I am humbled and gratified to be asked to give this address here in Stamford at St Basil Seminary.
The theme of my talk deals with recognition and appreciation of the key role St Basil Seminary played over the past 60 years regarding liturgical music. In some instances, my comments expose 20 years more – from the very establishment of St Basil Prep in 1939. In general, I hope to bring some perspective on the need to preserve the liturgical music attributable to St Basil’s Seminary; as well as to appreciate those who have contributed to its production and development. In my view, this institution and its members are a microcosm of the multiplicity and complexity of our Church. (Students and faculty both have come from all Ukrainian immigration ‘waves;’ and some from places and cultures unrelated to these ‘waves.’) So, forgive me if it may sound like I’m just bringing out the old family album or 8 mm movie reel or video tape to a captive audience. I’m not just archaically looking back, but also attempting to look ahead. My ramblings concern what I both learned and taught in this beloved seminary.
I had the pleasure of meeting Sophronius Mudryj, before he was bishop, while he was rector of St Josaphat Seminary in Rome in 1985. There he told me “We can do something with music this year, there are Americans coming from Stamford.” This was just prior to the time St Josaphat’s Seminary in Rome would record Parastas -- using for the most part the manuscript arranged by Ivan Zadorozny, my former teacher and predecessor here at St. Basil’s.
When I met Fr Mudrij, I was teaching here in this seminary for six years – matching the same number of years as I was formerly enrolled here as a student. St Josaphat’s Seminary in Rome was using The Stamford Cantors Institute’s text Music of the Ukrainian Catholic Church for Congregational Singing to supplement and replace its use of Dzerovych’s 1959 Hlasopeetnets, Fr Mudrij made the switch because MUCCCS was mostly in Ukr, and Dzerovych’s text was entirely in Church Slavonic.
His remark reminded me of comments made by Rev Canon John Tataryn of St.Demetrius Church in Toronto where I was four years a cantor prior to teaching here at St Basils.
Fr John welcomed me to St. Demetrius’s in Toronto in great part on the basis of the experience I had coming from St Basil’s -- in particular for my openness to flexibility in incorporating English in church services (unusual in the Toronto Eparchy at the time), and my emphasis on congregational participation by way of what I define as dynamic preservation.
I was surprised and challenged by both pastor Fr John and rector Fr Sophronius in their confidence. However, upon reflection, perhaps Tataryn’s and Mudryj’s assessment reflected the significant respect each had of St Basil’s. I was too close to this ‘noble institution’ (a description often voiced by long time faculty member Dr Myroslav Borysiuk). I didn’t have a clear viewpoint—kind of like not seeing the forest because of the trees, or better understood as the analogy of perspective from within a moving train, i.e., the uncertainty that you’re actually getting anywhere when you look out the window into the windows of a train moving at the same speed or a little faster than you are. (It appears that you are not moving at all, or may even be moving backwards. The analogy is also appropriate as a shared experience—not everyone in the train is looking out the window at the same time nor even is in the same car. Likewise, the passengers may have gotten on the train at different stations, or may be getting off at different locations. There are several variations to the analogy that may apply.
The timing of my generation’s seminary experience as well as the experience itself at St. Basil’s is quite unique, perhaps even providential. It was just before, during, and after Vatican II. – a time of change, confusion and renewal. This building itself was just under construction during the first two years of my stay, in 1963-1965. There were about 120 high school boarding Ukrainian Catholic students at St. Basil Prep and 40 undergraduate seminarians at St Basil College from across the nation -- from cities and small towns, from the first wave (like me), as well as second and third wave Ukrainian immigration pool. We also had colleagues whose ancestry was not Ukrainian at all, but they were nevertheless attracted to worship in and had love and devotion for our Church.
Music, especially liturgical music was a mainstay of everyday life as well as a part of a rigorous academic program. However, it was not the only occupation/responsibility/interest of the seminary community. There was always competition for time and resources, priorities and responsibilities. Other pursued with their interest in sports. Some liked to spend their ‘down time’ with the in depth study and practice of liturgy. The study of liturgy was actually a club under the direction of faculty member and house prefect Fr Lubomyr Husar. The music taught had a secular component, although most often it was connected to liturgy.
Vatican II and the 60’s generational revolution played a significant role in our opinions concerning the ‘if’ or ‘how’ this should be changed or improved or restored. -- Should it become ‘more relevant’ or more traditional? What did this actually mean? When Bishop Joseph Schmondiuk addressed us upon his return from the first session of Vatican II, he reassured us, “Not one paky i pakywould be changed.” We had directives from the Vatican council; we had our customs and rituals; we had Cardinal Joseph Slypyj, just released from exile; -- but we also had The Beatles and the cultural upheaval of the 60’s. We also were young, enthusiastic and zealous. Young people seemed to be shaping the culture more so than in recent memory – just like with you here and now. Often, we were in harmony, sometimes in discord. However we had a pervasive common denominatorthroughout our experience as both students, and my later self, as a teacher here….
As Philadelphia Archeparchy Chancellor Peter Waslo (who was a St Basil college junior my first year of teaching in the seminary) recently stated: “If you were at Basil’s, you sang…we all sang and were always singing. We learned the services, because we just sang them.”
In the early 60’s Professor John Zadorozny directed the choir and led the music program. Prior WWII, he was a graduate of the Lviv Theological Academy. After which he attended the State Conservatory of Music in Lviv. After the war he graduated from State School of Music in Munich studying conducting under Kurt Eichhorn at the State Opera of Munich. He sang with Munich’s Opera Buffa Co; the American Opera Co; the Polonia Opera Co; and the NBC Opera Co. He was director of The Prometheus male Ukrainian choir of Philadelphia and the Dumka choir of NYC. -- And he was my teacher at age 14 and 15 – quite captivating and exotic for a kid like me coming from a northeastern PA rural first immigration Greek Catholic parish.
I recall a bus load of us high school students from St Basil’s seeing him conduct a large multi chorus Ukrainian ensemble at Hunter College, as well as on the nationally broadcast NBC’s TV show Sing Along With Mitch where he was the guest conductor. ‘Mitch and the gang’ under his baton sang Reve ta Stohne on national television. Prof Zadorozny taught courses in music appreciation and theory, as well as Ukrainian and American folk and popular music, and of course conducted the choir. St Basil College choir with ‘ringers’ from the prep choir (including myself) sang twice at the Vatican Pavilion of the New York World’s Fair under his baton.
Prof. Zadorozny, although having such a pedigree in opera, in ethnic and classical music -- to my colleagues and me, was primarily a church musician. He knew the services, he could sing the services, and he could explain them. He taught us the tonal chants and more – all exclusively sung in Church Slavonic.
In addition to the formal program led by Prof. Zadorozny, Seminary rector and prep school principal Msgr. Nicholas Babak, a devout violist, led the prep school orchestra. As a musician and educator Msgr. Babak reflected the philosophy of education promoted in general by the seminary, i.e., developing and expanding the talents and interests already in place of its students. The orchestrations of the ensemble were geared to include typical strings, brass and woodwinds. But the orchestra also included numerous accordions…and the instrument I played – the piano. (Much of the repertoire is still, I believe, on file in the back closet of the music room here today.) The scoring of pieces changed as the talents and instruments of the orchestra changed from year to year. At St Basil’s, we became quite adept in adopting the written score to suite the current blend of instruments and talents. This is a hallmark of how liturgical music also worked in the seminary. As times changed, We became accustomed to adopting the liturgical texts to new languages and translations and formats, as well as to adjust to the numbers, talents, voices, interest and knowledge of the participators assembled. This is a good example of what I mean by Dynamic Preservation.
During the three decades prior to Prof. Zadorozny’s tenure at the seminary. The liturgical music program had a rolling faculty that included Peter Shawinski, Ostap Ulitski, and Antin Rudnitski, who also conducted cantor training seminars and classes. Also teaching during the 1940’s and 50’s were the liturgical music composers Msgr. Anthony Borsa, Myron Fedoriw, and Mother Andrea Spikula, superior of the Missionary Sisters of the Mother of God and principal of the Mother of God Academy Girls High School here in Stamford. In 1985, the seminary produced a vinyl album featuring compositions of several of these seminary faculty associates. Some of these compositions I found in the back of the bottom drawer of the file cabinet.
I’d like to say just a few words about two of these predecessors: Immediately before Prof Zadorozny’s term at St Basil’s, Mother Andrea guided the liturgical music of the Seminary. Highlighting her tenure is a series of vinyl recordings of liturgical services including several samoilka renditions of the Divine Liturgy, using simple and more complex chant, for mixed and single gender voices, as well as recordings for Passion Week services and Paschal Matins. The 1961 recording of the Eight Resurrectional Tones is particularly noteworthy. The version of the Voskresnyj Hlasy is sung by a quartet which included recently ordained and alumnus of St Basil prep and college Lubomyr Husar singing bass. Patriarch Lubomyr of blessed memory and profound influence served many roles at St Basil’s as student, as well as a staff and faculty member. He sang bass on all the Mother Andrea recordings. The Resurrectional Tone recording is a good example to compare and contrast concerning how much has dynamically evolved, and how much has been preserved over the last 60 years in the chant system here. It would be wonderful if these recordings (initiated by Ambrose Senyshyn, then bishop of the Stamford Eparchy) were to be digitally reproduced and disseminated.
Besides Mother Andrea, we should keep in mind seminary associate Myron Fedoriw. We are fortunate to have the chant sources of Isidore Dolnytsky’s 1894 Hlasopisnets its 1959 equivalent of Oleksander Dzerovych. In addition to these however, Myron Fedoriw made significant contributions to composing a variety of liturgical services and especially cataloguing a vast variety of Galician chants -- both in his Vasyli\ns;ki Cerkovni Napivy (Cantus Ecclesiasticus Secundum Traditionem Basilianam) published in Rome in 1961; and its second Volume II Obr\dovi Spivy Ukra=ns;ko= Cerkvy Halyc;ko= Zemli (Ritual Chants of the Ukrainian Church of Western Ukraine). This second volume (far too ignored in my opinion) contains 200 pages of additional (dodatok) samoilka (congregational) chants for the Divine Liturgy in Ukrainian whereas Dolnytsky’s and Dzerovych’s works are in Church Slavonic. Fedoriw’s volume II also contains a 70 page exposé of the developmental history of Ukrainian Liturgical chant translated into English by Very Rev Canon Joseph Shary, who would also become one of the four core contributors to the 1988 Synodal translation of the English Divine Liturgy in use by our church today.
It was here at St Basil’s that work on the 1988 English was formulated. In addition to (Basil alumnus) Fr Shary, the committee consisted of three former seminary faculty members: former rector and liturgist Msgr Peter Scrincosky, former rector and English scholar Msgr Leon Mosko, and retired Greek professor Dr Albert Kessil. Fr Shary had also worked with Greek scholar Fr John Weisengoff on a series of English service books in the early 1970’s that included Galician chant applications. So to a great extent the 1988 English synodal translation is the product of St Basil Seminary.
In 1986, under the suggestion and guidance of seminarian George Bozio, the seminary invited retired Prof. Fedoriw to return to St Basil’s to participate in the celebration of a Divine Liturgy which he composed specifically for St Basil Seminary in the mid 1940’s and translated into Ukrainian in1984. The seminary choir sang his “Liturgy in F Major for Male Voices.” It was taped and later broadcast over Vatican Radio to a listening congregation in Eastern Europe which included Ukraine. (Tom Protenic, present day ordained cantor in Kerhungson NY and prep school graduate of class of 1966, offered his services as a bass ‘ringer’ in singing this liturgy.) In addition to Chant, the St Basil choir has always had a vast repertoire of composed liturgical renditions – again many dynamically preserved to suite skills and languages and translations.
Sadly, Prof Zadorozny suffered a brain clot in 1965 from which he never recovered. This caused paralysis to the left side of his body. He was mostly bed ridden until his passing in 1972. But, even under these circumstances, Prof Zadorozny had a presence in the seminary. As a 15 yr old student I visited his bed side with music arrangements for correction and advise in conducting the prep school choir “to keep it fresh” until (we prayed) he was back on his feet. Unforgettable in these visits was when the entire seminary choir came caroling to his home prior to Christmas vacation. After singing our selections, at his bedside, we all took great joy as he rehearsed them with us again to improve phrasing and tonality with his articulating right hand while his left hand could only move slightly in partial tandem.
Prof Zadorozny’s final project was a collaboration with the seminary’s Byzantine Franciscans neighbors in nearby New Canaan CT. He worked with Brother Augustine Paulik in developing and scoring an English translation of the Divine Liturgy begun in 1964 (during Vat II) and revised and published in 1971 using congregational samoilka. Bro Gus continued after Zadorzny’s passing to publish English Galician chants for Vespers. These are still used and incorporated in a variety of texts by some of our parishes today. There was Franciscan influence in the seminary (across our church in the USA) for decades by way of not only Bro Gus, but also Fr George Appleyard and the ‘Seraphic’ chant system developed by Fr. Laurence Mancuso, founder of New Skete monastery. This influence supplied a style of translation and simplification of texts, as well as the way texts were visually formatted. --something else the seminary had to consider in the in dynamic preservation of its liturgical music program. We were getting past the wax stencil and Gestetner mimeograph. [Show correction fluid]
Following Prof Zadorozny, Prof Alexander Bernyk led the formal seminary music program. Before coming on staff at the seminary, Prof Bernyk taught music at Rutgers, Iona and NYU. He was a master in teaching a vast range of musical instruments and choral arranging. He brought these skills to the seminary while still maintaining his associate music professorship at Hunter College in NY. Under his leadership, the seminary choir took on learning more complicated and demanding liturgical (and secular) compositions. However, in actual liturgical church settings, the choir directors (both the college and prep divisions) were often students. The student cantors in the prep and college took a greater roll in advancing liturgical music as it was sung during actual services. Many of these cantors held (or still hold) that position in their respective parishes today. One of the first students from the very beginning of the prep in the early 1940’s, Basil Baroda, became the long time cantor of Holy Ghost UGCC in West Easton PA. Although now enhancedunder Prof Bernyk, student leadership was arguably always part of the seminary’s educational modus operandi.
Basil students preceding my time here as a student included Robert Moskal, who as Bishop of Parma spearheaded “The Sacrifice of Praise” an inclusive English Divine Liturgy Missal published in 1996 containing musical settings, hymns, and chants for congregational singing as another example of dynamic preservation of original Old Church Slavonic language melodies. Prior to this significant tome, priest Robert Moskal, who graduated from St Basil College in 1959 published a 1966 booklet English translation (with facing transliterated Church Slavonic) of the Divine Liturgy. This text is still used in several parishes in the USA. Freshly graduated from Catholic University, I set his translation to four part harmony with the encouragement of pastor Fr Adam Polischak in St Clair, PA in 1972. As a new faculty member, I brought it to the Seminary in 1978 together with another translated version I helped to develop from St Demetrius Church in Toronto, printed and distributed by The Sister Servants. Why two versions? The Moskal common text was more familiar in many American parishes, but the Demetrius text offered festal Liturgy propers. In lieu of supplying missing ‘official’ texts, flexibility and adaptation to promote parochial participation has always been a priority at the Seminary. There were also English language Ruthenian and Melkite versions and translations available to work with in order to supplement the former dominance of Church Slavonic texts and musical renditions.
Also noteworthy as a contributor is Fr Paul Harrilchak, who as a seminarian here, worked (with then) Fr. Husar and Mother Andrea on the 1962 version for the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (entitled “A Lenten Anthologion”). Harrilchak, later an OCA priest, penned the scholarly “The Divine Liturgy of the Great Church with Melodies for Congregational Singing”. This 1984 text incorporated the chant melodies in English derived from the Old Slavonic seminary files. By the mid 1980’s, De facto Old Slavonic was no longer the liturgical language of preference used, but what replaced it was being made up as we moved along. The Presanctified was translated into both Ukrainian and English in 1972 as a cooperative liturgy club project by seminarian Mario DeCristoforo and faculty member Dr Myroslav Borysiuk.
There was no ‘official’ English version in our church; and the ‘official’ stamp in Ukrainian was limited primarily to Chrysostom’s Divine Liturgy. This is the circumstance under which St Basil Seminary associates have offered solutions to fill the vacuum and to address the need.
Alumnus Cantor Steve Zinski (known simply as The Compiler) published several service books (Presanctified, Passion week services, Paschal Matins) spread to our Church and still in use from the Pittsburg area.
The works of alumnus Deacon Michael Waak (of blessed repose), especially his musical version of 1988 Synodal English translation of the Divine Liturgy is widely used today.
Alumnus Fr Charles Mezzomo (of blessed repose) has provided many service books. His Presanctified Liturgy text in particular is in wide circulation.
Alumnus Fr Roman Galadza has exponential publications of just about everything in multiple evolving formats in both Ukrainian and English.
Fr Peter Galadza (who briefly attended St Basils) likewise greatly contributed to, interpreted and promulgated the seminary tradition from his position at the Sheptytsky Institute.
The one whose work is most influential in this mix is Fr Conrad Dachuk. He is the best representation of the tradition of the seminary’s involvement in liturgical music and practice. He is also the source of the greater part of the seminary’s enduring files. Fr Conrad is genius at harmonizing and adapting liturgical texts to their assigned tonal melody as well as applying texts to new or previously unassociated melodies. As seminarian, he would occasionally include something new to the collection using the pen name Spivachenko as the source to get the rector’s approval.
These are my colleagues – the fellowship of seminarians in or around the 1960’s – young, enthusiastic and passionate; dedicated and productive. Symbiotically influential – that is, as much prominent in building the Stamford seminary music tradition as the seminary’s tradition was affective on their capacity to be builders within and beyond this seminary incubator. I can see that enthusiasm and vitality here today with your presence and energy, both young and old alike. – We need not only be young to be youthful! We may not always be on the same page of the same text or sing the same version of the same tone….or look out the same window of that train we were on, but I believe we share the same passion and the same spark of faith that was core to seminary life then and is still manifested here today.
When I returned to the seminary as a faculty member in 1978 at the gracious invitation of Bishop Basil Losten to replace the retiring Alexander Bernyk, I took that student ‘spark’ with me (fueled by my recent cantorships in Toronto and St Clair PA (where Fr Shary’s collaborator Fr Weisengoff’s works are still used today). The challenge of finding consistency and uniformity was even greater. In 1978 there was an official translation of the Divine Liturgy into Ukrainian, but ‘official’ translations of other services and propers for feasts were yet to be sanctioned. At the same time, the 1988 English Synodal translation was embryonic. So there remained a need for ‘flexibility.’
Since fewer students were in the seminary, I also chose to score most texts in three rather than four voices choosing chant melodies over compositions as a primary emphasis to enhance congregational involvement. (Prof Zadorozny came to the seminary with a background in opera, Prof Bernyk came with a background in orchestration and instrumentation… and now I had come primarily because of my parish experience as a cantor.)
In 1981, the seminarians produced a vinyl album of traditional Galician Chant selections for The Great Fast and Passion Week, to revitalize some chants that were falling into disuse. Likewise, since Metropolitan Stephen Sulyk promulgated service booklets in Ukrainian and English for several Passion Week and Christmas/Theophany services, these needed to be scored, so both seminary and parishes had music to accompany the texts. These were gradually incorporated into the seminary files; as were English versions of constantly evolving and expanding devotional hymns. While still maintaining the composed liturgical tradition, the seminary program was emphasizing the chant traditions which now occasionally included Ruthenian and Obikhob chant.
There were two significant new additions to the seminary’s music program that brought this emphasis to the world beyond our campus. The first was the initiation of annual Presanctified Liturgy seminarian ‘tour’ in a multitude of parishes throughout the Stamford, Philadelphia, and Parma eparchies during the season of the Great Fast. In 1984, this even included a world wind marathon to western Pa to visit seven parishes in one weekend. When needed, we would extend our Lenten visits to parishes by as much as five weeks when Pascha would be celebrated on different Sundays according to either the Gregorian or Julian calendar. Of course, the seminarians sang the Presanctified with adjustments to language and texts as much as possible according to local familiarity. Although ‘the presanctified tour’ added strain on seminarian academic responsibilities and the time management of extracurricular activities, nevertheless it was fundamentally and joyously embraced. Many love to sing and many love to sport at St Basil’s. Some love to do both. -- Just ask Fr Rector Bohdan Tymchyshyn, an accomplished second tenor as well as a seminary record breaking athlete – who in 2001 lasted 5 min, 53.14 sec in continuous jump rope at the Pan Basilian Games according to former rector and sports enthusiast Msgr John Squiller.
The second addition to the program came in the form of Cantors workshops and the publication of the MUCCCS text. With the blessings of both Bishop Basil Losten and Patriarch Joseph Slypyj, the 1980 text was revised in 1984 by way of a grant from the family of Elizabeth, NJ cantor Bohdan Bemko. Modified and supplemental booklets for various services that incorporated the new Ukrainian Synodal translation of 1989 were included in the cantor workshop program. There were 50 workshops held over 37 years throughout North America -- 20 of which occurred in Stamford itself. Two were under the auspices of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians held in Pittsburg and Washington DC. The largest two week workshop was held at the provincial house of the Sister Servants of Mary Immaculate in Sloatsburg NY with 65 participants that included the attendance of Patriarch Myroslav Lubachivsky.
I have a final note concerning someone not at all associated with St Basils or our Ukrainian Church who gave me faith in the overall scope of the St Basil Seminary liturgical music project. I sincerely hope that you also will find or already have found someone similar to provide you with support if you ever become frustrated.
In 1986 through a faculty enrichment grant I was invited to a Robert Shaw workshop at the Westminster Choir School in Princeton NJ. If you are unfamiliar with his story, Shaw’s began his career in Pittsburg with his association to Fred Warring and the Pennsylvanians choral, and (like me) had little previous formal music training. However, he became a premiere multiple Grammy Award winning choral conductor. He is featured in a recently aired PBS American Masters Series which I encourage you to watch. Shaw has ability to make a 200+ member chorus sing as though it were just one voice. (He spent a significant part of his career with the Atlantic Symphony.)
The chorus at the workshop I participated in was having difficulty in staying in tune with each other in an eight voice ac cappella Hindemith piece. At a break in rehearsal, I boldly approached him and suggested that they tune to each other rather than try to maintain the ‘perfect’ pitch given in the score. He said most choristers didn’t have the skill to do this and asked what my background was. I told him very meekly “I am a Ukrainian Catholic Church cantor and music instructor at St Basil’s Seminary” I continued to explain to him that we always had to make adjustments to pitch (as well as texts and timing). He knew what I was talking about because of his Pittsburg experience with community chorus. He said I was (we are) fortunate to have this skill.
I was so energized and grew in confidence because of his comment and encouragement. I now saw that what I thought was a deficiency could actually be an asset. Work with your communities with energy, confidence, youthful vitality, and prayer! Work with your assets. Make adjustments to texts, to circumstance, to people.
It may well be that the St Basil Seminary tradition has added as much confusion to the liturgical tradition as it has supplied guidance in the name of dynamic preservation given the variety of materials produced – which now according to the English Molitvoslov also include a variety of service booklets produced by the recently deceased seminary spiritual director and personal friend Fr Maxim Kobasuk. And my apologies in not adequately crediting or characterizing any person or any event or project associated with the seminary’s significant liturgical music program. I also ask your forgiveness when I personally have contributed to or expanded upon this perplexity.
At the same time, I hope that the wealth of these files will be made available to you, and you will incorporate some of them into your liturgical music projects. For the greater glory of God.
The situation of the apostles on Pentecost may provide a model of our own inspiration regarding our imperfect and often confused liturgical word and song:
“And they began to voice in foreign tongues even as the Holy Spirit prompted them to resonate. Now there were staying in Jerusalem devout Jews from every nation under heaven. And when this sound was heard, the multitude gathered were bewildered in mind, because each heard them reverberating in his own language. And all were amazed and marveled… at the wonderful works of God.” (Acts 2: 4b-7, 11b)
Joseph Roll
September 27, 2019
At SingCon 2019
