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Byzantine Chants

Chant of Constantinople more commonly known as Byzantine Chant is the sacred chant of the Orthodox churches in the former lands of the eastern Roman Empire and many of their ecclesiastical offshoots beyond those areas. This tradition, encompassing the Greek-speaking world, developed in Byzantium from the establishment of its capital, Constantinople, in 330 until its fall in 1453. It is undeniably of composite origin, drawing on the artistic and technical productions of the classical age, on Jewish music, and inspired by the monophonic vocal music that evolved in the early Christian cities of Alexandria, Antioch, and Ephesus. In the Orthodox Church today, many churches use Byzantine Chant as their primary musical tradition, including the Churches of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, and Albania.

AthoniteTestimony.com · Orthodox Byzantine Chants – English Selection