"Singing antiphonally: Unity or Variety?"

Scientific publication - Conference Paper uoadl:2935117 154 Read counter

Unit:
Department of Music Studies
Title:
"Singing antiphonally: Unity or Variety?"
Languages of Item:
English
Abstract:
The antiphony technique, according to which sacral music is interpreted in Orthodox churches all over the world, is well known: two chanters (or two choirs of chanters) facing each other sing alternately the musical parts of an acolouthia. Despite the fact that the chanters’ positioning in space is reminiscent of a battle array, its purpose is rather to achieve harmony and unity. In fact, in most works of ecclesiastic music (both older and newer) there is a similar structure in pairs. This is a composition technique, which definitely favors harmony and unity during interpretation, since the second chanter (or choir) essentially repeats, to a great extent, the melodic parts chanted by the first one. However, even though this fundamental arrangement seems to guarantee the much-desired unity on a technical level, in the concrete artistic expression of chanting interpretation there seem to be some latent factors (strictly musicological, but also historical, or even psychological and anthropological), which may instead lead to diversity and differentiation. Does the practice of antiphony in chanting reflect unity, variety, or both? This is the question that I will try to answer in the present communication.
Publication year:
2013
Authors:
Achilleas Chaldaeakes
Publisher:
The International Society for Orthodox Church Music
Conference title:
Unity and Variety in Orthodox Music: Theory and Practice. Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Orthodox Church Music. University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland, 6-12 June 2011
Pages:
139-163
Keywords:
Early Music, Musicology, Baroque Music, Byzantine Music, Critical Musicology, Systematic Musicology, Byzantine Musicology, Byzantine music (Music), Hellenic (Byzantine) Music and Musicology, History of Byzantine Music, Morphology of Byzantine Music, βυζαντινή μουσική, Vocal Studies, Byzantine Music Theory, Byzantine Church Music, βυζαντινή εκκλησιαστική μουσική
Main subject category:
Fine arts - Entertainment
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