Kassia, Abbess, 810-865, the first female composer of liturgical song

 February 22, 2023

Kassia, Abbess, 810-865, first female composer of  liturgical song

Her story:

Emperor: From woman come evils
Kassia: But from woman spring many blessings

According to tradition, Kassia, a beautiful, intelligent young woman participated in a “brideshow” for the Byzantine Emperor Theopholis in the 9th century. It was the custom for him to give a golden apple to the maiden who pleased him most. He was entranced by Kassis’s beauty and said “”From woman come evils.” To which she replied “But from woman come many blessings.” Unable to cope with such a brilliant woman, Theopholis passed by Kassia and gave the apple to Icasia, although some historians think that Kassia may have rejected the emperor first. However, we do know that Kassia founded a monastery in Constantinople in 843 where she ruled as Abbess. At her Abbey, she wrote poetry and hymns for the Church. Best known is “The hymn of the Repentant Woman.”  Some scholars think that the Emperor wrote several lines of this hymn while visiting Kassia at the Abbey.  

Kassia was the first woman  known to compose text and music for the Christian church.   Eastern Orthodox churches still sing her powerful hymns written in the First Millennium. A facsimile of a manuscript is pictured  here.  Most manuscripts from the 9th century have no musical "score." Neumes, the earliest form of notation  developed later.  Instead,  composers specified a singing, or reciting tone, which  indicated tonality along with associated  melodic patterns. The singer would improvise  a chant  based on oral  tradition.  

A manuscript of Kassias's Hymn for Holy Wednesday from a collection of Hymns and Canons,  Eastern Mediterranean, 16th center

Kassia, Abbess, 810-865, "The Hymn of the Repentant Woman " 

Voices Found #40

Kassia’s words

O Lord God,
The woman who had fallen into many sins,
Having perceived Thy Divinity.
Received the rank of ointment bearer,
Offering Thee spices before Thy burial,
Wailing and crying,
Woe is me ,
For the love of adultery and sin hath given me a dark and lightless night;
Accept the fountains of my tears,
Thou who draws the waters of the sea by the clouds;
Incline Thou to the sighing of my heart,
O thou who didst bend the heavens by Thine in apprehensible condescension.
I will kiss Thy pure feet and I will wipe them with my tresses,
From Thy handmaiden,
O Thou of countless mercy
tr. Seraphim Nasser c. Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church

Reflection
Kassia’s response to the emperor reflects the Christian understanding that Jesus’s birth through Mary redeemed the sins of humankind attributed traditionally to Eve. Kassia’s response also points out that many other blessings come from women. Can you think of blessings you have received through women?

Kassia’s rejection by the Emperor appears to reflect a fear of intelligent, powerful women that rings true even in the 21st Century. Can you think of any contemporary examples?

"The Hymn of the Repentant Woman "reflects a uniquely feminine experience of sin, mercy and forgiveness. Think of mercy and forgiveness you have experienced. Who was the channel of that peace?

Also known as, "O Lord God," Kassia's hymn is  #40 in Voices Found with  an interpretation  used  in the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese in North America.  It is recorded with Diane Severson, soprano, on my CD "Magdalene and the Other Mary, " available from Church Publishing, Inc. A simpler interpretation, more approachable for congregational singing, is VF #42 an arrangement by Robert A. M. Ross.