Originally published May 9, 2016, at OrthoCuban.com.
No, there is no such thing as the Appalachian Orthodox Church. However, there are people that have considered what an Orthodox hymn would sound like that follows the tonal rules but has Appalachian harmonies. About a year ago, I posted a “Christ is Risen” sung to those harmonies. Today, I am posting a megalynarion sung to that type of harmony. Not surprisingly, it also has a bit of Celtic sound to my ear.
I am of the opinion that more and more we need to make use of local harmonic singing while still following the tonal rules. It is controversial. On the forum on which the above hymn was posted, about half of the people did not like it. Interestingly enough, only one person did not like it because he felt the music was not adequate. Mostly you could hear people sniffing loudly and saying that it is not Byzantine. But, since this was produced by an OCA monastery, of course it is not Byzantine. Though I was ordained Antiochian and am at a Greek Orthodox parish, I regret very much that many in those two jurisdictions have bought into the idea that only Byzantine hymn is true Orthodox singing. Obviously, the Slavs do not think so, given the hymn above.
Every country that has been touched by Orthodoxy has eventually developed its own musical tradition slightly or very separate from original Byzantine singing. I think that this is a good thing, and worthy of emulation. I hope more musical work, like the above, happens soon.
