Rus: Liturgical Musik
Kyivian Chants
Kyivian chant is basically a plain chant which also closely resembles the Znamenny chant. It has its own system of the 8 tones, and there are many Kyivian melodies which are still being used in the Russian Church today. Kyivian chants are almost synonomous with Rus music.
Khironomiya Chants
During a short historical period prior to the advent of sign notation in Russia, a method of chanting called khironomiya was used. This consisted of the choral director making signs with his hands, fingers and feet which were easily understood by the chanters. This method of chanting was used mainly during special church ceremonies. It was important because many were illiterate and could not have read written or even symbolic writings.
Part-singing was introduced into Russia at the beginning of the 16th century. Its origins are found in the chanting of the Latin church in Poland. This type of chant paved the way for further harmonization and westernization of Russian liturgical chant which took place over the next three hundred years.
The 19th century produced a wide variety of composers of liturgical music. Nikolai Bakhmetev, Peter Tchaikovsky, Mili Balakirev, Anton Arensky, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, and others. These compositions do however, are out of the range of liturgical chant and fall under the realm of choral performance.
Liturgical music is considered to be the defining music of the Rus culture. I disagree with this basis that it defines only the Christain portion of the Rus culture. It does not address the Russian Jewsih or the Russain Muslim portion of the music. These 2 theocracies have their own offerings to Rus liturgical music. The cantoric chants from the Jewish liturgy as well as the chants of the Muslim imams are an important part of the definiton of liturgical music in the Rus. As has been noted earlier, the early Christians adopted Jewsih chanting as what became the basis of Christian music, the liturgical chants. This same chanting is also the basis of Muslim liturgical chants as well.
Powerful, vibrant and full of emotion, Rus liturgical music is that part of the Rus soul that was never erased by the Soviet and hopefully will never be eradicated from the musical scene. Listening to this music in its various forms is an experience that truly brings one closer to their spiritual nature.
Sources
:
Russian Church Music; Viktor P. Morensky and Feodor I. Sarenko; Moscow 1910
Chants of The Orthodox Church ; Fr. Pavel
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