- Irmologion
Irmologion (Greek: "polytonic|εἱρμολόγιον" (heirmologion)) is a
liturgical book of theEastern Orthodox Church and thoseEastern Catholic Churches which follow theByzantine Rite , and it contains texts for liturgical singing in Church. [ [http://www.orthodoxyinamerica.org/article.php?id=14 Orthodoxy in America] ] Specifically, it contains irmoi (introductory hymns) for the various canons which are chanted atMatins and other services. The word derives from the words "polytonic|εἱρμός" (heirmos) meaning "link" i.e. an introductorystanza and "polytonic|λογεύω" (logeuō) meaning "to collect".An important portion of
Matins and other services in the Orthodox Church is the Canon, a long liturgical poem divided into nineOde s. Each Ode begins with a hymn called anIrmos . Many of the Odes also end with a type of Irmos called aKatabasia . The majority of a canon (thetroparia ) is performed by a reader, but the irmosi and katabasiae are chanted by the choir. Since the liturgical books containing the entire text of the canons can be expensive (especially in the days when books were copied by hand), and yet enough copies of the parts which are sung must be provided for the singers, the Irmologion was developed as an anthology containing only those parts of the canons which are chanted by the choir. Following the development of the Irmologion, the service books which provide the text for the canons would often not print the entire text of the irmosi and katabasiae, but only the first few words, making the Irmologion indispensable for the chanting of the services.Within the Irmologion, the irmoi are arranged according to the
eight tones ofByzantine chant .The Irmologion also contains the following:
*Antiphon s of the Divine Liturgies of St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil the Great, and thePresanctified Gifts
* Dogmatica, hymns in honour of theVirgin Mary which are chanted at theLittle Entrance atVespers
* Anthems in honour of the Virgin Mary
* Orthron anthems for three voices
* Troparia of theResurrection in theeight tones
* The full text of thePolyeleos (Psalms 134 and 135; also Psalm 136, which is used during thePre-Lenten Season ), which is chanted at Matins on Sundays andfeast day s
* Songs of praise for feasts and saints
*Anabathmoi , or "Hymns of Ascent", based upon Psalms 119-133
* Prokimena
* Troparia and Canticles of theResurrection
* Biblical Odes, which form the basis for the canons and are still used on weekdays duringGreat Lent History
The Irmologion was first compiled in Greek from a number of irmoi in the
10th century in Byzantium. A full version of the Russian Irmologion, inChurch Slavonic includes about 1050 irmoi. Earlier examples provided only the written text; later, the "hooks" and "banners" ofZnamenny Chant were added above the text. The first printed edition of a notated Irmologion in Russia,the "Irmologiy notnago peniya", usingneume s (square notes) on a staff, was published in1772 . Today, most Irmologia are printed using modernmusical notation (with the exception of someOld Believer groups, which continue to use the older Znamenny or neumes).References
External links
* [http://music.russianorthodox-stl.org/irmologiion.html Selections from the Irmologion] (in English)
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