Common Melodic Patterns in Prostopinije

This article describes some melodic patterns that turn up frequently in prostopinije singing - patterns that occur in both the original Slavonic, and in English settings of the chant. (Some of the observations on text accents, however, are specific to the English language.)

Intonations

Most prostopinije phrases have an intonation which:

The intonation leads into the reciting tone, which usually begins with musical accent matched to a text accent. Thus, the intonation is also introductory - it leads forward to the reciting tone, both melodically and rhythmically.

The basic one-note intonation

The simplest possible intonation consists of a single note, a single scale-step above or below the reciting tone. For example, the A phrase in tone 8 samohlasen begins with a one-note upward intonation:

example

In most prostopinije phrases, the reciting tone starts on an accented syllable. If the second syllable is accented, as it is in the example above, we can continue singing the reciting tone without further concern. What if the second syllable is NOT accented? This can occur in several ways.

The text could BEGIN with an accented syllable:

example

In this case, some prostopinije phrase melodies just skip the intonation entirely, and begin on the reciting tone. But this may not work for the FIRST phrase of a hymn, since the congregation will be listening for an intonation to know what melody to use. And some prostopinije phrases always include the intonation.

So we look ahead in the text and find the NEXT accented syllable; that is where the reciting tone will start.

example

All the syllables before the first "internal" accent are sung on the intonation note:

example

In general, out of three consecutive English syllables, at least one will have either a primary or secondary accent; so there will be at most three syllables before the accent that falls on the reciting tone. More examples from tone 8 samohlasen, showing intonations of one, two and three syllables:

example

The intonation pitch can be either a step above or a step below the reciting tone. The B phrase of the tone 6 samohlasen melody has a one-note downward intonation:

example

This is the form of the basic one-note intonation: an introductory pitch sung on one syllable (which may be accented or not), and possible one or two more unaccented syllables, before the voice moves to the reciting tone.

A slightly more complicated case can occur when the voice "leaps" from the intonation note to the reciting tone. We call this a broken one-note intonation. Again, one initial syllable, and possibly one or two unaccented syllables, are sung on the first pitch, and then the voice leaps to the reciting tone.

The A phrase of the tone 8 kontakion melody contains a broken one-note intonation:

example

Other examples: Tone 1 samohlasen, B phrase; Tone 4 troparion, B phrase.

The descriptions of the individual phrases melodies point out when one-note intonation "disappears" if the text begins with an accented syllable.

The basic two-note intonation

An intonation can consist of more than one note. Quite a few prostopinije intonations consist of two rising or falling scale steps, pointing to the reciting tone. For example, the tone 1 samohlasen melody begins:

example

This sort of intonation does not disappear as often as it does with a one-note intonation.

With a two-note intonation, the reciting tone will normally start on the first accented syllable AFTER the start of the text. The intonation will be used to sing the one, two or three syllables that come before this accent. If there are exactly two syllables before the accent, matching them with the two notes is easy:

example

If there is only one syllable, we slur the two notes of the intonation together:

example

If there are THREE syllables before the reciting-tone accent, we repeat or "double" the FIRST note of the intonation:

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This is the basic two-note intonation:

example

As with the one-note intonation, the notes can either rise or fall. The tone 4 kontakion melody begins with a falling two-note intonation:

example

A few variations (such as a two-note intonation that begins with a half note) will be pointed out where they occur.

Other examples:
Rising two note intonation: Tone 2 samohlasen, A phrase; Tone 5 samohlasen, B phrase; Tone 7 samohlasen, B phase
Falling two-note intonation: Tone 3 samohlasen, B phrase; Tone 4 samohlasen, C phrase; Tone 5 samhlasen, C phrase
Starting with a half note: Tone 8 samohlasen, C phrase

Broken two-note intonations

Some phrases have a two-intonation containing two leaps, which gives a distinctive "broken chord" feel to the start of the melody. In tone 5 samohlasen, for example, the first three notes of the A phrase are always sung one per syllable, (unless the phrase is SO short that a slur is inevitable):

example

With this pattern, we do not slur or double notes to move the accent to the reciting tone; instead, the sung accent moves to one note or the other depending on the sense of the text:

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On the other hand, in the tone 6 kontakion melody, we have an actual broken chord leading to the reciting tone. Here, slurred or doubled notes are used to bring the "first internal accent" in line with the reciting tone:

example

The details for these intonations are provided in the descriptions of the melodies which use them.

The four-note intonation

Three-note rising or falling intonations seem rare to non-existent in prostopinije. The initial phrases of the tone 4 and tone 6 troparion melodies both use a rising four-note intonation, with only rhythm differences to show the congregation which melody is being used:

example

Like the basic two-note intonation, these four-note intonations usually place a text accent on the reciting tone; but the length of the intonation allows for the possibility of an accent in the middle of the intonation as well. The description of the tone 4 troparion melody shows how this works.

The switchback intonation

Several phrase melodies have intonations which change direction in the middle; tone 7 is particularly rich in these patterns. For example, the A phrase of the tone 7 samohlasen melodies goes down, then up:

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while the A phrase of the tone 7 troparion melody goes up then down:

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and the B phrase of the same melody goes up two scale steps before coming down:

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The "switchback point" of these longer intonations may be either a half note (as it is in tone 2 samohlasen, the first example below) or a quarter note (as it is in tone 3 samohlasen, the second example):

example

In these switchback intonations, the point where the melody changes direction usually creates a musical accent, and the surrounding notes are slurred or doubled to place a text accent on this note.

A notable exception is the tone 1 troparion melody, which has two alternating switchback intonations, but follows its own rules as to placement of text accents.

The Four-Note Pattern

So far we have been looking an intonations - the beginnings of phrases. But next we consider a pattern which usually comes in the middle of the prostopinije phrases in which it occurs.

Consider the first phrase of the Resurrectional troparion in tone 2:

example

and look at the four eighth notes, where the melody suddenly speeds up a makes a little pirouette before slowing down for the stately cadence. Looking through the tone 2 troparion examples, we can see that these four notes can be be used to sing one, two, three or four syllables of text:

example

In each case, the first note is accented, but the second and fourth are never accented. They are melodically weak, and will either be used to sing an unaccented syllable of the text, or be slurred together with a previous note.

Just try breaking this rule and see what happens (do not sing these versions in church!):

example

Here is how we write this out schematically. It shows a four note pattern that begins with an accented syllable, and has two weak notes, marked with w's. The third note may or may not be accented, depending on what text is sung.

(do we provide a schema, or just the rules below?)

This is the basic four-note pattern. It can consist of four quarter notes or four eighth notes, and is always sung according the these rules. (The examples here are from the end of tone 4 samohlasen; focus on the first four notes.)

If one syllable is sung over the four note pattern, all four notes are slurred together:

example

If two syllables are to be sung over the pattern, the notes are divided up two and two:

example

If three syllables are to be sung, ONE of the pairs of notes will be slurred together - which one should it be? The Inter-Eparchial Music Commission has consistently chosen to slur the first two notes together, UNLESS the third of the three syllables is accented. So:

Slur the first two notes together:

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UNLESS the third syllable is accented:

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There is a good practical reason for this. Suppose the congregation is singing from a text, and know the melodies. They most likely know, once you start the four-note pattern, where it is going in general - but not where the slur is going to be. If, whenever you can, you sing the slur right away, then there are two syllables left to match the next two notes, and the singing becomes smooth again.

If four syllables are to be sung, then all four notes are sung separately.

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These patterns should always be sung smoothly, and at tempo. Learning the melodic patterns in each tone will not only prevent surprises; it will make it easy for your voice, and those of the congregation, to flow through the melodies effortlessly. Remember that the half note is the basic unit of prostopinije rhythm; this means that the four eighth notes in the tone 2 troparion melody above are really one pulse in the melody. If you have to step through the four-note pattern gingerly, or if you stomp through the four notes as if they were completely separate, you will distort the spirit and lose the beauty of the chant.

One more note: how many syllables are sung on one of these patterns in any particular case depends on the words involved, their meaning, sound and relationship, and how long or short the text phrase is. But once you know what syllables are to be sung on one of these four-note patterns, it becomes much easier to sing them readily and correctly.

"Aren't these rules for two and three syllables arbitrary?"

It is certainly true that some settings of prostopinije in English arranged two syllables of text over a four-note pattern by dividing them sometimes 2+2, and sometimes 3+1 (a division of 1+3 is much rarer), depending on the exact words involved, applying artistic license in each case. Similarly, some settings have divided three syllables by putting the slur on the first pair of notes here, and on the second there.

Even when this does not cause a bad accent, it is confusing, both to other cantors and to congregations; it makes it harder rather than easier to learn the melodies "by ear" and to apply them gracefully under all circumstances. That is why we recommend the rules above, which match the actual settings done to date by the Music Commission.

Cadences

Virtually every prostopinije phrase melody uses a reciting tone to sing a varying amount of text - but none of them end with the reciting tone. That is the function of the cadence.

The cadence is the part of the melody that brings a phrase, or the entire hymn, to a close. It does this using the same tricks we use with the human voice to mark the end of a clause, sentence, or paragraph:

  1. The voice rises or falls slightly.
  2. There is a slight increase in emphasis.
  3. There may be a slight slowing of the speaking voice.
  4. There is a pause afterward.

Prostopinije cadences use all of the above, in one form or another

  1. They rise or fall from the reciting pitch. (In general, only non-final cadences end on an upward melodic arc; most cadences end with downard motion).
  2. They begin with a musical accent, matched to a text accent, and may include one or more additional accents; also, they may use musical tricks like leading tones to "point toward" the final note.
  3. They use at least a few notes of longer duration, and melody patterns that "stretch out" to slow the voice. They generally end on a held note (usually written as a half note for non-final cadence or a whole note for final cadences - though either may not be held for its entire length).
  4. A brief pause (marked by a bar line) separates each phrase from the next, and the entire hymn ends with a slightly longer pause.

In many prostopinije phrase melodies, one or two notes mark the preparation of the cadence, leading up to the accent that generally marks the start of the cadence itself. See Preparatory notes for an explanation and examples.

One-note cadences

The simplest prostopinije cadence would consist of a half note (assuming that the reciting tone rhythm is sung approximately in quarter notes) which is different from the reciting tone pitch.

It turns out that this is actually too simple for congregational singing, since the cantor comes to an accent in the melody and text while the congregation is still singing the reciting tone. Instead, the one-note prostopinije cadences are preceded by a one or two preparatory notes move that away from the reciting tone and toward the cadence. Since these notes are musically weak, and are used to sing unaccented syllables of text, a clash between the lead cantor and the rest of the congregation is avoided, and everyone knows the cadence is about to be reached.

Here is an example of a one-note cadence from Vespers - the second Lamplighting sticheron of Saturday in tone 5, to the tone 5 samohlasen melody:

example

Even those who have no text, or do not read music, but know the melody, know that when the cantor's voice rises on the second syllable of "human" (the preparatory note), the melody is about to drop to the one-note cadence, which is one step BELOW the reciting pitch.

The one-note cadence begins with an accent. In this case, the text can be thought of as "The ONE who GIVES resuRECtion TO the HUman RACE"; the cadence comes on the final accented syllable ("RACE"), and the preparatory note is used to sing the unaccented syllable that comes just before it ("-man"). But what if the last syllable is not accented?

If the final accent is followed by a single syllable, we sing both of them as half notes:

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If the final accent is followed by TWO syllables, we sing the first and last as half notes, with a quarter note in between:

example

The quarter note keeps the music from dragging, and the text from being OVERemphasized. These three patterns - half note, two half notes, half-quarter-half - are used over and over throughout the prostopinije tradition at the end of phrases that use a one-note cadence.

The C phrase of the tone 2 samohlasen melody ends with a one-note cadence, preceded by TWO preparatory syllables. The second of these syllables is always weak.

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Here are some examples with one, two, and three syllables sung on the cadence.

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Other examples: Tone 7 troparion, I and B phrases

Is the last preparatory note always weak?

A lot depends on the particular melody. It sometimes happens that the final accented syllable is immediately preceded by another accented syllable - for example, "We sing the praises of your Resurrection on the THIRD DAY." One way to sing this to the tone 2 samohlasen melody, C phrase, would be:

(Example)

But this runs the risk of sounding like "on THE third DAY". So in practice, we usually sing two final accented syllables on half notes, and this is how the Music Commission chose to do it (DL 60, at the top):

(example)

Another possible solution, also traditional, is to slur the last preparatory note together with the note that precedes it, either the previous preparatory note, or the last note of the reciting tone, to sing the accented syllabel that comes just before the cadence. Slurring notes together, or holding them longer, increases the emphasis on the syllable that is sung; this is another way to avoid a bad accent:

(example)

In general, we will not spend a lot of time on these kinds of cases, since they are rare. If music if written out, it will likely use one of these or the other, and cantors should be aware of both. If music is not written out, choose whichever solution works better.

Two-note cadences

Some prostopinije phrases end with a cadence of two half notes (preceded by one or two preparatory notes). Consider the A phrase of the tone 7 samohlasen melody:

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Like the one-note cadence, a two-note cadence can be used to sing a final accented syllable (by slurring the two notes together, as shown above); it can also be used to sing an accented syllable followed by one more syllable:

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or an accented syllable followed by two more syllables:

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Other examples: Tone 3 samohlasen, A phrase; Tone 4 samohlasen, A phrase; Tone 7 samohlasen, B phrase

The basic three-note cadence

The most common prostopinije cadence is probably one consisting of three half notes. Take a look at the tone 4 troparion melody:

example

The three half notes are never all three slurred together. Instead, the final syllable of the phrase is sung on the final half note of the cadence; the text accent BEFORE that is sung on the first half note of the cadence. So the cadence might be used to sing two, three, or four syllables:

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Rarely, BOTH the first and second half notes are subdivided, in order to sing five syllables:

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Whenever a prostopinije melody uses the basic three-note cadence, it is applied the same way:

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Examples: Tone 1 samohlasen, A phrase; Tone 3 troparion, A phrase; Tone 4 samohlasen, I1 and B phrases; Tone 4 troparion, A phrase; Tone 4 kontakion, A phrase; Tone 5 samoklasen, B phrase; Tone 6 kontakion, A phrase

The tone 2 troparion melody uses this same sort of cadence, disguised by being in quarter notes and a half note instead of half notes and a whole note:

example

Variations on the three-note cadence

The tone 4 troparion melody uses a variation of the three-note cadence with slightly different rhythm. Note that when the dotted half is split to allow for four syllables, the "split" off quarter note remains on the same pitch:

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The tone 4 kontakion melody uses this same cadence in the B phrase.

The Tone 1 troparion uses a short three-note cadence for both the A and B phrases, consisting of two quarter notes (which may be slurred together) and a half note:

(example)

Since none of the notes is ever subdivided, there is no way for this cadence to accomodate an accented syllable followed by three unaccented syllables. Instead, the requirement that the cadence start with an accent is simply dropped.

The basic four-note cadence

The final basic cadence in prostopinije singing consists of a half note, two quarter notes, and a half note. Rhythmically, this is the same as the basic three-note cadence; the difference is that the cadence covers three pitches rather than four.

Consider the tone 1 samohlasen melody, B phrase:

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The cadence always ends on the last syllable of the text, and begins on the accented syllable BEFORE that:

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So the basic four-note cadence always follows a pattern like the following:

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Other examples: tone 3 samohlasen, B and C phrases; tone 6 samohlasen, B and C phrases; tone 8 samohlasen, B and C phrases.

(Note the similarity: all three of these samohlasen melodies have three repeating phrases, with rhythmically identical cadences in the B and C phrases!)