Christos Voskrese!

I thought I would share two videos from his past weekend:

From Muchachevo: Great singing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3dZGHis2...UGPpr3dG0fZtRM=

From home: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMkUluYtq...mp;feature=plcp

Beautiful. Thak you, David.

Many years,

Neil

The first segment of the Paschal Divine Liturgy from Muchachevo, Ukraine from the Greek Catholic Eparchial website there. The broadcast must have been on television as there is a narrative voice-over on some of it, but what is amazing to me is how, in spite of over one hundred years of separation, two world wars, a revolution, schisms in the United States and in Europe that the Ruthenian/Rusyns maintained their customs and - you have to admit - their eastern orientation. Watching similar videos from ACROD and the BCC in the states, one would see that in spite of the odds, these 'old ways' have managed to survive. The Latinizations often complained of here (and which crept into practice in the US and Canada in the early 20th century) are not readily apparent on the surface of this Liturgy. When I relate how to my grandparents' generation they did not think in terms of being Catholic or Orthodox but rather they spoke in simple terms of 'our church' or 'nase cerkov' they were sincere. While the 20th century changed that perception so that the Orthodox and the Greek Catholics today understand that they are different, at least through the mass immigration of the early 20th century that was not the case. I can close my eyes and sing along in Church Slavonic from memory in the chant of my ancestors like it was yesterday, even though I haven't done so in more than ten years as we just don't use Church Slavonic anymore. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu5Hq6kcFdk&feature=g-all-u

The rendition of Asch v'hrob at about 48 minutes in is a good example of the variance between Bosksaj with the Uzhorod school and that of Presov. There is a slight tonal variation in the chant of the Tone 8 Kondak which if you learned from a 'Presov' prof would mess you up. That is, I think, at the heart of many of our problems with the chant in English.

Thanks for posting this video - a real gem!

DMD - you have once again noted the differences in chant of the Presov and Uzhhorod schools. In relation to discussion in another recent thread, it should be fairly noted that this difference was prominently recognized in the RDL, in the settings for the Anaphora responses for the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. Two settings were presented in the RDL text for this purpose, representing the variants of each of these major schools. The differences between the two, as presented, are a bit more that subtle, especially for the Hymn to the Theotokos ("In You, O Woman full of grace ...").

I have also become more sensitized to the existence of subtle differences even at the regional and village level, currently and in days of old. I recently cantored a funeral service for one of the matriarchs of a family with roots in Litmanova. Beforehand, Father warned me that the Litmanovaks have there own nuanced chant, especially for the hymns of St. John Damascene, and it would be best just to let the family lead if they were actively chanting. Let's just say I was grateful that I received that advice, and I learned something new that morning!

Truly, that could be seen in our American churches as well. A few years back (admittedly before the RDL was promulgated), I spent a few years working and living in metro-Detroit, and was exposed to a wealth of variation that I found both interesting and inspiring.

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fsGainN8dY.... again, differences in style are obvious in Anhel Vopijase at about 55 minutes in...(not to mention the slow pace...) I have heard this version once or twice over the years, but it is not the commonly one heard in the States - at least in ACROD parishes...

BTW, if my memory is correct, St. Nicholas Orthodox Church on East 10th Street in NYC, the former parish of Met. Nicholas years ago, is noted for their Litmanova base. They like to keep the 'old ways' as they remember them there.