Learn to Chant

Sunday Orthros

With the help of Fr. Seraphim Dedes of the St. Gregory Palamas Monastery in Perrysville, Ohio, the Department of Internet Ministries offers you the chance to learn the 8 Byzantine Modes as sung during Sunday Orthros. For information on how to obtain Fr. Seraphim's CDs and the music in Byzantine and Western notation, see the list of works available from St. Gregory Palamas Monastery.

Divine Liturgy

Select the appropriate link below to listen to:
"Hymns of the Divine Liturgy"
Produced by the National Forum of Church Musicians and chanted by Eikona

• Quicktime Format
• Real Audio Format

Service of the Small Paraklesis

The service of the Small Paraklesis, conducted in alternation with the Great Paraklesis during the Dormition fast (August 1-14) as well as on many other occasions, is chanted in times of distress and sorrow of soul and is one of the most popular services of the Orthodox Church.

Translated and set to meter by Demetri Kangelaris and Nicholas Kasemeotes

Audio courtesy of Eikona

Learn to Chant the Small Paraklesis

Akathist Hymn

On the first four Fridays of Lent, we chant the Service of the Salutations to the Theotokos at Small Compline. On the fifth Friday of Lent, we chant the Canon of the Akathist in its entirety.

Audio and translation courtesy of Fr Seraphim Dedes of the St. Gregory Palamas Monastery in Perrysville, Ohio

Learn to Chant the Akathist Hymn

(The RealOne Player is required to listen to the audio samples for this page)

Chant Resources

Frank Desby Byzantine Chant Training Manual
The 345 page manual and CD is a comprehensive guide that takes the learner through the basics of the notational, rhythmic, and interval signs of Post-Byzantine ecclesiastical music.

Archdiocesan School of Byzantine Music Byzantine Music Theory and Practice Guide
The book contains a brief introduction to the history of Byzantine music, 107 exercises with analysis of the various characters, a page devoted to the theory of each mode, and a CD containing around 120 mp3's covering all of the material found in the book. The book is full color, 80 pages of thick gloss paper with a plastic spiral binding. It is very easy to read and follows the traditional methodology used in most Byzantine music books accepted by the conservatory of Athens.

St. Anthony's Monastery
This website contains more than 6000 pages of Byzantine music in Western and Byzantine notation in the style of chanting used on the Holy Mountain.

Chant.hchc.edu
This program is designed to help students learn the theological and musical content of Byzantine sacred music.  This effort has been made possible by a generous grant from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion to the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. The purpose of the grant is to promote and study the use of technology in teaching theology.