International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Vesna Sara Peno
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute of Musicology, Belgrade, Serbia; 
[e-mail]
Serbian Folk Church Chant / Its (Post)Byzantine Roots and European Gafts. 
Discourse on “National” Features of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Music Tradition
In the nineteenth century, as part of the tendencies which helped to shape Serbian national 
cultural identity, a theory was construed about a “distinctive, extraordinary beautiful church chant” 
created by the Serbian people. In the process of finding a name for the chants which accompanied 
Serbian church worship, the adjectives “Serbian”, “karlovački” (derived from the name of the town 
Sremski Karlovci where this tradition allegedly emerged in recent history), and, above all, “folk” 
thus acquired a special significance. Cantors and fans of “Serbian sacred chants” did not dispute 
their Byzantine origins. Many of them also did not ignore the proven historical facts about the 
Greek influence on the development of the newer chant, the so-called “karlovačko pjenije” (Karlovac 
chant). However, one belief was shared by all: that the liturgical music of the “folk” Serbian church 
was “a reflection of the Serbian soul” and of “national pious feelings”, and that it was distinguishable 
from other Orthodox vocal variants precisely because it had been shaped by the Serbian 
ethnos
since its inception. The epithet “folk” was also assigned to polyphonic church compositions in 
which a monophonic folk melody — whether in a simplified harmonization or treated more freely 
— nevertheless remained recognizable.
The fact that the phrase 
Serbian folk church chant
became an axiom both in Serbian scientific 
circles and amongst the general public was confirmed by the situation found in Serbian church 
chant practice in the late twentieth century, when the stereotypes of the “foreign”, i.e. Greek, and 
“our own”, i.e. “folk” Serbian ecclesiastical music, resurfaced.
A paper discusses a peculiar movement against “Greek” chanting in the recent Serbian church 
history, as well as the reflections of determined false belief of decadent Post-Byzantine psalmody 
which is present since nowadays in some church circles and among rare, but influential Serbian 
musicologists who are dedicated who are dedicated to the study of church music.

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