In all my years of choir directing and chanting in the Orthodox Church (almost 32 in all, plus 6 as just a choir member), I have never been able to find the answer to this question:
Why is it, when we chant Katavasies, Canons, etc., that we always jump from Ode 1 to Ode 3? Whatever happened to Ode 2 and why is it not sung???? If any chanters, clergy, or directors, or some other knowledgeable person could provide an answer, I\'d greatly appreciate it--this has been bugging me for years!
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#2
The only time Ode 2 is ever sung is during the Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete. Memory\'s a bit rusty here, but the reason is to do with the theme of Ode 2. Each ode of a canon has a theme related to an OT canticle. For instance, ode 1 is on the theme of Exodus, ode 8 on the three Holy Youths, etc. This is made more obvious by looking at the eirmoi/irmosi for any ode. The OT theme for ode 2 is deemed to be appropriate for Great Lent, but not for other times of the year. Because of this, canons written for saints or feasts do not, as a rule, have an \"ode 2\".
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Thank you! That is something I never knew. I knew the odes referred to the OT but had no clue why ode 2 was never sung, except in the instance you gave. Now I won\'t have that question bugging me any more!
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