Music in human life
People of every country make music. It tells stories, helps us work together, calms us, and lets us share feelings that are hard to say in words. Music is sound arranged on purpose using notes, rhythm and silence. A tune is a line of notes; higher notes are made by faster shaking, lower notes by slower shaking.
Secular, religious and liturgical music
- Secular music is not about religion: film songs, folk songs, lullabies, pop, school songs.
- Religious music is about faith: songs of praise, thanks or prayer. It can be sung in a house, a field, a procession or a hall. Examples are Christian songs, bhajans, qawwali and gurbani kirtan, each in its own faith.
- Liturgical music is a part of the church service itself. It has set words, set tunes and a fixed place in the order. In Orthodox churches it is sung by a choir or cantor, usually without instruments.
All liturgical music is religious, but not all religious music is liturgical. Those three kinds sit one inside the other, like boxes.
Hymn-writing saints
A hymnographer is a person who writes hymns. The churches remember many saints for this gift.
- Romanos the Melodist (6th century) wrote long story-hymns called kontakia.
- John of Damascus (8th century) wrote hymns for Easter and organised the system of eight tones (Octoechos): eight tune patterns, one for each week in a cycle of eight weeks.
- Cosmas of Maiuma and Ephrem the Syrian are also famous for hymns.
Their hymns have been sung for more than a thousand years in many languages. In Romania, church singers also use the tunes of the eight tones.
Feast-day hymns
A feast day is a special day that remembers a big event or a saint, for example Christmas, Epiphany, Easter or the day of a saint. Each feast has its own hymn, and it is sung at the same point of the service every year.
The most famous short hymn (a troparion) is the Easter one, "Christ is risen". At Christmas, many countries also have carols, which are religious but not part of the liturgy. A hymn tells you which feast it is before anyone says a word.
Try it: sort the songs
Write down five songs you know. Put each into one of three boxes: secular, religious, liturgical. Ask a family member what songs are sung for the festivals they celebrate. In the 3D, press Play, then tap the numbered notes in a new order. How does the tune change?
Key formulas and definitions
- Music = sound arranged on purpose
- Secular: any subject. Religious: about faith. Liturgical: part of the church service
- Hymnographer = a writer of hymns
- Octoechos = a system of eight tones
- Feast day = a special day, each with its own hymn
Worked examples
1. A choir sings a hymn during the Divine Liturgy. Is it secular, religious or liturgical?
It is liturgical, because it is part of the church service. It is also religious, since all liturgical music is religious.
2. A film song about friendship. Which kind is it?
Secular. It is not about religion.
3. Who organised the eight tones used in many church hymns?
St John of Damascus, in the 8th century.
Common mistakes
- Thinking religious and liturgical mean the same. Liturgical songs are the ones sung inside the service itself.
- Thinking secular music is bad. It simply means not about religion.
- Thinking hymns were written by one person. Many saints wrote hymns in different centuries.
- Forgetting that every feast day has its own hymn.