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Three Orthodox churches hold a variant, differently accounted stance toward Byzantine chant in this atlas: the Romanian, Russian and Serbian Orthodox churches. All three trace their liturgical singing to the same system of eight Byzantine modes. Read each church's own account and none of the three still sings the way Byzantium did, each having kept a different half of the inheritance.

Kept the Modes, Rewrote the Words

Romanian psaltic chant was adapted to the Romanian language in the nineteenth century by Macarie the Hieromonk and by Anton Pann, so the modes are Byzantine and the melodies were rewritten to fit Romanian words. Serbian chant carries the eight tones into Church Slavonic in simplified melodies, written down from the singers in the nineteenth century by Kornelije Stankovic, so the system is Byzantine and the repertory, as actually notated, is not.

Kept the Structure, Lost the Sound

Russian chant was received through Church Slavonic with its eight tones intact, then developed away into znamenny chant and later into four-part harmony, so what a Russian church sings today is Byzantine in structure and not in sound at all. Three churches, one shared origin, and three different halves of it kept: language adapted, melody transcribed and simplified, or structure preserved while the sound itself moved on.

Where To Read More

• Byzantine ChantChant StyleThe chant tradition itself, one origin kept three different ways
• Romanian Orthodox ChurchChristianityModes Byzantine, melodies rewritten for Romanian words in the nineteenth century
• Russian Orthodox ChurchChristianityStructure Byzantine, sound developed away into znamenny and four-part harmony
• Serbian Orthodox ChurchChristianitySystem Byzantine, repertory simplified and transcribed from singers in the nineteenth century