Hymns sung at the communion of the clergy

[Paul Fowler]

Can anyone either point me to a source or give me some guidance on what should be sung during the Priest's Communion? In the communities I serve, the choir normally sings 'Unto Thy Merciful Care' and then the Reader takes over reading from either the Psalms (his choice of which Psalms) or the Canon from the Midnight Service until the Priest comes through the Royal Doors.

We have inherited this practice from early days when the Parish was established as a group of former Anglicans who were recieved into the Orthodox Church, but I am now unclear as to the corrrect practice.


Reader Paul

[Michael Stickles]

At our parish, the choir normally sings "Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the highest" alternating with a reader chanting verses from Psalm 148. Just before the royal doors are opened, the reader chants the "Glory ... both now ..." and then we sing the three-fold "Allelulia". We might sing something different on certain feast days, but I don't remember for sure.

I would tend to think, though, that the correct practice would be whatever your bishop says you should do, rather than whatever we might come up with here.

In Christ,
Michael

[Herman Blaydoe]

The "default" hymn is usually "Praise the Lord from the Heavens..." but there are different ones for specific feasts, as called out in the rubrics.

[Olga]

A common Russian tradition is, following the appointed communion hymn (which is usually "Praise the Lord from the Heavens..." as Herman pointed out), is the singing of the eirmoi/irmosi of one of the canons sung during the previous evening's Matins. If a Polyeleos was appointed for that Matins, then the magnification is sung after the communion hymn, followed by the irmosi.

Many Greek churches have a slow chant of one of the pre-communion prayers (O Son of God, receive me today ...), and, in one delightful instance, on the day of a feast of the Mother of God, the hymn Agni Parthene was sung.

[Anthony Stokes]

Can anyone either point me to a source or give me some guidance on what should be sung during the Priest's Communion? In the communities I serve, the choir normally sings 'Unto Thy Merciful Care' and then the Reader takes over reading from either the Psalms (his choice of which Psalms) or the Canon from the Midnight Service until the Priest comes through the Royal Doors.

We have inherited this practice from early days when the Parish was established as a group of former Anglicans who were recieved into the Orthodox Church, but I am now unclear as to the corrrect practice.

Reader Paul

Rdr. Paul.
congratulations, you have come upon one of the most debated parts of the liturgy from a choir perspective.

What Mike describes is probably the most correct, minus the alleluia. The first part of the debate is whether there are two communions or one. Most would say that technically it is one, so that the clergy's communion is just the first part of communion in general. This brings up whether alleluia should be sung at the end of the clergy communion, at the end of the people's communion, or at the end of "Let our mouths be filled with Thy praise..."

That being said, the oldest tradition is probably the singing of the koinonikon (communion hymn) of the day (sometimes there are more than one) with alternating psalm verses.

Since at least the 17th century, a common Russian practice has been the singing of other hymns, like the Sacred Concertos of Bortniansky. In America, that became the mini-concerts that are still common today, like singing hymns from matins or vigil, even though they really have no place in the Liturgy.

Having said all of that, at my parish we sing hymns from the pre-communion prayers. Psalms 22, 115, and the hymns and prayers before communion. Those come after the communion hymn. But, if you are trying to be faithful to the original service text, the Communion hymn is the only thing that is supposed to be sung.

Hope that helps a bit,
Sbdn. Anthony

[Paul Fowler]

Thanks to all for taking time to reply, it has certainly given me much food for thought. I hadn't realised that there was so much debate about this area within choir circles-in the communities I serve, the Reader works with, but is separate from, the choir. I am now going to print off all the replies and study them carefully. May God bless you all for your help in this matter.

Rdr Paul

[Andreas Moran]

At the monastery here, the Reader says the prayers of preparation for holy communion during the communion of the clergy. In Russia, I have heard the choir sing 'Agni Parthene' in Greek.

[Father Serafim]

I have never found anywhere in the rubrics that say we should sing during the priest's communion. I have never understood the practice of chanting parts of Matins or Vespers at this time. This to me, breaks the continuity of the Divine Liturgy. If people can't cope with silent prayer at this time then may be psalms may be read. The latter is our practice.

[M.C. Steenberg]

Dear Reader Paul and others,

I would just reiterate what Father Seraphim has written; namely, that there is 'debate' (rather, divergent practice) over what is read or sung at this point, precisely because the rubrics don't insist on anything whatsoever here. The only text required by the rubrics at this point is the 'Communion hymn', which is normally only a sentence or two. Apart from this, it is entirely at the discretion of local custom and the bishop's instruction.

INXC, Dcn Matthew

[Thomas Carroll]

It is the tradition in Greece, at least where there are trained cantors, for the communion verse to be sung in a highly melismatic composition throughout both the priest's and the people's communion. The singing is broken off when the priest emerges from the sanctuary with the Holy Things, and it is resumed after the proclamation "With fear of God, etc."

On the Lord's Day, the communion verse is sung in the tone of the week. I do not know what determines the tone in which the communion hymn is sung on other days. In the classical books published in the nineteenth century, one can find many settings to choose from.

Examples of this type of communion hymn (sung by former precentors of the Great Church of Christ Thrasyboulos Stanitsas and Demosthenes Paikopoulos) can be heard here: http://www.cmkon.org/SoundClips.htm (scroll down to Αινείτε τον Κύριον). Some English language hymns of this type can be found in both psaltic and staff notation at: http://www.stanthonysmonastery.org/music/Comm_days.htm#Comm_days

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

As everyone else has already mentioned here there are no rubrics for this part of the Liturgy. I checked in the Russian books that I have that are more detailed and also no instructions are provided there for the readers/choir for this part of the service.

However a footnote in Nikolsky says that in the ancient service books while the clergy would say, "God cleanse me a sinner and have mercy on me" before receiving the gifts, the faithful would also say this and then do a reverence, "and all the faithful likewise piously venerate/bow" (и все люди подобно со благоговением поклоняются).

I have always wondered about how this practice of the 'concert' as they say in Russian arose. I wonder if at one time the communion of the clergy and people was more connected. Once this changed than a long pause would result which naturally many would feel needed to be filled by some sort of pious singing or chanting.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Anthony Stokes]

I have always wondered about how this practice of the 'concert' as they say in Russian arose. I wonder if at one time the communion of the clergy and people was more connected. Once this changed than a long pause would result which naturally many would feel needed to be filled by some sort of pious singing or chanting.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

The first composer that I know of that wrote the "Sacred Concertos" that were sung during communion is Bortniansky, so it may be one of the Italian influences on the church. Perhaps it is another thing we can attribute to Peter the Great's westernization of Russia, but that's just speculation until I can get home and look it up in one of my books.

Sbdn. Anthony

[Herman Blaydoe]

Not sure of what or why it is, but there is certainly in most churches an aversion to "dead air", that is, for any prolonged silence during the services. If there is silence, it must be filled by singing something, anything!

Personally, I think that a "pregnant pause" would simply build "drama", particularly before the Great Entrance as well as waiting for the emergence of the Divine Gifts, but I do what our priest tells me to and fill the space as best I can.

The rubrics do call for a communion hymn (sometimes 2 hymns), it is very specific on the matter, at least for the OCA and ACROD with which I have the most experience. But since that is a rather short verse or two, the matter of what to do after singing that must be dealt with. Simply repeating the communion hymn as needed is one easy solution. Allowing the faithful to commune in silence does not seem inappropriate but honestly, many choir directors do like to take the opportunity to "show off" the choir even though that causes a problem since the choir members generally want to commune as well!

To be honest, I think this is a relatively recent development. For many the "old" tradition is infrequent communion, so there were few if any communicants in line, and there was no requirement to fill any appreciable "dead air". But these days more people commune and we seem to feel it necessary to do SOMETHING to pass the time and fill the silence. I blame radio and TV.

Herman the "fillin' the dead air" Pooh

[Father David Moser]

Although I do not know of any liturgical rubrics specifically addressing this practice (other than those indicating the singing of the communion verse), I have been taught that whatever is sung or chanted during this time must not be selected at random but should focus on facilitating the preparatory prayer of the faithful who will receive and which look forward to the appearance of Christ in His Most Holy Body and Most Precious Blood. Other hymns which do not provide this focus should be avoided at this time.

Fr David Moser

[Michael Astley]

I agree that there seem to be as many practices as there are parishes. At one parish where I have friends, they sing a home-composed setting of "Of thy mystical supper". (The composer is actually member of this forum). At another parish, they sing a setting of psalm 148 with a refrain. At my parish, we chant the prayers before Communion, although if somebody misses confession before the Liturgy, my parish priest will sometime confess him after the priest's communion, in which case I intone other psalms if the prayers are finished. I like to use psalm 33 at this point as it seems to serve the purpose that Fr David rightly says is important. Also, we do not chant this at my parish after the prayer below the ambo so it is good to at least have it somewhere.

Pax,
Michael

[Thomas Carroll]

Inasmuch as I am no liturgical scholar, I would be most grateful to anyone who could provide documentary evidence confirming or refuting my hypothesis below:

Given the detailed instructions found in our service books, it seems to me quite improbable that the communion of the priests and of the faithful is the one point in the whole of our liturgical cycle for which the choir is not given clear instructions. It seems to me much more likely that the practice described in our service books assumes a melismatic singing of the communion verse, a melismatic singing which many churches have lacked the musical culture to preserve. I would suppose, then, that the common practice of leaving to the discretion of the choirmaster which hymns should be sung during Holy Communion is not what is envisioned in the service books, but is rather the result of the fact that what is envisioned in the service books has proved too burdensome for many churches.

I repeat that this is merely my hypothesis. I ask that no one take it as anything more.

[M.C. Steenberg]

Dear Thomas,

I thank you for an interesting post, and hypothesis. Having done a (brief, exceedingly so I must confess) search for any patristic comments on the hymns at the communion of the clergy, I have not found any passages as yet that speak to it; so I cannot claim to know of any specific commentary on this matter that comes down in that aspect of the Church's heritage.

But as to your general hypothesis, the liturgical norms surely wouldn't make it impossible. You are quite correct that the rubrics are normally fairly prescriptive, and what they do indicate at this point in the service is that the 'communion hymn' is sung. The fact that this communion hymn is normally only a sentence may mean, as you hypothesize and as is borne witness to in certain Greek customs, that an 'extreme melisma' of the hymn expands it to fill the space required. However, it may also mean that nothing was prescribed to be read or sung during this period, at least formally as the rubrics were written; but that the long time taken for the communion of multiple clergy may have later prompted a tradition of 'inserting' materials to make profitable use of that block of time. It does not necessarily follow that the rubrics imply a melismatic communion hymn (not that it isn't a perfectly reasonable hypothesis: I'm just giving you some further food for thought!).

INXC, Dcn Matthew

[Anthony Stokes]

One of the problems that I see in the debate of this issue is that it is more of a liturgical theology type question than just a rubrics question. I went through some archives of a list that I am on of Orthodox musicians, many of them highly respected scholars in the field, and the concensus there is that 1) there is only one communion and 2) prayers for the preparation of communion should not be used during the actual eucharist. I will try to expand on these points a little, mostly with what I have heard other people say. Hardly any of this is from my own feeble mind.

1) There is only one communion. Why is this important? If there are two distinct communions, clergy & laity, then it wouldn't matter as much what is sung during the clergy communion by the laity. But, if there is only one communion, then it would not make sense for the laity to still be preparing for communion while communion is already taking place.

2) Prayers for the preparation of communion should not be used during the actual eucharist. The prayers and psalms that are in the Preparation for Communion service are exactly those, they do not belong to the text of the Liturgy, and if number 1 is true, then they would have no place being read or sung during communion.

One can look back to the pre-iconostasis/pre-curtain days and wonder if they laity considered there to be one or two communions.

I do agree with Thomas, that the Liturgy is very specific in what should be read or sung when, all of the services are, so it does seem that the Koinonikon is what is prescribed, and that only. Now, whether that means it should be a long, melismatic koinonikon, or a shorter one with Psalm verses interspersed is another debate needing historical analysis. There are examples of both.

So, I guess the first question to answer here on this forum, is how many communions are there?

Sbdn. Anthony

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Sbdn Anthony Stokes wrote:


One of the problems that I see in the debate of this issue is that it is more of a liturgical theology type question than just a rubrics question. I went through some archives of a list that I am on of Orthodox musicians, many of them highly respected scholars in the field, and the concensus there is that 1) there is only one communion

This was also what I was thinking. Problem though is that I cannot find any direct evidence about this in the reference books that I have either Patristic or Liturgical. Still though I would theorize that as this is the only point in the Liturgy without any rubrics (as far as the laity is concerned) that in the past clergy and laity communion was more of a seamless movement than we see now.

In any case I tend to think that we work with what we have now unless there is a clear abuse or loss in practice. I don't think though that that's what we have here. The situation of a clearly distinct clergy and then lay communion are before us.

In my time I've heard many, many different things sung and read here; liturgical hymns (our parish often sings Pod Tvoyu Milost); hymns or stichiri from the Vigil, festal tropars, magnifications, psalms and yes pre-communion prayers. In fact the only thing I've never heard was silence during this time. :)

It sounds then like what is done is according to a very general sense of what the parish feels is suitable.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Father David Moser]

...2) prayers for the preparation of communion should not be used during the actual eucharist. ...
2) Prayers for the preparation of communion should not be used during the actual eucharist. The prayers and psalms that are in the Preparation for Communion service are exactly those, they do not belong to the text of the Liturgy, and if number 1 is true, then they would have no place being read or sung during communion.

The prayers of preparation can be sung or chanted prior to the reception of the gifts by a person because they are to prepare the recipient. We can see the propriety of this even from the sluzebnik itself where the pre-communion preparation prayer "I believe O Lord and I confess..." is repeated by the priest immediately before he receives and then the priest recites it again after receiving for the people before they receive. This is a "pre-communion" prayer that is used during the liturgy.

This does not imply that there are "2 communions", for there is still only one lamb and all receive from the same lamb and the same cup (even when there are multiple cups, only one is consecrated and the Precious blood from the one is then divided into the others.) But all do not receive at the same instant, but rather each at his proper moment. Again, in the altar, the bishops receive first and then after they have finished they distribute the communion to the priests and deacons in turn and finally the communion is given to the people in their turn.

Fr David Moser

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Yesterday I thought to look at the Old Rite 'Erie' version of the Liturgy of St John and also at the Liturgy of St James.

For the Old Rite there is an actual rubric that the chanters sing the koinonikon while the clergy commune.

For the Liturgy of St James it seems the communion hymn is 'O Taste and See' (as we do at the Pre sanctified).

Though far from certain it seems that the implication here is that at one time there was no 'concert'/ or reading as is done now. Rather it was the koinonikon which served as what was sung/chanted in immediate anticipation of reception of the Eucharist.

I begin to suspect though that the clergy at the Old Rite parish in Erie, Pa could offer some interesting comments about this question.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Anthony Stokes]

Yesterday I thought to look at the Old Rite 'Erie' version of the Liturgy of St John and also at the Liturgy of St James.

For the Old Rite there is an actual rubric that the chanters sing the koinonikon while the clergy commune.

In Christ- Fr Raphael


One of their prayer books just came into my possession. I didn't think to check there yet. Thanks for the info.

An interesting note I just found puts this topic into the realm of the bishop's discretion also. Retired Bishop Tikhon of the West (OCA) in his commentary on the Divine Liturgy, under the note for the communion hymn says this:


"-After the Communion Verse(s), it is not forbidden to sing Irmosi, Verses, and Psalms., but no locally composed verse may be introduced, and no operatic concert numbers should be permitted.


-A local decision was made in the Archangel Diocese that when the Communion Verse had been sung, then the Psalmists should slowly and repeatedly read the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments and the people present should repeat each word after them, so that could keep them in memory. Then the psalmists would explain what had been repeated."

I just thought that was interesting enough to bring up

Sbdn. Anthony