CHRIST IS RISEN!

Today's program takes an in-depth look at the Paschal Canon "This is the Day of Resurrection," composed in the early 8th century by St. John of Damascus, comparing three recordings that feature very different musical interpretations of the same basic chant melodies.

The melodies in question are known by the curious name of "grecheskiy rospev," which in Russian means "Greek chant." The melodies bear little resemblance to those sung in the Greek Orthodox Church today. But there is historical evidence that they were brought to Russia in the 17th century by Greek singers who were invited to the Moscow court by the Tsar and the Patriarch of Russia; so perhaps they resemble more closely the melodies sung in Greece at that time.

The three recordings take very different approaches to the musical treatment of the Paschal Canon melody. The Choir of the Valaam Monastery, under the direction of Hieromonk Gherman, (on their CD entitled "The Day of Resurrection," B072) sings the melody in unison, as it appears in the chant book but supplying it with an ison, a practice that may have been traditional at some time in the past, but which was not maintained in the Russian Church, even by the Old Believers. So, in a sense, their approach must be regarded as experimental, based upon certain scholars' interpretations of notational signs whose meaning has been forgotten.

The second recording, by the Russian Patriarchate Choir under Anatoly Grindenko, (a recording that is, unfortunately, out of print at the moment) presents the Paschal Canon as it appears in a surviving late 17th-century manuscript; the melody is notated for a three-part men's choir in a style that already has distinct qualities of polyphony but which is not yet fully "harmonic" in character. At the end of each ode, the final repetition of "Christ is risen" is in a very unusual and dissonant-sounding style of polyphonic Russian chant known as demestvenny polyphony, the transcriptions of which scholars are still debating, as to whether they are accurate or not.

The third recording, by the St. Vladimir's Seminary Choir, under the direction of David Drillock, presents the same Russian "Greek" Chant melody for the Paschal Canon as arranged by the 20th-century Russian emigre composer Boris Ledkovsky (1894-1975). In this harmonic arrangement, the chant takes on a sound most familiar to those who attend Slavic or Slavic-heritage churches. This CD is available from St. Vladimir's Seminary Bookstore.

Indeed, it is fascinating how through the efforts of today's musicologists and liturgical musicians we can hear the historical precedents of our modern-day church hymns, and how traditional earlier models are finding their place in contemporary liturgical practice. The three interpretations of the Paschal Canon, different as they are, each capture and convey the energy and joy of the Paschal celebration.

-Vladimir Morosan

5/9/08CHRIST IS RISEN!

Today's program takes an in-depth look at the Paschal Canon "This is the Day of Resurrection," composed in the early 8th century by St. John of Damascus, comparing three recordings that feature very different musical interpretations of the same basic chant melodies.

The melodies in question are known by the curious name of "grecheskiy rospev," which in Russian means "Greek chant." The melodies bear little resemblance to those sung in the Greek Orthodox Church today. But there is historical evidence that they were brought to Russia in the 17th century by Greek singers who were invited to the Moscow court by the Tsar and the Patriarch of Russia; so perhaps they resemble more closely the melodies sung in Greece at that time.

The three recordings take very different approaches to the musical treatment of the Paschal Canon melody. The Choir of the Valaam Monastery, under the direction of Hieromonk Gherman, (on their CD entitled "The Day of Resurrection," B072) sings the melody in unison, as it appears in the chant book but supplying it with an ison, a practice that may have been traditional at some time in the past, but which was not maintained in the Russian Church, even by the Old Believers. So, in a sense, their approach must be regarded as experimental, based upon certain scholars' interpretations of notational signs whose meaning has been forgotten.

The second recording, by the Russian Patriarchate Choir under Anatoly Grindenko, (a recording that is, unfortunately, out of print at the moment) presents the Paschal Canon as it appears in a surviving late 17th-century manuscript; the melody is notated for a three-part men's choir in a style that already has distinct qualities of polyphony but which is not yet fully "harmonic" in character. At the end of each ode, the final repetition of "Christ is risen" is in a very unusual and dissonant-sounding style of polyphonic Russian chant known as demestvenny polyphony, the transcriptions of which scholars are still debating, as to whether they are accurate or not.

The third recording, by the St. Vladimir's Seminary Choir, under the direction of David Drillock, presents the same Russian "Greek" Chant melody for the Paschal Canon as arranged by the 20th-century Russian emigre composer Boris Ledkovsky (1894-1975). In this harmonic arrangement, the chant takes on a sound most familiar to those who attend Slavic or Slavic-heritage churches. This CD is available from St. Vladimir's Seminary Bookstore.

Indeed, it is fascinating how through the efforts of today's musicologists and liturgical musicians we can hear the historical precedents of our modern-day church hymns, and how traditional earlier models are finding their place in contemporary liturgical practice. The three interpretations of the Paschal Canon, different as they are, each capture and convey the energy and joy of the Paschal celebration.

-Vladimir Morosan

5/9/08