The Modern Russian Eight Tones

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The following audio files represent the singing tradition of the modern Russian Orthodox Church, both in Russia and in its émigré communities. This includes the majority of parishes in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, the Orthodox Church of America, as well as numerous mission parishes in various other Orthodox jurisdictions. These generic melodies are well suited for most modern church choirs, and can accommodate any style of text or any language. By modern tradition, these melodies are harmonized with four voices, but the original style of chanting in the Russian Orthodox Church (up until c. 1665) was unison.

Disclaimer: The reader should be aware that there are many other repertoires of melodies for the 8 Tones used by other ethnic groups within the Orthodox Church. The mainstream tradition presented here represents merely one tradition out of many vibrant and beautiful systems of liturgical chanting. For beginners and for church choirs which need to keep their repertoire easy and consistent, this is an excellent starting point, but eventually one will want to dig deeper into the wealth of singing traditions that the Orthodox Church has to offer.

These audio files were found in the archives of St. Tikhon's Seminary. They offer instructive examples of the eight tone system.

Troparia

First Series (Russian Common Chant)

Sound.gif Troparion Tone 1 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Troparion Tone 2 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Troparion Tone 3 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Troparion Tone 4 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Troparion Tone 5 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Troparion Tone 6 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Troparion Tone 7 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Troparion Tone 8 Info circle.gif


Second Series (Russian Common Chant)

Sound.gif Troparion Tone 1b Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Troparion Tone 3b Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Troparion Tone 4b Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Troparion Tone 5b Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Troparion Tone 6b Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Troparion Tone 7b Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Troparion Tone 8b Info circle.gif


Obikhod

The popular designation "Obikhod" (which actually means "Book of Common Chants") is misleading to scholars of Russian Chant, because it fails to identify the repertoire of melodies. Although it would be more accurate to label these as "Russian Common Chant", it seems that we are stuck with the misleading designation of "Obikhod".

Sound.gif Obikhod Tone 1 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Obikhod Tone 2 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Obikhod Tone 4 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Obikhod Tone 5 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Obikhod Tone 6 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Obikhod Tone 7 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Obikhod Tone 8 Info circle.gif


Obikhod 4 Part

Sound.gif Obikhod 4 Tone 1 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Obikhod 4 Tone 2 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Obikhod 4 Tone 4 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Obikhod 4 Tone 6 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Obikhod 4 Tone 7 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Obikhod 4 Tone 8 Info circle.gif


Kieven

Sound.gif Kievan Tone 1 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan Tone 2 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan Tone 3 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan Tone 4 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan Tone 5 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan Tone 6 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan Tone 7 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan Tone 8 Info circle.gif


Kievan 4 Part

Sound.gif Kievan 4 Tone 1 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan 4 Tone 2 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan 4 Tone 4 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan 4 Tone 6 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan 4 Tone 7 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan 4 Tone 8 Info circle.gif


Canon - Kievan Chant

Sound.gif Kievan Canon Tone 1 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan Canon Tone 2 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan Canon Tone 3 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan Canon Tone 4 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan Canon Tone 5 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan Canon Tone 6 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan Canon Tone 7 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Kievan Canon Tone 8 Info circle.gif


"God is the Lord" Kievan Chant

Sound.gif "God is the Lord" - Kievan Tone 2 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif "God is the Lord" - Kievan Tone 2b Info circle.gif


The Prokeimena

There are two traditional repertoires of melodies for Prokeimena in the Russian Chant tradition: Znamenny and Kievan.

Eight Tones

Sound.gif Prokeimenon Tone 1 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Prokeimenon Tone 2 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Prokeimenon Tone 3 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Prokeimenon Tone 4 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Prokeimenon Tone 5 (Znameny) Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Prokeimenon Tone 6 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Prokeimenon Tone 7 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Prokeimenon Tone 8 Info circle.gif


Days of the Week

Sound.gif Sunday Vespers Prokeimenon Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Monday Vespers Prokeimenon Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Tuesday Vespers Prokeimenon Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Tuesday Vespers Prokeimenon (Znameny) Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Wednesday Vespers Prokeimenon (Znameny) Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Thursday Vespers Prokeimenon Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Friday Vespers Prokeimenon Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Saturday Prokeimenon Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Saturday Vespers Prokeimenon 1 Info circle.gif
Sound.gif Saturday Vespers Prokeimenon 2 Info circle.gif