"Do thou open unto me the gates of repentance..."

[Panagiotis G.]

Does anyone have music for the post-Matins Gospel hymns that are done during the Triodion in Greek ("Της μετανοίας άνοιξόν μοι...") and in byzantine notation? I've seen quite a few versions out there, and I'm looking for something that would be considered traditional. Thank you for your help!

Panagiotis George

 

[Dimitri]

Here is the score from Mousike Pandekte Vol. 2. This classical text is slightly different from what we hear in the Patriarchate and elsewhere these days. That can be because of wrong transciption of Petros' original into the new method (claimed by A. Boudouris) or by a shift in performance practice through the years. In Pandekte itself, Gregorios adds his own version of "Tes Metanoias" which is somewhat closer to todays practice but still different. The analytic version of modern composers like this from Taliadoros is more representative of current practice.

 

[Panagiotis G.]

Thank you, Demetri, and especially for posting multiple versions. It's interesting how both the versions found in the 1851 Pandektis don't place a soft-chromatic fthora on DI (at -θρί- in ορθρίζει γαρ) when most people I've heard in recordings or in person place one there.

I was also able to come across the version in Stanitsas' Triodion, which is highly analytical. Would these chants found in Stanitsas' Triodion be typical of a traditional interpretation by Patriarchate chanters or are these solely the way Stanitsas would do them?

Panagiotis George

 

[basil]

My take in English

 

[joel]

Has anyone composed an English version of these hymns in grave mode? I quite like the grave mode version in the Anastasimatarion of Ioannis but would like to be able to do part in English.

 

[basil]

Seems achievable but would require a bit of effort as this is a bit of a niche compositional style.

I quite like the grave mode version in the Anastasimatarion of Ioannis but would like to be able to do part in English.

There is a tight dualism between the first two troparia both metrically and rhetorically, which is unfortunately not preserved in the available translations. I wrote to HTM and begged them to consider some changes to the text, but I did not receive a positive response. In my English setting I created a high degree of dualism between the first two troparia in spite of (rather than assisted by) the translation, though I did change "Theotokos" to "Mother of God" in the second troparion to facilitate this. If I were to write a Grave Mode setting in English, I would do the same thing there. This means that the first two troparia in my English version should be sung as a pair (both in English), because singing one in English and one in Greek would destroy the (very intentional) metrical dualism. If a language change is desired, it can be done at "Have mercy."