What is your favorite type of Orthodox Christian chanting?

[Nektarios14]

I was suprised by this poll. You mean to tell me there is Orthodox chanting besides Byzantine?

[romiosini]

(Lol that too!) But I always knew Russian Chating grew on own their own type of chanting. But I never knew Serbia had its own developed chanting.

[Sean]

I have a few recordings of liturgical music from Valaam Monastery...is the style of chanting they use on these predominantly Znamenny, or do they use a variety of styles in their recordings? I've always liked their CD's.

The Brotherhood at Valaam Monastery uses pedominantly Znamenney, but there is a mixture of Byzantine, so-called "Greek Chant," and on their Taste the Fountain of Immortality CD, they even do some Georgian chanting. Like traditional iconography, traditional Orthodox chant resonates with the Nous and not the lower, sentimental forms of attachment that flowery melodies and pretty little "soft style" icons, that look like RC holy cards, evoke in those who like them.

--Sean

[Ioannes72]

Wow. I never knew how Russian chanting can be synchronized with byzantine.?

Yes, and very beautifully. I have a 5 disc CD set of an Agripnia at Hilander Monastery on Agios Oros. The Vigil is chanted antiphonally, alternating between Greek and Slavonic - all with Byzantine Chant.

I recently heard a recording of nuns from Serbia, and it was some of the best Byzantine chant I have ever heard. If the language wasn't in Slavonic, I would have assumed the recording came from Greece.

Anyways, I was wondering, is Church slavonic, the ancient language for Russian/Bulgarian and Serbian? Does that mean it's all the same? (So if you have a serb, bulgarian and russian priest, they could understand eachother right?)

Speaking of the Serbain church, their liturgical language is Old Slavonic, but modern Serbian is very far from Old Slavonic, where most Serbs do not understand what is being said. That is why Blessed Justin Popovich translated the Divine Liturgy into Serbian - because its pretty much a different language.

Ioannes

[Ioannes72]

Speaking of chanting and polyphonic singing...is there any impetus in either ROCOR or ROAC to return to traditional chanting? I remember reading an speach by Metropolitan Lauras given to the graduates of Holy Trinity Jordanville on Traditional Liturgics. This speech was published in Orthodox Life sometime around 1995/1996. His Eminence compared polyphonic (4-part) singing to western style/Renaissance icons, and said the Russian Church needs to return to traditional chanting as it returned to traditional icon painting. I was wondering if this is happening at all?

Ioannes

[Sean]

Speaking of chanting and polyphonic singing...is there any impetus in either ROCOR or ROAC to return to traditional chanting? I remember reading an speach by Metropolitan Lauras given to the graduates of Holy Trinity Jordanville on Traditional Liturgics. This speech was published in Orthodox Life sometime around 1995/1996. His Eminence compared polyphonic (4-part) singing to western style/Renaissance icons, and said the Russian Church needs to return to traditional chanting as it returned to traditional icon painting. I was wondering if this is happening at all?

The monks of Holy Cross Monastery in Wayne, WV do mostly Znamenney. The Russian music conferences that ROCOR has every year was originally conceived to revive Znamenney chant. Unfortunately, there are lots of Slavophiles (converts included) who are as enamored of Russian romanticism as they are of Orthodoxy. Many of these people have anti-Byzantine sentiments which were powerfully reinforced by the Boston schism, and they seem to prefer polyphony as the "Russian" form of chanting.

--Sean

[romiosini]

the Boston schism
--Sean

ha? Boston Schism? When did this happen? And I thought Znammeney chant was influenced by byzantine and its origin is from the begining of byzantine chanting no?