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ECCLESIASTICAL MUSIC

Article by Maria St. Kapkidi

The invention of the phonograph undoubtedly helped the preservation of the orality of the ecclesiastical music tradition, as it had been shaped (and evolved) until the advent of the phonograph in the late 19th century. That same tradition may at times have been partially varied, especially as regards ecclesiastical music, as recording in a studio certainly varies the way it is performed in comparison to listening to it in its established environment, that is, church.
... There is no doubt, however, that any recorded audio testimonies of Byzantine music are purely representative, since those artists selected for its recording responded with certitude and sincerity to their mission, aiming at approaching even the simplest or non-specialized, in relation to the subject, listeners.
The result was the style of the art of chanting (where many chanters and singers are comprised) to stand out through its performative character. Cantors, emergent and apprentice chanters of the Patriarchal analogia of Constantinople (Istanbul), as well as carriers of the musical tradition of Smyrna (Izmir), recorded regularly. The audio documents that come to us from the far shores of America, where the increased immigration movement of the early 20th century yielded a particular kind of creativity and a different perspective by combining the European with the purely Eastern Byzantine idiom, are similar. Recordings from the Greek capital, where individual cantors and polyphonic choirs were often present and accompanied by military bands and the Military Band of Athens, are clearly remarkable as well.
Most of the aforementioned recordings of ecclesiastical music recorded on the phonograph can be found in the private archive of the Kounadis family, of which the present list is indicative. For us researchers, it is a valuable treasure.

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