ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE

Exarchate of Parishes of Russian
Tradition in Western Europe

Russian Church Music Day with Father Michael Fortounatto

Father Michael Fortounatto, for many years Choir Director at the Cathedral of the Dormition and All Saints in London, visited the Parish of SS Aidan and Chad Nottingham, which was received into the Episcopal Vicariate in August. The following account is by a member of the parish. It is hoped that Fr Michael, who now lives in France, will be a frequent visitor, and that further study days will be arranged. These will be advertised on the website.

We were privileged to have Fr Michael Fortounatto as our guest on 16th September to speak to us about Church music and to give us guidance in our singing. Several members of the parish were present, and we were also pleased to welcome Fr Philip from Lincoln, with Justin from their choir. In all we were a group of just over a dozen.

We began in prayer, singing ‘O heavenly King, Comforter’, and then Fr Michael explained some background to the music of the church.

The unaccompanied, single line chant is the fundamental core of the music. Of course, composers may have arranged liturgical music, but this is ontologically different from the pure chant, and could only be used liturgically if assessed by the Church as a whole as suitable for that purpose. The chant has to be the expression of a whole community.

The importance of the chant remains, even though we now sing in parts, and this is why Fr Michael always asks choir members to sing in unison first, and only when that is secure, to sing in parts.

There is, then, a paradox in Russian church music from the 17th century onwards, for we find that the church began to harmonise, to sing in parts. Why did this happen, why was there a departure from the pure chant?

One factor was that in the neighbouring countries of Ukraine and Poland, both Protestant and Catholic churches began to use the organ. The Russian church never took up the use of the organ, feeling it incapable of expressing the word of God as effectively or sensitively as does the human voice. Nevertheless the feeling was that, we must adapt or we will lose our people.

There was a move from the medieval, theocentric outlook to the modern, anthropocentric outlook, where man is at the centre. This might seem an arrogance, yet the church is also in a sense anthropocentric, in that Christ is in the centre as Man. Perhaps the Russians were accused of secularising music, but then one might say that Christ, as it were, ‘secularised’ God, by Incarnation.

After these introductory remarks we got down to work, using both our usual Liturgy music and also the book of the Eight Tones, published by St Stephen’s Press, which we were encouraged to purchase and study.

We began by singing the third antiphon, and trying to identify which part is the chant. Usually it is in the alto line, but here it is in the soprano. Fr Michael pointed out that in this music, which is of medieval origin, the basic scale is of three notes, not seven, as we find it in the piano. The medieval three-note scales are related by a semi-tone. Experience shows how to interpret this scale in natural, not tempered, intonation. This is why it is not a good thing to use the piano when singing – it is better to use a tuning fork for the basic note and sing the intervals from there.

One point that surprised me personally was how the perception of consonance and dissonance varies across different musical traditions. Fr Michael explained that an interval of a second was a consonance in medieval musical mentality. It became a dissonance when the modern mentality came to replace the old one, and part-singing appeared on the acoustic scene.

When singing we should use almost a speaking voice, and emphasise the important words, for the Kingdom is coming! The chant must be expressed in a confident, stimulating and lively fashion, because it is a dynamic of the spirit, full of drive, hope and passion. Deep down we know through faith, that Christ is risen, and we have seen the Resurrection of Christ

We sang other parts of the Liturgy – the first antiphon, the Cherubic hymn, the Mercy of Peace (carefully pitching the Amens), and were enjoined to sing firmly together, like a strong river, almost legato, bel canto. When singing a Litany we should not think it is so short as to be insignificant – if we are attentive we will find new things in every liturgy.

There was some discussion of how to sing ‘Alleluia’. It could be four syllables (A-le-lu-ya) or five (A-le-lu-ee-a) but when singing in English four syllables is better. This necessitates some care when singing Psalm 103 from Vespers, as the bass must accommodate this in our copy. Fr Michael surmised that the glossolalia of which St Paul speaks could have been the signing of many Alleluias.

Fr Michael spoke of the role of a choir leader – you don’t just beat time. It is a great deal more than just singing, you have to anticipate and control everything. This led on to a discussion of the various gestures he uses to indicate, for example, pitch and whether the music goes up or down. We asked if Fr Michael had learned them anywhere, and he told us, that when a class of students asked him to explain them, he found could not. He then began consciously to observe and describe them, as an appropriate response was consistently drawn from the singers.

It was the first time I have been able to take part in one of these choir days, and for an inexperienced singer like myself it was an immense privilege. Our thanks to Fr Michael for such an instructive and enjoyable day.

Barbara Bates 2/10/06