100 copies at the last meeting of the Pittsburgh Cantor's School on Saturday. Thanks to all the CANTOR-L members who contributed material, comments and suggestions! At this point, I've used up the reprintable material from the CANTOR-L archives, and am looking for things to put into future (bimonthly) issues. Planned so far: The Cantor's Bookshelf: Liturgikon (Divine Liturgy) Horologion (Vespers, Matins, Hours, etc.) The Octoechos The Menaion The Typikon Russian and Ukrainian Chant Books Reading the Typikon: Matins for the Third Paschal Sunday (detailed explanation of how to sing Matins; this will take up most of the next issue) How the Sing: The Canon Kontakion and Ikos (including history of "full" kontakia) Troparia, including Steppeny, Sedalens, etc. "Vespers" Tones: Samohlasen, Podoben and Bolhar melodies A Concordance of the Bokshai, Ratsin and Papp chant collections Status of English-language materials for Matins The Praying Cantor: The Chotki, or Prayer Rope Recommended Spiritual Reading An Explanation of the Different Meanings of "Vigil" in the Ruthenian and Great Russian Traditions Reprints of important works (e.g., by Gardner, or Father Papp's history of prostopinje when an English translation is available) A Letters column All Plain Chanter issues will be available on-line; individual articles, where they have continuing relevance, will be put on-line as well as part of the prostopinije home page currently under construction. (I hope to include MIDI files for all the chant examples.) Any other suggestions? In particular, several people have asked for a glossary of liturgical and musical terms; most such glossaries in print are woefully incomplete. Would anyone be willing to put together a beginning word list for such a project? ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1999 19:24:53 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "J. Michael Thompson" Subject: Re: The Plain Chanter is now on-line To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 3/22/99 1:44:14 PM Central Standard Time, JEFF@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU writes: << Reprints of important works (e.g., by Gardner, or Father Papp's history of prostopinje when an English translation is available) >> Jeff, I have a translation of that article. Do you want it? J. Michael Thompson ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1999 20:02:28 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: The Plain Chanter is now on-line In-Reply-To: Message of 03/22/99 at 19:24:53 from Chantermt@AOL.COM On 03/22/99 at 19:24:53 J. Michael Thompson said: >Jeff, I have a translation of that article. Do you want it? >J. Michael Thompson Yes, please! If its the one I'm thinking of (in the back of the 1970 Irmologion), Father James Gleason of Johnstown was just getting ready to translate it for me. (Now he can go work on the litija hymns instead :-) ). Thans you! Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1999 23:45:39 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: New Home Page As I've been threatening for some time, I finally set up a prostopinije home page: http://wvnvm.wvnet.edu/~jeff/chant/ Please take a look and let me know what you think! Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1999 10:23:19 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: Missing graphics :-( By the way, I know that the musical examples in The Plain Chanter #2 are missing; my music formatter doesn't create graphics files, and I haven't yet gotten them scanned in in a usable way. I'm working on it! Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 12:45:32 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: The Plain Chanter is now on-line In-Reply-To: Message of 03/23/99 at 14:25:23 from dmjames@NSMT.ORG On 03/23/99 at 14:25:23 David James said: >Jeff, how about reprinting Johann von Gardner's two articles: "Several >Observations on Congregational Chanting During the Divine Services" and >"Still More on Congregational Chanting of the Divine Services"? Isaac >Lambertsen's translations of the above articles were printed in Living >Orthodoxy in the fall of 1992. I'm sure that Fr. Gregory and Brother Isaac >would give you permission to reprint. In these articles Gardner holds up >prostopinije as a model for encouraging congregational singing and, IMO, >they deserve wider dissemination. I will send you photocopies by mail. Dear Father Deacon David, I received the copies you sent in today's mail; they are wonderful accounts of church singing. I will contact Father Gregory to see if we could reprint them, perhaps serialized, in The Plain Chanter. Thanks! Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1999 16:18:21 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Dave Brown Subject: Fwd: Words and Music in Orthodox Liturgical Worship To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --part0_922051102_boundary Content-ID: <0_922051102@inet_out.mail.aol.com.1> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII --part0_922051102_boundary Content-ID: <0_922051102@inet_out.mail.global2000.net.2> Content-type: message/rfc822 Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Content-disposition: inline Return-Path: Received: from rly-zb02.mx.aol.com (rly-zb02.mail.aol.com [172.31.41.2]) by air-zb05.mail.aol.com (v58.13) with SMTP; Sun, 21 Mar 1999 15:28:35 -0500 Received: from lists1.best.com (lists1.best.com [206.86.8.15]) by rly-zb02.mx.aol.com (8.8.8/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) with ESMTP id PAA03073; Sun, 21 Mar 1999 15:28:30 -0500 (EST) Received: (from daemon@localhost) by lists1.best.com (8.9.3/8.9.2/best.ls) id MAA25585; Sun, 21 Mar 1999 12:06:49 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: <199903212006.MAA25585@lists1.best.com> From: Bill Samsonoff Subject: Words and Music in Orthodox Liturgical Worship Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1999 15:07:04 -0500 BestServHost: lists.best.com Sender: orthodox-forum-errors@lists.best.com Errors-To: orthodox-forum-errors@lists.best.com Reply-To: orthodox-forum@lists.best.com To: orthodox-forum@lists.best.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ----------------------------------------------------------- Orthodox-Forum Discussion List ----------------------------------------------------------- Those interested in Orthodox liturgical music may wish to check out the article: "Words and Music in Orthodox Liturgical Worship" by Professor David Drillock The article is reprinted from Jacob's Well, Fall-Winter 1998-99, and can be found at: http://www.oca.org/OCA/NY/Jacobs-Well/Articles/1999-WINTER-Drillock.html A brief introduction says: [On October 17, 1998, Professor Drillock presented a workshop, sponsored by our Diocesan Liturgical Music Commission, at Christ the Saviour Church, Paramus, NJ. In his talk he showed through numerous musical examples how the settings of Orthodox hymnography have struggled historically with the balance between words and music. While not originally intended for publication, his prepared notes offer an excellent and concise history of this issue.] ----------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe: mailto:orthodox-forum-request@lists.best.com Enter: unsubscribe (in body, lower case, subject line empty) For help go to: http://www.best.com/bestserv1.html. ------------------------------------------------------------ --part0_922051102_boundary-- ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1999 14:25:23 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: The Plain Chanter is now on-line To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Jeff, how about reprinting Johann von Gardner's two articles: "Several Observations on Congregational Chanting During the Divine Services" and "Still More on Congregational Chanting of the Divine Services"? Isaac Lambertsen's translations of the above articles were printed in Living Orthodoxy in the fall of 1992. I'm sure that Fr. Gregory and Brother Isaac would give you permission to reprint. In these articles Gardner holds up prostopinije as a model for encouraging congregational singing and, IMO, they deserve wider dissemination. I will send you photocopies by mail. Deacon David ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 24 Mar 1999 12:10:10 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: The Plain Chanter is now on-line To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: from "Jeff Mierzejewski" at Mar 22, 99 02:46:23 pm Jeff, As far as the glossary goes, I just was given a copy of the new(??) book the Ukrainians have. It's a monster, about the size of the Ruthenian Lenten Triodion from Uniontown. IOW it needs wheels on it. I did notice that there's a bit of a glossary in it - might prove to be one source. Cheers, Sharon Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Wed, 24 Mar 1999 21:56:16 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "J. Michael Thompson" Subject: Re: The Plain Chanter is now on-line To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Sharon and the list, The "Ukrainians" don't have that book. Please! It's just the Eparchy of Parma Ukrainians who have it. It's not permitted to be used in my St. Nicholas Eparchy in the Ukrainian parishes, and it will never get a wide use. It's far too idiocyncratic. But Jeff, I think I have a glossary for you, at least to start with. And did you get the email I sent about having a translation of Fr. Popp's "history" of prostopinije? It's on disk, if that will make life any easier. Today I found podobni for the Exapostilaria for Christmas and for Theophany, which I don't believe ever had any circulation among Rusyns. Nonetheless, I'm going to transcribe them. It's always fun to have some special melodies for special feasts. If anyone wants copies, they have only to ask. Tonight was "Poklone" in my (old calendar Uk. Cath.) parish here in Chicago. I'm sore, but still walking. "Glory to You, O God, glory to You!" J. Michael Thompson Chicago, IL ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 09:49:22 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: The Plain Chanter is now on-line To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <729f23f7.36f9a5d0@aol.com> from "J. Michael Thompson" at Mar 24, 99 09:56:16 pm J. Michael wrote: > > Sharon and the list, > > The "Ukrainians" don't have that book. Please! It's just the Eparchy of > Parma Ukrainians who have it. It's not permitted to be used in my St. > Nicholas Eparchy in the Ukrainian parishes, and it will never get a wide use. > It's far too idiocyncratic. So sorry! Didn't know. I have enough trouble trying to keep straight which books are "official" or "not-official-but-in-common-use" within mine own (Eparchy of Parma Ruthenian) sphere. So anyway, it's got a glossary. ;-) (And let us all pray that the Lord in His mercy will preserve and protect the voices, legs, knees and feet of His devoted cantors through the next week-and- a-half; the annual Byzantine Liturgical World Series, also known as the rest of this week, Great & Holy Week, and PASCHA!!!) Cheers! Idiosyncratically yours..... Sharon Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 11:57:55 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: The Plain Chanter is now on-line To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear Michael: I would like to get copies of these pobdobni. Thanks for offering! Send it to: Deacon David M. James St. Xenia of Petersburg Orthodox Church PO Box 147 Methuen, MA 01844-0147 Fr. David "A team is a lot of people doing what I say." ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 13:31:07 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Podobni for Christmas and Theophany In-Reply-To: Message of 03/24/99 at 21:56:16 from Chantermt@AOL.COM On 03/24/99 at 21:56:16 J. Michael Thompson said: >But Jeff, I think I have a glossary for you, at least to start with. And did >you get the email I sent about having a translation of Fr. Popp's "history" of >prostopinije? It's on disk, if that will make life any easier. Dear Michael, I would be very interested in both the glossary and the translation, particularly if it's machine-readable. Thanks! >Today I found podobni for the Exapostilaria for Christmas and for Theophany, >which I don't believe ever had any circulation among Rusyns. Nonetheless, I'm >going to transcribe them. It's always fun to have some special melodies for >special feasts. >If anyone wants copies, they have only to ask. The Ratsin _Prostopinije_ contains a svitilen/exapostilarion, "Positil ny", for Christmas, and both the Uzhorod Sbornik (1937) and the Presov Sbornik (1936) prescribe "Podoben: Positil ny" for the svitilen of Theophany as well. Since Theodore Ratsin was Uzhorod-trained before coming to America, I would guess that this particular podoben was used among Rusyns in the first part of this century, at least. For purposes of comparison, the podoben melody in Ratsin has, over the last syllable of "Positil", Bf-C-A-Bf-A in the key of B-flat major. I'd love to see a copy of your transcription; I did the canons of Christmas and Theophany to the irmos melodies, but not the svitilen. Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 15:38:24 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "J. Michael Thompson" Subject: Re: Podobni for Christmas and Theophany Comments: To: vrevjrs@execpc.com To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Glory to Jesus Christ! Dear Father John and Jeff: I have transcribed the Exapostilaria for Nativity and Theophany OLJC to the podoben "Positil ny" and that for Ascension OLJC, which is sung to the podoben "Ucenikom." Your comments sent me back to my Velikij Sbornik, which indicates podoben melodies for quite a few festive Exapostilaria. Have you ever seen notes for, or can you trace down the original use of the following podobens? As you see in the list that follows, I have managed to find the origins of two of the podobens: (3) and (5). Since the L'viw Irmologion has a "unique" organizational style, I need some clues! (1) Zeny uslysite, which is listed first for the Sunday of the Prodigal Son; also for Pokrova, Entrace of the Theotokos, Sunday of the Ancestors, Annunciation (2nd text), Nativity St. John Baptist, Ss. Peter & Paul, (2) So uceniki vzydemi, listed on the Sunday of Orthodoxy; also for Sunday after Nativity OLJC, Annunciation, (3) Duchom vo svjatilisci (proper to Encounter OLJC, Feb 2), listed for St. Michael; also for St. Stephen Protomartyr, (4) Sobeznacalnoje, listed for St. Nicholas; (5) Svite neizminniyj (proper to Transfiguration OLJC), listed for Conception of St. Anna; (6) Duchom v cerkvi, listed for Circumcision OLJC; (7) Ucenikom zrjascym, listed for St. George Great-Martyr; also for Beheading of St. John Baptist Thank you for any help you can give me. God bless you! J. Michael Thompson Chicago, IL ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Sun, 28 Mar 1999 08:48:13 -0700 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Br Maximos Subject: Re: Podobni for Christmas and Theophany To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear all, I'm afraid I can't help in any practical way track down all these melodies, but be assured of my moral support. It's obvious when you serve Matins that the exapostilaria are supposed to "stand out" in some way. They mark a very significant point in the liturgical structure of Matins: right on the cusp of the Canon and the Praise psalms. They are, in effect, the sign of the liturgical "day break". Yet in modern practice, they just seem to be an afterthought, especially when sung to a regular troparion melody or, even more commonly, recited. Just some thoughts. Perhaps they should go in the glossary? :-) Rushing towards Great Week.... unworthy monk Maximos ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 11:03:02 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Podobni for Christmas and Theophany To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In the chant of the Russian Church, there are many variants based on the usages of the most prominent monasteries, such as the Kiev Caves Lavra, the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, Valaam Monastery, Optina Hermitage, Solovki, etc., etc. Is there a monastery, such as the Pochaev Lavra or the Kiev Caves Lavra, that is considered to be the home of the prostopinije chant tradition? The reason I ask is that, at the end of the last century there were a number of anthologies of the various local chants (napevi) published by the Holy Synod of the Russian Church. I have a photocopy of the one for the Kiev Caves Lavra, in 4 volumes, which (if memory serves - I won't know until I can check the books tonight) includes several of the podoben melodies you mention (Hearken, ye women/Zheni uslishitje, et al.). Perhaps there was one for the Pochaev Lavra, as well. Deacon David ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 14:26:45 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "J. Michael Thompson" Subject: Re: Podobni for Christmas and Theophany To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Glory to Jesus Christ! The Carpatho-Rusyn prostopinije is a scion of the Greater Znamenny chant in its southwestern tradition, as it filtered through the Church in Galicia (Halychyna), much influenced by southern (Balkan) sources. It doesn't have a monastic home, as such (not like, for example, Valaam chant or Suprasyl chant). More details can be found in the book by Dr. Sr. Joan Roccasalvo, C.S.J., entitled THE PLAINCHANT TRADITION OF SOUTHWEST RUS'. J. Michael Thompson Chicago, IL ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 16:37:46 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Nicolas Schidlovsky Subject: Re: question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: <1A8DBED953E9D111A1EE006008A1AE0525A7A6@mail.nsmt.org> N. Schidlovsky "The Notated Lenten Prosomoia in Byzantine and Slavic Traditions" (Princeton U., Ph.D.diss. 1983) covers the difficult topic of the weekday Lenten prosomoia of the Triodion. FYI. If you wish, obtain it from University Microfilms International (UMI Press). Thorough history and liturgical investigation as well as sensational bibliography. Good to see you in Lakewood last Sunday...from a distance. Wish I could talk with you. Yours, Nick On Wed, 31 Mar 1999, David James wrote: > The Sputnik Psalomshchika (Psalmist's Companion), published by the New > Martyr Archbishop Arsenius of Novgorod in 1916, and reprinted by Holy > Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, has a podoben for the Tone 1 Theotokion, > "What shall we call thee.." (Shto tya naryechyem..."). > > Deacon David James > > -----Original Message----- > From: J. Michael Thompson [SMTP:Chantermt@AOL.COM] > Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 1999 9:29 AM > To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU > Subject: Re: question > > In a message dated 99-03-31 08:41:22 EST, you write: > > << On Friday there will be the liturgy of Royal hours (Carski casy). > I would like to know about the Theotokia sung after the troparions > in > each of the hours (1."Cto ta narecem, o Blahodatnaja", > 3."Bohorodice > ty jesi loza istinnaja", 6. "Jako neimamy derznovenia za nemosc > nasu" > 9. ... ) how to sing them. There isn't any tone written at them. We > used to recite it, but if I knew how I would prefer singing them. > So > I ask, how do you sing these theotokions? In which tones are they? > >> > > Glory to Jesus Christ! > > Dear David, > > The Theotokion is sung in the same tone as the Troparion that > immediately > precedes it. So, "What shall we call you..." is in Tone I; "O > Mother of > God..." is in Tone VI; and "Since we have no one..." is sung in Tone > II. > > God bless your Great Week! > J. Michael Thompson > Chicago, IL > ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 08:43:25 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David Pancza Subject: question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Hallo everyone, and a good prayer during the singing of all those wonderful liturgies in this Great week. And, one question: On Friday there will be the liturgy of Royal hours (Carski casy). I would like to know about the Theotokia sung after the troparions in each of the hours (1."Cto ta narecem, o Blahodatnaja", 3."Bohorodice ty jesi loza istinnaja", 6. "Jako neimamy derznovenia za nemosc nasu" 9. ... ) how to sing them. There isn't any tone written at them. We used to recite it, but if I knew how I would prefer singing them. So I ask, how do you sing these theotokions? In which tones are they? David PS: (After a short analysis I think that the first one "Cto ta narecem" can have the podoben melody of the 8th tone "Cto vy narecem, ...", ir has exactly the same structure. The Theotokion of the 9th hour is simply the Theotokion of the 8th tone (after the troparion on Sunday vespers and matins). But what about those of the 3rd and 6th hour? (My hypotesis is, judging from the structure, is that it could be perhaps the 6th and 7th tone). ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 09:28:44 EST Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "J. Michael Thompson" Subject: Re: question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 99-03-31 08:41:22 EST, you write: << On Friday there will be the liturgy of Royal hours (Carski casy). I would like to know about the Theotokia sung after the troparions in each of the hours (1."Cto ta narecem, o Blahodatnaja", 3."Bohorodice ty jesi loza istinnaja", 6. "Jako neimamy derznovenia za nemosc nasu" 9. ... ) how to sing them. There isn't any tone written at them. We used to recite it, but if I knew how I would prefer singing them. So I ask, how do you sing these theotokions? In which tones are they? >> Glory to Jesus Christ! Dear David, The Theotokion is sung in the same tone as the Troparion that immediately precedes it. So, "What shall we call you..." is in Tone I; "O Mother of God..." is in Tone VI; and "Since we have no one..." is sung in Tone II. God bless your Great Week! J. Michael Thompson Chicago, IL ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 10:20:22 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU The Sputnik Psalomshchika (Psalmist's Companion), published by the New Martyr Archbishop Arsenius of Novgorod in 1916, and reprinted by Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, has a podoben for the Tone 1 Theotokion, "What shall we call thee.." (Shto tya naryechyem..."). Deacon David James -----Original Message----- From: J. Michael Thompson [SMTP:Chantermt@AOL.COM] Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 1999 9:29 AM To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Subject: Re: question In a message dated 99-03-31 08:41:22 EST, you write: << On Friday there will be the liturgy of Royal hours (Carski casy). I would like to know about the Theotokia sung after the troparions in each of the hours (1."Cto ta narecem, o Blahodatnaja", 3."Bohorodice ty jesi loza istinnaja", 6. "Jako neimamy derznovenia za nemosc nasu" 9. ... ) how to sing them. There isn't any tone written at them. We used to recite it, but if I knew how I would prefer singing them. So I ask, how do you sing these theotokions? In which tones are they? >> Glory to Jesus Christ! Dear David, The Theotokion is sung in the same tone as the Troparion that immediately precedes it. So, "What shall we call you..." is in Tone I; "O Mother of God..." is in Tone VI; and "Since we have no one..." is sung in Tone II. God bless your Great Week! J. Michael Thompson Chicago, IL ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 05:03:28 -0500 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David Pancza Subject: Re: question To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Thank you all for the answers. David ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 01:06:42 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: Subject: What's next? Christ is risen! Christos voskhrese! Christos anesti! Although I hope to have an update within a day or two on a couple of projects, as well as the next issue of The Plain Chanter, I have two questions for the cantors on the list: 1. What melodies should a cantor in the prostopinije tradition _absolutely have to know_ in a parish setting where Matins and Vespers are to be celebrated? In other words, when can a text (from the Menaion, for example) be printed with a simple indication of the melody to be used, and when MUST written-out music be provided? My own proposal would be something like this: In addition to the melodies for the "common" hymns of Vespers and Matins, a cantor should be able to sing off-the-cuff, with the help of a schematic reference or "cheat sheet" if necessary: the eight troparion melodies the kontakion melodies where they differ from the tropar melodies the eight samohlasen stich and stichera melodies It seems to me that a cantor who has learned these by heart can sing a great deal of the services, and would only need to be provided with written-out music for texts set to poboden or bolhar melodies irmosy of canons special melodies such as magnifications Of course, the congregation needs to have more basic materials: the written-out _common_ hymns of each hour. But I'm thinking here of the cantor who will be leading the singing, and singing (solo) those parts for which the congregation cannot reasonably to assumed ready to take. 2. Along the lines of the above: What hymns or texts would _you_ most like to have, set to the correct prostopinije melodies in English (correct accents, etc.) ? Thanks for any input you could provide! Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 14:57:25 EDT Reply-To: PiptaRP@aol.com Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "Robert P. Pipta" Subject: Re: What's next? To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Christ Is Risen! Indeed He Is Risen! 1. What melodies should a cantor, in the prostopinije tradition, absolutely have to know? My experience is in this area is that I have had to learn from memory, in addition the 8 troparion, kontakion, samohlasen and stichera melodies, some of the podoben and bolhar melodies in order to properly cantor the Vespers for certain holy days (I cannot comment on Matins). I've often wondered how other cantors handled this situation. I was fortunate enough to have had 2 good mentors (cantors/teachers), text with simple melody and phrase ending indicators on it, and a set of audio tapes (less than perfect) of the vesper services for the entire (almost) liturgical year. Out of need, at the time of need, I have put to music all the samohlasen and stichera melodies and the podoben and bolhar melodies for a few holy days, to teach members of our cantor school. For the congregation, only the text is provided; and that, I feel, is all that is needed. Music notation for the irmosy of the canons and special melodies of the magnifications, etc., is necessary for me, since I am least familiar with those melodies. 2. What text would you like set to the correct prostopinije melodies? I would really like an "English" Prostopinije. Thank you for the effort you, and others, are putting in the "Plain Chanter" and what it represents. It is important, necessary, past due, and, I'm certain, it is quality. Yours in Christ, Bob Pipta Annunciation Byzantine Catholic Church Anaheim, CA ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 18:00:03 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: What's next? To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: from "Jeff Mierzejewski" at Apr 20, 99 01:06:42 am I second Bob Pipta's cry for an English Prostopinije. It's absurd that this late in the game, our major source document(s) are inaccessible or only partially accessible to many of us. I think it contributes to the tendency to dumb down melodies. I have enough of a grasp of Cyrillic that I can recognize "IRMOS" if I stare at it long enough, but that's about it. So if I need to crank out something, I find SOMETHING which allegedly uses the same melody, and use it as a source. Unfortunately, much of the stuff I can get at (read: English) is already a simplification or modification. I try to maintain the melody, but...... For those of us not fortunate enough to live in monasteries, and/or who dwell in parishes where Vespers & Matins are rare, holy-day occurrences, instant ongoing familiarity with Samohlasen tones is problematic (let alone Bolhars & Irmosy, aside from the ubiquitous Irmos Tone 6, "When Israel walked..."). I am deeply grateful to have all the intro versicles for all 8 tones for up to 8 or ten Stichera. After 15 years or so, I can "do" 'most all of the Samohlasen Tones ('cept Tone 3, which we do rarely enough that it has yet to stick in my feeble brain) at the drop of the hat, especially if the hat has music written on it, but I can happily go blank on the intro tones. Thank you, Jeff! Gotta run. Hey, is anyone planning to go to the NAPM conference? Cheers, Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 09:22:42 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Friday, April 30 To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: from "Jeff Mierzejewski" at Apr 20, 99 01:06:42 am Hey guys, I found out accidentally (God forbid we should be told about these things in advance...) that I've got a Div. Liturgy to cantor for a buncha RC schoolkids this Friday. Problem is, our Typicon is in Church, and I'm not. Can anybody enlighten me as to the Troparia/Kontakia/Prokeiminon/Alleluia for the day? I assume Sunday Antiphons since we're in the Easter season, but I've been wrong a couple dozen times today already... ;-) THANKS!!!!!!!!! Sharon Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 11:35:30 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David Pancza Subject: Typicon and antiphons To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Christos anesti! Dear friends, I have again some questions. I know that somewhere there on the net there is a typicon for the whole year. For every day there are the antiphons, troparions, kontakions, prokimenons, the readings, etc. But I don't remember where it was. Doesn't know anybody the www adress? Another question: Now in the time after Pascha and on sundays the typica (izobrazitelny) and beatitudes (blazenna) have to be sung. I have read that in the Gallician region, Preshov, Hajdudorog, Mukacevo eparchies there is an old custom to sing the resurrectional antiphones instead of that. My question is: what is the third antiphone? a) Of course in the solemn paschal week there are the paschal stichs with "Christos voskrese". b) But after the Thomas sunday? In the books I read that the third antiphone is the same as the 3rd antiphone of the normal days (povsednevna), but with the refrain of the second antiphon (spasi ny Syne Bozij, voskresyj iz mertvych pojuscyja ti alliluia). Do you know about such a combination? Is it used so in your churches? c) Now in the Preshov eparchy there is a tendency (better said one man who holds everything about the liturgy in his hands orders this) to sing the 1. and 2. resurrectional antiphone and then Beatitudes (Blazenna). The same in every "afterfeast" octave (poprazdenstvo): 1. and 2. antiphones of the feast and Blazenna. It seems to me as an absolutely unlogic combination. Is it done so anywhere else except Slovakia? Can this be found in any typicon? Thanks David ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 12:13:12 EDT Reply-To: Chantermt@aol.com Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "J. Michael Thompson" Subject: Re: Typicon and antiphons To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In a message dated 99-04-27 11:33:35 EDT, you write: << ) But after the Thomas sunday? In the books I read that the third antiphone is the same as the 3rd antiphone of the normal days (povsednevna), but with the refrain of the second antiphon (spasi ny Syne Bozij, voskresyj iz mertvych pojuscyja ti alliluia). Do you know about such a combination? Is it used so in your churches? >> Christ is risen! In Galician parishes, the order is as you have given it above. That is because, at least in America, there is no "Second Antiphon" sung; the order is First Resurrectional Antiphon, "Glory--now and ever" and "Only-Begotten Son and Word of God...", followed by the Third Antiphon as you have described it. J. Michael Thompson Chicago, IL ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 12:25:43 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: David James Subject: Re: Typicon and antiphons To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Dear David, Alithos anesti! In the Russian Church, we sing the Typical Psalms (102 and 145) and the Beatitudes. The Paschal antiphons are chanted only during Bright Week. On the Leave-taking of Pascha, there are several sets of rubrics found in the Russian tradition. There is one only that is printed in the modern Typicon (unfortunately), which is the least Paschal, because at the time of Patriarch Nikon's reforms it was the only one printed in the Venetian editions of the Greek books - and according to that, there are no Paschal antiphons on the Apodosis of Pascha, only the Typica Psalms. Nevertheless, > The use of the Paschal Antiphons at the Divine Liturgy on the >Apodosis of Pascha has never died out in the Russian Church, and is >practiced in many churches and monasteries, both in the Church Abroad and >in the Patriarchate. The annual calendars of the Patriarchate note this >as an alternative practice. This "more Paschal" form seems to be the older, and, as often happens, it re-surfaced in the Greek books, because the "stricter" and "less Paschal" form, although printed in Venice, did not prevail in the Greek churches. The Russian Orthodox "Old Rite" rubrics for the apodosis (otdanije) of Pascha are also identical with the one prescribed in Greek usage, being the same as the first day of Pascha, including the antiphons and "As many as are baptized in Christ...", but with the Epistle and Gospel of the day. Deacon David James (cribbed from various messages on the "Ustav" e-mail list) -----Original Message----- From: David Pancza [SMTP:PANCZA@KMAT.ELF.STUBA.SK] Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 1999 11:36 AM To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Subject: Typicon and antiphons Christos anesti! Dear friends, I have again some questions. I know that somewhere there on the net there is a typicon for the whole year. For every day there are the antiphons, troparions, kontakions, prokimenons, the readings, etc. But I don't remember where it was. Doesn't know anybody the www adress? Another question: Now in the time after Pascha and on sundays the typica (izobrazitelny) and beatitudes (blazenna) have to be sung. I have read that in the Gallician region, Preshov, Hajdudorog, Mukacevo eparchies there is an old custom to sing the resurrectional antiphones instead of that. My question is: what is the third antiphone? a) Of course in the solemn paschal week there are the paschal stichs with "Christos voskrese". b) But after the Thomas sunday? In the books I read that the third antiphone is the same as the 3rd antiphone of the normal days (povsednevna), but with the refrain of the second antiphon (spasi ny Syne Bozij, voskresyj iz mertvych pojuscyja ti alliluia). Do you know about such a combination? Is it used so in your churches? c) Now in the Preshov eparchy there is a tendency (better said one man who holds everything about the liturgy in his hands orders this) to sing the 1. and 2. resurrectional antiphone and then Beatitudes (Blazenna). The same in every "afterfeast" octave (poprazdenstvo): 1. and 2. antiphones of the feast and Blazenna. It seems to me as an absolutely unlogic combination. Is it done so anywhere else except Slovakia? Can this be found in any typicon? Thanks David ÿ=======================================================================V-R- --- Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 14:25:26 EDT Reply-To: M87blazer@aol.com Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: "Michael S. Dancisin" Subject: Re: Friday, April 30 To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Sharon, Here is the info from the Typikon for Friday the 30th. Matins Prokeimeon, Common 5 (Apostle). PENT 176-179; JK 285; JKAPR 166-174 Katavasiai: Canon of Pascha. Epistle, Acts 12:1-11; Gospel, Luke 5;1-11 Ambion Prayer;"O Lord our God, through your holy apostle James..." [Readings of the day; Acts 10;44-11:10 John 8:21-30] Typica: Stichera at beatitudes, 4 from the first Canon of Mid-Pentecost, Ode 4, and 4 from the Canon of the Apostle, Ode 3. Mike, Lyndora, St John's ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- OPTIONS: NOACK LOG LONG NOTEBOOK CANTOR-L MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Type: Text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Message-Id: Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 06:30:51 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jeff Mierzejewski" To: "Ruthenian Church Music List" Subject: Re: Friday, April 30 In-Reply-To: Message of 04/27/99 at 14:25:26 from M87blazer@AOL.COM Christ is risen! In additional to the particular entry for April 30 which Mike gave in full, its also important, when using Father David's annual typicon, to check which Format in the Common Typicon to use. The first line of the entry for April 30, 1999 says "Format 16. Common 5 (Apostle)." (It's the feast of the Apostle James, as in "James and John.") Format 16 in the Common Typicon is for "Polyeleos Saint or Saint with a Vigil on a Weekday during the Paschal Season." Under Divine Liturgy, it says simply, "Same as Format 15, except that the Communion Hymn of the Saint is always sung after that of Pascha." Turning to Format 15 - Weekdays during the Paschal Season 0 - under Divine Liturgy, we read: The antiphons of Sunday may be sung, and the refrain for the Third Antiphon and the Entrance Hymn is, "O Son of God, risen from the dead..." Note: since most branches of the Byzantine Church prescribe the Typical Psalms, this is an interpretation of the Typicon for the Ruthenian Church. TROPARIA: of the previous Sunday; Troparion of the Saint; Glory, Kontakion of the Saint; Now and ever, Kontakion of Pascha, "Although you descended into the grave..." ** Postfestive period of Mid-Pentecost: Troparion of Mid-Pentecost; Troparion of the Saint; Glory, Kontakion of the Saint; Now and ever, Kontakion of Mid-Pentecost. PROKEIMENON and ALLELUIA: of the Saint. In place of "It is truly proper", "The angel exclaimed..." is sung. "Christ is risen..." is sung <> COMMUNION HYMN: ** Post-festive period of Mid-Pentecost: "He who eats my flesh..." So, for April 30, 1999: "Christ is risen..." is sung as usual during the Paschal season Antiphons of a Paschal Sunday; Paschal refrain for 3rd Antiphon/Entrance Troparia: Troparion of Mid-Pentecost, from the Pew Book, p. 56: Tone 8: "When the Paschal Feast is half completed..." Tropation of Saint James, from the Matins Book, p. 330: Tone 3: "You were an apostle of Christ and the beloved brother of John. * O praiseworthy James, obtain absolution for those who sing the praises of your memory * and find mercy for our souls." Glory... Kontakion of Saint James, from the Matins Book, p. 330: Tone 2: "O glorious James, when you heard the Divine Word calling you, * you put aside your love for your father * and hurried to Christ with your brother John. * Therefore, both of you were made worthy to see the divine Transfiguration of the Lord." Now and ever... Kontakion of Mid-Pentecost, from the Pew Book, p. 57: Tone 4: "O Christ God, Creator and Lord of All..." Prokeimemon of Saint James, from the Common for the Holy Apostles (Common Typicon, p. 53): Tone 8: "Through all the world their voice resounds; their message reaches to the ends of the earth. V. The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands." Epistle: Acts 12:1-11 Alleluia of Saint James, from the Common of the Holy Apostles: Tone 1: V. "The heavens proclaim your wonders, O Lord; the assembly of Your holy ones proclaims Your truth." V. "God is to extolled in the council of the holy ones." Gospel: Luke 5:1-11 In place of "It is truly proper", "The angel exclaimed..." is sung. Communion Hymn of Mid-Pentecost (Pew Book p. 57, "He who eats my flesh...") Communion Hymn of Saint James (Common of the Holy Apostles): "Through all the world their voice resounds; their message reaches to the ends of the earth, alleluia!" I hope this helps. Good luck! Yours in Christ, Jeff ÿ=======================================================================V--- --- Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 09:54:45 -0400 Reply-To: Ruthenian Church Music List Sender: Ruthenian Church Music List From: Sharon Mech Subject: Re: Friday, April 30 To: CANTOR-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU In-Reply-To: from "Jeff Mierzejewski" at Apr 29, 99 06:30:51 am Many thanks to all who responded! If I have time tonight (last minute, as usual!) I'll sit down and knock out the music so's we can hand it out to the kids tomorrow. I've noticed that RC folks are accustomed to having unfamiliar music stuck in their hands at Mass, and many are willing to take a whack at it. Cheers on a cool-but-sunny Mid-Pentecost Thursday (at least in Ohio) Sharon Sharon Mech Cantor & sinner sharon@cmhc.com