Troparion

DIMITRI CONOMOS

A short, monostrophic chant in rhythmic prose. The oldest stratum of hymnody for Vespers and Matins, the troparia constitute by far the largest body of sung texts in the Byzantine rite. The kata stichon hymns, of Syrian and Palestinian monastic origin, are important early examples. They exhibit the same number of syllables (usually eleven) and the same number of accents in every line. Although no music for prim­itive troparia survives, it is generally held that they were sung to unpretentious tunes, generally composed on the rule of one tone to each syllable, to render them suitable for congregational singing.

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

Conomos, D. (2008) “What is a Troparion?” Sobornost 30, 2: 59–80.

Trypanis, C. A. (1981) Greek Poetry from Homer to Seferis. London: Faber and Faber.