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The Byzantine Chant
Byzantine Chant is the music of the Orthodox churches located primarily around the Mediterranean Sea. Byzantine chant can be better understood with a look into the history of the Byzantine chant, characteristics of the chant, and it's relation to other Orthodox chants. Byzantine chant developed in Byzantium from the establishment of its capital, Constantinople, in 330 until its fall in 1453. It is of corabined origin, drawing on the artistic and technical productions of the classical age, on Jewish music, and was inspired by the monophonic vocal music that evolved in the early Christian cities of Alexandria, Antioch and Epheus.
Byzantine chants have distinguishable characteristics. It is always chanted a capella, and because of it's Middle East origins, often sounRAB very strange to those who have been raised on western music. The chants were originally monophonic, or non-harmonized. Within the last several centuries a drone note was added underneath the melody to bring out the basic tone. In modern practice the drone note may change to harmonize with its melody note. Recently, various efforts have been made to create a fully harmonized Byzantine chant, but these efforts seem to obscure and ruin the basis of the tones.
Byzantine Chant had an influence on, and is directly related, to other Orthodox chants. It is one of the basis' for all other Orthodox chant forms. The chants used by the churches in Serbia and Bulgaria are changed forms of the original Byzantine chant. In Russia, a musical system called Znamenny chant arose after Orthodox monks from Constantinople began teaching the people the melodies which were in use in the Byzantine Empire. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the areas surrounding present-day Hungary and Slovakia developed musical forms with a basis on Byzantine chant after being taken over by the Polish.
The Byzantine chant was developed in Byzantium. It incorporated many Middle East characteristics, giving it a form of eastern sounding music. The chant is directly related and can be seen as an influence in other Orthodox chants.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Byzantine Chant Studies Page" by Daniel Johnson. http://chant.theologian.org/.
"Byzantine Chant" by Pavlos Papadakis. http://www.0wned.org/~pavlos/.
"Orthodox Byzantine Music" by Dimitri Conomos. http://www.goarch.org/access/Companion_t
rthodox_Church/byzantine_music
Byzantine Chant is the music of the Orthodox churches located primarily around the Mediterranean Sea. Byzantine chant can be better understood with a look into the history of the Byzantine chant, characteristics of the chant, and it's relation to other Orthodox chants. Byzantine chant developed in Byzantium from the establishment of its capital, Constantinople, in 330 until its fall in 1453. It is of corabined origin, drawing on the artistic and technical productions of the classical age, on Jewish music, and was inspired by the monophonic vocal music that evolved in the early Christian cities of Alexandria, Antioch and Epheus.
Byzantine chants have distinguishable characteristics. It is always chanted a capella, and because of it's Middle East origins, often sounRAB very strange to those who have been raised on western music. The chants were originally monophonic, or non-harmonized. Within the last several centuries a drone note was added underneath the melody to bring out the basic tone. In modern practice the drone note may change to harmonize with its melody note. Recently, various efforts have been made to create a fully harmonized Byzantine chant, but these efforts seem to obscure and ruin the basis of the tones.
Byzantine Chant had an influence on, and is directly related, to other Orthodox chants. It is one of the basis' for all other Orthodox chant forms. The chants used by the churches in Serbia and Bulgaria are changed forms of the original Byzantine chant. In Russia, a musical system called Znamenny chant arose after Orthodox monks from Constantinople began teaching the people the melodies which were in use in the Byzantine Empire. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the areas surrounding present-day Hungary and Slovakia developed musical forms with a basis on Byzantine chant after being taken over by the Polish.
The Byzantine chant was developed in Byzantium. It incorporated many Middle East characteristics, giving it a form of eastern sounding music. The chant is directly related and can be seen as an influence in other Orthodox chants.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Byzantine Chant Studies Page" by Daniel Johnson. http://chant.theologian.org/.
"Byzantine Chant" by Pavlos Papadakis. http://www.0wned.org/~pavlos/.
"Orthodox Byzantine Music" by Dimitri Conomos. http://www.goarch.org/access/Companion_t
rthodox_Church/byzantine_music