When entering an Orthodox church, everyone discovers a new world of liturgical art. This is the architecture of the temple, and the art of icon painting, poetry and, finally, chanting. What is the name of the church chant? Let's take a closer look.
Liturgical art - what is it?
To understand the essence of church singing, it is necessary to perceive it holistically. Liturgical art combines the incompatible, and the strict rules developed over the centuries do not at all limit the freedom of self-expression. Well-known Orthodox works (we will find out what the church hymn is called a little later) by such famous authors as Cosmas of Maium, Andrei of Crete, Roman the Melodist and other church leaders amaze with freedom and courage. Mosaics, frescoes, icons by Andrei Rublev, Dionysius and other icon painters help elevate the mind and heart to the primary source of beauty and harmony.
Temple is a place where worship takes place, where people partake of the Bloodless Sacrifice, so the chant should correspond to everything thatgoing around. Only then can it rightfully be called ecclesiastical.
One, holy, catholic and apostolic Church is a gathering of brothers and sisters in faith. Consequently, Orthodox church hymns are applied conciliar art. In other words - a collective art aimed at serving the goals and objectives of the Church.
Choral singing
It is not surprising that choir singing is mostly choral: all voices are evenly distributed, each part is sung dispassionately, neither loudly nor quietly, surprisingly delicate and soft. Either it is performed in one voice (unison) with an ison (when several voices hold one bass note) - this is either a Byzantine chant or a znamenny chant.
If sounding music has all of the above advantages, then it can rightfully be called liturgical art.
What is the name of the church chant?
Chants in the Orthodox Church have their own names and are divided into several types:
- Troparia.
- Kontaki.
- Stichera.
- Irmoses.
- Ikosy.
- Power.
- Ipakoi.
- Theotokos.
- Psalms.
Besides them, special hymns are sung at the Divine Liturgy and the All-Night Vigil, such as the Cherubim, Mercy of the World, the Great Litany, the Great and Lesser Doxology, and so on.
Conventionally, church hymns can be divided into two groups: liturgical (church) and non-liturgical (out-of-church). Liturgical hymns are sungdirectly during the Liturgy, the All-Night Vigil and during everyday services. These include troparia, kontakia, stichera, irmos, ipakoi, ikos, power. Theotokos singing, singing of psalms, akathists, magnifications can be heard outside of worship. They are not included and are not consecrated by the statutory tradition. In another way, they are called paraliturgical (from the word "para" here means "about") singing.
These include carols, poems about saints, repentance, marriage, wedding chants, folk songs and so on.
What are Negro church hymns called?
In the seventies of the nineteenth century, the first collections of folk and spiritual Negro songs appeared.
They were collected and released by the first African-American composer Harry Burleigh. Interestingly, all the works were performed by a polyphonic choir without accompaniment. Black singers easily harmonized the melody, sometimes the soloist was in the lead.
Often, Negro church chants are called gospel. The word takes its roots from English Gospel music, that is, gospel music. African-American gospel is different from Euro-American, but they are united by the fact that they originated in the same environment - the Methodist Church of the southern United States of America.
Unlike Orthodox and Gregorian chants, Negro gospel is sung quickly, cheerfully and with dance notes. The founder of gospel was the Methodist minister Charles Tindley, who himself wrote the music and lyrics to it.
Many contemporary artists have included andinclude gospel music in their concert program. Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston and many equally famous singers sang folk black spiritual songs with pleasure.
What is the peculiarity of Orthodox chants?
The essence of Orthodox church chants is prayer. Prayer glorifies the Creator, the joy of communion with Him, speaks of requests, the forgiveness of sins. There is nothing better than serving God. Any person who has an ardent desire to sing on the kliros will surely achieve his goal with the help of the Lord.
From the history of Ancient Russia, we know that the ambassadors of Prince Vladimir, having visited Constantinople, were delighted with the church service. They heard choral singing, saw the hierarchal service and could not understand whether they were on earth or in heaven, since they had never seen or heard anything like it, they could not even find the right words to retell all the beauty and harmony of the service. The peculiarity of Orthodox worship is that God abides with people.
The article discussed the question of how church hymns are called, but one interpretation is not enough - these works must be listened to.
