St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts
Abstract on cultural studies
Znamenny chant - a prayer embodied in sound
Performed:
3rd year student
group No. 23377
Ferapontova I.B.
Saint Petersburg
Introduction
Znamenny chant
Recording system znamenny chant
Types of chants: traveling, demestial and large znamenny chants
Line singing, types
Conclusion
Bibliography
Introduction
Much has been written about church singing in Russia, especially over the past hundred years, since Professor-Archpriest Dimitry Vasilyevich Razumovsky created and published his major work “Church Singing in Russia” (1867-1869). During this time, many important treatises on this issue were created: scientific works of I.I. Voznesensky, S.V. Smolensky, V.M. Metallov, A.M. Pokrovsky, D.V. Allemanova, A.A. Ignatiev and many other researchers. At the beginning of the current century, a special Orthodox church magazine “Choral and Regency Affairs” (1909-1916) was devoted to the issues of church singing, as well as the Old Believer magazine “Church singing”, in which prominent scientists collaborated, such as S.V. . Smolensky.
Church singing is a canonical art. Canonnowadays it is understood as a set of rules and regulations. Canonical, or statutory, chants are considered to be those created on canonical texts in the liturgical singing system. The existence of the Old Russian canon differs from the Byzantine one. The canon in Rus' was accepted along with Epiphany as something sacred and inviolable, while in Byzantium the artistic canon, along with poetry and hymnography, developed over many centuries. The church singing system was also adopted by Russia in a “ready-made” form.
1. Znamenny chant
Znamenny chant - the oldest and most complete chant of the Russian church. Its oldest written monuments date back to the end of the 11th century. or to the first years of the XII century. The name “znamenny” comes from the Slavic word “znamya”, which means “sign”, as well as “sign” (sign - belonging to a written tradition, sign - “sign, proof, seal”). Znamenny chant is also called "pillar chant". "Pillar" is a liturgical term. Znamenny chant is subordinated to the system osmoglasiya, his chants are included in the circle of alternating voices. Each voice determines the chants during the Week (Sunday) and the following week. The complete passage of eight voices, therefore eight weeks, is called a “pillar”.
The genesis of the melody of Znamenny chant goes back to the traditions of liturgical reading. Chanted recitation is the key source of ancient Russian singing art. Musical patterns and structure of chanted reading are close to psalmody, to the simplest types of eight-voice znamenny singing, and at the same time are associated with folk song recitatives such as epics and lamentations.
Znamenny chant has a singing, or formulaic, structure. The rhythmic and intonation formulas of Znamenny chant are a kind of “bricks” that make up its melodic line. Znamenny chant in continuity with the Byzantine singing art - male monophonic singing a cappella, which corresponds to the theological concept of glorifying the Lord “with one heart and one mouth.” According to the head of the ensemble "Old Russian Chant" A. Grindenko, monodysinging has not lost its relevance even today: “unison focuses, it, like a magnifying glass, collects rays at one point, this is also psychologically true, it focuses attention. With Znamenny singing, liturgical accents appear more prominently than usual.”
Znamenny chant lives fully without harmonization, it lives according to special modal laws that do not fit into the simple acoustic logic of Western European harmony, it is diatonic, strict and clear in intonation, there is no brokenness, whimsicality, intramodal inclinations, consonances and dissonances, since it reflects not emotions, not impulses and aspirations of the soul, but contemplation of the spirit. Ancient unison singing conveys the touch of Eternity. A distinctive feature of the chant is a strict step-by-step movement, diatonic and majestically restrained rhythm. In the modal originality of the tunes, there is a noticeable commonality with the modal structure of epic and ritual songs. The rhythm of the chant is asymmetrical, non-periodic, and thanks to its emancipation, it is completely subordinated to the meaningful pronunciation of a prosaic text. It was znamenny singing that was embedded in Russian church singing, the internal freedom of pronouncing the word and expressing its content and meaning. Znamenny melodies, which differed from each other in musical details, were called middle, large, Novgorod, Pskov, Baskakov, Lukoshkov chants. In most cases, these names speak about the creators of the melodies or the area where the tune was formed or mainly used. All Russian chants are usually divided into full, containing all eight voices of liturgical singing, and incomplete, not containing all osmoconciliation. The deviation of a composed or reworked melody from the musical style of znamenny singing was called arbitrariness, or arbitrary melody; such tunes were never mixed with znamenny ones.
znamenny chant osmoglasiya singing
2. Znamenny chant recording system
Znamennaya semiographyis a non-linear melody recording system. Signs insanenotations, unlike notolinear ones, did not record height and duration (these parameters were largely arbitrary), but were endowed with special spiritual symbolism and, in addition, reflected the nature and technique of performance. Signs, neumas, were written above a line of text, and their arrangement strictly corresponded to the syllables of the text. The verbal text itself was written with the necessary discharges for placing banners. The banners, like the chant itself, were considered an integral part of liturgical culture; they were closely connected with liturgical texts and were part of the singing canon. Initial view non-neutral notation - kondakarnoe letter - was a reflection of the Byzantine singing tradition, which is perhaps why it lost its relevance after some time. Until now, the kondakar notation cannot be deciphered.
Kondakar notation<#"justify">The main type of fixation of a melody in the ancient Russian singing art was znamenny notation, reflecting the traditions of chanted reading and, as it were, growing out of the practice of recording variable chants, first of all stichera. Its signs react flexibly to the movement of melody, reflect not solo (as in Byzantium) performance, but the tradition of choral unison, sensitively follow the text with its stressed and unstressed syllables, accents, beginning and ending of phrases.
The signs of non-neutral notation were endowed with special spiritual symbolism. For example, “kryzh” depicted a cross and was one of the most ancient signs of Christian symbolism (a long sustained sound, most often at the end of a chant). Some signs reflected the symbolism of sacred objects. The design of the “chalice” sign goes back to the image of a church chalice. The “underbowl” sign is a cup covered with a shroud (two-stage downward movement), the Third Person of the Holy Trinity - the Holy Spirit - was depicted with the “paraclete” sign. The majority of znamenny chants begin with the inscription of this sign as an invocation of the Holy Spirit (similarly to “darling” and a faster version of the chant - “dear greyhound”). Spiritual symbolism receives further development and is enshrined in the singing alphabet, the first of which appears in the 15th century. Many banners are named after their image, for example: “comma”, “stick”, “arrow”, “bench”, “two in a canoe”, “addition” etc. Over time, icons began to appear that changed the melodic pattern of the neuromuscular: “tuck”, “cloud”, “breaking”, “compartment”.
Along with the written tradition, oral tradition was of great importance, i.e. tradition. The banners did not contain all the information about singing; much was transmitted orally: intervals, mode, partly rhythm, the nature of the performance. Therefore, live communication with the master, the experience of “apprenticeship” formed the concept of “school” in the art of church singing. The theory and practice of Znamenny singing, scripture and tradition, being in syncretic unity, led to high spiritual and artistic results.
2. Types of chants:travel, demestnal and large znamenny chants
The principles of the formation of the Old Russian singing system are fundamentally different not only from the principles of the formation of the Western European musical system, but also from the principles of the formation of the Russian liturgical singing system of the 18th-20th centuries. If the Western European history of music was a struggle of directions, trends and styles, in which “ars nova” replaced “ars antiqua”, the Burgundian school replaced “ars nova”, etc., that is, the newly emerging directions crossed out and nullified everything previous development, completely destroying tradition, then in Rus' XI-XVII centuries. the new seemed to be layered on top of the old, without destroying or denying it, but forming a kind of equal and simultaneous coexistence. Thus, Znamenny chant continued to be a determining factor in the future, as a result of which kalokagatiness, which is the main property of Znamenny melodism, turned into the main property of the melodism of Russian liturgical singing in general, although in the second period it no longer exhausted the entire spectrum of its properties, being supplemented by others properties generated by new phenomena in the life of the Church.
New trends in ascetic life, influence hesychasmand increased attention to the inner world of the ascetic, which found expression in spiritual activity Reverend Neil Sorsky and his “Rule of skete life” led to the appearance in the 15th century. new melodic thinking, new melodic feeling, new melodic forms. If the melodicism of Znamenny chant gravitated towards a certain generalization of expression, towards a super-personal or transpersonal principle, then in the melodicism of the new type, tendencies towards a characteristic individual intonation, towards a personal principle, towards a sharpening of originality in general began to appear more and more strongly. All this led to the emergence of sharply characteristic unique intonation spheres travel, de-local And Great Banner chants. In addition, hesychasm, which gave rise to a new literary style - "weaving words", had a noticeable influence on liturgical singing, giving rise to the appearance of the "calophonic style", or " calophonia". It was, first of all, expressed in the lengthening of the melodies, in the increase in the number of sounds chanting each syllable of the liturgical text. Thus, all three chants differed from the Znamenny chant both in the greater length and development of the melodies, and in the greater individualization and specificity of their melodic appearance.
Travel chant
Of all the new chants, the travel chant is most closely related to the znamenny chant, for it represents, as it were, a new round of development of znamenny melodicism. When comparing znamenny and traveling melodies chanting the same liturgical text, a significant number of coincidences are always striking. This is manifested in the coincidence of both large structural sections of the chant and structural elements each compared znamenny and travel chant. The putevaya chant is a complicated intonation-rhythmic version of the znamenny chant. Complication was achieved by increasing the number of notes forming the chant and increasing the complexity of the rhythmic pattern. The track rhythm was characterized by a combination of syncopation of small durations with long, sustained notes, which created the impression of special fervor and sublime solemnity. It was these qualities that ensured travel chant a place in the services of almost all Great and especially revered holidays. Initially, at the time of its origin, the travel chant did not have its own written system and was written down using znamenny notation, as a result of which in the manuscripts of the 15th century. it is very difficult to single out travel chants from total mass Znamenny chants. By the middle of the 16th century. The actual travel notation begins to take shape, consisting of both completely independent signs and modified signs of the znamenny notation. As a result of these searches, the perfect graphic equivalent of travel intonation was gradually found. By the beginning of the 17th century. The first travel alphabets appear, which are part of the Znamenny alphabet, and a little later - travel kokizniks and fitniki. Thus, in the 17th century. travel notation receives final understanding and is cast into completed forms. Like the znamenny chant, the travel chant had a rigid singing, or centon, structure, which included not only singing, or Kokiz, but also fits. Traveling songs and fits formed their own traveling system of osmoglasity. The melodic difference between the traveling voices was expressed to a much lesser extent than the melodic difference between the voices of the znamenny osmoglas system. This was explained by a much higher degree of individualization of the track melodics as a whole, which prevented further melodic individualization of the eight track voices. There was also no melodic hierarchy in the travel chant, dividing the entire melody of the chant into syllabic, non-melodic and melismatic types. The lack of bright vocal characteristics, as well as the lack of melodic hierarchy, stemmed from the strict purpose of travel chant exclusively for singing holiday services. The most typical chants for travel were the following hymns: the great water-blessing stichera, “God is with us,” magnifications for the holidays, honors, “Elites in Christ,” etc. Since the 18th century. the travel chant is gradually disappearing from the practice of the Russian Orthodox Church, and the last traces of it can be found in synodal publications, namely in the “Usage of Church Musical Singing of Various Chants,” which contains travel chants and magnifications.
Demonic chant
The earliest chronicle mention of demesne chant can be found in 1441, however, since in the 15th century. A special demestine notation had not yet been developed and demestine chants were recorded using znamenny notation, so it is still difficult to talk about the initial forms of demestine singing. Main feature Demestine notation, which had developed by the middle of the 16th century, is “the formation of a vast number of styles from a limited range of basic graphic elements,” as B. A. Shindin, a major expert on demestine singing, believes. The creators of demesne notation did not invent something completely new, but were based on the familiar outlines of the usual pillar banner, combining them in various, sometimes quite ingenious, ways.
In demesne singing, the song structure is preserved, but the boundaries of the songs become much more unsteady and mobile. Singing also takes on a different role in the formation of a holistic chant. “The initial chant of the work,” notes Shindin, “becomes here, as it were, the theme of either the chant as a whole or its section. In these cases, the entire composition or its large sections are built on the variant-variational development of this chant.” Special, distinctive feature Demestvennogo singing is its non-subordination to the system of osmoglasiya, and in this regard, demestvo can be considered as a further development of the tradition of znamenny extra-vocal singing ("Cherubimskaya", "Mercy of the World", etc.). Even in comparison with travel chant, demestine singing was distinguished by a greater intensity of specificity of the melodic pattern, distinguished by the breadth of the chant, the abundance of melismatic decorations, and the originality of the rhythm, gravitating toward dotted figures resulting from the use of so-called “draws.” All this gave the melody of demesne chant a particularly festive and lush character, which is why in the written monuments of that time demesne singing was often called “red,” that is, beautiful, luxurious, magnificent. The most characteristic hymns of the demestven chant are: “On the rivers of Babylon,” magnifications for the holidays, hymns for the Easter service. The children also sang chants of the festive liturgy. Having become one of the most commonly used and beloved holiday chants in the 16th-17th centuries, the demesnic chant was actively translated into linear notation in late XVI I century, as a result of which a significant number of manuscripts with both demestial and linear notation, recording demestial chants, have reached our time. However, in the 18th century, like the travel chant, the demesnic chant began to fall out of use in the services of the Russian Orthodox Church. And if some of the travel chants were nevertheless included in the synodal publications, then the demestvenny chant was less fortunate in this regard, as a result of which our judgments about demestvenny singing can only be based on the handwritten tradition of the 16th-18th centuries. and on modern practice Old Believers.
Great Znamenny chant
At the end of the 16th century. in singing manuscripts the term “big chant” or “big banner” appears, referring to the most extensive, melodically developed chants, replete with detailed melismatic structures. At earlier stages of the formation of the ancient Russian singing system, it is very difficult to identify and detect such chants, although it is possible to assume their existence already at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries. quite possible. M. V. Brazhnikov points to the role of fit singing in the emergence of a large chant in the following words: “The melodic, technical, textual features and performing techniques of fit singing were one of the foundations on which a large chant was formed - new system and a variation of the usual Znamenny chant." Fits from an inserted, decorative element become an organically integral part of the chant.
Unlike the travel and demestvenny chants, the large znamenny chant did not have its own specialized notation system, however, the znamenny notation used to record the large chant acquired some specific features. One of these features was the almost complete absence of secret, stenographically encrypted formulas, so characteristic of Znamenny notation in general. In the large chant, all such formulas are separated in great detail and are not distinguished from the general presentation. Another graphic sign of a large chant is the repeated re-writing of vowels or the placement of dashes under the banners during long intra-syllabic chants, which require a number of singing signs for their written fixation.
The basis of a large chant was the song structure, however, as a result of the general tendency to increase the chanting and spaciousness of the melodic presentation, the boundaries of individual chants often became unclear, vague, and isolating them from the general context is sometimes difficult. Some blurriness of the chant structure also extended to the blurriness of the osvonal system of the large chant, manifested, for example, in the fact that chants of different voices could end with the same final chant, nullifying the individual melodic face of the voice. And yet, the most characteristic of great chant were precisely those chants that required clear vocal significance, such as the Gospel stichera, the Blessed Ones at the Liturgy, invocations, verse and lithium stichera of Great and especially revered holidays. All these chants began to be sung especially actively with a large chant in the 17th century, which is the culmination point of its development, and then the large chant begins to quickly “fade to nothing”, so that in synodal publications we will no longer find a single chant placed on a large banner.
4. Line singing, types
The flourishing of performing practice in the 16th century. led to the formation of a unique phenomenon - line singing, a kind of ancient Russian polyphony, in which the nature of voice acting was linear and the vertical was formed as a result of the pairing of horizontal melodic lines of each voice. Line singing had a unique flavor and reflected the atmosphere of a great holiday. A similar attitude has been preserved to this day: the more significant the holiday, the more complex, brighter, and more solemn its chants. Polyphony almost immediately covers all significant genres of chants. The first written indications of lowercase polyphony are found in the "Official of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral", which was compiled in the 20s - 30s. XVII century, but it is obvious that this style arose much earlier and by the indicated period all unchangeable chants were chanted by it, and there were even many local variants.
In line polyphony, the main melodic voice was called “path” (middle voice), then “top”, “bottom”; in a four-voice texture, the topmost voice was called “demestvo”. The understanding of polyphony as a split monody, an organic sense of ensemble unity, is common to professional and folk song art. In contrast to the partes style, line polyphony was called “Russian agreement.”
· a combination of male voices that are related in timbre and sound character, and they are in the same pitch zone;
· the basis of the sound vertical is made up of dissonant harmonies, and their use is not subject to the norms of European harmony;
· The modal-scale structure of the ternary line does not follow the rules of the European tonal system; here, as in monophony, there are several modal supports
Linear Znamenny singing
A special type of polyphony, which arose as an antipode to the one spreading in the 17th century. partes singing, it was lowercase znamennysinging. It represented the early harmonization of ancient tunes with the aim of preserving them. This type of polyphony was no longer strictly lowercase, but also not partes. The chants were recorded in hooks; in the selection of harmonic combinations there was still a share of Russian originality, which was later “erased.”
The choral texture of the line znamenny chants was three-voice, distinguished by a melodically developed, mobile bass line (later - an excellent bass in the mature partes style). Perhaps the path of znamenny polyphony would be the most acceptable and promising for the development of domestic liturgical singing. But he, however, was swept away by the storm of alien Western European influences.
Conclusion
European musical education has taken Russian people far away from their domestic cultural roots. Perhaps, only towards the end of the 20th century did we come closer to understanding this unique style of polyphonic singing. Perhaps this is due to a change in the auditory guidelines of our contemporaries from the unconditionality of consonance and functional harmonic logic towards the emancipation of dissonance and atonality.
Nowadays, when the national spiritual and musical culture has gone through a long path of development, assimilated huge layers of compositions, the Orthodox musician, who has heard a lot, performed a lot and has managed to be disappointed in many ways, is increasingly attracted by the image of Holy Rus', so powerfully imprinted in the sublimely strict, majestic ancient Russian chants.
Bibliography
1. Brazhnikov M.V. Russian singing paleography. St. Petersburg, 2002.
Vladyshevskaya T.F. Musical culture Ancient Rus'. M., 2006.
Keldysh Yu.V. History of Russian music. M., 1983. T. 1.
Metallov V.M., archpriest. Essay on the history of Orthodox church singing in Russia. M., 1915. - Reprint: Holy Trinity Lavra of Sergius, 1995.
Parfentyev N.P. Old Russian singing art in the spiritual culture of the Russian state in the 16th - 17th centuries: Schools. Centers. Masters. Sverdlovsk, 1991.
Skrebkov S.S. Russian choral music of the 17th - early 18th centuries. M., 1969.
Uspensky N.D. Old Russian singing art. Ed. 2nd. M., 1975.
1. http://www.synaxis.info
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The meaning of ZNAMNY CHANT in the Dictionary of Musical Terms
ZNAMNY CHANT
A system of ancient Orthodox cult chants. The name comes from the ancient Slavic "banner" - a singing sign. banners (or hooks) were used to record chants. Znamenny chant has various options related to forms of church service. the text could be sung using different melodic techniques, which provided significant creative initiative to church choristers.
Dictionary of musical terms. 2012
See also interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what ZNAMENNY CHANT is in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:
- ZNAMNY CHANT
(hook singing) is the main type of Old Russian church singing (the tunes were recorded with special signs - banners, or hooks). Known since the 11th century; developed... - ZNAMNY CHANT
chant, the main fund of Russian church chants. The name comes from the Old Slavonic word for "banner". Banners, or hooks, were called non-linear signs... - ZNAMNY CHANT
(hook singing), the main type of Old Russian church singing (tunes were recorded with special signs - banners, or hooks). Known since the 11th century; ... - ZNAMNY CHANT in the Modern Encyclopedic Dictionary:
- ZNAMNY CHANT in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
(hook singing), in the 11th - 17th centuries. the main chant of ancient Russian church music. The name comes from the names used to record it... - CHANT in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
(chant) system Old Russian singing. There are 7 main chants: Znamenny (from the 11th century), Kondakar (11-14 centuries; see Kondakar singing), demestvenny and ... - CHANT in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
(ancient - chant), an independent system of monody, characterized by a certain fund of chant motifs and the patterns of their organization in melodies. In the Russian church... - CHANT
RASPEV (chanting), ancient Russian system. singing. There are 7 main ones. R.: Znamenny (from the 11th century), Kondakar (11-14 centuries; see Kondakar singing), ... - Znamenny in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
ZNAMENNY CHANT (hook singing), main. view of other Russian church singing (tunes were recorded with special signs - banners, or hooks). Known since... - Znamenny in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
BANNER PLATOON, a unit assigned to accompany the battle flag with a flag bearer, assistants and a drummer. Armed with machine guns or... - CHANT in Collier's Dictionary:
a form of vocal music, something between ordinary speech and a real melody (in the modern European sense). The term is usually attached to the Gregorian... - CHANT
sing"in, sing"you, sing"va, sing"vom, sing"vu, sing"you, sing"in, sing"you, sing"vom, sing"you, sing"ve, ... - Znamenny in the Complete Accented Paradigm according to Zaliznyak:
znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, ... - Znamenny in the Complete Accented Paradigm according to Zaliznyak:
znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamen znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, znamenny, … - CHANT in the Russian Synonyms dictionary:
song, chant, ... - CHANT
m. 1) The process of action according to the meaning. verb: to sing, to sing, to sing, to sing. 2) a) Drawing melody. b) colloquial Chant pronunciation. 3) ... - Znamenny in the New Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language by Efremova:
- CHANT
ras`ev, ... - Znamenny in Lopatin’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
Znamenny (from... - Znamenny in Lopatin’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
famous... - CHANT
chant... - Znamenny full spelling dictionary Russian language:
Znamenny (from... - Znamenny in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
banner... - CHANT in the Spelling Dictionary:
ras`ev, ... - Znamenny in the Spelling Dictionary:
Znamenny (from... - Znamenny in the Spelling Dictionary:
famous... - CHANT in Modern explanatory dictionary, TSB:
(chanting), a system of ancient Russian singing. There are 7 main chants: Znamenny (from the 11th century), Kondakar (11-14 centuries; see Kondakar singing), demestial ... - CHANT in Ushakov’s Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language:
chant, m. 1. unit only Action according to verb. chant-sing and chant in 2 meanings. - to sing (musical argot). Sing something. ... - CHANT
chant m. 1) The process of action according to meaning. verb: to sing, to sing, to sing, to sing. 2) a) Drawing melody. b) colloquial Chant pronunciation. ... - Znamenny in Ephraim's Explanatory Dictionary:
adj. 1) Correlative in meaning. with noun: banner (1) associated with it. 2) Characteristic of the banner (1), characteristic of ... - CHANT
m. 1. process of action according to Ch. sing, sing, sing, sing 2. Drawing chant. Ott. decomposition Chant pronunciation. 3. Circle of chants... - Znamenny in the New Dictionary of the Russian Language by Efremova:
adj. 1. ratio with noun banner 1., associated with it 2. Characteristic of the banner [banner 1.], characteristic of ... - CHANT
I m. 1. process of action according to Ch. chant, chant 2. The result of such an action; lingering chant. 3. decompression Chant pronunciation. ... - Znamenny in the Large Modern Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language:
adj. 1. ratio with noun banner 1., associated with it 2. Characteristic of the banner [banner 1.], characteristic of ... - CHURCH SINGING in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree.
- GERASIMOVSKY CHANT in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
Open Orthodox encyclopedia "TREE". Gerasimov's chant, incomplete, not consonant; brought into the court singing chapel in 1740 by the charter monk Gerasim from ... - RUSSIA, SECTION CHURCH MUSIC (PREHISTORIC AND ANCIENT PERIOD) in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia.
- RUSSIAN SOVIET FEDERAL SOCIALIST REPUBLIC, RSFSR in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB.
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After the conquest of Bulgaria by the Turks in 1393, the independence of the Bulgarian church was destroyed; The Bulgarian hierarchy was replaced by the Greek one, which began to be introduced into ... - SIMONOVSKY CHANT V Encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Euphron:
one of the complete chants of the Russian Orthodox Church, bearing close resemblance to the old Znamenny chant. It got its name from the Moscow... - SERBIAN CHANT in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron:
The Orthodox Church is subject to osmoglas. He penetrated into the South Russian Church earlier than into the Great Russian Church, namely in the 15th century. thanks to Gregory... - RUSSIA. ART: MUSIC in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron.
- Kyiv CHANT in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron:
one of the Russian chants of the Orthodox Church that appeared later than Znamenny. K. chant refers to the complete chants of the Russian church, i.e. having ... - OLD BULGARIAN CHURCH CHANT in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedia:
? After the conquest of Bulgaria by the Turks in 1393, the independence of the Bulgarian church was destroyed; The Bulgarian hierarchy was replaced by the Greek one, which began to introduce...
HOOKS (banners) are signs of Russian church non-linear musical notation. They originate from early Byzantine notation. Each hook represents 1-3 or more tones. There are three types of fixation of melodies: proper hook, singing (see singing), and fit (see fita). In the 17th century To indicate the pitch of sound, cinnabar marks began to be placed above the hooks. At the same time, in order to be able to distinguish tonality in single-color recording (printing), ink marks were invented. Hooks are still traditionally used by the Old Believers, but in the Russian Orthodox Church they fell out of use in the 17th and 18th centuries. simultaneously with the transition from znamenny singing to partes and to five-line notation.
The basic principles of liturgical singing emerged already in the first centuries of Christianity. Initially based on Greek musical modes, it subsequently moved further and further away from secular music, acquiring features unique to it. The Christian Church, following the path of high spirituality and asceticism, abandoned the use of instrumental music, leaving for the glorification of the Creator an instrument created by the Creator: the human voice. Even at the dawn of Christianity, St. Clement of Alexandria called for the banishment from church singing of chromatic melodies used in secular music, which are necessary in expressing human emotions. The scale of Znamenny chants is formed by a sequence of main steps of the mode, hence the severity, grandeur and dispassionateness of the chant.
The Orthodox tradition distinguishes between the concepts of “singing” and “music”. This attitude was adopted by the Sixth Ecumenical Council at the end of the 7th century, and subsequently took root in the Russian Orthodox consciousness. This distinction is based on a clear concept of the fundamentally different tasks of music and singing: music is designed to provide aesthetic pleasure, the purpose of liturgical singing is to raise the mind to God.
Famous Christian saints were aware of the need for singing in the church and took every possible care of its development and organization. Ignatius the God-Bearer, Methodius of Patara, Ephraim the Syrian, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom and many other famous theologians and saints of their time left a great legacy as composers and hymnographers, organizers of church choirs, and founders of antiphonal singing. Many of their works are aimed at clarifying the church’s view of liturgical singing and clarifying its tasks.
Through the works of many great ascetics, the appearance of church singing gradually emerged that most corresponded to the spirit of the truth of Orthodoxy. In the middle of the 8th century. The Venerable John of Damascus finally formed the system of homoglas - the distribution of the entire circle church hymns into eight groups, eight singing voices. The number eight is very symbolic for Christians - it symbolizes the future, endless age. Each voice has its own special mood, sound, and melodic turns. They sound different shades of a person’s spiritual states: deep repentance, tenderness or victorious triumph. Sunday troparia, stichera, canons written in different time various singers, and to a large extent John himself, were collected by him and brought into a harmonious, orderly system. This meeting was called “Oktay” - based on the number of voices (“okta” - eight).
To carry out such a huge work, it was necessary to have a truly unique talent for singing and poetry, and a brilliant ability to systematize. It was these qualities that John of Damascus, the first nobleman of the Damascus Caliph, a deeply and comprehensively educated and religious man, possessed. Having retired from the court, John took monastic vows at the monastery of St. Sava, where he completely devoted his life to serving God in songwriting. He wrote an amazing service for Holy Pascha, 64 canons, many stichera and composed the Oktai. Having included in it, as has already been said, the best works of his predecessors in osconsonal creativity and supplementing what was missing with his own creations, Saint John set out the first stichera and troparia of each tone and the first troparia of each canon with musical signs (hooks) on top of the text, so that these stichera and troparia (irmos) ) were a model for the singing of the following stichera and troparia. Oktay quickly became widespread in the liturgical practice of the Eastern Church, and to this day serves as the basis for Orthodox worship, as well as a guide for the study of osmoglas.
In Rus', liturgical singing began to develop along with the adoption of Christianity and the construction of the first churches, as well as the translation liturgical books. Greek melodies took root in their own way on Slavic soil - they acquired greater smoothness and melodiousness. Russian singers often seemed to translate Damascene tunes into Russian musical language, preserving the main contours. In Rus', church chants have long been extremely soft and smooth.
Znamenny singing in Rus' sounded not only in church, but also at home; the singing culture was widespread and loved. The handwritten hook book was used in all segments of the population - from the grand ducal and boyar environment to the last slave. The great princes, middle and small service people in the cities sang along the hooks, simple peasants, bonded laborers and slaves sang, as evidenced by the chronicles.
Znamenny singing not only took root on Russian soil: it was enriched with many new chants written by Russian singers. It was in Russia that red (cinnabar) marks were introduced, precisely indicating the pitch of each banner. From the middle of the 15th century, the first znamenny alphabet began to appear. Many schools of Znamenny singing appeared, the singing tradition was passed on from teacher to student, from one generation to another.
The melody of the znamenny chant is recorded using special signs - banners or hooks. Hence the name of the singing: znamenny or hook. Each banner carries information about the number of sounds, their duration and features of execution. For a competent singer, the very outline of the hook in combination with the name is an expression of the essence and an indication of how it should be performed: upward-rising “arrows” and “darlings”, static “stations” - light, dark, simple; the soft outlines of the “comma” do not allow it to be performed with increased sound, and the energetic swing of the “hook,” on the contrary, dictates the emphasis. Black hook lines with red marks are transformed by the singer’s voice into an amazing melody, which emphasizes the words of the chant and enhances its impact on the soul of the worshiper (in liturgical singing the word is primary, and the melody is secondary). That is why in ancient times the words “prayer” and “singing” often had the same meaning.
In addition to the eight voices of singing, there are also various “chants”: demestvenny, travel, Irgiz, Kiev, Bulgarian. “Path” and “demestvo” are stylistic varieties of Znamenny singing, which give the chants their names: large and small demestvo, putovy, big putevy. There is a special notation for recording chants of the demestven chant; its banners differ significantly from ordinary hooks. The names of the remaining chants - “chants”, as they wrote in the old days - most often come from the geographical name of the area or monastery where this chant was written and performed. In addition to the various “chants,” there is also an infinite number of “chants,” or “tunes,”—variants of the same chant, which are performed slightly differently in each parish or locality. The chant is very rarely recorded in banners; in most cases it exists in the form of an oral tradition and is passed on from one generation of singers to another.
In the ancient Russian liturgical tradition, the voices of singers are not divided into different parts in polyphony, but merge together, creating a prayer “with one mouth and one heart.” That is why Znamenny singing is characterized by a special prayerful mood, fundamentality and impartiality. Unison singing of chants is the most important principle ancient liturgical chant that eloquently expresses unity, Christian humility and love.
Historical events in Russia in the second half of the 17th century. threatened the existence of ancient liturgical singing: during this period, reforms of Patriarch Nikon were carried out, which entailed the tragedy of church schism. The post-reform church became much closer in spirit and content to the Italian partes. The modest, noble voice of Znamenny chant continued to sound only among the persecuted adherents of ancient Orthodoxy, who did not accept Nikon’s innovations at all.
The persecution of the old faith continued for almost three centuries, now weakening a little, then resuming with new cruelty. Old Believer hermitages and prayer houses, which were also centers of spiritual education, were from time to time subjected to destruction, and the Old Believers themselves were subjected to various kinds of persecution and infringement. Old books—including singing books—were set on fire. Old Believers were forbidden to create schools and colleges. In order to preserve their faith, spiritual and cultural values, much had to be done secretly from the authorities, in deep underground. Thus, there was more than one singing school: ruined in one locality, it often appeared in another, and continued to act, passing on invaluable knowledge.
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. pressure from the authorities and the dominant church has eased a little. The potential that had been accumulating for centuries, not years, splashed out with colossal force. They became a “phenomenon to the world” public performance in the halls of the St. Petersburg and Moscow Conservatories of the famous Morozov Choir, created by A.I. Morozov at the Bogorodsko-Glukhovskaya manufactory. Under the Brotherhood of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross there was a choir under the direction of Yakov Bogatenko. Since 1909, a singing school arose in the village. Strelnikovo, Kostroma province, which marked the beginning of the organization of the famous Old Believer Strelnikovsky choir. The surviving recordings of these choirs, although very Bad quality, testify to the high skill and culture of the singing art of the performers. The study of church singing was put on a professional basis while the singers preserved the most important thing - the Christian faith.
This surge was not destined to continue for long. During the years of Soviet power and anti-religious propaganda, persecution was instituted against all believers of various faiths. Many churches were blown up, a huge number of liturgical books and icons were destroyed, Christians faced prisons and camps. The surviving temples were empty. This powerful blow could not but affect the state of singing in many Old Believer parishes, its consequences are still felt today.
Today, more and more people understand the importance of preserving this unique singing culture, preserved and carried through centuries by people for whom serving God was the meaning of their lives. For this purpose, choirs have been organized, Evenings of spiritual chants and spiritual concerts are held, and chanting books and alphabet books have been republished. The Znamenny chant continues to live not only in Old Believer worship, today it attracts the attention of musicologists, and some parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church are returning to ancient singing. The sounds of ancient chants more eloquently than anything else testify to the truth of Orthodoxy in its ancient form, undamaged by reforms. After all, the znamenny chant crystallized in centuries of Christian asceticism, martyrdom, theology, all the milestones were imprinted in it Christian history. This singing is initially intended to awaken in the soul the desire for repentance, the desire for God, and it should not and cannot be consigned to oblivion.
based on materials from Valentina Sinelnikova
Russian church music began with znamenny chant, which arose during the baptism of Rus'. Its name is associated with the use of special notation symbols – “banners” – for its recording. Their intricate names are associated with graphic representation: bench, darling, cup, two in a boat, etc. Visually, banners (otherwise known as hooks) are a combination of dashes, dots and commas.
Each banner contains information about the duration of the sounds, their number in a given motive, the direction of the sound of the melody and the features of the performance.
The intonations of the znamenny chant were learned by singers and church parishioners by hearing from the masters of znamenny chant, since the exact pitch of the znamenny chant was not recorded. Only in the 17th century. The appearance of special cinnabar (red) marks in the texts made it possible to designate the pitch of hooks.
The spiritual component of Znamenny chant
It is not possible to understand what Znamenny chant is and appreciate its beauty without referring to the spiritual significance of chant in Russian Orthodox culture. Samples of znamenny melodies are the fruits of the highest spiritual contemplation of their creators. The meaning of znamenny singing is the same as that of the icon - liberation of the soul from passions, detachment from the visible material world, therefore the ancient Russian church unison is devoid of chromatic intonations that are needed when expressing human passions.
An example of a chant created on the basis of the Znamenny chant:
S. Trubachev “The Grace of the World”
Thanks to , the Znamenny chant sounds majestic, dispassionate, and stern. The melody of a single-voice prayer chant is characterized by smooth movement, noble simplicity of intonation, clearly defined rhythm, and completeness of construction. The chanting is in perfect harmony with the spiritual text being sung, and singing in unison focuses the attention of the singers and listeners on the words of the prayer.
From the history of Znamenny chant
Znamenny notation example
To reveal more fully what Znamenny chant is, turning to its origins will help. Znamenny originates from ancient Byzantine liturgical practice, from which Russian Orthodoxy borrowed the annual circle of osmoglasiya (the distribution of church chants into eight singing voices). Each voice has its own bright melodic turns, each voice is designed to reflect different moments of a person’s spiritual states: repentance, humility, tenderness, delight. Each melody is associated with a specific liturgical text and is tied to a specific time of the day, week, or year.
In Rus', the chants of Greek singers gradually changed, incorporating the features of the Church Slavonic language, Russian musical intonations and metrhythms, acquiring greater melodiousness and smoothness.
Types of znamenny chant
When asking the question of what znamenny chant is and what varieties of it are known, one should look at it as a single musical system that embraces the Znamenny, or pillar (eight voices form a “pillar” set of melodies, repeated cyclically every 8 weeks), travel and demestine chants . All this musical matter is united by a structure based on chants - short melodic turns. The sound material is built on the basis of the liturgical rite and church calendar.
Travel chant is a solemn, festive singing, which is a complicated and transformed type of pillar chant. The travel chant is characterized by rigor, firmness, and rhythmic virtuosity.
Of the named style varieties of znamenny singing, the demesnic chant is not included in the book of Octoechos (“eight-harmony”). It is distinguished by the solemn nature of its sound, it is presented in a festive style, it is used to sing the most important liturgical texts, hymns of hierarchal services, weddings, and the consecration of churches.
At the end of the 16th century. the “big znamenny chant” was born, which became the highest point in the development of Russian znamenny singing. Extended and chanting, smooth, unhurried, equipped with an abundance of extensive melismatic constructions with rich intra-syllable chants, the “big banner” sounded at the most significant moments of the service.
Old Russian church singing It is customary to call it znamenny or pillar, or, what is the same, hook. It received these names from the method of its notation (semiography) with banners or signs, hooks or, what is the same, pillars (σήμα στήλη). Pillar or Znamenny singing is exclusively church singing, performed throughout the year alternately within eight voices, the order of which is also called pillar. The name of the Russian church semiography znamenny or stolpovoy, which is the same as kryukovoy, was also communicated to those ancient chants and melodies that were set out and recorded with its conventional singing signs, which is why the names of Russian church chants arose: znamenny or stolpovoy chant. Hook semiography was subject to its historical development and has its own history. The most ancient semiography, contemporary with the beginning of the Russian Orthodox Church, could be Greek, or Greco-Slavic. This, perhaps, as researchers suggest, is the same semiography that lies at the basis of the Greek kondakars and the kondakar banner that came to us in Russia, the singing meaning of which, however, is completely unknown for the present time. To indicate the height and duration of sounds, various conventional signs were previously used, for example, letters of the alphabet among the Greeks and Romans. Or the so-called “neumas”, consisting of dots, horizontal, vertical, broken, arcuate, etc. lines. Neumas in their various forms were used within the Eastern and Western churches from the very beginning of Christianity until the 12th century. Around the 12th century. in the eastern Byzantine church, its own special semiography was developed, in the western church - modern musical signs, first square, then round. The Russian Church also has its own semiography, hook or znamenny. The latter shows traces of Greek or Byzantine influence: the Greek letters Σ sigma(note, banner), Δ delta- spider, Ξ xi- serpent, Υ upsilon- magpie leg, Θ - fita and others are among the musical notes of Znamenny singing. But among these signs of Znamenny singing there are also signs of the Slavic alphabet: for example, this is. syllable Hu, abbreviation of a Bulgarian word Khubovo(better, sing better); also eg. the letter C appears in different signs, in different positions, for example. darling greyhound- the letter C in reverse form and two dots, foot- letter, cup- the letter C in a supine position, etc. According to the remark of Metropolitan Macarius (in his “History of the Russian Church,” vol. I), in the musical monuments of the first era of Russian singing there is as much Slavic as Greek. Already in the first era, Znamenny singing had little in common with Greek musically, since the Slavs were always an intermediary in relations between Russia and Greece and brought their influence to church Znamenny singing.
The difficulty of determining the relative influence of the Greek and Slavic elements on Russian singing is the reason for differing to the contrary views on this influence: some researchers attributed the creation of Znamenny singing to “ some singers from the Greeks or Slavs"; others, realizing the fundamental difference between Znamenny singing and Greek, came to the conclusion that it was “ gained, perpetrated and given names by Slovenian chanters" “Znamenny chant”, this is how the famous expert on our ancient church singing, Prof. Archpriest Dm. Razumovsky, " there is Greek singing that developed in the Slavic lands"; he also proposes a name that should distinguish this chant from other chants: Kyiv, Bulgarian, Serbian, etc. “Znamenny chant,” he says, “is a Greco-Slavic chant” (“Church singing in Russia”).
It is customary to call Znamenny semiography also Kryukova not only because the sign is hook is the most commonly used of all other semiographic signs. But also, mainly because, in its outline, in its figure, it serves as the original basic type for other signs, which in most cases represent a modification and various combinations of the main features of its figure. The name itself hook, most likely, taken precisely from his figure, which represents an ordinary hook, as it is depicted, for example, in ancient music manuscripts ( Metals B., “The ABC of hook singing”, Moscow 1899, p. 3).
The oldest znamenny semiography is much poorer than the modern one in the means of expressing the melody and has a significantly smaller number of banners. In it, often the same banner, with the same outline, expresses both a different pitch and its different duration, in combination with some banners it means one thing, in connection with others - another, in one voice it is sung like this, and in another it is different. The duration of the tone was not established in all the precision and detail, as in modern music and singing - it was developed by practice, example and training, and was indicated by banners only relatively. Pitch, as the most important element of melodic singing, was indicated in banners more accurately and definitely. Usually, four singing areas were distinguished by height: simple, dark, light and tri-light; the first is the lowest, the rest, in order, are the highest. Accordingly, in the ancient manuals of hook singing the following rules were proposed: “The hook is simple - shout it a little above the line. Gloomy - packs of simple higher. The light hook of the dark one is higher. The paraclete at the beginning of the verse and the line, like a light hook, are equally exclaimed. The light-colored hook is higher. If only there was a light-colored hook with a magpie’s leg, then shout out loud again.” The singers of the Russian church were content with such indications of the pitch of sounds for more than the first five centuries of the existence of the Russian church.
At the end of the sixteenth century. These indications of the pitch of sounds did not seem very clear and understandable to the young singers. Old singers, masters of their art, for convenience in singing pedagogy began to use black ink banners red(cinnabar) marks (“Liturgical singing of the Orthodox Greek-Russian Church” prot. Razumovsky, page 66). These cinnabar litters were originally introduced into use at the end of the 16th century. Novgorod singer Ivan Akimov Shaidurov, which is why they are sometimes called Shaidur's marks. The immediate direct purpose of these marks was to indicate the degree of height of all those individual banners at which they were located, which is why they are called differently sedate. They are represented by letters of the Slavic alphabet: Mr. meant much lower or lowest tone, letter n - low, letter With or a dot, which is an abbreviated image of a letter With in cursive - meant middle voice, letter m - gloomy, letter n - above gloomy agreement, letter in - high etc. These cinnabar marks quite accurately and clearly determined the height of the banner at which they were placed. The original and main banners could be modified in their singing meaning through various external additions to their images. Like for example points called puffs or delays that increase the duration of a note by half. A vertical line near the banner, on the contrary, reduced the normal duration of the banner by half, etc.
In addition to simple and basic banners and the short melodies they depict, in the practice of znamenny or hook singing, more or less complex combinations of banners are used to express more extensive, unique melodic turns, called chants, faces and fits according to their chant and design. The chants are the most typical melodic turns of Znamenny chant, which are directly explained from the usual singing meaning of the Znamenny banners compared with each other. “They, containing the most favorite voice leading and melodic turns, are usually presented without any secrecy in the banners,” says the famous researcher of hook singing S. V. Smolensky (“The ABC of A. Mezents with explanations and notes,” Smolensky, l. 96). Persons, on the contrary, with their essential characteristic feature have precisely this “secrecy” in the banners that make them up, with the addition of a special symbol. Fites are the longest melodic chants, usually depicted by a few banners with a characteristic presence among their sign O, usually placed in the middle of a group of banners and between two columns of faces. Complete unconditional “secretness” is a distinctive feature of the fits, so that there is almost no hint of their melody in the banners that compose them, which is why they are often called “wise lines”, “secretly closed”.
At the beginning of the sixteenth century. there were up to 214 persons and up to 67 fits in modern “keys” or manuals; Subsequently, their number increased even more and in later hook alphabets one can already find up to 300 persons and up to 100 fits. Due to the increase in their number and the complexity and development of their melody, the exact reproduction of these faces and fits has become difficult for many singers, which is why with faces and fits, usually in the margins of manuscripts, they began to appear divorces their more detailed, simple, easy-to-understand banner. At a later time, a completely different phenomenon is noticed: many fits, almost half of them, were left, and of those remaining in use, almost half were diluted in the text with a fractional banner. The fits themselves are included in the margins of the manuscripts.
An essential fundamental property of ancient Znamenny singing is its osmoharmony. In the usual meaning of this word, it usually means singing in eight modes, reading in eight melodic types or ways, which is the same thing - singing in eight voices. “What do we mean by voices”? - asks our modern researcher of our ancient church singing, priest V. Metallov, and answers: “In ancient Greek Christian singing, which from the time the Russians adopted the Christian faith from the Greeks formed the basis of Orthodox Russian church singing, the name of voices meant musical modes or melodic progressive scales of different heights and with different arrangements of tone and semitone diatonic intervals, composed of tetrachords, having different dominant and final sounds.”
In accordance with this, some researchers of Orthodox Russian church singing (Archarch D.V. Razumovsky, followed by Yu. Arnold and Archpriest I. Voznesensky) assumed that the same or at least a similar structure of osmoglasis remained dependent on the Greek and in Russian church singing, although the traces of this dependence are still quite unclear. “Without rejecting such a dependence,” continues priest Metallov, “of Russian church singing from Greek, everyone who studies ancient Orthodox church singing practically has the right to ask what exactly this dependence is and where is visible this dependence, this direct connection between the theoretical structure and technical construction Russian church osmoglanie in relation to Greek, in what obvious visual signs accessible to the direct feeling and knowledge of the singer-practitioner is it expressed, more precisely, where are the theoretical or practical data according to which the former Russian singer-practitioner, and after him the current one, could to determine the voices of church singing on the basis of the ancient Greek musical system, according to the method of the technical structure of Greek osmoglasis. Until now, neither history, nor archeology, nor theory, nor even the practice of church singing have left us such data. The current singer-cleric is no longer able to point out a single sign of the Greek structure of osmoglasis in our church singing. Tradition, experience, and his own singing instinct are powerless to help him in this, not to mention theory, history and archeology, which are completely silent in this case. Whether the ancient Russian singer-cleric, who was also often the compiler of the melody of chants, was guided by the foundations of Greek osmoglas in theory or practice, there is no information about this at all, but there is reason to assume that due to the lack of general development and special singing training of the singer-cleric of that distant time “When Christian enlightenment and science were just being implanted and born in Rus', it was impossible for him to master the complex system of technical structure of Greek osmoglas and then independently and quite consciously apply this system to Russian church singing.”
Having further said that the Russian clergy, who at first accepted ready-made Greco-Slavic singing, at first in a purely external, mechanical way, soon, however, also showed its independence in the provision of chanting stichera to the new Russian saints: St. Theodosius of Pechersk, martyrs Boris and Gleb and others, Metallov raises the question of how the Russian singer-cleric composed new chants, and answers: “Assuming that he was powerless in the field of Greek musical theory and technical device Greek osmoglasiya, it remains to agree that he mechanically adjusted new texts to the old Greco-Slavic tunes and at the same time, with his natural musical flair and ear, he caught the characteristic melodic features, peculiar melodic figures and turns in the melody of each voice, having mastered which, he could then to express new chants more independently, retaining what is most typical and characteristic in each voice and discarding what is unimportant, less visible and necessary from his point of view. Thus, gradually the clergy singers could practically develop a manner of expressing the melody of each voice not with one or another tetrachord, with one or another final and dominant sounds, but with one or another melodic turn, a well-known melodic figure, a chanting line, a chant, a face, with known, however, definite, long ago adopted by tradition, perhaps even borrowed from the Greco-Slavic chant, by its technical construction, in relation to tone and half-tone intervals, the singing difference of which was accessible to him by ear, but theoretically unknown” (“Osmoglasie znamenny chant” priest V. Metallova, Moscow 1900, pp. 1-3).
From all of the above, Metallov draws the conclusion that the osmoglas of Znamenny chant should be studied not according to the foggy, distant and dead system of the old Greek osmoglas, but according to living melodic typical samples of each voice, voice chants, as has been established since ancient times in traditional singing practice and in educational hook singing books. “The Greek theory of voices, as later researchers understand it in relation to Znamenny chant, should be abandoned in the practical study of the osmoglas of Znamenny chant,” says Metallov (ibid. p. 6).
Znamenny singing has a melodic character (μέλος - member, song) and is divided into members. The melody of one or another chant of a Znamenny chant is not a melody that continues continuously and variedly from the beginning of the chant to its end, but consists of separate groups of short melodies, clearly distinguishable by the ear and repeated. These groups each have their own beginning and their own ending and are combined into chants without any visible mutual melodic connection, except for the internal connection represented by the vocal area of sounds and vocal signs. The melody of the chants itself, in relation to the selection of vocal lines - chants and their combination and comparison with the text in Znamenny singing, is entirely subject to the requirements of the liturgical text, and their very character, movement and rhythmic diversity are also determined by the nature of the content of the text of the chants. In places of descriptive speech of the text, the melody of the znamenny chant almost approaches recitative, in places of theology about the sublime and deep mysteries of the work of human salvation, in speech about the divine persons of the Holy Trinity, about the Blessed Virgin Mary, about sacred events from the life of the Blessed Virgin and Her divine Son, the chant This part of the chants rises to amazing, varied, highly artistic, sometimes subtle, rhythmic and melodic movement and construction. In irmos, for example, the text of which is mostly of a historical-narrative nature, the melody is usually simple and approaches recitative. In the chants of the twelve holidays it is more refined and solemn. In places where the religious feeling is expressed in the text, it rises, the melody strives upward and accelerates the movement and rhythm; in places where the text expresses a depressed state of mind, a penitent mood and deep prayer, the melody rotates in the lower singing region, in a slow rhythm, in a moderate movement, in a strict character.
The correspondence of the melody with the content of the text is so strictly observed in Znamenny chant that it is not uncommon that the same expressions of the sacred text are accompanied by the same melodies. While closely corresponding to the content and character of liturgical chants, the melodies of znamenny chant have all those qualities and properties that church tradition requires from real church liturgical singing. Namely: clarity and intelligibility pronunciation, clarity and expressiveness thoughts of the text, simplicity musical construction, dispassion and importance character. In short, they have the character of liturgical churchliness, characteristic of other church objects and institutions.
Literature.
Etc. D. Razumovsky,“Church singing in Russia”;
St. V. Metallov, “The ABC of hook singing”;
St. V. Metallov“Osmoglasiya znamenny chant”;
I. Voznesensky,“On church singing”, “Big and small Znamenny chant” no. 1st;
Yu. Arnold, “Theory of Old Russian singing”;
S. Smolensky, “The ABC of A. Mezenets with explanations and notes.”
* Alexey Arsentievich Mitropolsky,
candidate of theology,
priest Znamenskaya Church in St. Petersburg.
Text source: Orthodox theological encyclopedia. Volume 5, column. 712. Petrograd edition. Supplement to the spiritual magazine "Wanderer" for 1904. Modern spelling.
