Sie sind auf Seite 1von 1

Some Notes on Prostopinije (Plainchant) from the CarpathoRusyn Tradition

Helpful Vocabulary
Carpatho-Rusyn: a cultural/ethnic group whose homeland is in east central Europe (in areas that are or have been part of Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine, among other countries) Ruthenian: A rite of the Catholic Church, like the Latin Rite (thats us) or the Chaldean Rite (to which many Christian Arabs in the Detroit area belong), with its own distinctive liturgical traditions (including vestments, music, prayer texts, etc.). Ruthenian comes from the same linguistic root as Rusyn, so this word can also refer to the cultural/ethnic group. Kontakion: a poetic form used for a particular kind of sung prayer that is part of the Ruthenian liturgy. As we have multiple settings of the Glory to God and of the Holy, Holy, Holy, so are there multiple tunes to which the Kontakion may be sung in the Ruthenian tradition. Prostopinije: The Ruthenian word for plainchant. Here as in Gregorian chant, the plain means that it is (traditionally) unison singing without accompaniment. Like Gregorian chant, it was passed down through the years orally and, eventually, sometimes in writing. Although prostopinije is written down as a single melody line, since it would be sung by a congregation of both sexes and all ages, the practice developed to include harmonies (not always written down). Also, the name of a hymnal of this chant. Tone: a pattern of notes to which different texts can be set for chanting. Resurrectional: An adjective describing some of the tones in prostopinije. Im not sure I have this right, but I think Resurrectional tones are for use at the Sunday liturgy and the other kind (called Samohlasen) are for use at Vespers (evening prayer on Saturday night) and during the week.

Example
Below is a basic outline of Resurrectional Tone 3 as it would be used with the Kontakion.

For a given text, each line until the last is sung to either A1 or A2 (as determined by tradition and/or which fits the text better). The final line is sung to Z. In each of A1, A2, and Z, notice that theres some notes at the beginning, then a chanting tone, then some notes at the end. A2 differs from A1 in that it omits two notes from the beginning part. Z differs from A1 in that it adds two notes to the ending part. Depending on the text, some portions of the tone may be sung with more than one note per syllable. (Also, on occasion, the half note in the beginning part is replaced by a quarter note of the same pitchagain, based on how the text fits the melody best.)

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen