The Tone 1 Samohlasen Melody
Introduction - examples - analysis
This melody is used to sing stichera in tone 1, unless a special melody (podoben) is appointed in the liturgical books. This page explains how to sing the tone 1 samohlasen melody according to the patterns established by the Inter-Eparchial Music Commission.
The pripiv melody
The pripiv melody (used for singing the psalm verse that precedes the sticheron) is as follows:
Here is two examples, from the Lamplighting Psalms of Vespers:
The sticheron melody
The sticheron melody (used for singing the sticheron itself) consists of two phrases sung in alternation, followed by a concluding phrase.
The A phrase
alternates with the B phrase
The final (F) phrase is sung as follows:
Singing the A phrase
The A and B phrases use a very common prostopinije phrase structure: an intonation which begins the phrase; a reciting tone which is used to sing a varying amount of text; a preparatory note to signal the approach of the cadence; and the cadence itself which ends the phrase.
Here is the A phrase, with these parts marked:
The intonation is used to sing one, two or three syllables, ending with an accent on the reciting pitch:
In general, the accent on the reciting pitch is the first accent that comes after the first syllable (the first "internal" accent in the text phrase). But if the second and fourth syllables are both accented, and the second syllable is part of a more important word, it may be sung as follows:
The preparatory note is a drop in the voice which marks the end of the reciting tone. This note is melodically weak, since it is immediately followed by the cadence, which begins on an accent. If the syllable just before the cadence is accented as well, then this syllable is sung on the last note of the reciting pitch, slurred together with the preparatory note:
The cadence consists of three half notes, beginning on an accent, which can be used to sing two, three, or four syllables:
Singing the B phrase
Like the A phrase, the B phrase consists of an intonation, reciting tone, preparatory note, and cadence:
The intonation is used to sing two, three or four syllables, ending with an accented syllable on the reciting pitch:
The cadence begins with an accent and is used to sing two, three or four syllables:
The B phrase has an alternate form which is used for very short text phrases; instead of a leap up to the reciting tone, the intonation moves upward to the first note of the cadence:
Singing the final (F) phrase
The final phrase is much more intricate than the A or B phrases. A six-note intonation if followed by a reciting tone, and an eight-tone cadence. There is no preparatory note for the cadence.
The location of the accents is not fixed; there are at least three different common patterns, which "sing" slightly differently:
Due to the length of the intonation and cadence, there are often only a few syllables (if any) on the reciting tone.
The cadence begins with an accent, and usually has a second accent at the start of the second four-note pattern:
But sometimes all the notes from the first accent in the cadence to the second may be sung on a single accented syllable:
An example - the Saturday dogmatikon in Tone 1
The last sticheron at the Lamplighting Psalms on an ordinary Saturday evening is called a dogmatikon, because it highlights the dogma or teaching of the Incarnation. Hre is the tone 1 dogmatikon, set the the Tone 1 samohlasen melody. The pripiv is given, followed by the sticheron. Notice how each phrase flows into the next, and how the different text phrases change the way each phrases adapt to different F phrases are used.
Learning the melody
To learn the pripiv melody, sing through the Tone 1 Vespers and Matins verses in the Cantor Verses book.
Sing through the music on the examples page, which has the music for "Lord, I have cried", and the Saturday evening Vespers stichera.