Academic year 2026/2027
Overview
The course is designed as a gradual path from studying notation to singing hymns from the service books. Participants will learn how to read Western staff notation and Byzantine notation, use their voice, read biblical passages in the context of the services, and, based on that, correctly work with the liturgical texts and set music to them.
Learning Approach
At Sankt Ignatios Folkhögskola, the overarching principle that guides learning is that all knowledge is intersubjective.
Knowledge is dialogue, which requires humility and empathy.
This course is built on collaborative and dialogical learning where participants actively shape not only their common learning journey but also the course itself. The content, materials, and methods will be adapted in real time based on participants’ needs, interests, and input. Beyond mastering subject matter, a central goal is for each participant to become aware of how shared learning experiences and dialogue transforms their thinking, practice and identity. Through dialogue, narrative, group discussions, shared reflection, creative expression, and collective exploration, participants develop awareness of their own growth while supporting others’ development. The learning community becomes a space where everyone’s experiences and questions not only enrich understanding but actively guide the direction of the course, helping each person to integrate learning into their own life context in meaningful, personally transformative ways.
The course is divided into groups based on participants’ musical experience, and progress depends on their ability to understand music.
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, the participants are (individually and collectively) expected to be able to:
- read staff notation and Byzantine notation in the context of the octoekhos;
- relate to the clerics’ intonation in order to begin a hymn;
- read a biblical passage aloud in an understandable manner;
- tailor a melody to a hymn while respecting the rules of prosodi; and
- distinguish regional variants of chant and understand how they relate to other Eastern Orthodox chant traditions.
The Deans Council revised the syllabus on 14 January, 2026.