[Kolokotronis]

I am no expert, but I do remember, back in the old pre-Vatican II days when I was in Catholic elementary school, the Gregorian Chant of the High Mass. It was wonderful, rather like our Divine Liturgy. It occurs to me, however, and please understand I am no liturgical music expert in anybody's faith, that there is a fundamental difference between the purpose of our Byzantine Chant and the old High Mass Gregorian Chant and the singing that goes on during an NO Mass. For us Orthodox, the chanting is an integral part of the prayers of the liturgy or the service. The chanting, the music, is always the same for any given liturgy or service on any given day. There is no place for the choir, or the psaltis or the congregation to just sing some random hymn chosen by either the priest or the choir director or whomever. For example, after communion we chant

"We have seen the true light; we have received the heavenly Spirit; we have found the true faith, worshiping the undivided Trinity, for the Trinity has saved us."

We never sing anything else, except for a special hymn at Pascha time. This is because our chanting, like that in a High Mass, is an integral part of the prayer of the Liturgy and has a specific place in the liturgy for a specific liturgical and catechetical purpose. I get the impression that the singing at an NO Mass really is, generally, pretty random and more like what one hears in a protestant service than a Liturgy; something nice but rather like an add on or embellishment rather than an integral part of the service. Am I seeing something which isn't really here?

[k omalley]

I can only speak for my own parish, but as a member of the choir I would say that you are correct that N.O. Mass music is pretty random. Sometimes we try to follow a theme, but often its just choosing something we haven't sung in a while, or something moving and reverent for post Communion like Panis Angelicus or Ave Maria. Sometimes the choir and the organist just rebel and refuse to sing something. Last Easter we all flat out refused to sing "Baptized in Water." Our organist said he absolutely would not play "that Cat Stevens tune. So, our choir director chose something else.