Psaltery: one of the oldest living performance arts in Europetranslated

Written by Dr. Petros Papaemmanouil, Professor of Byzantine Music K.O.Th.-Protopsalto I. M. N. Nea Krini and Kalamaria

What is chanting, after all? Is it music? Is it art? Is it cultural heritage? The answer, of course, is affirmative to all the above questions. However, these characterizations, as apt as they are, do not fully convey her nature. Singing is not only music, not only art, not only cultural heritage; it is a living performance.

This wording may confuse those who have identified the term performance exclusively with the theater or the stage performance, as when it comes to the performing arts, their mind goes to the theater, the opera or the dance. Few, however, will think about the art of chanting. However, modern scientific research has already repositioned it, allowing us to see chanting through a different prism; as a liturgical-ritual performance, i.e. as a ritual performance.

The first question that arises is what is meant by the term performance. In the minds of some, the word exclusively connotes stage performance or artistic…