I’m quite happy today. Someone was getting rid of their Finale 2008 software and was willing to part with it for a mere $70.00 on Amazon. I snatched it up. Despite claiming to be for both Mac and PC, It refused to install on my Macbook Pro (a laptop I’m borrowing from school) but installed beautifully on our extra PC, a used machine we picked up a while back for $80.00 so that Ian could play games while we were using our regular PC. It hasn’t seen much use since… Read more Hurrah! →
Byzantine Chant is stark for a reason; it eliminates all the excess in the music and cuts to the core. Constantine Cavarnos has written of its “inner essence…its pureness…its mystical quality, its power of evoking contriction.” One may compare harmonizing chant to colorizing Ansel Adam’s photography. It may add visual richness, but there is a unique beauty found in his black and white photography: starkness, definition, and clarity. There is a contrast between light and shadow, which disappears when the element of color is added. Furthermore, there is a link… Read more Furthermore, There Is A Link Between Byzantine Chant and Iconography →
For those of us interested in learning traditional Orthodox Music, here’s an online tutorial for learning specific troparia and so forth in Byzantine (Greek) Chant.
My dear readers, Forgive the incoherence that follows; hopefully it explains itself. We celebrated Epiphany a day early for various reasons. I botched the early part of the Liturgy; all… Read more Exhaustion, Grace, Sons, and Chanting…Not Necessarily In That Order →
I found the English-translated website of a Russian women’s monastery. The website is such a treasure of blessing and piety that I can only imagine what the place itself must be like. There are some recordings of chant, both Russian and Byzantine, which the monastics have made a serious study of. These recordings may be of interest to some of my readers, along with the brief but informative explanations that accompany them. I’ve recieved benefit from the addresses or sermons, and the icons, as well, and I have not yet… Read more Link to Monastery Website; Chant Information →
Slow Literature 