The sticheras of the holiday of Pentecost in musical and poetic context
(on the materials of Liubachiv Irmologion, 1674)
Authors: Kaznokh Iryna 
Published: March 2019

Objectives of the scientific research lies in a) comprehension of the dramaturgy of the holiday of Pentecost on the basis of theological, musical and poetic analysis of the selected sticheras of the evening ceremony from the Liubachiv Irmologion, 1674; b) detailed analysis of the interaction of the poetic text with the melody of the sticheras «Come, people» and «The Lord of the heavens» to understand and perform liturgies correctly c) study of the musical and rhetorical models in the verbal texts of the sticheras.
Methodology and scientific approaches. In the process of research, the
source-study method was used for manuscript analysis; - historical method is used in deciphering the Kiev square notation; – musical and theoretical method, which is related to the analysis of the sticheras of the holiday of Pentecost; the liturgical and theological method, which is used to understand the connection between theological content and artistic forms.
Conclusions of the research. The results of the research showed that the
musical material of the sticheras «Come, people» and «The Lord of the
heavens» follow all indicated principles of poetic texts and monody colors
underline the significance of the theological content. The common base for both sticheras is a melody that is framed by melusmatics in the form of third links of the ascending and descending movement around the supporting sounds, which gives the songs solemn and commendable character. In most cases melos moves smoothly within a second, third, and fourth diapason. The dramaturgy of chants is based on two intonation tunes of major and minor slopes. The interaction of poetic and musical material builds the perfect structural form of the songs. The composition of the melody of the sticheras is set out in repeated tunes based on the principle of the main development of chants. Rhetorical formulas help understand the concealed theological content and interpret them correctly. Poetic texts of the sticheras determine
the importance of theological content of the songs, which is manifested
through the perfect musical and poetic form of works and shows excellent skills of their creators.
The frameworks of the research, the possibility of using the results, the
direction for further research. The results of the research are important for use in the study of the liturgy, theology and the history of the Church and they can also be used in further studies of the church monody of the Byzantine and Slavic Christian areas.
Practical importance. The ideas and conclusions of this research, which
are drawn on the basis of musical and textual analysis, can be used not only in further research, but also in teaching practice, in particular, by including them in lectures on liturgical singing, which will help conductors and singers understand the meaning of the liturgy of the holiday of Pentecost better. Originality / value. The results of the research give an opportunity to understand the world of sacred musical art better in the cultural and aesthetic meaning, which defines a scientific topicality. The analysis underlined the uniqueness of the sticheras in liturgical practice, and the hidden content of the songs by the means of oratory art is shown.