Beginnings

In an earlier post, entitled The Sacrifice of Cain, I had made the thesis that perhaps the main reason why the real reforms of the Second Vatican Counsel never were implemented properly was because the clergy did not implement the reforms in priestly education mandated by Optatam Totius.

Those reforms included making sure that candidates to the priesthood knew Latin well, that they were encouraged to learn the languages of Scripture and Tradition (i.e., Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic), that they were first to obtain the educational prerequisites needed for those who were to go on to professional academic work, and that they were to get a thorough education in philosophy and theology, with particular emphasis on the fonts of the Holy Spirit: Scripture, Tradition, and Church Authority.

As anyone who has much acquaintance with many (but not all) priests who received their formation in the last two score years, it is obvious that most have not come anywhere near to gaining such an academic formation. It is therefore not surprising that, for the most part, they have been unable to implement the real reforms of Vatican II. You can't give what you don't have.

A discerning reader might respond with the running gag from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: This is true, but unhelpful. I would entirely agree.

On the principle that it is better to light one small stick of dynamite than to curse the silence, or something like that, I am beginning to look through various websites, to find the means by which laymen or priests may get such an education on one's own. More will be forthcoming.

Watch this space.

Carpatho-Rusyn Chant, Part 1

In an effort to show the riches that Slavic Chant contains, I think it wise to include Carpatho-Rusyn chant. This music was the beginning of my experience of those riches, and I am deeply indebted to it, and to those who introduced me to it.

And so, I would like to begin to introduce you to it. I am happy to say, though, that there are such abundant riches that it will take quite some time, and any number of entries, to get anywhere near to covering it all. But, as Lord Farquaad from the motion picture, Shrek, would say: "It is a sacrifice I am willing to accept."

So, let us begin:

1. Really Great Stuff from the Old Country. If one goes to the website of the Greek Catholic Church of Slovakia, one will find this webpage of beautiful music. All of it is quite good. I particularly like this piece, which is one version of the hymn, God is with us, sung during the Orthodox Compline of the Nativity and of the Theophany (aka Christmas and Epiphany). Another one is this gorgeous chant with ison version of the hymn, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent, well known in the West, largely thanks to Ralph Vaughan Williams, but found first in the East, sung by the Orthodox for Great and Holy Saturday of Passion Week, when we mourn the death of God Himself. (Nietsche, Sartre, and Hitchens, eat your hearts out!)

2. Neat Stuff from the New World. If one goes to the website of the Metropolitan Cantor Institute, one will find scads of written music and recordings, both in English and Slavonic. One lack, though, is that one can't get much in the way of pdfs of the original stuff. For that, let me suggest:

3. Archival Material from a Good Guy Steve Puluka has provided on his website pdfs of just about every irmologion, or collection of sacred liturgical music, that he has been able to find. One can find that website here.

Enjoy.

Serbian Chant

At the beginning of the motion picture, The Peacemaker, we see an Orthodox Church in Serbia, and a small choir of men singing the service of Baptism (A YouTube clip of that scene can be found here). They are singing Serbian Chant, a chant that harks back to the Byzantine Chant of the Church that brought Serbia to the Faith. After seeing that motion picture, I was fascinated by the beauty of the chant sung there, and had wanted to learn more of it.

Thus, I would like to introduce you to the website of Nikola Resanovic, which may be found here. One of the chief treasures which can be found there (other than his own excellent compositions) is an extensive set of chant texts, in modern musical notation, in English translation, and on PDF, with many MP3s, of just about the entire Orthodox music in Serbian chant, which can be found here.

In addition, Mr. Resanovic has provided a complete set of PDFs of the Eight Tones of Serbian Chant, here, and instructional material as regards the nature and expression of those eight tones, here. These resources would reward any liturgical musician, whether Catholic or Orthodox, who wanted to examine (or perhaps to make liturgical use of) this musical tradition. And for those who would want to read or hear Serbian Chant in its original Slavonic, Mr. Resanovic is also beginning a new resource, which may be found here.

But Mr. Resanovic has done more than providing Serbian Chant: he has also continued the process of harmonizing Serbian Chant, which has been a tradition of the Serbian Orthodox Church for the last four or so centuries. PDFs and MIDIs of his work on liturgical harmonizations can be found here. Harmonized troparia and kontakia (hymns used in the Divine Liturgy, Vespers and Matins) can be found here. Hymns to Mary, Theotokos and Ever Virgin, can be found here. And paraliturgical hymns, including Christmas carols, can be found here.

For any one who wishes to sample the riches in Serbian Chant and harmonized hymns, I can think of no better beginning. Enjoy.

Watch This Space

With the new civil year, I have decided to resume my weblog.

I have also resolved to the following changes:

From now on, while I will be pointing out problems in the religious, liturgical, and musical world, I shall also be looking toward finding solutions.

The two main solutions that I can see are toward education, and toward providing resources.

We will see what we can do to help.