This web site contains the extraordinary work
of John C. Velon as he transcribed hymns of the Greek Orthodox Church from Byzantine
notation into Western staff notation. He devoted countless hours accomplishing these
transcriptions. All the hymns contained here are transcriptions from traditional
Post-Byzantine sources. As is typical for hymns of the Greek Orthodox Church, Mr.
Velon adapted many of these hymns to his transcriptions of model or original melodies.
As chanters aged here in the United States and in other parts of the world, Mr.
Velon saw a growing need for the availability of the ecclesiastical music of the
Greek Orthodox Church in Western staff notation which was more familiar to the younger
chanters beginning to take their place at the analogion. He was not alone in this
vision as evidenced by the ever growing source of hymns in staff notation from monasteries
such as
St. Anthony's in Arizona
and
St. Gregory Palamas in Ohio
. The transcriptions are useful for chanting the hymns in
the original Greek or as melodic examples for chanting the hymns in English. The
collection is remarkably complete, including over 10,000 hymns in selected collections
of hymns of services for major feast days and liturgical periods of the entire
ecclesiastical year of the Greek Orthodox Church.
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