East-Slavonic sacred song of the 17–20th centuries in the context of the church and popular culture Cover Image

Східнослов’янська духовна пісня XVII – XХ ст. у контексті церковної та популярної культури
East-Slavonic sacred song of the 17–20th centuries in the context of the church and popular culture

Author(s): Olga Leonidivna Zosim
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Customs / Folklore, Music, Modern Age, Recent History (1900 till today)
Published by: Національна академія керівних кадрів культури і мистецтв
Keywords: East-Slavonic sacred song; church culture; church song; confessional environment; popular culture;

Summary/Abstract: The characteristic features of the East-Slavonic sacred song’s traditions in the context of the church culture are specified, the relationship of the denominational environment in which operates a sacred song and its attachment to the church culture is indicated. The signs of the ecclesiastical culture in the East-Slavonic sacred songs of the 17–20th centuries are founded. 1) The sacred songfulness is the church culture’s phenomenon in its liturgical and paraliturgical branches. The paraliturgical songfulness have a highly cultural potential, which has caused in particular an appearance of Bohohlasnyk – the first major collection of church songs. The liturgical branch, related with the development of Roman Catholic and Protestant songs, in culture-processes today plays a minor role. The extraliturgical branch of the East-Slavonic sacred song’s, actualized especially in the Orthodox environment, is the most significant in the Ukrainian culture, but its operation outside the church its role in the church culture has reduced, in contradistinction to the West Europe, where church songfulness of the Catholic and Protestant traditions is important part of the liturgical repertoire and representant of the national cultural traditions. 2) The East-Slavonic sacred song’s as a part of the church culture are represented through its liturgical (mainly paraliturgical) function; therefore, the relationship of sanctuary and ceremony provides sacred nature of the songs, that get a sacred dimension. The definition of songs as church in many cases was associated only with the change of function, not text or melody, if it meets the basic criteria of church music. 3) The sacred songfulness as a phenomenon of church culture is confessional defined (Catholic, Protestant, much less – Orthodox), the use of another confessional works were possible in their dogmatic conformity or changes in the text. The features of popular culture in the East-Slavonic sacred songs are defined, that are related to the general processes of development of literary and musical language and features of the functioning of the sacred song’s books in the East-Slavonic lands in the 17–20th centuries. The specified features of popular culture in the East-Slavonic sacred songs of the 17–20th centuries in its interaction with the church culture are indicated. 1) The song samples as a representant of popular church culture present the Christian faith in the simple and accessible musical and poetic forms available to all Christians. This feature is common for church and extrachurch songs. 2) Paraliturgical and extraliturgical songs are confessionally defined and contribute to the popularization of their denomination. When in songs is used heritage of other Christian denominations, another confessional elements (doctrine, holiday, most revered saints, church sanctuary) are removed or replaced. 3) The features of popular culture are founded in use of vernacular language in paraliturgical and extraliturgical songs, sometimes with stanzas written in Church Slavonic. This is not a desacralization of religious works, because they do not lose their religious character. The use of vernacular language in the sacred works is indicated a new stage of development of religious music, which, in response to requests of time, becomes anthropocentric features. 4) The melodics of the paraliturgical and extraliturgical songs are simplified and involves the use of contemporary musical language, elements of dance etc. It is also not a desacralization, because in the New Age similar processes in musical and literary language are occured. 5) The spreading of songs via replication is occurred: extraliturgical songs through manuscripts, paraliturgical through manuscripts and printings. The replication, which is characterized for the popular culture and later to mass culture, paradoxically retained the sacred songs from folklorization through the inclusion of apocryphal elements. In editing and spreading of sacred songs, church authorities first took care of the purity of faith. Also removing songs from editing or introducing them to printed songbooks, church hierarchy tried to promote or exclude of the repertoire song works. The extrachurch song is spread mainly through manuscripts, although in the 19–20th centuries are printed Orthodox publications of Bohoslasnyk, which were intended only for extra church use. In case of rejection the content of the work from the basics of the Christian faith and the addition apocryphal elements, the song hasn’t represented the church culture and has become the folk culture, while it simultaneously has lost signs of the popular culture: the song hasn’t replication and has functioned as object of the popular culture, where were other forms of existence and distribution. The involvement of folk elements to a canonical content (such as adding household detail in Christmas songs), although these works are taken out beyond the church culture, but didn’t make these works of folklore.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 125-133
  • Page Count: 9
  • Language: Ukrainian