POPEVKA

POPEVKA – (pl. Popevki)? Consistent melodic turns or formulae in early Russian church singing, which serve as the building blocks for melodies of znamenny and other chants. POPEVKA are classified according to Tones; each Tone is distinguished by POPEVKA that occur in it more frequently than in other Tones; some Tones have more p. than others. The basic POPEVKA of znamenny chant were collected in azbuki, known as kokizniki. There are also other categories of POPEVKA — litsa and fity — which were used as melodic ornaments in chants, but did not constitute their essential components.