www.byzcath.org Forums Mysteries: The Life of Worship The Kliros Melkite chant

Hi,

Can anyone identify the chant that is being sung in this clip? Sounds vaguely familiar but I just can't put my finger on it.

http://www.epilgrim.org/damas_grec.mpg

Thanks.

--
Ernest

It is the troparion of the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos (15 August). The clip misses the early part and the very last minute.

Judging by what is going on, I'd say it's the troparion sung at the end of the Great Doxology--i.e., this clip is taken at the point where the praying changes from Orthros into the Divine Liturgy.

Presumably you did not understand the Arabic, so I'll give the text in English, which is as follows: "In giving birth, you have preserved your virginity; and in falling asleep, you did not forsake the world, O Mother of God. You have passed into life being the Mother of Life. Through your intercession, save our souls from death." The chanting in the clip takes up from around "You have passed into life".

Thank you so much, Matta I should have thanked you sooner but I didn't check this post again after not getting any replies in the initial couple of days.

A further question: is the melody here the same as the one used in the Greek church, or are there subtle differences?

Thanks again!

Yes, but ...

The melody is largely the same as one used in the Greek Orthodox church. Overall it will sound the same. There will be points where a note is held longer for a long vowel in Arabic, where the Greek would show a shorter note for a corresponding short vowel. The translations try to keep these minor differences to a minimum, as we still often sing the troparia in Greek and in Arabic for greater feasts. Often this means that the music is written the same (Byzantine music, psaltiki) and the interpretation left to the one chanting.

However, there is not just one melody for some things, even in the Greek Orthodox church. There have been several protopsaltoi who have published there own collections, monasteries have developed their own, etc.

This is also the case in the Middle East. I know of at least five "schools" of chant. Some are merely simpler versions of a monastic chant, much too complicated for normal parish use. The Melkite patriarchate recently released a new collection of chants (2000 or 2005?), gathering the more well known versions from several traditions. In the list of works consulted, there was over a page of Greek texts (from which the melodies were drawn).

Matta,

Can you help me get a hold of a copy of this collection of chants?

Can you recommend (and help me get) some recordings?

Thank you again, Matta, for the very informative response.

Laka,

do you read Byzantine psaltiki (chant notation)? If so, then you'll find probably the best collection of scanned Byzantine music on the web here: http://graeca.canto.ru/upload/MontrealPsaltiki/000_Psaltic_Books_PNG/ . You'll find some recordings of them one directory level up (i.e., http://graeca.canto.ru/upload/MontrealPsaltiki/ ).

Abouna Samir's global Melkite site has excerpts from a recently produced CD with the Good Friday funeral chants in English here: http://www.melkites.org/en/index.htm .

He has another site specifically on music (http://www.rannem.com), but this is in Arabic. There are quite a few of the Lenten, Easter, and Christmas chants (as well as several assorted others) here. All in Arabic, though.

There are a couple of MIDI files with the (older translation of the) English version of some troparia here: http://www.acorn.net/stjomelk/hymns.htm . These are of the Melkite tradition.

There is little available in English or in Western musical notation (solf�ge) for the Melkites on the web. The only recordings of English chanting I know of on the web are here: http://www.melkites.org/en/m5.htm . These are the voices of my parish priest and our protopsaltis singing the English version of the Divine & Holy Liturgy of St John Chrysostom.

That said, I am part way through transcribing (electronically) the new (draft) version of the English liturgy with the traditional music in Western notation. I can send you MIDIs and PDFs of this, if this is of use. I'll be working on adding the main troparia, kontakia, etc., later in the year, and at which time I'll be typing in the Byzantine psaltiki versions with Arabic text (and the accompanying MIDIs) as well.

PM me your e-mail address, if you're interested in any of the scores and MIDIs and whether you want English only or Arabic as well.

In a rush now. But Matta, since you have my email address, do what you usually do best... Share!!!