Wednesday, May 7, 2014

The Basics of Byzantine-Ruthenian Chant | Upcoming Review Sessions @ Resurrection (Smithtown, NY) Parish

REPRINT OF EMAIL TO CHOIR & CHANTERS - LONG ISLAND PARISHES

Wednesday, the 7th of May in the Year of Our Lord 2014

Dear friends & fellow chanters:

Christ is risen!

By popular demand, we will be beginning a series of evening sessions over the summer and into the fall to review the basics of chant in our tradition and Metropolitan Church.

As decided with the Smithtown chanters this past Sunday, and as will be announced in the parish bulletins in Smithtown and Westbury this weekend, we have scheduled the first of these sessions for Thursday, May 15th @ 7PM.

These sessions will be open to all interested, and it is envisioned that we will follow a basic curriculum as suggested by the Metropolitan Cantor Institute for review of the settings and text as it appears in and was intended to be used from the green pew book issued by the Archeparchy in 2006. This has been our official text since the feast of Sts. Peter & Paul in June 2007. Despite its near seven years of availability and use, many parishes and faithful still struggle with the "new" text and revised notation for a number of standard hymns and responses.

While these sessions will be open to all interested (our chanters, parishioners, faithful & friends), it will be geared to ensure we as chanters and active faithful have a firm command of the basics, as a foundation for later sessions on harmonized chant and choral works for our chant group.

I plan to consult with my regular contacts at the MCI, as well as our own local cantors, for setting the curriculum forward and will publish the same ASAP, but no later than the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord. The schedule and curriculum will be highlighted regularly on our blog: resurrectionchanters.blogspot.com

Please plan to attend if you can, and coax as many of your fellow parishioners as you can to come as well. You all know who the chanters are among us!