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Are there many cantors nowadays who don't read music? For those who don't is there anything being done to help them overcome this limitation? Without the ability to read music, a cantor can only learn music by rote which takes longer, and may or may not be faithful to the original musical setting.

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Well, a parish with any sort of choir tradition, or a cantor with any other kind of singing experience, hopefully has SOME experience reading music. (There are a lot of old hand-written scores around in our churches!) I agree with you that the ability to read music does provide more stability to whatever chant is used, especially when disagreements or variations comes up in a parish's usage. I sometimes attend a parish where three cantors have three VERY different ways of singing the liturgy, all of them variations of the same melodies. In that parish, fewer people seem to sing each year.

The Links [metropolitancantorinstitute.org] page on the Metropolitan Cantor Institute website has a general music theory section with two sets of music theory tutorials, one of them with ear-training materials as well. Cantors who can not read music might benefit from those, or from private or community college classes; the main problem may be convincing our older singers to learn to read music, as many of our young people have encountered musical notation in school.

Yours in Christ,
Jeff Mierzejewski

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Not even I would argue against the idea that being able to read music is a big help to anyone who wishes to lead chant in our Churches!

But I WOULD like to challenge the assumption present in Jim's last sentence [as well as in most discussions on such topics in modern times] that "faithfulness to the tradition" requires "faithfulness to a written text."

The assumption that a "written text" is more reliable [trustworthy, authentic, faithful ... choose your adjective] than an "oral tradition" is deeply imbedded in our modern consciousness. We take it for granted at such a basic level that we have difficulty recognizing how new this assumption is in human civilization.

For most of human history, most people considered oral traditions to be more authentic than written traditions. The science of Biblical Criticism documents how this influenced the text of the scriptures [the addition of the liturgical doxology to Matthew's version of the Our Father is one famous example.]

In living memory, some of us can go back two or three or four generations and find different spellings of our family names. The spoken version was considered authoritative, and when the written version didn't sound like what folks were used to, they would change the written version to conform to the oral tradition.

This is ESPECIALLY true with Ruthenian Prostopinije. The written texts are nothing more [and nothing less!] than "snapshots" of a particular "performance" in a particular place at a particular time. They captured one "version" of melodies that have ALWAYS had many versions from place to place or even over time in the same place.

So I will end with a provocative personalization of my challenge to Jim's assumption: Some of our BEST cantors had little or no musical training; some folks with impressive musical credentials have been very poor cantors.

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Some of our BEST cantors had little or no musical training; some folks with impressive musical credentials have been very poor cantors.

The role of the cantor also has changed over time. There are female cantors in some parishes nowadays, which would have been inconceivable in the past.

There was also a thread elsewhere about a group of Japanese who descended from St. Ignatius' ministry in Japan. They apparently cannot make the transition to the Catholic Church there, but they were very isolated and developed their praxis without hierarchical supervision.

It is also said that music is art moving through time. So, cantors in one era may be very different from cantors in another, but literacy in music, as in words themselves, helps to preserve what we believe to be true.

Our faith is not based solely on oral tradition.
But to return full circle, all cantors are singers, but not all singers are good cantors.

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But I WOULD like to challenge the assumption present in Jim's last sentence [as well as in most discussions on such topics in modern times] that "faithfulness to the tradition" requires "faithfulness to a written text."
Phil, wonderfully said - and every bit of it true for those who have been around Greek Catholic parishes long enough to have known the old-time diaks. When I first became a diak the old retiring diak as well as the priest at the time (who had also started out as a diak) basically both told me "de books" were not going to help much beyond a basic sense of the melody. Fr. Vasyl likened it to a map, rather than something entrenched.

While I do read because of other music training the vocal techniques, timing, phrasing, etc. they taught me from "old kuntry" have been more valuable than all of the theory multiplied many times over.

You have hit on something - one cannot simply get the "soul" of any traditional Byzantine chant, whether Greek or from various Slavonic traditions in use in Rus' (whether prostopinje, znamenny, samoylka, whatever) simply from the notes. It may be perfectly executed, pitched and timed, but it is often at that point sort of sterile, for lack of a better term.

One of the things I loved twenty years ago was the little bit of variation amongst the old diaks - especially when they sang the Irmosy or other special propers. For those only concerned with consistency and execution - they would likely not think the same.

You are absolutely right - and you are looking out the window into something much farther, older, and poetic than printing presses - a venerable tradition universally shared at one time amongst the churches of Rus'. Keep the faith, brother - and pass it on.
FDD

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The assumption that a "written text" is more reliable [trustworthy, authentic, faithful ... choose your adjective] than an "oral tradition" is deeply imbedded in our modern consciousness.
Even if the notes remain constant, there can be differences in performance. One of my favorite pieces to sing is the Polyeleos, which I had never heard sung except in my parish.

I recently downloaded this piece from the Metropolitan Cantor Institute site and was disappointed when I heard it sung by the Schola Cantorum. While they sing it beautifully and spiritually, in my parish we sing this piece with joy and what can only be termed "gusto."

Our "local tradition" is to sing the piece somewhat faster and with a good deal more syncopation than was originally intended, assuming the Schola's interpretation is what was intended. In our version, you can definitely hear exclamation points. Alleluia!

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Jim wrote:
Are there many cantors nowadays who don't read music? For those who don't is there anything being done to help them overcome this limitation? Without the ability to read music, a cantor can only learn music by rote which takes longer, and may or may not be faithful to the original musical setting.
I daresay one must define what it means to �read music�! biggrin

If one means being able to pick up any score written in any key and sing it I suspect that only a tiny percentage of our cantors can do that.

If one means that a cantor who is reasonable familiar with our chant can pick up a setting, see that it is in �Tone 1� or set to a known melody and sing it than I suspect that most of our cantors can �read music� (at least to a certain extent).


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Phil Yevics wrote:
But I WOULD like to challenge the assumption present in Jim's last sentence [as well as in most discussions on such topics in modern times] that "faithfulness to the tradition" requires "faithfulness to a written text."

The assumption that a "written text" is more reliable [trustworthy, authentic, faithful ... choose your adjective] than an "oral tradition" is deeply imbedded in our modern consciousness. We take it for granted at such a basic level that we have difficulty recognizing how new this assumption is in human civilization.
An excellent point!

An �old time� cantor who sings in a style somewhat different than that written in Bok�aj can be far more faithful to our Ruthenian Prostopinije than someone who can sight-read music and sing it exactly as notated in Bok�aj. The Bok�aj Prostopinije is a wonderful gift to the Church. But at best it is still an approximation of the proper way to sing Prostopinije. Prostopinije is something that is living. The old time cantors knew that one used a model like Bok�aj and applied it to serve the text. A faithful rendition of Prostopinije is one that first serves the Gospel in the language in which it is proclaimed. Prostopinije is nothing more and nothing less than music dancing around the text.

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Sophia wrote:
Even if the notes remain constant, there can be differences in performance. One of my favorite pieces to sing is the Polyeleos, which I had never heard sung except in my parish.
Check out the setting for the Polyeleos on page 100 and 101 of the linked liturgy book (page 104 and 105 of the pdf). It is sung with gusto in probably 20 parishes (more often as a hymn than at matins, sadly!).

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Administrator -- Very well said!

~ Cantor JKF

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The topic of this thread has to do with reading music as a cantor, and seeks way to bring the knowledge to those who can best use it at the parish level at the cantor's stand. Thank you, ByzKat, for answering my concern, and thank you to others who have pointed out certain limitations, real or imaginary, about following contemporary standards of music when trying to interpret notation.

However, even the administrator publishes books with music in modern notation for sale and use without performance practice recommendations. So, it remains to be seen how effective a parish can be in gaining converts, etc. if few general standards are in place for the conduct of music in worship that the uninitiated can understand or relate to.

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Jim,

I think I appreciate the question you are asking.

Think about classical music and the great orchestras around the world. One can listen to two different recordings of Mozart�s Requiem (one made in London and the other made in Vienna) and very possibly hear two very different interpretations of the written Mozart score. In this sense liturgical chant is similar, be it our Prostopinije, Byzantine chant, or whatever (although Mozart�s work has a given meter and our chant is unmetered). Technically, there can be more than one accepted method of interpretation. But, of course, it is better at the level of chant for everyone to keep their styles as close as possible. [The music published in the 1960s (like it or not!) gave us a standard model to work with for the English language.]

In the Christian East, standard music principles are not unimportant but one mainly acquires the standard method of interpretation be being part of the larger Church as it comes together in prayer (pilgrimages, retreats, ordinations, funerals, and etc.). Learning comes by practice and experience. Priests learn it when they are seminarians, as each takes turns as lead chanter for the different liturgical celebrations at the seminary. Cantors learn it from older cantors in their home parishes.

I have assisted a number of new cantors in the past. Those raised in our tradition usually already have some understanding of the way it is sung. Those new to our tradition generally need a lot of audio assistance. The best way is to have a interested cantor apprentice with an experienced cantor in a parish setting. But that is not always possible (especially when forming new parishes far away from existing parishes!). In this case there is nothing better for someone seeking to learn the tradition than to find a good, sprit-filled tape of the service he seeks to learn, listen to it and sing along with it until he has it memorized. Doing it �live� will, of course, always be different but being familiar with how the rest of the Church sings the service provides the standard that a cantor works from. [For this purpose a live recording is always better than someone singing by himself into a mic but sometimes this last is all that is available.]

You are correct that those totally unfamiliar with the musical tradition will have a steep learning curve. Successful evangelization is a product of good Liturgy and good Liturgy needs a priest, (deacon) and cantor all working in harmony. There is nothing more frustrating to a new cantor trying to learn the tradition than lack of resources. That is why it is very important for him to get audio tapes of good public celebrations to use as a model and to form friendships with his pastor (and follow his directives) and to make friends with as many cantors as possible.

John / Admin biggrin

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Our administrator does like to wax poetically, doesn't he? smile

Vocal musical interpretation does take many forms, and most all of them have their champions-english choir style, bel canto operatic style, etc.

There are also performance techniques that can carry over from one discipline to another, such as the way to breathe to support one's voice in order to project well.

A congregation eventually gets used to an individual cantor's modus operandi. Transition from one cantor to another is a gradual process, but once they are used to a cantor, they respond more readily to that cantor's style. They come to expect certain things, including certain cherubic hymns, etc.

But without the ability to read music, learning is more difficult. There was a time when a visiting bishop to our parish expressed the desire that the parish learn all the tones, not just tone 4. My predecessor read music a little, and had a limited repertoire for tones, etc. based on oral tradition. He was, and is, a wonderful cantor, however. For our congregation to expand its knowledge of prostopinije, source material in all tones was needed, material to be followed as easily as possible by everyone. Modern musical notation provides a standard for all worshippers to use in singing, not just a privileged few. Total strangers to Byzantine worship can follow and even participate in services when they have a book that shows them the way, as long as they can read music. Our parish has many members who do read music, so we have moved forward with the learning of the tones using sources in modern notation. Without the ability to read music, however, such learning is made much more difficult, especially for the cantor who is reduced to memory alone.

How best to sing chant for best interpretation is apt to be decided by the cantor him (or her) self, based on what they have already heard and know. Listening to recordings and hearing other cantors will help, but more important is the ability to steer the congregation as a whole regardless of whether you want to sound like an English choir singer, a bel canto opera star, etc. I have never thought of myself as a particularly good singer, not one with a pleasing voice per se. My own leaning is for the singing to be from the heart. Nowadays, if a cantor can read music, project and sing on pitch, lead the congregation, and sing from the heart, he has my agreement.

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Originally posted by Jim:
So, it remains to be seen how effective a parish can be in gaining converts, etc. if few general standards are in place for the conduct of music in worship that the uninitiated can understand or relate to.
I would suggest that the didactic benefits of "repetition" present in the Divine Services, the Cycle of Readings, etc. for the Eastern Church can also apply to our Liturgical Music. There are strong levels of congregational participation in most Churches, even though the typical edition of the "Faithful's Book" (published by Msgr. Levkulic) did not include musical notation.

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Originally posted by Jim:
Modern musical notation provides a standard for all worshippers to use in singing, not just a privileged few. Total strangers to Byzantine worship can follow and even participate in services when they have a book that shows them the way, as long as they can read music.
Over the years, I've invited a large number of family and friends to pray with me -- those who could be classified as "total strangers" to the Eastern Church -- and have never once received feedback that the lack of music to accompany the text was a barrier to their participation or prayer.

I am not saying that good musical supplements are not an effective worship aid in some circumstances. For example, I have served as Cantor in some local parishes where the Musical Supplements (published by the Administrator) are provided to the Faithful.

An important note about those materials is that they build upon the oral (and written) musical tradition of the past 40 years of singing in English in the Metropolia of Pittsburgh. So, back to an earlier point:

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Originally posted by Administrator:
If one means that a cantor who is reasonable familiar with our chant can pick up a setting, see that it is in �Tone 1� or set to a known melody and sing it than I suspect that most of our cantors can �read music� (at least to a certain extent).
My suspicion is that the "clue" to most of the Faithful in these parishes is the printed indication of the Tone, rather than the sequence of notes on the musical score. So, at the very least, it might give one an idea of where the Cantor is going to put the movement in a particular selection.

Based on some of what has been written in this particular thread (and others), it seems as though an appropriate course of action at present is to nurture and build upon the knowledge of our Plain Chant tradition through the use of existing materials and increased collaboration between established Cantors, and between Pastors and their Cantor.

~ Cantor JKF

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an appropriate course of action at present is to nurture and build upon the knowledge of our Plain Chant tradition through the use of existing materials and increased collaboration between established Cantors, and between Pastors and their Cantor.

Nowadays the most effective sources of materials are not always agreed upon, but I keep saying that as long as the source includes plenty of modern musical notation it is more accessible to everyone.

As to increased collaboration between cantors, there is dialogue on the Forum, occasional discussions at pilgrimages or NPM conferences, emails, and phone calls.

Another step I hope comes about one of these days would be to have some sort of regular conferences within each eparchy, to focus on a particular aspect of community worship, similar to the Cantor Institute training sessions in Pittsburgh. Maybe some day.

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Originally posted by Jim:
Nowadays the most effective sources of materials are not always agreed upon, but I keep saying that as long as the source includes plenty of modern musical notation it is more accessible to everyone.
I would agree that some sources of materials are not always agreed upon by all Cantors.

One of the challenges with some sources is that, despite using "modern musical notation," they may also:

1) Utilize texts which have not been approved either for provisional use by a particular Hierarch or for normal usage by the Council of Hierarchs of the Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh;

2) Utilize musical settings which have reverted the English settings in common use in our Metropolia back to arrangements substantially similar to those found in the 1906 Church Slavonic edition of the Bok�aj-Malinch Prostopinije - treating the arrangements in that edition as the "Typikon" for the Carpathian Plain Chant.

While such sources may use "modern musical notation," they present (sometimes, drastic) changes to text and melody that would not serve the goal of making the Liturgy "more accessible to everyone."

Cantors should seek out and use those "effective sources" of music that represent the texts of the Divine Services approved for use in their Eparchy arranged to the melodies commonly used in their Eparchy.

If Cantors are having trouble locating such resources on their own, that is where collaboration with other area Cantors can be a big help.

~ Cantor JKF


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