Semantron

The semantron (Greek: σήμαντρον) or semanterion (σημαντήριον); also called a xylon (ξύλον) (Romanian: "toacă"; Russian: било, "bilo"; _bg. клепало, "klepalo") is a percussion instrument made of a long, well-planed piece of timber, usually heart of maple (but also beech), from 12 feet and upwards in length, by 1½ feet broad, and 9 inches in thickness.Smith and Cheetham, p. 1879.] It is used chiefly in monasteries to summon the brethren to prayer, or to lead processions.

Origins and use

Of Levantine and Egyptian origin, its use flourished in the Greece and on Mount Athos before spreading among Eastern Orthodox in what are now Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Macedonia. Though used less frequently in the Russian Orthodox Church, there are still monasteries and even some parish churches that use them. It both predates and substitutes for bells (first introduced to the East in 865 by the Venetians, who gave a dozen to Michael IIIRiley, Athelstan. "Athos: or, The Mountain of the Monks", p. 90. London, Longmans, Green, 1887. However, some doubt has been cast on the veracity of this account, but Greek resistance to bells certainly lasted some centuries; for details see Williams, E.V. "The Bells of Russia: History and Technology", pp. 21-24, 31"ff". Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 1985.] ), being used to call worshipers to prayer. They are sometimes made of iron or brass (ἁγιοσίδηρα, "hagiosidera" / клепало, "klepalo") [The root of било (approx. "hitting/striking thing") is бит ("to hit/strike); that of клепало is клеп via клепать ("to hit", but more precisely, "to strike upon something"). In Middle Russian, the term клепило meant "the bell". Dal', V. I., "The Interpreted Dictionary of the Living Great-Russian Language".] ; formed of slightly curved metal plates, these give out a sound not unlike that of a gong.

In the wooden form, at the centre of the instrument's length, each edge is slightly scooped out to allow the player to grasp it by the left hand, while he holds a small wooden mallet in the right, with which he strikes it in various parts and at various angles, eliciting loud, somewhat musical sounds (κροῦσμα, "krousma"). Although simple, the instrument nonetheless produces a strong resonance and a variety of different intonations, depending on the thickness of the place struck and the intensity of the force used, so that quite subtle results can be obtained.Hiller, Paul. "Arvo Pärt", p. 21. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1997, ISBN 0198166168.] A metal semantron is not carried, but is suspended on chains or rope from an overhang, and is struck with a metal mallet. Some larger wooden semantra are also suspended rather than being carried. These tend to be thicker and shorter than the hand-held variety.

In the traditional monastic ritual, before each service the assigned monk takes a wooden semantron and, standing before the west end of the catholicon (the monastery's main church), strikes on it three hard and distinct blows with the mallet. He then proceeds round the outside of the church, turning to the four quarters and playing on the instrument by striking blows of varying force on different parts of the wood at uneven intervals, always winding up the "tune" with three blows similar to those at the beginning. Depending on local custom, a second, metal semantron may be sounded just before the service begins. The semantron is sounded every midnight for night offices (Midnight Office, Matins); this is done by the candle-lighter (κανδηλάπτης, "kandilaptis"). The semantra are usually suspended by chains from a peg in the "proaulion" (porch of the catholicon) or perhaps outside the refectory door, or on a tree in the courtyard.

History

While continuing in daily use at monasteries and sometimes featuring at funerals for their deep notes sounded at long intervals, as well as at other services, semantra have also played a part in Orthodox history. Their origin has been traced to at least the beginning of the 6th century, when the semantron had replaced the trumpet as the agent of convocation in the monasteries of Egypt, Palestine and Sinai; the rhythms struck on wood were soon vested with the aural memory of rhythmic blasts from earlier trumpets, an iconography of trumpeting that was eventually transferred to the "zvon" of Russian bells.Edward V. Williams, "Aural Icons of Orthodoxy: The Sonic Typology of Russian Bells", pp. 3-5, in "Christianity and the Arts in Russia", William C. Brumfield and Miloš M. Velimirović, ed. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1991, ISBN 0521413109.] The joy shown at Constantinople on the occasion of the translation of the relics of St. Anastasius was shown by the beating of xyla. In the "Life of St. Theodosius the Archimandrite", by Moschus, one reads of some Eutychian monks of the party of Severus who, to disturb the saint at his devotion, "beat the wood" at an unwonted hour. St. Sabas rose for his devotions "before the hour of striking."

Larger and smaller semantra have been used, the smaller being sounded first, followed by the larger, then by those of iron. Theodore Balsamon, in a treatise on the subject, compares the sounding of the little, great and iron semantra to the preaching of the Law and of the Gospel, and the Last Trumpet. He also says that the congregations were summoned by three semantra in monasteries, and only by one large one in parish churches. Moreover, he emphasises the persistence of the semantron in the East as a symbolic manifestation of difference with the Latin West (it remains unclear if some isolated practices in the West such as the Basque "txalaparta" are associated with the pre-schism liturgy); in Byzantium, the use of bells did not really gather momentum until after the Fourth Crusade, [Except on the city's Latin churches, which featured them as early as the 10th century.] and at the Fall of Constantinople semantra still outnumbered bells by a five-to-one ratio. [Burnett, John. [http://www.russianbells.com/history/history2.html "Overview of the Origin and History of Russian Bell-Founding"] ] Semantra, from their size and shape, furnished formidable weapons, and were sometimes so used with fatal effect in a church brawl. One reason why semantra continue to be used in southeastern Europe in particular is that the ringing of bells was outlawed during Ottoman times, forcing monasteries to use the semantron instead; the practice then became customary, [Denton, William. "Servia and the Servians", p. 209. Bell and Daldy, London, 1862.] [Hall, John Manley. "Greek Life: An Account of Past and Contemporary Conditions and Projects", p. 147. Bay View Reading Club, Detroit, Michigan, 1908.] though in Bulgaria it largely fell into disuse after independence.

In Russia, the techniques for playing the "bilo" were retained in bell-ringing rubrics, and it could still be heard in more remote, rural areas at the time of the Revolution. Today, its use is restricted to the Altai region and Siberia, as well as Old Believer sketes, the latter retaining the aloofness toward outsiders that has characterised the group since it broke away from the main body of the Russian Orthodox Church. (see Raskol) [Pylyaev, M.I. [http://www.danilovbells.com/bellsonrussia/publications_about_bells/historical_bells/ "Historical Bells"] ] Smolensky, S.V. [http://www.danilovbells.com/bellsonrussia/publications_about_bells/on_bell_ringing_in_russia.html "On Bell Ringing in Russia"] ] Also, a semantron may be in use simply because the monastery cannot afford a bell.

The Syrian Orthodox hold the semantron in great veneration, based on an ancient tradition that Noah invented it. According to the story, God told him: "Make for yourself a bell of box-wood, which is not liable to corruption, three cubits long and one and a half wide, and also a mallet from the same wood. Strike this instrument three separate times every day: once in the morning to summon the hands to the ark, once at midday to call them to dinner, and once in the evening to invite them to rest". The Syrians strike their semantra when the liturgy is about to begin and when it is time to summon the people to public prayer. Their tradition also links the sound of the wood to the wood of the Garden of Eden that caused Adam to fall when he plucked its fruit, and to the nailing to the wood of the cross of Jesus Christ, come to atone for Adam's transgression. [O'Brien, John. "A History of the Mass and Its Ceremonies in the Eastern and Western Church", pp. 148-149. Benziger Brothers, New York, 1879.]

Notes

References

*Smith, William and Cheetham, Samuel. "A Dictionary of Christian Antiquities", p. 1879. Hartford, Connecticut, J. B. Burr, 1880.