My impatient wait was rewarded today morning as I was awakened by a "thud" and a doorbell ring. It was Fedex (yes, they do deliver on Saturdays in the US!) and in the hand of the delivery person we have come to know on a first name basis (who serves our neighborhood), was a parcel. After a signature and a welcome to him to grab some late-blooming nectarines from our acre-full of fruiting trees, I shut the door, and began the process of unpacking the parcel.
Let me precede my preliminary review with a positive note for Lulu. The book comes from a distributor in North Carolina here in the US. The total time elapsed from the distributor receiving the order from Lulu to front door delivery was three days, and on a Saturday at that! I am very happy with Lulu's service.
The book arrived in excellent condition. A vivid dark blue, hardcover surrounds 206 crisp and thick pages with a large 14-size font which I believe is Palatino Linotype. The Byzantine symbols are large, clear and crisp and where the author intended emphasis they are shadowed.
This review is preliminary. As I read the book more carefully, I will very likely revise my original impressions.
First, this book is not an encyclopedic and deeply-theoretical and historical compendium in the manner of Kyriakos Filloxenos nor an academic and theoretical treatise revised for the lay musical masses with Western musical transpositions like the excellent "La Musique Byzantine" in French by Dimitri Giannelos (L'Harmattan Publishers 1996). It is also not a copy in English of the traditional Dimitris Panagiotopoulos ("Kouros") theory-practical learner's companion that served and continues to serve many conservatories in Greece.
Basilios Psilacos offers a practical guide for the beginner with just enough theoretical considerations to motivate the student of Byzantine chant to appreciate and be drawn into the endless realm of this 1600-year old musical expression of Christianity.
The English language is clear and, where translations of Byzantine-specific phrases is mandated, Basilios Psilacos (BP) offers terms that are self-evident, even though they may not reflect the original intent of the Greek phrase. This is not a problem of the book or of BP's translational ability, but rather of the limitation of the English language as a means of descriptive and linguistically-"stenographic" communication.
The book offers some solid chapters and some that, I hope, BP can strengthen in a 2nd edition. The most solid, in my opinion are Chapter 1 (learning the symbols with good exercises and some practical hymns in English), and Chapters 3 and 4. Chapter 2 is very useful up to Chapter 2.9. The remainder of Chapter 2 could have been much more comprehensive. Chapters 4 and 5 are good surveys of their topics (see below).
Chapter 2 begins with the theory of intervals. It is presented in a simple manner and focuses on the derivation of the diatonic intervals (rational numbers) from fractions and string lengths. Some could consider this as a beginner's guide to sound theory, with just enough description and explanation to inform but not confuse. Unfortunately, the chromatic intervals are glossed over. But since this book is aimed at beginners, perhaps this was a tradeoff that can be amended in a future edition. Chapter 2 also reminds the reader of the concepts learned in Chapter 1 and introduces the different systems of the diatonic genus. Here, I believe that BP could have invested some more pages on the topic. I found it tepid and timid. These same impressions, I felt for the space he dedicated to the fthores and the chroai. In my opinion, these topics could have best served the reader much later in the book (pthores and chroes), but every author is entitled to their method of teaching. From my note in the preceding paragraph, BP could have invested a few more pages to elaborate the chromatic genus, the tetraphonic and the "equal diphonic" system of the chromatic and some practical exercises. Hopefully, a second edition will consider these points.
Chapter 3 disappointed not because of its contents (Orthography), but because it was presented too early in the book. Orthography is an advanced concept that very few psaltae are blessed with and requires years of command of chant and reading. In my opinion, too much time was focused on it way too early. BP would have better served the reader by offering more space to the elements of chant and theory not well-developed in earlier chapters. Indeed, the book could have ommitted orthography as a topic altogether. The remainder of Chapter 3 focuses on a survey of the three genera and then a descriptive overview of the eight tones not too unlike what one finds in the traditional Panagiotopoulos book.
Chapter 4 is devoted to meter and rhythm. This chapter is well-written and presented. In my opinion it should have been the ending of chapter 2 or presented earlier in place of orthography or the pthores/chroes sections of Chapter 2.
Chapter 5 discusses the church services in an overview and gives a fundamental survey of the typikon, liturgics, the weekly, monthly and calendar cycles as well as a list of the commonly-used books. Finally, the chapter ends with an overview of translating Greek into English music as well as a very basic overview of the Western notation system in the context of Byzantine chant.
Overall, this is a very valuable book for the learner and the teacher. It can serve as a "pocket guide" for the student as well as a quick lookup reference for the teacher.
BP goes to great length, to his credit, to emphasise that learning the elements in his book requires A GOOD TEACHER. Especially on the intervals and the qualitative aspects of the symbols.
As I scanned Chapter 1, I felt I was looking through the excellent formative Volume 1 of Anastasiadis-Hatzis five-volume compendium of Learning Byzantine Music. It was the most solid chapter. The other chapters have useful "pocket guide" information, but in the future, I hope that a second edition can fortify these chapters with more exercises and a more-in depth treatment of the topics.
Orthography should be left last. It is not, in my view, useful to the learner.
Taken together, the book is very useful-despite my notes on its limitations-and I highly recommend it. BP is to be congratulated for offering a well-written and clearly-presented beginner's manual in the English language and I am hopeful that he will strengthen this very thoughtful first edition with an equally thoughtful and more comprehensive second in the not-too-distant future.
Since I do not plan to be in the office until Tuesday, and therefore no access to a high-speed scanner, I won't be able to offer some representative page scans until next week......
NG
