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What happens when Orthodox Christian communities settle down in the Northeastern Appalachian mountain ranges? The answer is that the soulful tones of bluegrass seep into the hymns and chants they sing.
We didn’t even know that Appalachian Orthodox chant was around before we happened across this phenomenal recording from the YouTube channel of ALEXIOS. Called “God Is With Us,” the text is sung in English, drawing its lyrics from several sections of Isaiah.
The joining of bluegrass to sacred music is like perfectly fit gloves on two praying hands, especially in chant. There are many similarities between chant and bluegrass, with both styles routinely employing drone vocals that support a lead vocalist. So too do each of these storied genres utilize flourishes in the melodic line, although Orthodox chant leans heavily on Middle Eastern quarter tones, while bluegrass generally sticks to pentatonic scales and blue notes, thanks to a heavy Irish influence.
“God Is With Us” is very subtle in its bluegrass themes, but another fine piece from Stavros First, “The Trisagion Hymn,” more clearly displays the bluegrass vocal style’s immense potential to produce some of the finest sacred music around.
The presence of just two voices creates such a peaceful and prayerful atmosphere. This recording more clearly shows the previously mentioned pentatonic movements in the flourishes that are just so fun to listen to. The singer performs more and more of these flourishes as the tune progresses, and he even adds in a few quick little trills through the quarter tones as a nod to the ancient Orthodox style.
Chant and bluegrass merge so well because much of the Appalachian style was developed through Christian hymns. The Americana tones were played on makeshift guitars and washboards, turning everyday items into instruments just for music’s sake. When they couldn’t make instruments, they used their vocal gifts in a deep desire to express their passions through sound. And as many of the trailblazing bluegrass musicians learned to sing in church on Sundays, hymns were the natural choice to turn to for inspiration.
One listen through "Lord Don't Leave Me Here" by the Country Gentlemen, while a little more gospel than bluegrass, is enough to hear how heavily the genre was influenced by chant. For that matter, it is easy to see how the style can be reverted back to chant, leaving us to wonder if it’s a true evolution of musical style, or a return to the roots of roots music.
Listen especially to the movement in the lead voice.
