"Χριστοῦ τὸν ἱεράρχην": the course of the sticheron from the old (non-kalophonic) to the kalophonic melos

Authors

• Athanasios Delios

Abstract

This paper aims to present the way in which the sticheron "Χριστοῦ τὸν ἱεράρχην", written in honour of St Athanasius the Great, in the plagal of the second mode, is set to music firstly according to the old (non-kalophonic) compositional style and secondly according to the kalophonic one. I shall then try to present the two compositions by contrasting and comparing the two melodies, examining the main notes on which each melody (melos) is constructed. To make this comparison more comprehensive I refer to the work of Chourmouzios and to the way in which these compositions are conveyed from the old notation system to that of the New Method (exegesis). Musicological analyses of various types follow this comparison, helping the attempt to suggest an answer to the question as to whether we can refer to the kalophonic compositional style and its practices by using a term such as ars nova or not.