Examples of Liturgical Recitation (Psalmodizing) of Prayers & Hymns — Alexander Kastalsky
Next to the singing performed by a choir or a solo chanter, the second most frequently heard musical element in Orthodox liturgical worship is the recitation (psalmodizing) of texts that are intended to be rendered by a designated reader. These texts include prayers, such as the Trisagion prayers; appointed psalms (Psalm 103, the Six Psalms at Matins, Psalm 50, etc.); troparia of a kanon; and readings (paremias) from the Old and New Testaments.
In his foundational work Russian Church Singing, Volume 1: Orthodox Worship and Hymnography¹, Johann von Gardner describes the following characteristics of recitation recto tono (“on a single pitch”) that distinguish it from ordinary speech:
a constant level of pitch upon which the words are pronounced
a slightly extended duration of the vowels, which . . . remain rather constant in their dynamic level instead of being exploded as in ordinary speech
mensurably indeterminate duration of individual syllables
deviations from the basic pitch only at the ends of phrases or texts
a lack of clear rhythm
virtually no variation in dynamic level
It is worthwhile to recall the purpose of such recitation and the reasons that church tradition adopted this manner of rendering many liturgical texts. The purpose may be regarded as twofold: to give the texts read in such a manner an elevated sense of solemnity, dignity, and importance, while projecting the words in a way that makes them audible and comprehensible to everyone present. At the same time, reading a text on essentially a single pitch prevents the reader from injecting a subjective or dramatic interpretation into the delivery of that text.
Notes
Johann von Gardner, Russian Church Singing, Vol. 1: Orthodox Worship and Hymnography, Vladimir Morosan. trans. (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1980), 55–57.
