Metropolitan Cantor Institute

Episodes

1. 10

   Chant Notes: April 4-10, 2016

   We have completed the weeklong celebration of Pascha, the Resurrection of our Lord, and on the Sunday after Pascha, also called Thomas Sunday, we restarted the cycle of eight tones with Tone 1. We will continue the eight week cycle of eight tones, one per week, until next Palm Sunday, 2017.…

   more
   Apr 3, 2016

   12m
2. 9

   Chant Notes: March 14-20, 2016

   This is the sixth and final week of the Great Fast, which ends on Friday evening, completing the forty days of fasting. At noon each day in the sixth week, we continue to hear from the prophecies of Isaiah; this week those prophecies announce the coming salvation of the Lord. In the evenings, at...

   Mar 15, 2016

   9m
3. 8

   Chant Notes: March 6-13, 2016

   This is the fifth week of the Great Fast, a week that is dominated by the singing of the Great Canon of Repentance of Saint Andrew of Crete, and two days dedicated to holy women: Saturday, to the Mother of God, and Sunday, to Saint Mary of Egypt. A canon is a sort of structured … Continue reading...

   Mar 6, 2016

   9m
4. 7

   Music for Holy Week, Part 2

   This is the second part of a two-hour presentation at St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cathedral in Munhall, PA, on the books to be used this year for Vespers with the Divine Liturgy on Thursday and Friday of Great and Holy Week, when the feast of the Annunciation (March 25) falls on Great...

   Mar 5, 2016

   49m
5. 6

   Music for Holy Week, Part 1

   This is the first part of a two-hour presentation at St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cathedral in Munhall, PA, on the books to be used this year for Vespers with the Divine Liturgy on Thursday and Friday of Great and Holy Week, when the feast of the Annunciation (March 25) falls on Great...

   Mar 5, 2016

   1h 01m
6. 5

   Chant Notes: February 22-28, 2016

   This is the third week of the Great Fast. At noon each day, we continue to hear from the prophecies of Isaiah, and in the evenings, at Vespers or the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, the story of the Great Flood and the salvation of Noah in the Ark. As Father David Petras explains, “This …...

   Feb 23, 2016

   13m
7. 4

   Chant Notes: February 15-21, 2016

   This is the second week of the Great Fast. At noon each day, we continue to hear from the prophecies of Isaiah, and in the evenings, at Vespers or the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, from Genesis and Proverbs. On Monday through Thursday, we hear the story of Cain and Abel; on Friday, we begin…

   more
   Feb 14, 2016

   10m
8. 3

   Chant Notes: Sunday Afternoon Vespers in the Great Fast

   This podcast explains how to lead the singing of Sunday afternoon Vespers in the Great Fast, using the following Metropolitan Cantor Institute books: The Order of Vespers on Sunday Afternoons in the Great Fast Cantor Verses (Prypivy) in the Eight Tones for Vespers and Matins

   Feb 4, 2016

   41m
9. 2

   Chant Notes: Cheesefare Sunday

   As I explained in the last episode of Chant Notes, Cheesefare Sunday takes its name from the fact that it is the last day before the Great Fast, or Lent. According to the traditional rules of fasting, no meat, fish, eggs, or dairy products are eaten from the first day of the Fast until the …...

   Feb 4, 2016

   8m
10. 1

    Chant Notes: February 1-6, 2016

    This week is Cheesefare Week, the final week before the beginning of the Great Fast. The name “cheese-fare”, or “cheese-eating”, refers to the traditional fasting practice of abstaining from meat this week, while using up the cheese, eggs, and other foods that would not be eaten again till…

    more
    Feb 1, 2016

    16m