This is some excellent singing by an individual. It is worth watching. I do have a couple of quibbles with it. There is not one example of Gregorian Chant. Given that this chant lasted for centuries, even in the midst of other worship music, I consider this to be a major point. Second is that Mr. David Wesley concentrates an exceedingly large percentage of his time period between the mid-20th and early 21st centuries. This unbalances an otherwise excellent presentation.
But, this brings up a thought about worship. Among the Orthodox, acapella is considered the gold standard. While there are non-Orthodox that have strongly spoken out against this, on the basis of the Davidic Psalms, there are also some non-Orthodox groups that have agreed that acapella music is the New Testament Scriptural standard. For instance, the Church of Christ (non-instrumental) argues that the lack of any historical evidence for the use of instruments by the New Testament Church, as well as the lack of any New Testament Scripture authorizing the use of instruments, means that they dare not use them. While this is not a post about instruments, I will note that there are, indeed, no New Testament texts that mention the use of instruments in worship.
This is a post about the development of Western worship music and its partial adoption among the Slavic churches. No, this is not a post about the history of it. But, some history is necessary. When the Kievan Rus converted in 988, Byzantine music was imported from Greece as part of their celebration of the Divine Liturgy. What was imported was the Athonite chant, which was quickly adapted to what became known as the Znamenny chant. In the 16th century, two musical traditions developed, one in the north and the other in the south. In the North, the Znamenny chant and Demestvenny chant began to grow more elaborate. The Novgorod school became strong in the north and became the Muscovite standard. The Tsar himself composed a couple of chants.
The southwest had to contend with the Roman Catholic Church next door. They developed the Kyivan chant style. Both the north and the southwest adopted polyphonic styles of music, which were not found in Byzantine music. They did retain the idea of 8 modes which matched the Byzantine tones. They also changed to the five-line style of musical notation. By the 17th to 18th century, reform was needed. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Patriarch Nikon were involved in the reforms that took place over several decades. Eventually, modern composers, such as Tschaikovsky and Rachmaninoff wrote music for the Divine Liturgy which is in use to this day among many Slavic churches. They could be sung by a local parish choir and yet also polyphonically and complexly sung by a professional choir.
Why do I bring all this up? Because there are both cradles and convert clergy and laypeople in the Byzantine churches who try to argue that we ought to still be singing music according to the 9th century Athonite pattern. Despite the fact that the Slavic churches form the largest part of the Orthodox Economia, these cradles and convert clergy have the temerity to argue that those Churches should change back to an ancient system that no longer resonates with Western ears. They claim that polyphony is anathema. Let me quickly say that not all Byzantines argue that.
I have some simple advice for them. First, please stop claiming that a 9th-century musical style must become the forever-style. Second, please allow for Holy Tradition to adjust non-instrumental worship to match more current melodic and, yes, polyphonic traditions. Third, given that Byzantine music is basically a 9th-century musical style, let me ask you why you are not singing in a first-century Palestinian-Greek style? If you say that the development was Holy Tradition, I will ask you why Holy Tradition was not at work among the Slavs?
I am not arguing for a modern 21st century Protestant Christian musical style and words. It is worth noting that the words sung in the main Orthodox liturgies have been long-established, often significantly longer than the various musical styles. It is worth noting that the Orthodox have followed the tradition of non-instrumental music, by and large. But, I am arguing that there is no historical argument for freezing Holy Tradition in the 9th century on Mount Athos then claiming that this is the only allowed style. There is neither Scripture nor Tradition backing for this viewpoint.
Thank you. 🙂