What is a znamenny chant: meaning, history, types

Russian church music began with the famous chant that arose during the baptism of Russia. Its name is associated with the use of special notation signs – “banners” for its recording. Their intricate names are associated with a graphic image: a bench, a darling, a cup, two in a canoe, etc. Visually, banners (aka hooks) are a combination of dashes, dots, and commas. Each banner contains information about the duration of sounds, their number in a given motive, the direction of the melody and the characteristics of the performance. The intonations of the znamenny chant were assimilated by the singers and parishioners of the church according to rumors from the masters of znamenny singing, since the banners did not record the exact pitch of the sound. Only in the XVII century. the appearance in the texts of special cinnabar (red) droppings made available the designation of the pitch of the hooks. Continue reading →