On the Duties of a Choir Singer
Cursed is the man that doeth the work of the Lord carelessly.
(Jer. 48:10)
You have begun to sing in the choir; therefore, you glorify the Lord in the
image of the heavenly hosts, who ceaselessly sing praise to the glory of their
Creator and Lord. How fortunate you are! But do you acknowledge the full
sacredness and importance of this godly work, which incomparably more than any
other work is worthy to be called godly work? If not, then it is not
superfluous to remind you of the threatening and terrible words of the Prophet:
Cursed is the man that doeth the work of the Lord carelessly (Jer. 48:10). You
see to what a terrible accountability those are liable who negligently and
carelessly perform the work of serving God. The chanter (or singer) is the
mouth of the Church, i.e., of the society of believers who are praying in
church; while singing prayers and hymns, he pronounces them not only for
himself, but in the name of all who are present in church, and as all who are
praying pronounce their prayers through the mouths of the singers, these last
also are the mouth of the Church. Chant unto our God (Ps. 46:7), the Holy
Church invites them, but chant ye with understanding (Ps. 46:9). Consider and
take heed: of Whom do you sing, to Whom do you pray, before Whom do you stand?
You stand before the One before Whom the angelic ranks stand and walk with fear,
covering their faces! You sing praises to the One of Whom all the heavenly
powers ceaselessly proclaim: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth! Understand how
high the work of the chanter is. Understand and admire the mercy of God, Who
allows even earthly sinners to bring praise to Him! This heavenly work is the
work of an angel and not of a man having unclean lips, as the holy Prophet
Isaiah expressed, having heard heavenly singing: Woe is me, for I am pricked to
the heart; for being a man, and having unclean lips, I dwell in the midst of a
people having unclean lips (Is. 6:5). And you, infirm, weak, and sinful, have
been entrusted with such a great work. This talent which has been entrusted to
you by the Lord, is a talent which you must bring forth and increase by
employing it with understanding. With all humility and fear towards God say
mentally to your soul: Behold, my soul, the Master entrusts thee with a talent:
receive His gift with fear; and thou hast heard the condemnation of him who
hid his talent, O my soul: hide not the word of God, but proclaim, sing of His
glory, increase the gifts of grace entrusted to thee, and thou shalt enter into
the joy of thy Lord (Stichera on Lord, I have cried and on Lauds, Great and
Holy Tuesday).
The Lord is not slack concerning His promises (II Peter 3:9), (i.e., will not
delay to fulfill them) to come again and exact an account from His slaves, whom
He entrusted with His goods, His gifts and talents; take care, that you not hear
the dreadful condemnation: Take from her My talent, which she didnt wish to
bring forth with great labor, and cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer
darkness (cf. Matt. 25:28, 30). The great labor of a chanter consists in this,
that all the strengths which have been given to him from the Lord's talents he
unremittingly applies to the glorification of God. Sing to the glory of the name
of God, sing not only with lips and voice, but sing with heart, sing with mind,
soul, will, desire, zeal—with all your being. This is what it means to chant
with understanding. The singing of the chanter passes over to the hearts of
those who are praying; if the singing proceeds from the heart, it meets the
heart of the listener and so influences him that it is able to rouse him to
prayer, to incite reverence even in those minutes when the heart itself is
distracted and hard. Often it happens that those who enter the church without
any eagerness toward prayer, from compulsion or from propriety, begin to pray
fervently and tearfully, and leave the church in quite another frame of mind, in
a spirit of tender feeling and repentance. Such a revival is produced in them by
the magnificent service and fine singing. And conversely, often it happens that
those who enter the church with the intention to pray from the soul, to pour out
before the Lord their sorrowful soul, when they hear scattered, careless singing
and reading, themselves little by little become distracted, and instead of
profit they find harm, they receive no consolation and, having been tempted by
the conduct of the singers, involuntarily fall into the sin of condemnation. And
as the Lord says about those who cause temptation: Woe to that man by whom the
offence corn eth; it would be better for him that a millstone were hanged about
his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea (cf. Matt. 18:6,7 and
Luke 17:1,2). If such is the terrible judgment of the Lord against everyone who
shall offend one of these little ones (Matt. 18:6 and Mark 9:42), i.e., those
who believe, then do not chanters, and generally all those of a clerical office
who cause temptation, deserve an even more terrible punishment, who by their
vocation ought to serve as a good example for others, and not as a temptation?
And so fear lest through tempting behavior on the cliros, through careless
singing and dispersed conduct, you pour the poison of temptation into the hearts
of those who are praying, and so be subjected to the punishment promised to
those who tempt! Fear to do the work of the Lord carelessly, in order not to
hear that curse which is threatened accordingly! Strive with all your strength
to concentrate attentively on the words which you pronounce; pronounce them in
such a manner that they come from the depth of your soul, which is singing
together with your lips. Then the sounds of the vivifying current of your hymn
will pour into the souls of those who hear them, and these souls, being raised
from the earthly to the heavenly, having laid aside all earthly care, will
receive the King of Glory Who is borne in triumph by the Angelic Hosts. Will you
believe my words if I tell you from the narratives of the Holy Fathers that not
only the human soul can be softened and moved by good spiritual singing, but
even animals, those speechless creatures, somehow instinctively bow before it?
Have you ever chanced to read the life of the Athonite monk St. John
Kukuzelis? There are mentioned the following two events from the life of this
great singer. Once he was pasturing the monasterys herds of sheep and goats.
(Having entered one of the Athonite desert monasteries, John hid his position in
the imperial court, calling himself a simple shepherd, and thus was sent to
pasture the monasterys herds in the desert.) While sitting near his flocks at
pasture, John began to sing the divine songs he had formerly sung in the
imperial choir. His melodious voice flowed in the open desert, and John
surrendered his whole soul to the singing, resting in the thought that he was
alone in the desert and no one was hearing him. Meanwhile, his sheep and goats
left off grazing and surrounded their singing shepherd: as if holding their
breath, they stood motionless before him, directing their eyes to him as though
fascinated by his angelic singing [1]. Behold deeply spiritual singing, coming
forth from the depths of the soul and conscious mind! It is able not only to
inspire the rational soul and lift it towards its Creator, but to touch even
speechless and irrational animals.
Once, according to custom, John sang the Akathist to the Mother of God
together with other singers on the right cliros. After the vigil he sat down in
a stall (a monks seat) in front of the icon before which they sang the Akathist,
and being weary he slumbered lightly. Suddenly a gentle, sweet voice woke him
with the words: Rejoice, O John! John jumped up; before him stood the Mother
of God in the radiance of heavenly light. Sing and do not cease singing, she
continued, and for this I will not forsake you! At these words the Mother of
God placed in Johns hand a gold coin and became invisible. Do you see of what
great honors those zealous singers are thought worthy while still here on earth,
who not only with their lips, but also with heart and mind sing of the Lord and
His Most Pure Mother! Indeed, how will we avoid the just judgment of God for our
listlessness and laziness and negligence, on account of which we willfully turn
even the greatest gifts of God into our own property, which we dispose of as we
want, according to our evil will and sinful habits. What a wonderful and great
gift—the gift of a voice and the ability to sing! They were given to us for
this, that with them we might both glorify the Lord ourselves, and incite others
to do the same. And how often we turn these talents to our harm: becoming proud
of them, we abase our neighbors who dont have them, we are idle in using them
properly to the glory of God, and when we do, we do not use them in a fitting
manner, nor as is required by the majesty of these gifts. May the Lord therefore
give thee understanding (II Tim 2:7) to apprehend the height of your vocation in
the office of singer in the chorus of the Heavenly King. Bring the gift as a
sacrifice to its Giver, for what hast thou that thou didst not receive? (I Cor.
4:7). Are not all our talents and abilities from the all-generous God, and will
He not require from us an account of their use? Having arrived at the cliros and
stood in your place, first of all cross yourself and bring to remembrance that
you have come before the invisible face of the King of Glory, Whom at this very
moment, as always and ceaselessly, all the heavenly hosts glorify, and that
presently your feeble and insignificant voice must join this celestial praise.
Impress this upon your consciousness, turn mentally to yourself and say to your
self, i.e., to all the powers of your soul: mind, thoughts, heart, will, zeal,
and the rest: Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, and let us weep
before the Lord Who made us! (Ps. 94:6). The Lord will protect the good
free-will actions of your heart, will give you His grace, will renew your
powers, and, as the perfume of sweet-smelling incense, your singing will ascend
before the Altar of the Most High. For strengthening and consolation remember
more frequently the most sweet words of the Mother of God to her wonderful
singer John: Sing and do not cease singing, and for this I will not forsake
you! Believe and hope that the Most Holy Mother of God will not abandon you
either in this extremely difficult world, nor in the future blessedness, where
she will vouchsafe crowns of glory unto those who sing hymns of praise to her.
Amen.
Endnotes
1. Athonite Patericon, 1897, Part II, pp. (Oct. 1).
Taken from Letters to a Beginner: On Giving One's Life to God, by Abbess Thaisia (St.
Xenia Skete Press, 1993): pp. 50-56.
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