
A class on Orthodox Music is currently being designed, possibly to meet in Fall 2009. Below is a very preliminary syllabus of course material. Subjects may change as necessary. Please contact Subdeacon Anthony Stokes with any questions.
Orthodox Music Appreciation
Week 1 – History of Christian Music
Synagogue vs. Temple Worship
Hebraic Chant
Church Fathers on Singing
St. Gregory Dialogus (Gregorian Chant)
Ambrosian Chant
Syriac/Coptic Chant
Islamic Chant
Week 2 – Fundamentals of Orthodox Music
Singing and the Liturgy
Terminology
Services
Performance Practice
Hymnography/Composition
System of Eight Tones
Week 3 – Byzantine Chant
Introduction & History
Notation & the Three Teachers
Tonal System
Different Styles (Athonite, Great Church, Arab)
Week 4 – Byzantine Chant
In Depth Examples of Different Styles
Famous Hymns
Influence on Russian Chant
Serbian, Bulgarian, Romanian Styles
Week 5 – Medieval Russian Chant
Early Chant
Notation
Znamenny Chant
Old Believers
Other Chant Systems (Kievan, Valaam, etc.)
Prostopinije
Week 6 – Russian Polyphony
Italian Period
Borniansky
Censorship of Church Music
Court Chant
Golden Age of Russian Choral Music
Tchaikovsky
Week 7 – 20th Century and American Orthodox Music
Rachmaninoff
Organs?
Modern Greek Choral Music
American Composers
Future Trends in Orthodox Music