Church singing from the point of view of an Orthodox person

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Today the Orthodox Church assigns a serious role to church singing. Our worship and church choral singing are directly connected. With its help, the Word of God is preached, which forms a special liturgical language (together with church tunes). Church singing is usually divided into two types: unison (one-voiced) and polyphonic. The latter implies the division of voices into parties, and the former implies the performance of one melody by all choristers. In Russian churches, as a rule, they sing in batches.

Osmo consent

In the 8th century, eight singing and melodic systems (osmosis) unite, which comprehensively affect the intellectual and emotional perception of a believer who turns to God with prayer. By the 14th century, this system acquired such a large-scale character that can only be compared with the iconography of the same period and with the depth of prayer asceticism. Theology, church singing, the icon and the feat of prayer are components of a single whole.

Displacement of osmosis

The heyday of church singing in the 17th century coincided with the beginning of its displacement from outsidesecular art. The church osmosis system was replaced by short chants on a religious theme. Orthodox religious ascetics believe that church singing without permission is impossible.

Church singing routine

But the Orthodox Church has a sufficient number of musical publications and manuscripts. She has at her disposal the routine of church singing, which includes the entire circle of liturgical singing. It combines the main chants of Kyiv, Greek and Znamenny chants. There are several ways to perform stichera, in particular, simple and festive. All musical church manuscripts are a document of Church Tradition, which is considered in Orthodox circles to be the very first word in controversial issues.

Development of church singing

According to the documents of church tradition, it is easy to trace how church singing developed. Any art has its beginning and flourishing. Many religious Orthodox figures today believe that the style of modern icon painting and church singing is just a profanation of liturgical art. In their opinion, this Western style does not correspond (both formally and spiritually) to Church Tradition.

Singing groups

Collectives that are engaged in church singing can be of three types. The first type is professional choristers, but not church ones. The second - has a composition of church people, but at best they have a relative ear and voice. The rarest type of musical group is a professionalchurch choir. The group of the first type prefers to perform complex works, but such singers, as a rule, are indifferent to the ecclesiastical nature of this music, unlike those people who go to church to pray.

Some priests prefer the second type of choir, but often, along with the musical unprofessionalism of such singers, its primitive repertoire is also depressing.

However, it gives hope that groups of the third type are increasingly switching to performing works composed by synodal authors, and then even to monastic melodies.