www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Church Slavonic

In response to Mr. Stojgniev's question, I suggest Father Cyril Korolevsky's excellent book *Living Languages in Catholic Worship*. Unfortunately since it was published in the nineteen fifties it does not take Vatican II or post-conciliar developments into account - it might be worth revising, at least with regard to the Eastern Churches.

Incidentally, Incognitus is a nom de plume, but has never been anyone's name, so there is no need to call me "Mr. Incognitus"!

Incognitus

"Father Incognitus?"

I just had to tell you about the number of people who have told me, "I know who Incognitus is - haven't you figured it out, Alex?"

To which I always respond, truthfully, "No."

And when I ask who you are, I'm always told, "I can't divulge that."

When your identity has become known to someone, do you sign a secrecy contract with them or something?

Like Clark Kent? (After all, we all think you're super!)

Alex

SLAVA ISUSU CHRISTU!

I'm working on putting together a workshop for my parish, tenatively titled, "Hymnology Around the Calendar: Our Father Linked melodies from Carpatho-Rus melodies".

While speaking with the workshop leader, I learned that a bi-lingual Christmas Carol book will soon be published. It will have music & words in English on one side and OCS - Rusyn words on the other (depending on whether it is a religious carol or secular). I've asked this person to keep me posted as to the availability of the book.

I learned from another source that one of our hierarch's recently had a temper tantrum upon learning that a parish held a Divine Liturgy in Old Church Slavonic. The statement made was akin to "I wish they would STOP THAT ALREADY!" This does not bode well at all...

I am ever so grateful that I was not driving this hierarch around because I would have done a 360 turn and hopefully, he would have fallen out and landed on his head to knock some sense into it!!!

JMHO....

mark

For the record, Jerry Jumba has been working on this Christmas music project. I don't know its current state. His original goal was a joint Orthodox (Johnstown)/Byzantine Catholic (Pittsburgh) publication, but that didn't work out.

--Tim Cuprisin

Steve, my parish has been using mainly Levkulic settings from the 1970s at Christmas. There is a new booklet, "Slav Christmas Carols in English". It includes 15 carols, and was published this past fall by Holy Dormition Monastery, P.O. Box 270, Sybertsville, PA, 18251. Bro. Augustine is selling them for $10 a copy, to cover the cost of publishing and support for the monastery. You might want to get a copy.

Even with music our congregation does not immediately take to new carols. I figure it has to do with not wanting to be embarrassed, but as cantor I could be embarrassed at some point in every service if I chose to react that way. It takes time, practice, etc. for people to feel like they are not performing for an audience.

I wonder if anyone here has ever heard Janacek's Glagolitic Mass. (Hope I spelled that right.)

Cantor Joseph Roll has several Christmas hymns (Galician settings) in both Ukrainian and English in his "Devotional Hymns".

Also the Basilian Press in Toronto has a book of Christmas carols in both English and Ukrainian put out by St. Demetrius Parish in Toronto.

I'm glad to hear Jerry Jumba is putting a Christmas book together, and even more happy to hear it is a joint project with the ACROD.

I put together a booklet in 1984 that has a large selection of Christmas Carols (about 25 or so), which is used by many of our parishes. It includes Slavonic and English for the Rusin carols and the English text for the �American� carols. I have found that alternating the �ethnic� carols with the �American� carols helps keep the singing at a higher level. I reprinted the book with corrections sometime in the 1990s and each year I get a half dozen parishes requesting copies.