PSALOM
Traditional Eastern Orthodox Chant Documentation Project
Musicologist: Nikita Simmons

Featured Articles

The Chanted Psalms in the Pre-Nikonian Russian Orthodox Church - in production

The Practice of "Stichologia" in the Pre-Nikonian Russian Church - in production

Instructions for Singing "LORD, I HAVE CRIED" according to the Russian Old Rite

PDF A Primer of Kievan Square-note (Quadratic or Synodal) Musical Notation

The Contents of the Synodal Square-Note Obikhod and a Commentary on the Znamenny Repertoire Contained Therein

The Melodic Genres of "Znamenny Chant"

The Gamut of Vocal Techniques Used in the Pre-Nikonian Russian Orthodox Church - in production

A Brief History of the Monophonic Chant Tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church

Pitch Mutation: Instances of the raised leading tone in Znamenny Chant

Variations in the Znamenny Chant Tradition: The Theory of "Scribal Freedom"

On the Role of the Canonarch in Orthodox Worship

What are Ecclesiarchs and Paraecclesiarchs?

A Comparison of Selections of the Octoechos in the Russian Old and New Rites

Square-Note Fonts designed by Nikita Simmons

PRE-NIKONIAN POKROV SERVICE - NOTES

Significant Differences in the Manner of Worship Between the Russian Old and New Rites

Общий канон Богородицы (PDF) -- Служба общая Пресвятой Богородице, в честь святого Ея образа


Musical Transcriptions

Music for Pascha (Musical Transcriptions of Paschal Hymns by Nikita Simmons unless noted otherwise*)

The Paschal Canon in the Russian Znamenny Chant Traditions (Пасхальный канон) – Transcriptions and notes

PDF Melodies for the Troparion for Pascha in Znamenny Chant.
Transcribed from printed sources and recordings of oral traditions (Old and New Rite Russian texts).

PDF *The Paschal Hours – miscellaneous melodic sources by Archimandrite Kyril Jenner.

[MP3] *The Paschal Hours – an audio file (used for teaching purposes) sung by members of the Church of the Holy Protection (Pokrov) in Gervais, Oregon. The Hours are sung by "communal declamation", a vocal technique that is normally only used for the singing of the Creed and the Lord's Prayer in the Divine Liturgy (or Typica). Note that the second hymn "Воскресение видевше" is only sung once in this sample recording. This recording also ends with "Lord, have mercy" being introduced by its initial formula, and the remaining 39 repetitions are sung quickly on the final pitch of the introduction. Unfortunately, I was not able to get the singers to sing the Hours to their conclusion for my recording session.

PDF The Ypakoi, Kontakion and Oikos for Holy Pascha – While the texts are according to the New Rite (upon request from a choir director), the melodies are all traditional Znamenny Chant. The melodies for the Ypakoi and Kontakion (the first setting only) can be found in the Synodal square-note editions, while the second setting of the Kontakion and the melody for the Oikos are only found in pre-Nikonian neumatic chant books. [MIDI file] new April, 2010

PDF The Katavasia for Holy Pascha in Great Znamenny Chant – While this melody can be found in the Synodal square-note editions, it lacks some of the extra melismatic passages found in pre-Nikonian neumatic chant books. [MIDI file] new April, 2010

PDF *Paschal Stichery – These traditional Carpathian Prostopenije folk harmonies were transcribed by Johanna Katchen, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, 2005.

PDF Достойно есть, на 8 гласов. Знаменнаго распева.
Transcription of pre-Nikonian Znamenny Chant (from neumatic notation). Square-note notation.
Published source: Obednitsa znamennago i demestvennago raspeva, edited by L.F. Kalashnikov, Kiev, 1909.

Ипакои воскресны, на 8 гласов. Знаменнаго распева.
Transcription of pre-Nikonian Znamenny Chant (from neumatic notation). Square-note notation.
Published source: Oktai, Preobrazhenskii Bogadelnyi Dom, Moscow, 1914.

The Resurrectional Hypakoi in the 8 Tones. Znamenny Chant.
Translation from pre-Nikonian Slavonic and transcription of Znamenny Chant (from neumatic notation).
Square-note notation.

Катавасии общии пресвятей Богородицы, всего лета. Глас 4-й. Отверзу уста моя.
The General Katavasii for the Most Holy Theotokos, in Tone 4: I will open my mouth...
Common Znamenny Chant melodies used by the Old Believers in Oregon and many parts of Russia (an abbreviated form of the Great Znamenny melodies), set in square-note notation and round-note notation (Alto clef).

PDF Отче наш, глас 7, знаменнаго распева.
The Lord's Prayer, sung during the Divine Liturgy. This was transcribed from manuscript sources in the Lipovan Old Believer singing tradition from Romania and Ukraine.


Biography and Bibliography

Curriculum vitae new January, 2008

"PO USTAVU" – According to the Typicon: The Rituals and Singing of the Russian Old Believers – paper presented at the ISOCM Conference at the University of Joensuu, Finland, June, 2007 new January, 2008


Список старообрядческих кассетов и CDs

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