Prostopinije Chant Books
Like most plainchant traditions, prostopinije has come down to us as first an oral, then an oral and written tradition. The oral tradition has preserved the freshness and vitality of the chant, but runs a continuing risk of losing melodies, especially the more complicated ones, or of allowing them to be affected by outside influences or the particular tastes of chant singers. Thus, the chant books of the prostopinije tradition serve as both an aid to memory and an enduring standard, so that a common chant is used throughout a group of churches - while allowing for some variations from place to place. It must always be remembered that no chant book contains the entire tradition, and that authentic prostopinije melodes not recorded there may yet be found.
The Prostopinije of Bokšai and Malinič
Although hand-written and printed irmologia were created and used from the seventeenth century onward, there was no standard collection of prostopinije as used among the Rusyn people.
Slavonic collections based on Bokšai
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Slavonic collections independent of Bokšai
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Prostopinije chant in English
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Recommended Reading
- Reynolds, Stephen. A Bibliography of the Eight-Mode System of the Churches of Southwestern and Western Rus'. Available on the Podoben Project website. An invaluable collection of references to chant books, and scholarly works concerning them, which was extensively used in preparing this page.
More about aspects of prostopinje:
History - Styles of singing - Rhythm and tempo - Melodies - Learnng - Chant books - Singing the Services