Byzantine and Gregorian Chant

 

 Byzantine and Gregorian Chant are ancient church forms of worshiping, cantoring, and singing the Scriptures. For most people their encounter this kind of music is video games as in The Temple of Time in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and the Halo Video Games Theme and The Maw opening. That was were I first heard Gregorian Chant, and I found it made my soul soar. Only later in Music Composition and Appreciation did I know it had a name, and did I begin my journey to discovering a music steeped in tradition of the Church. Byzantine Chant is older, in fact, some traditions go back close to the time of the Apostles! The Jerusalem Cantors in particular have an ancient style. Byzantine tends to differ in its monophonic sound, in that one of cantors is constant, like the Bass in a band, continuing to sing a key, while the other cantors join in singing the chorus. Gregorian tends to differ in that it has multiple cantors singing the chorus, and there is a instrument in background like lyre or any stringed instrument in place of the cantor who keeps the tone going. Byzantine can also go very deep, Bass even, particularly the Russian style, while Gregorian tends to be tenor and higher in pitch. 

Gregorian Chant has become a method that even secular therapists are recommending for people to help lower their blood pressure and find some calmness. In this stressful world it helps to have something that can really sooth the soul and purge stress. Now you may ask why does a Protestant such as I praise a form of music that is in churches in which I disagree greatly via The Scriptures, that I contend with constantly on my blog? Well most chant is actually singing Psalms, passages of the Gospels, praises like Alleiua Jesu, and so forth. You would need to avoid tracks that praise the Madonna or Saints, but the easy way to do that is to find a Psalm or Holy Week compilation. As aforementioned the chanting is to praise Christ, and has traditions that go back centuries, even millennia. While I do urge that you be careful not to buy chant that elevates The Theotokios and Saints, there are plenty that are about Jesus and the Scriptures. I got one from Jerusalem that follows Jesus during Holy Week, and its great, done in Byzantine Chant style. 

I always say test the theology with Scripture, well Chant that is just Scripture in another language (the language of music specifically) can do no harm. Like I said in post The Only Pope I Quote, Gregory VIII who said take what is best from all the churches, I argue Gregorian and Byzantine Chant is useful, it can help calm your nerves, it can be used by the Holy Spirit to center you and deal with anxiety. There is no way over the ages good did not come, even amongst churches with very bad traditions and soteriology, that there were genuine people who sought The Savior and wanted to praise Him. We see some figures, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Nicholas (Santa Claus), and others who did do good in the name of Christ, and helped establish traditions that amplify The Truth (St. Francis started missions to the Muslims, thinking they deserved Christ and the gospel, not the blood shed of crusades) and do not conflict with Scripture. What becomes hard is sifting through, throwing out the sadists like St. Benedict with his physical abuse standards, and the St. Dominic who is father of the Inquisitors and The Spanish Inquisition while finding some good like Pope Gregory VIII's words, and St. Chrysostom who is so right that you see the cross everywhere, even in nature. 

It is easiest to throw the baby out with the bath water. A lot of us are like Karlstadt in Protestantism, burning and smashing the statues (metaphorically in our case). That zeal against idolatry and false gospels (Galatians 1:8-9) is noble. But Luther kept certain things, he loved Crucifixes, as do I, and he still believed in Transubstantiation, which I do not, I follow Brucer's Christ is felt spiritually but its symbolic like Zwingli taught, a memorial till Jesus Returns. I believe Byzantine and Gregorian Chant is one of those pearls we can keep as Protestants, yes we must be wary of the Mary centric ones, she is not the Queen of Heaven, she was Maiden, a Virgin, who even said, "My soul rejoices in God my Savior," (Luke 1:47) which is admission she is sinner too who needs a Savior. Co-opting things can be difficult for us Protestants, we want to keep the stain of Babylon The Harlot from us, but there is such richness in some of the things like chant. As our Lord Jesus Christ said, "one tells the tree by its fruit," (Matthew 7:15) and the fruit of Gregorian and Byzantine Chant is that is is having a calming effect, and is even being recommended by secularists as one of many ways to deal with stress. That is glowing indictment that the Church has something that is healing people! It reminds me of Church of Wishes in Turkey that is drawing women, even non-Christian ones and they cannot help but admit their wishes come true in the name of Christ. Amen.