Сакральна музика у музикознавчому дискурсі: питання термінологічної дефініції
Sacred music in musicological discourse: questions of the terminological definitions

Summary/Abstract: The questions of terminological definition of sacred music is actual today due to the increase of number of studies, devoted to studying liturgical music of the Christian tradition. To date, musicologists generally have already formed a consensus on the definition of the content and extent of the main concepts of sacred music, but not all the term have treated by them unequivocally that causes certain difficulties and disagreement on the definition of key categories of sacred music’ sphere. The musicologists have used today several definitions for the characteristics of sacred music – spiritual, religious, holy, sacred, church, extrachurch, service, extra service, liturgical, paraliturgical, extraliturgical, ceremonial, cult, ritual, canonical, etc. Not always the limits between these concepts are clearly defined. Also it’s in need of differentiation such fundamentally different phenomena as divine service music that was written for cult needs, and concert music that has liturgical forms, but has never purpose for worship. The modern Ukrainian musicology have already work which attempted to clarify concepts relating to the sacred music sphere, in particular research of A. Efimenko, O. Klokun, O. Manulyak, S. Ship. Most of them consider the question of terminological definitions only tangentially, due to the main issues of their research – the study of European or Ukrainian liturgical music. The appeal to the problems, associated with terminological matters of sacred music, today is timely, because the Ukrainian musical science has already extensive experience in the study of sacred music in historical and theoretical perspectives. So important is the consideration of musicological concepts of Ukrainian scientists, who present the basic definitions characteristic of Christian sacred music; clarification a number of concepts pertaining to sacred music; detection the main methodological approaches to define the content of basic definitions of sacred music. The definition of «sacred music» in Ukrainian musicology is now widely used and is gradually replaced the less successful term «spiritual music», popular in Soviet times. The term «sacred music» in musicological study is mainly used in research liturgical music of the Christian tradition. The divine service music is the most complete expression of the sacred and highest form of communion with God. It can also be called a temple music as it sounds in the temple as concentration of sacred space. In the Christian context the word «liturgical» can be replaced the «church» as, for example, in Jewish religion – the synagogical music, in any other religion – according to the name of the temple where it serves. The divine service music has two varieties – liturgical and paraliturgical. The divine service music can include not only the liturgy, but other kinds of church services – Vespers, Matins and more. The orientation on the canon and join with the ordinance allows define it as a ritual (ceremonial), cult, canonical. The paraliturgical music can’t be canonical, but it completely fits in the category of ritual and cult. The terms «liturgical» and «paraliturgical» appeal primarily to the Christian religion, but there are similar phenomena in other religions, while outlining other terms. The non divine service music we refer music of religious content that performes outside the temple, its purpose is a sacralization of Christian life. This type of sacred music include the private singing of Christians in reference to God, to Virgin or saints in any need, the song of the pilgrimage, the singing for the dead, etc. The same chants could in most cases be performed in the temple practice, but as an individual prayer, outside the context of worship, such as singing songs of mourning in the Catholic Church before the Holy Sepulcher during the night after the Good Friday service. These temples (and therefore sacred) chants can not be considered neither liturgical nor paraliturgical because they are not tied to any liturgical action. On the other hand, people mourning prayers can be performed outside the temple (at home in front of the icons) in the same intention, because these private or group prayer outside the temple practice is a form of sacred music. The classification aims visualized main parameter by which the music of religious content can be considered sacred. This option is its functionality that allows in different communicative situations the same works interpreted as sacred or not sacred. Instrumental works of the Catholic and Protestant tradition (church sonatas, ricercars, organ mass, etc.), depending on the functional purpose, the same way may apply to quasisacred or sacred music. The functional approach would be more correct approach to the study of liturgical music, considering its syncretic character

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