Techniques of Melodic Enrichment in Chant Composition

1. The chants are enriched with the restatement, the repetition, the literal imitation, the alteration and the restitution. Restatement is to make the ascent or the descent of a melody with the same thesis. Peter, for example, at the beginning of the koinonikon ἈνέβηὁΘεὸςἐνἀλαλαγμῷ, ascends from the ne to the di with restatement. In the ἘπεφάνηἡχάριςτοῦΘεοῦ, in the barys echos, he uses two times the restatement on the Ἐπεφάνη, and on the σωτήριος, he uses the first restatement twice, and the two following, many times. Repetition is to apply twice a thesis or an entire melodic period on the same notes. This is very usual in the old mathemata and kratemata. Repetition was also used by the protopsaltes John at the beginning of the kratema preceding his doxastikon of the polyeleos in the first plagal echos. Literal imitation is to compose a high pitch melody for the meaning that suggest heigh – like heaven, mountain -, a low pitch melody for those that suggest something low - like earth, abyss, hell -, a joyful sound for the meanings that suggest joy – like paradise, victory -, and a morose sound for the meanings that suggest sadness – like death, condemnation -, etc. Alteration is the transposition of something similar to a dissimilar place. It is distinguished in four kinds; of the genus, of the echos, of the system, and of chant-making. We make alteration of the genus when from the diatonic we go to the chromatic or the enharmonic vice versa. We make alteration of the echos when from one echos we go to another. We make alteration of the system when from the diapason we go to the pentachord or the tetrachord and vice versa. We make alteration of chant-making when from the diastolic ethos we go to the systaltic or the hesychastic and vice versa. Restitution is to compose for all the endings of the text’s periods one cadence only, the melody of which should be no longer than two or three four-beat measures in the new sticherarion, and several meters long in the papadike. Examples are found in the Τὰςἑσπερινὰςἡμῶνεὐχάς (at the ἅγιεκύριε, the ἄφεσινἁμαρτιῶν and the ἐνκόσμῳτὴνἀνάστασιν) and in the cheroubicon of Peter the Peloponnesian, where he composed the εἰκονίζοντες, the προσάδοντες and the μέριμναν with the thesis \!! oq_ [Chrysanthos, Great Theory of Music, pp. 176-178, §§ 419-423]

2. Restatement is to make the ascent or the descent of a melody with the same thesis. Peter, for example, at the beginning of the koinonikon ἈνέβηὁΘεὸςἐνἀλαλαγμῷ, ascends from the ne to the di with restatement.

9. Restatement is to make the ascent or the descent of a melody with the same thesis. Peter, for example, In the ἘπεφάνηἡχάριςτοῦΘεοῦ, in the barys echos, he uses two times the restatement on the Ἐπεφάνη, and on the σωτήριος, he uses the first restatement twice, and the two following, many times.

16. Repetition is to apply twice a thesis or an entire melodic period on the same notes. This is very usual in the old mathemata and kratemata. Repetition was also used by the protopsaltes John at the beginning of the kratema preceding his doxastikon of the polyeleos in the first plagal echos.