page_title: Neobyzantine Octoechos
section_title: Parallagai of the chromatic genus
hierarchical_section_title: Neobyzantine Octoechos / Transcribing theseis of the melos and makam music / Chrysanthos' parallagai of the three genera (γένη) / Parallagai of the chromatic genus
caption_attribution_description: English: Parallage (solmization) of the hard chromatic scale according Chrysanthos, the echos plagios devteros (ἦχος πλάγιος τοῦ δευτέρου) in the current traditions of Orthodox Chant.
context_page_description: Oktōēchos is the name of the eight mode system used for the composition of religious chant in Byzantine, Syriac, Armenian, Georgian, Latin and Slavic churches since the Middle Ages. In a modified form the octoechos is still regarded as the foundation of the tradition of monodic Orthodox chant today.
  From a Phanariot point of view, the re-formulation of the Octoechos and its melodic models according to the New Method was neither a simplification of the Byzantine tradition nor an adaption to Western tonality and its method of an heptaphonic solfeggio, just based on one tone system. Quite the opposite, as a universal approach to music traditions of the Mediterranean it was rather based on the integrative power of the psaltic art and the Papadike, which can be traced back to the Hagiopolitan Octoechos and its exchange with Oriental music traditions since more than thousand years.
  Hence, the current article is divided into three parts. The first is a discussion of the current solfeggio method based on seven syllables in combination with the invention of a universal notation system which transcribed the melos in the very detail.
context_section_description: The phthora nenano and the tendency in psaltic art to chromatize compositions since the 14th century had gradually substituted the diatonic models of the devteros echos. In psaltic treatises the process is described as the career of phthora nenano as an "echos kratema" (κράτημα) which finally turned whole compositions of echos devteros (ἦχος δεύτερος) and of the echos plagios tou devterou (ἦχος πλάγιος τοῦ δευτέρου) into the chromatic genus and the melos of φθορά νενανῶ.
  The two chroai can be described as the "soft chromatic genus", which has developed from the mesos devteros, and the "hard chromatic genus" as the proper phthora nenano which follows the protos parallage and changed its tetrachord from E—a to D—G.
  The soft chromatic scale of mesos devteros and its diphonic tone system
   
  It found its most odd definition in Chrysanthos' Mega Theoretikon, because he diminished the whole octave about 4 divisions in order to describe echos devteros as a mode which has developed its own diphonic tone system (7+12=19). Indeed, its parallage is indefinite and in this particular case the phthora nenano has no direction, instead the direction is defined by the diatonic intonations of echos devteros:
  §. 244. Ἡ χρωματικὴ κλίμαξ νη [πα ὕφεσις] βου γα δι [κε ὕφεσις] ζω Νη σχηματίζει ὄχι τετράχορδα, ἀλλὰ τρίχορδα πάντῃ ὅμοια καὶ συνημμένα τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον·
  νη [πα ὕφεσις] βου, βου γα δι, δι [κε ὕφεσις] ζω, ζω νη Πα.
  
  Αὕτη ἡ κλίμαξ ἀρχομένη ἀπὸ τοῦ δι, εἰμὲν πρόεισιν ἐπὶ τὸ βαρὺ, θέλει τὸ μὲν δι γα διάστημα τόνον μείζονα· τὸ δὲ γα βου τόνον ἐλάχιστον· τὸ δὲ βου πα, τόνον μείζονα· καὶ τὸ πα νη, τόνον ἐλάχιστον. Εἰδὲ πρόεισιν ἐπὶ τὸ ὀξὺ, θέλει τὸ μὲν δι κε διάστημα τόνον ἐλάχιστον· τὸ δὲ κε ζω, τόνον μείζονα· τὸ δὲ ζω νη, τόνον ἐλάχιστον· καὶ τὸ νη Πα, τόνον μείζονα. Ὥστε ταύτης τῆς χρωματικῆς κλίμακος μόνον οἱ βου γα δι φθόγγοι ταὐτίζονται μὲ τοὺς βου γα δι φθόγγους τῆς διατονικῆς κλίμακος· οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ κινοῦνται. Διότι τὸ βου νη διάστημα κατὰ ταύτην μὲν τὴν κλίμακα περιέχει τόνους μείζονα καὶ ἐλάχιστον· κατὰ δὲ τὴν διατονικὴν κλίμακα περιέχει τόνους ἐλάσσονα καὶ μείζονα· ὁμοίως καὶ τὸ δι ζω διάστημα.
  The chromatic scale C νη—[D flat]—E βου—F γα—G δι—[a flat]—b ζω'—c νη' is not made of tetrachords, but of trichords which are absolutely equal and conjunct with each other—in this way:
  C νη—[D flat]—E βου, E βου—F γα—G δι, G δι—[a flat]—b ζω', b ζω'—c νη'—d πα'
  
  If the scale starts on G δι, and it moves towards the lower, the step G δι—F γα requests the interval of a great tone (μείζων τόνος) and the step F γα—E βου a small tone (ἐλάχιστος τόνος); likewise the step E βου—[D flat] πα [ὕφεσις] an interval of μείζων τόνος, and the step πα [ὕφεσις] [D flat]—C νη one of ἐλάχιστος τόνος. When the direction is towards the higher, the step G δι—[a flat] κε [ὕφεσις] requests the interval of a small tone and [a flat] κε [ὕφεσις]—b ζω' that of a great tone; likewise the step b ζω'—c νη' an interval of ἐλάχιστος τόνος, and the step c νη'—Cd πα one of μείζων τόνος. Among the phthongoi of this chromatic scale only the phthongoi βου, γα, and δι can be identified with the same phthongoi of the diatonic scale, while the others are moveable degrees of the mode. While this scale extends between E βου and C νη over one great and one small tone [12+7=19], the diatonic scale extends from the middle (ἐλάσσων τόνος) to the great tone (μείζων τόνος) [12+9=21], for the interval between G δι and b ζω' it is the same.
  In this chromatic genus there is a strong resemblance between the phthongos G δι, the mesos devteros, and b ζω', the kyrios devteros, but as well to E βου or to C νη. The trichordal structure (σύστημα κατὰ διφωνίαν) is nevertheless memorised with a soft chromatic nenano intonation around the small tone and the enechema of ἦχος δεύτερος in the ascending parallage and the enechema of ἦχος λέγετος as ἦχος πλάγιος τοῦ δευτέρου in the descending parallage.
  According to Chrysanthos, the old enechema for the diatonic echos devteros on b ζω' was preserved by traditional singers as the chromatic mesos, which he transcribed by the following exegesis. Please note th
caption: Chrysanthos' parallage of echos plagios devteros in one of the mixed genera, the lower tetrachord divided by the phthora nenano and the upper tetrachord according to the diatonic genus (1832, pp. 107, 109)
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