Chris: Yes, that's exactly what I am talking about.
Father Serge, your blessing! I'm going to answer your questions back-to-front:
A bias against hymn-singing? ... What exactly is the issue you perceive?
Many of our parishes have certainly kept a tradition of hymn-singing, not only on pilgrimage but during the censing before the Enarxis of the Divine Liturgy. When Matins or Hours are celebrated beforehand, there is still usually a gap during which hymns are often sung.
The issue I perceive runs as follows:
(a) Some
vostochniki, converts and visitors have remarked "it's not traditional to sing hymns; one should have the Hours", etc. - which is not the whole story, and may introduce a false dichotomy for those parishes introducing other services, as to whether this means they must end hymn-singing at the same time.
(b) The new service book is QUITE large, and there was simply not enough room for any sort of representative collection of devotional hymns, especially if music were to be provided.
(c) Unfortunately, some here and elsewhere take the line that "our bishops want to take <x> away from us", and argue that the omission of hymns from the Divine Liturgies book was intentional, in order to PREVENT us from singing "our hymns" (as if most of them weren't being sung sans text anyway).
The latter runs parallel to the issue of Slavonic. The new books would have been HUGE had they included Slavonic as well. I have already seen the parallel Slavonic/English Divine Liturgy booklet in preparation (the principal hymns and responses, essentially), but elsewhere on this forum we're hearing:
1. The bishops want to prevent us from using Church Slavonic!
2. So they "took it away"!
3. They "claim" that for now we can sing from memory, and there will eventually be a hymnal with Slavonic, but they really don't mean it.
4. But - haha - we CAN sing from memory! We won!
5. Ooh! They're putting out a hymnal with Slavonic! We won again!
I just don't see much spiritual value in either argument, but I suspect that anything other than having Slavonic and devotional hymns ready for release back in January would have averted them.
...are you familiar with J. M. Neale's Hymns of the Eastern Church?
I am; Neale did marvelous work, which has stood the test of time.
The Greeks sing the Great Doxology at that point. One might sing the Polyeleos - which is quite lovely and solemn. And so forth.
In fact, the new service book provides the Great Doxology and Polyeleos, in English with music, in the small set of liturgical and Scriptural hymns at the back - and sessions at the Cantor Insitute have mentioned their use before the Enarxis.
A Marian hymn would not seem altogether suitable, except perhaps on a Marian feast (one could also sing the Magnificat with its refrain, since that is sung during a great incensation). Or . . . but you get my general idea.
Since the bulk of our hymnody IS Marian, parishes that sing hymns will usually include them. The Cantor's Companion recommends that hymns chosen for singing before the enarxis are in accord with the service, the day, and Byzantine theology - though this has been made fun of here as disallowing Marian hymns (an over-reading, I think), it does seem to trend in the same direction you describe.
The Magnificat (in both English and Slavonic) is in the proposed hymnal, along with the Polyeleos (again, English and Slavonic).
I trust this has answered your questions!
Yours in Christ,
Jeff
