The Byzantine chant has existed as a living art for over 2000 years. This comprehensive music system has significant cultural traditions and forms part of the musical traditions that developed during the Byzantine Empire. The chant uses liturgical texts of the Greek Orthodox Church to enhance and highlight the sound of the liturgy, which is inextricably linked with spiritual life and religious worship.
In the Middle Ages, the Byzantine Empire was composed of the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. And while the music of the Patriarchate was often regarded as "post-Byzantine", Christian religious chant practices in the Ottoman Empire, including Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece, came from historical roots traced back to the Byzantine Empire.
As a result, chants practiced during the Ottoman period were deemed "post-Byzantine". Due to this, Byzantine music relates to several Orthodox Christian chant traditions of the Mediterranean and Caucasus that are practiced today, as they were in the past.
Despite the spread of Christianity in the Greek-speaking areas of the Eastern Roman Empire by Byzantine music, it derives mostly from Christian liturgies that originated in the Hebrew and Syriac Churches. Various types of hymns are among the most significant, including those known as troparion, kontakion, and kanon (q.v.). Greek music and Byzantine music are not related. The earliest documents with neumatic notation are from the 10th century.
There was previously “ecphonetic” notation, which was based on Greek accent marks from Alexandria, Egypt, but showed only the vague direction of upward or downward voice movements; readings were intoned, and then the signs were added. As a vocal art form, the chant primarily aims to convey the ecclesiastical text. Perhaps even more importantly, it exists because of the word ('logos'), since every element of the tradition is designed to spread the sacred message.
This chanting art has been transmitted from generation to generation, its main characteristics have remained the same: it's solely vocal music, monophonic; it's codified into an eight-tonne system, and different rhythms are employed to emphasize specific syllables. Even though chants of the Psaltic Art are traditionally associated with the male voice, women are common in nunneries and take part in parishes to some degree.
In addition to being passed down in churches, the Byzantine chant is flourishing due to the contributions of professionals and non-professionals alike. These professionals include musicians, choir members, composers, musicologists, and scholars. They perform the chants, study them, and perform them.
In Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was composed of the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. While the music of the Patriarchate was often regarded as "post-Byzantine", Christian religious chant practices in the Ottoman Empire, including Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece, came from historical roots traced back to the Byzantine Empire.
As a result, chants practiced during the Ottoman period were deemed "post-Byzantine". Due to this, Byzantine music relates to several Orthodox Christian chant traditions of the Mediterranean and Caucasus that are practiced today, as they were in the past. With a history of more than 2000 years, Byzantine Chant is a living art form and a significant part of the common music traditions that developed in the Byzantine Empire. Using the liturgical texts of the Greek Orthodox Church enhances and highlights the sound of the liturgy, which is inextricably linked with spiritual life and religious worship.
Despite the spread of Christianity in the Greek-speaking areas of the Eastern Roman Empire by Byzantine music, it derives mostly from Christian liturgies that originated in the Hebrew and Syriac Churches (see Syrian chant). Various types of hymns are among the most significant, including those known as troparion, kontakion, and kanon (q.v.). Greek music and Byzantine music are not related. The earliest documents with neumatic notation are from the 10th century. There was previously “ecphonetic” notation, which was based on Greek accent marks from Alexandria, Egypt, but showed only the vague direction of upward or downward voice movements; readings were intoned, and then the signs were added. As a vocal art form, the chant primarily aims to convey the ecclesiastical text. Perhaps even more importantly, it exists because of the word ('logos'), since every element of the tradition is designed to spread the sacred message.
This chanting art has been transmitted from generation to generation, its main characteristics have remained the same: it's solely vocal music, monophonic; it's codified into an eight-tonne system, and different rhythms are employed to emphasize specific syllables. Even though chants of the Psaltic Art are traditionally associated with the male voice, women are common in nunneries and take part in parishes to some degree. In addition to being passed down in churches, the Byzantine chant is flourishing due to the contributions of professionals and non-professionals alike. These professionals include musicians, choir members, composers, musicologists, and scholars. They perform the chants, study them, and perform them.
References
(https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/byzantine-chant-01508) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_music) (https://www.britannica.com/topic/liturgical-music) |Subject=Art, Belief, Music, Ritual |Country=Cyprus, Greece }}