If you have any suggestions as
to what you may want to see made available on this site, please
contact:
Protodeacon Stephen
When
our Forefathers came to the American continent, they brought with them
their religion called "Orthodoxy". Whether they came as Missionary
Priests across the Bering Strait to Alaska or from the Eastern parts of
Europe, it was important for them to give praise to God through worship.
Along with the practice of their worship was the important aspect of
their participation in the services through their voices and singing
praises to the Lord. They arrived with the language of their native
tongue along with the musical chants of their locale such as Greek,
Albanian, Bulgarian, Galician, Kievan, Moscow, Romanian, etc.
Generations have come and gone since their immigration to their new
lands.
It became important in the Church to
realize that the language of the new land had to be incorporated in the
life of the Church as well. The evolution of the language of the Church
began to take place in the middle of the 20th century. Since Church
services were beginning to be served in the language of the new land,
the music of the services had to undergo this transformation as well.
Music written by great composers such as Bortniansky, Chesnokov,
Gretchaninov, Lvov, Lvovsky, Lomakin, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov,
whose music was a great contribution to the liturgical music of the
church and its choirs, had to undergo a transformation to the language
of the new land. Their contributions could not be neglected and the
language associated with the composition had to be adapted to the new
generations of Orthodox. It became apparent even to the missionary
Priests that the Alaskan Eskimo natives needed to be served in their own
tongues. Now the services in parts of Canada are served in the French
language. In the Southwest United States and Mexico, the services are
held in Spanish. If one would travel to Brazil, you would probably hear
the services in Portuguese.
In the past half-century, individuals
have undertaken the task of adapting, into English, the music which was
brought to this land by the Orthodox faithful. This website, "Podoben”,
is an effort to make available the musical adaptations to all who find a
need for English and Slavonic adaptations to accompany the services of
the Orthodox Church. It will contain arrangements for all aspects of
life in the Church. The scores are arranged by individuals who have
freely given their time and talent for the sole benefit of the Church.
There are other musical publications which can be obtained from the
bookstores of St. Tikhon's Theological Seminary and St. Vladimir's
Theological Seminary as well as other sources. It is suggested that you
contact these institutions for available resources.