Byzantine Music: An Oft-Marginalized Intangible Piece of Cultural Heritage – The National Herald

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There’s an old Greek adage that says “chanters disguise their confusion by coughing.” In other words, coughing serves as a tactful way for chanters to cover up when they don’t precisely hit a note or fumble words. According to the urban legend, the ever-memorable head chanter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate Konstantinos Pringos had it out with the then newly-elected Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras when the latter attempted to introduce Western choirs at the Phanar. The late Patriarch was a modernist in numerous aspects, undoubtedly influenced by his tenure as Archbishop of America. Thus, when the Patriarch purportedly attempted to impose Western music at the Phanar, as was the habit in many U.S. parishes at the time, Pringos supposedly told him he needn’t bother unpacking his bags because he wouldn’t be staying in Constantinople for too long if he tried such a thing. The threat must have worked, because the Phanar retains its historic and distinct style of Byzantine music until today.
This story serves as food for thought regarding interventions by hierarchs regarding Church order and tradition. Indicatively, a recent statement by Archbishop Makarios of Australia regarding the need to maintain Greek as the Church’s primary liturgical language made headlines, especially when compared to the latest trends in the U.S., where there seems to be a growing attempt to anglify (often unsuccessfully) the hymnology of the Church.
In fact, some chanters appear to be so eager to please their ecclesiastical superiors that despite spending years studying the correct distances between notes, the unique pull of characteristic notes in each mode, or how to perfect their musical expression, they seem indifferent to their heavy accent when attempting to chant in English, which makes the already difficult-to-understand translated lyrics even more incomprehensible.
Considering the original text was written, set to meter, and composed in Greek (usually by divinely inspired saints), it’s only natural that it would sound… ‘off’ in English. Strangely enough, this is occurring in an era when practically everyone has immediate access to the English translation on their phones thanks to the ubiquity of technology. How ironic that a pre-Internet mindset shapes policy in today’s digital world…
One inherently wonders if these chanters are being ‘blackmailed’ to chant in English by hierarchs, priests, or parish councils. If so, it’s worth remembering another story involving Greek rembetiko legend Markos Vamvakaris, who was rumored to dance a mean zeimbekiko. One day, a customer offered the elderly Vamvakaris a substantial tip to dance. As the old man huffed and puffed to meet the request, it became obvious to the orchestra that money and uncultivated customers’ whimsies can be very humbling for musicians…
If these chanters are being forced to chant pieces in English for fear of losing their positions or getting on a prelate’s bad side, this constitutes a major affront to the sacred psaltic art. The purpose of Byzantine music is to glorify God and help the congregation pray, not fulfill ideological ankyloses or petty attempts to show off.
Another rising trend is the hiring of chanters from Greece to chant Holy Week services in the U.S. While demonstrating the existing absence of properly trained domestic chanters and the need to support local Byzantine music schools, this practice is beneficial – so long as its main purpose is to cultivate a climate of devotion and prayer during these holy days. Nevertheless, if the impetus for hiring them becomes adulterated so that their patrons can pompously engage in nouveax riche grandstanding, then the only thing that their arrival will succeed in achieving is impeding the goal of prayer and devotion. Especially in instances where visiting high-profile head chanters (or in some instances, even singers!) from Greece are invited by parishes that already have adequate head chanters, unbeknownst to the latter and without their consent, it becomes evident that the ends do not justify the means.
If one were to study some such cases over recent years, they would ascertain that the only thing that these parish councils or priests managed to achieve in their foolishness is to create much ado about nothing. In fact, in some instances, the end result was even a drop-off in attendance for Holy Week, proving that parishioners can discern between sincerity and showing off.
In light of all these behaviors, while one empathizes with chanters who are treated as mere hired larynxes by parish administrators, despite belonging to the lower order of clergy, perhaps they need to display more of the legendary boldness of the ever-memorable Konstantinos Pringos, who didn’t even hesitate in checking the excesses of the Patriarch when it came to defending sacred tradition. UNESCO officially recognizes Byzantine music as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. It’s high time our Church and parish administrators do as well.
 
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